The Undergraduate Medical Program uses two formulae to rank applicants – the first provides a rank order list for an invitation to interview, and the second provides a rank order list for advancement to Collation (full file review). The overall weightings reflect our commitment to consider the cognitive and professional qualities of applicants equally.

2022/2023 FORMULAE

• FORMULA 1: INVITATION TO INTERVIEW

  • 32% Undergraduate Grade Point Average
  • 32% MCAT Critical Analysis and Reasoning Score
  • 32% Casper Score
  • Up to 4% Graduate degree bonus (1% Master’s/4% Ph.D.)

• FORMULA 2: ADVANCEMENT TO COLLATION (FILE REVIEW)/OFFER OF ADMISSION

  • 70% Multiple Mini Interview Score
  • 15% Undergraduate Grade Point Average
  • 15% MCAT Critical Analysis and Reasoning Score

McMaster uses geographic status when selecting applicants for interviews.

• 90% of our interview spots are for applicants who are residents of Ontario
• 10% of interview spots are for applicants who are Out-of-Province Canadian applicants or international applicants (combined)
• To be considered an Ontario applicant, you must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada by the application deadline and have lived in Ontario for at least 3 years since the age of 14 (by the date of possible entry into the program).
• If you are a Canadian citizen who resides in another Canadian province, you are considered an Out-of-Province applicant.
• If you are a Canadian Out-of-Province applicant who has attended university in Ontario for at least 3 years (by June of the year of possible entry into the program) you meet our criteria to apply as an Ontario applicant.

WHAT IS MMI?

McMaster has always been an innovator in the field of medical education. The Multiple Mini-Interview, or MMI, is one example of how McMaster has approached an accepted process, like the traditional interview, and revolutionized it. Researchers at McMaster hypothesized that increasing the number of encounters for each interviewed applicant would lead to a more reliable assessment of the individual. This proved to be exactly the case. The MMI increases the overall reliability of the interview in judging an applicant’s merits. It also dilutes the effect of a single misrepresentative showing by an applicant in any one interaction. Pioneered at McMaster, the MMI has been adopted at other schools across Canada, the United States, and internationally.

WHAT CAN I EXPECT FROM AN MMI?

During the MMI, applicants will move between interview “stations” in a circuit. The stations deal with a variety of issues, which may include but are not limited to, communication, collaboration, ethics, health policy, critical thinking, awareness of social health issues in Canada, and personal qualities. Applicants are not assessed on their scientific knowledge.

In the 2023/2024 application cycle, the Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI) will be delivered using a live virtual platform.

ACCOMMODATION FOR INTERVIEW (MMI)

Any applicant requiring accommodation for a documented disability for the MMI must notify the Admissions Office in writing at least one month prior to the first interview date. Complete documentation must be provided to support the request.

VIEW ADDITIONAL DETAILS REGARDING THE MMI AS WELL AS A COPY OF THE TRAINING MANUAL

PLEASE NOTE THAT IN 2024 THE UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION PROGRAM WILL HOLD THE FIRST FULL DAY OF CLASSES ON MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 2024.*

As a result of this early start-date, students will immediately have a more substantial opportunity to transition into the McMaster University’s problem-based learning environment, to understand the competencies learners develop during their undergraduate medical training, and to begin exploring the breadth that their professional role will encompass.  Later in the curriculum, this planned change in start date enables students to benefit from breaks in learning and to focus on their residency interviews and clerkship rotations sequentially rather than concurrently.

Taken collectively, the curricular changes aim to help medical students more effectively build, consolidate, and integrate their knowledge and skills, thus offering an opportunity to enhance students’ clinical transfer, increase student readiness for clerkship, and improve student performance on licensure examinations.  Graduates will embark on their professional journey with greater capability to provide responsive and dynamic patient-centered care.

All applicants who are interviewed in March or April will be notified via email of their results (offer of admission, waitlist for offer of admission, declined) on the second Tuesday in May.

Those who receive an offer of admission will need to look after a number of things during the summer in order to meet the conditions of their offer – see “Accepting Your Offer of Admission.”

*First full day of classes date is subject to final sessional date approval

There are a number of conditions to meet in order to accept your offer of admission.

Please note that these conditions are for offers of admission and do not need to be completed at the application stage.

CONDITIONS WHEN ACCEPTING AN OFFER OF ADMISSION

FINAL TRANSCRIPT

Those receiving an offer conditional upon completion of their three years of undergraduate education will need to provide a final undergraduate transcript to OMSAS by June 30th of the year of application, showing completion of at least 30 half-year courses and a third-year average of at least 3.00 on the 4.00 scale.

HEALTH REGULATION

As a condition of your offer of admission, incoming students must complete the Year One Health Screening Record form and be cleared by the Health Screening Office. More information along with the form and deadline date for submission can be found on our Health Screening Information website. In each subsequent year registered in the program, students must provide updated health screening requirements detailed on our Health Screening Information website.

BASIC LIFE SUPPORT TRAINING FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS

As a condition of the offer, incoming students are required to take a Basic Life Support Training for Health Care Providers course within the calendar year of the year of admission, and provide evidence of this to the MD office in the early summer (specific date will be provided to those receiving an offer of admission).

POLICE RECORDS CHECK

As a condition of the offer, incoming students will be required to provide a Police Information Check including a Vulnerable Sector Check, at their own expense.

The Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine will review the files of any applicants who have presented a “Not Clear” Check to determine what action, if any, will be taken. For more information about obtaining a Police Information Check with Vulnerable Sector Check, please contact your local police agency.

Those applicants receiving an offer of admission to the UGME must provide their Police Check to the Health Sciences Professionalism Office by July 31st of the year of admission and by the expiry date in each subsequent year registered in the program (the Police Check is valid for one year from the date of issue).

Applications received in the fall of 2023 are for the academic year commencing in the fall of 2024. Applicants who will not be ready or able to begin studies in the fall may withdraw their applications without prejudice. Application fees cannot be refunded.

Deferred registration may be granted only under exceptional circumstances. The request for deferral must normally be submitted in writing within two weeks of the offer of admission by those who have accepted that offer. Deferral requests will be considered by the UGME Deferral Board. Deferral for parental, illness or other personal/compassionate reasons may be considered if received after this deadline where circumstances did not allow the applicant to meet the deadline.

For more information about deferral guidelines and procedures please review the Deferral of Admission Policy.

No appeal procedure shall be available for decisions on admission to the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University. Such decisions may be reviewed within the following framework:

1. An applicant to the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine who believes that the admission decision is incorrect, or based on incorrect or incomplete information, may, within one week of receiving the decision, request a review of that decision by writing to the Admissions Officer, UGME, stating why she/he thinks the decision should be reviewed. The Admissions Officer will gather the information for review by the Chair, UGME Admissions.
2. The Chair, UGME Admissions shall determine whether the information on which the decision was based was incomplete or incorrect and if so, shall refer the request for review by the UGME Admissions Committee. The UGME Admissions Committee shall make a final decision and report it to the Admissions Officer, UGME, who shall then convey the decision in writing to the applicant.

For your interest, statistics on the background of our current students are made available to you:

CLASS OF 2026

Class of 2025

CLASS OF 2024

CLASS OF 2023