MD Application 2021 - 2022 Cycle Updates

Congratulations on submitting your MD application! You have reached an important – and we’d argue one of the biggest – milestones as an applicant. Many of you have spent months (or, years) preparing for this day, and may have some burning questions now that the application is in!

Here are a few updates we would like to share with you:

1. Can I make a change to my application after the October 1st deadline?

No, applications are reviewed as they stand on October 1st. You will not be able to update your file. For example, if you have a publication that got accepted by a journal recently, we will not accept changes to your application after October 1st to reflect this update.

2. I saw that my CV for my MD/PhD application was uploaded on OMSAS after the deadline, even though I submitted it prior to October 6th.

The OMSAS system can sometimes take longer to show all the items uploaded to their system. If you submitted your CV by the published deadline, there is nothing to worry about. Please refer to https://www.ouac.on.ca/guide/omsas-responsibilities/#documents for information regarding submitted documents.

3. What happens if I made a mistake listing prerequisites, listed an unacceptable course or forgot to list a certain prerequisite on the OMSAS application?

The admission team will double-check your transcript to identify if you have other courses that meet the prerequisite requirements.

4. I need to change my verifiers/their contact information as they have moved or changed positions.

You cannot make any changes to your application after the October 1st deadline. If we have trouble contacting your verifier, we will reach out to you to seek clarification.

5. Will the GPA released by OMSAS be the same GPA that U of T uses for admissions?

No, the OMSAS GPA differs slightly from the U of T GPA. We exclude marks from part-time courses, for example. We don’t release the U of T cGPA or wGPA to the applicant.

6. I’m not within the competitive GPA range, am I automatically disqualified?

No, we review all applications that meet the minimum requirements, and read all Academic Explanations Essays, before performing any calculations for the applicant.

7. My university has amended a mark on my transcript, do I need to notify U of T/OMSAS?

a) If it is a mark from a previous session, used in the GPA calculation, you should have another transcript sent to OMSAS and notify us by email as soon as you can.

b) If it is a course that was listed as an in progress course on the transcript submitted to OMSAS by the application deadline, you do not need to notify us or OMSAS – those applicants who receive an offer will be provided instructions on how to proceed at the time the offer is sent to them.

An Irish proverb from the 18th Century said that “a good start is half the battle”. Now that you have done everything that you can to give your career a good start, please take some time to breathe, reflect on your experiences, and rest/recharge for the next steps in this 2021-2021 admissions cycle. If you want to chat about any particular questions that are not covered in our updates above, don’t forget – we are always here and happy to help.

Thanks and best of luck!

UME ES Team

We have received over 4300 OMSAS applications for our current 2020-2021 application cycle at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. For applicants who have not yet released their MCAT scores, please note that the extended deadline for our MD Program is November 30th, 2020.

MCAT scores must be released to OMSAS each year, regardless of when the test was taken. To release your MCAT scores, login to your AAMC account. Under the My Reports tab, click “Send Scores Electronically” to OMSAS. Ensure that the format of your name and date of birth are consistent on AAMC and OMSAS records. If you do not release your scores, your application will not be reviewed. Please ensure that you follow all the steps for releasing your scores by the November 30th deadline. You can check the Document Tracking page on your application to ensure that your scores were received by the appropriate deadline. Our admissions team will also be providing an update on our current cycle on December 10th, 2020. Keep a lookout on our events page as we will be sharing our registration link soon. 

As the admissions team is in the midst of the application review process, we will begin to verify additional information about activities that are described in either the brief personal essays or the ABS, starting in the New Year. Note that the Admissions Office conducts random checks of activity verifiers. Applicants can thus expect an email by the end of this month notifying them about this procedure.

We will also perform random checks of your brief personal essays through Turnitin for detection of possible plagiarism. You will not be informed that your essay has been submitted for comparison. Essays submitted to Turnitin will be included as source documents in the Turnitin reference database, where they will be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism. If you do not consent to your essays being submitted to Turnitin, you must e-mail us by January 8, 2021. We will honour this request. 

Lastly, we wish you a safe and pleasant holiday season. Please note that our office will be closed for the Winter holidays on Wednesday, December 22nd to Friday, January 1st inclusive.  

We will resume on Monday, January 4th, 2021.