MD Application 2023 - 2024 Cycle Updates

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Dear applicants:

We would like to thank you for your interest and for the tremendous amount of effort you have placed in the application to the MD Program at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. To ensure that you are kept in the loop throughout our 2023-2024 admissions cycle (2022-2023 academic session), we would like to share the following Admissions Renewal – Phase 4 Changes.

Admissions Renewal - Phase 4 Changes

Admissions Renewal – Phase 4 Changes

As part of our continued efforts to modernize and make our admission process more holistic, effective July 1, 2022, the following changes will be implemented.

Removal of Weighing:

  • Previous: applicants who have completed 5.0 full-course equivalents (FCEs) or more in each year of their undergraduate studies may be eligible for a weighted GPA. The weighting allows applicants to exclude up to 2.0FCEs of undergraduate courses from the admissions GPA calculation. Normally, courses with the lowest grades are selected for this exclusion.
  • New: beginning July 1, 2022, only the raw admissions GPA will be used for the MD admissions consideration. The raw admissions GPA is calculated using all undergraduate course grades obtained on a full-time basis during fall, winter, and/or spring/summer semesters (e.g., you are taking 60% or more of a full course load). The MD admissions committee will no longer calculate nor consider the weighted GPAs.

We recognize that as you have engaged in various modes of learning over the last 3 years (e.g., remote, hybrid and/or in-person), you have continuously calibrated and re-calibrated your approaches to learning. This meant that for many of you, taking a full course load (e.g., 5 courses per term) was no longer an option or the best path to your academic success.

In recognition of the evolving educational environment, we will no longer require you to maintain the full course load throughout the entirety of your undergraduate studies. We will look at all courses you have completed on a full-time basis over the fall, winter and spring/summer semesters.

In turn, we hope that you will have the flexibility to consider various academic options, with the support of your academic advisors, and, where applicable, spread out your courses in specific points of your undergraduate studies (e.g., first term at a university) to better manage your academic and non-academic pursuits, health, and experience as a university student. We hope that you will have and leave some space to explore various career paths in the health professions area as part of your preparation for our medical school. We believe that based on this flexible, yet tailored, approach to learning, you will arrive to our medical school well prepared to support our diverse healthcare community.

OMSAS Disability-Based Consideration Requests

In case you missed it, OMSAS has newly launched a pathway to review and support disability-based consideration requests. If you are not yet familiar with this new process, you can read about the new process on the “OMSAS Disability-Based Consideration Requests” webpage.

Further Supports – U of T’s Academic Explanations Essay

Don’t forget that in addition to the above new request, you are able to submit an “Academic Explanations Essay” as part of the University of Toronto’s OMSAS application if there is an acute period during which you have experienced extenuating circumstance(s) and your academic performance was negatively impacted. As part of the Essay, please include the start and end dates of the affected period (e.g., May to September 2021), a brief explanation regarding circumstance(s) and the specific impact on your studies.

Admissions Renewal – Phase 3 Changes

As part of our continued efforts to modernize and make our admission process more holistic, effective July 1, 2021, the following changes will be implemented.

Minimum GPA Requirement for Graduate Applicants:

  • Existing: The minimum undergraduate OMSAS GPA requirement for graduate applicants is 3.0.
  • New: The minimum undergraduate OMSAS GPA requirement for graduate applicants will be 3.3.

Graduate applicants who have experienced extenuating circumstances during their undergraduate studies and as a result have (a) a period in their studies that does not reflect their true academic abilities and (b) meet our new minimum GPA requirement may write an academic explanations essay to request for special consideration. Please note however meeting the minimum admission requirements does not guarantee your outcome in the cycle.

Autobiographical Sketch & Statements

  • Existing: Applicants are required to submit an autobiographical sketch (ABS), which is a comprehensive list of their activities and achievements since age 16 (ABS List), and three ABS statements of 250 words or less.
  • New: Applicants will be required to submit the ABS List and one ABS statement of 500 words or less. The one ABS statement needs to discuss the following: Write about an impactful experience from your Autobiographical Sketch that demonstrates your personal growth, character and values. How did this experience prepare you for medical school?

Brief Personal Essays

  • Existing: Applicants are required to submit four original brief personal essays, with each essay answering a specific question related to the Faculty’s mission and values. Each brief personal essay must be 250 words or less.
  • New: Applicants are required to submit two original brief personal essays, with each essay answering a specific question related to the Faculty’s mission and values. Each brief personal essay must be 250 words or less.

Admissions Renewal – Phase 2 Changes

To review the details of our Admissions Renewal – Phase 2 Changes, please visit our announcements page from the 2021-2022 admissions cycle.

Admissions Renewal – Phase 1 Changes

To review the details of our Admissions Renewal – Phase 1 Changes, please visit our announcements page from the 2020-2021 admissions cycle.