GENERAL INFORMATION
- Campus – Total of 140 students
- Queen’s university Kingston Campus – 114 students + 6 supernumerary seats
- Lakeridge Health campus in Oshawa – 20 students
- Numbers (2023-2024 Cycle):
- Total number of Applicants: 5227 Applicants
- Total number of Interview Invites: 601 Applicants
- Total number of Admissions: 138 Applicants
- Program length: 4 years
Application Overview
| In Province (IP) Status | 95% of the seats allocated for ON applicants |
| Minimum GPA Required | 3.0/4.0 GPA |
| GPA Calculation Options | Cumulative GPA (cGPA) |
| Required Course Load | None |
| Minimum Credits Required | 30 half courses at the undergraduate level |
| Pre-requisite Courses | None |
| CASPer | Required (Internal cut-off) |
| MCAT | Required (Cut-off) |
| Interview Format | MMI & Panel – Virtual |
| References | 3 References |
| Pathways | Indigenous Student Admissions Pathway (ISAP) Black Student Admissions Pathway (BSAP) Military Medical Training Program Pathway (MMTP) Socioeconomic Accountability Admissions Pathway (SAAP) Combined Programs (MD/PhD & MD/MSc) Lakeridge Family Medicine Program |
| International Students | Not considered |
ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS
- GPA: Queen’s university uses 4.0 scale. To convert your GPA, use the OMSAS GPA conversion table here. For detailed how-to for calculating your GPA, please see this post.
- Queen’s university uses cumulative GPA (cGPA) in their assessment.
- All undergraduate grades including supplementary, spring, summer, part-time and distance education courses will be used to calculate the overall GPA.
- Minimum GPA:
- Minimum GPA required to apply is 3.0/4.0 for all applicants. However, the average GPA for admitted students for 2023-2024 cycle was 3.78/4.0.
- Required Course Load:
- There is no required course load for applicants to have taken to be eligible.
- Minimum Credits Required:
- Queen’s university requires a minimum of 30 half-courses (semester-long) or 15 full-year courses at the undergraduate level to be completed by the June prior to entry.
- Pre-requisite Courses:
- There are no mandatory pre-requisite courses to apply to Queen’s University.
ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENTS
- MCAT
- MCAT is required for admissions to Queen’s university. The minimum MCAT required is a total score of 500, which 125 in each section. With the new changes to their admissions process of integrating lottery-based selection, MCAT is no longer used competitively but rather as a threshold.
- CASPer
- CASPer is required for admissions to Queen’s university, and it will be used as a threshold. However, the threshold is set annually and it is not released to the public.
RESIDENCE
- Please note that there are changes to IP status following the Ontario government’s announcement on legislation changes. This legislation proposes that 95% of the Ontario’s medical school seats be allocated for Ontario residents. However, it is still unclear how this will impact Queen’s medical school seat allocation.
- Ontario’s IP criteria that comes into effect starting this cycle is as follows:
- Applicant or their spouse has, at any time after their 14th birthday, resided in Ontario for at least 12 consecutive months and has either:
- received an Ontario Secondary School Diploma; or
- not resided in another province or territory for 12 or more consecutive months since completing the most recent 12 month residency period in Ontario
- To determine that the applicant or spouse has met the criteria, the full-time studies at a post-secondary institution will not be included unless:
- Applicant or spouse was in a full-time, in-person degree in Ontario; and
- The program attended is one that is ordinarily completed in four or more academic years
- Applicant or their spouse has, at any time after their 14th birthday, resided in Ontario for at least 12 consecutive months and has either:
EXTRACURRICULARS
- All applicants will be asked to fill out Autobiographical Sketch (ABS) on their OMSAS portal. These are classified as: Employment, Volunteer activities, Extracurricular activities, Awards and Accomplishments, Research, and Other. You can enter up to 32 entries on the portal.
- However, please note that Queen’s university does not consider “other” section or any activities from high school. If the activity started in high school and continued in postsecondary education, only the time starting at postsecondary is reviewed.
- Amongst these activities, applicants will be prompted to identify the top 3 activities that are believed to be the most important in the Employment, Volunteer Activities and Extracurricular Activities categories.
- Queen’s university has implemented a new selection system, called “Qualified Applicant Randomization Selection (QARS) process”. This means that a limited number of applicants will be selected for MMI through a “lottery-based” selection, given that the applicants have met the minimum eligibility criteria.
- Combined MD/PhD and MD/MSc applicants will not be subjected to QARS process.
- MMTP and ISAP applicants each have their own separate QARS process.
INTERVIEW
- Queen’s university conducts interview in two different stages, using both the MMI and panel-style interview. QARS-selected candidates will be invited to MMI, and only those selected from MMI will proceed to panel interview.
- Queen’s MMI is conducted virtually and asynchronously. There is no official source of detailed information around MMI format. However, it is typically thought to have 6 stations, with 2 minutes of preparing, 5 minutes of response, and 2 minutes of follow-up questions.
- Queen’s panel interview is also conducted virtually, but it involves 2 interviewers (usually a faculty member and a medical student) assessing a candidate synchronously. Panel interview have ranged from 15 minutes to 25 minutes previously and is a more traditional-style interview.
REFERENCES
- All applicants are required to submit three referees through OMSAS application portal. In choosing three referees, these are the following recommended criteria:
- One academic or employment related
- One non-academic / character referee
- One referee of your choosing
- References completing the Confidential Assessment Forms (CAF) will be asked the following questions:
- 1. Would this applicant make a good physician?
- 2. Rate the applicant on each of the following attributes: Communication skills, Problem-solving skills, Professionalism, Empathy
- 3. Identify and comment on 1 area of improvement for the applicant
- 4. Share any other information you feel may be relevant to a medical school’s admission committee
PATHWAYS/SPECIAL STREAMS
- Indigenous Student Admissions Pathway (ISAP): A minimum of 4 seats are reserved for ISAP applicants. Indigenous applicants do not need CASPer test although it is encouraged if applicants still want to be considered for general stream. Furthermore, there is no minimum MCAT required.
- To be eligible, applicants must provide a proof of Indigenous ancestry and a verifier who can confirm their connection to Indigenous community. Additionally, Indigenous applicants must also provide a letter to request consideration and expand on their background and motivation.
- Black Student Admissions Pathway (BSAP): Applicants can self-identify on their application to be considered for this pathway. Black applicants will have priority made to have black faculty/resident/student members participate in their file review and interview process.
- To be eligible, applicants must submit supplementary personal essay on OMSAS.
- Military Medical Training Program Pathway (MMTP): MMTP applicants must still meet the same minimum eligibility criteria as the general stream applicants. They must also meet the necessary requirements of the military.
- Socioeconomic Accountability Admissions Pathway (SAAP): 8% of the MMI seats are reserved for SAAP applicants for applicants from a low socioeconomic status.
- To be eligible, applicants must apply for the AMFC OMSAS Fee waiver program and indicate your interest to be considered under this stream on OMSAS
- Applicants must still meet the same minimum eligibility criteria as the general stream applicants. Those who meet the minimum criteria and do not receive an MMI offer will be entered into a second randomized selection process for the 8% MMI seats.
- Combined Programs (MD/PhD & MD/MSc)
- Lakeridge Family Medicine Program: This is a family medicine specialized program, and around 20 students get accepted each year. Applicants must indicate their interest to apply under this stream on OMSAS.
- To be eligible, applicants must also provide their responses a series of short answer questions and 2 additional reference letters in addition to the 3 references requirement. You may use the same references, but there will be a different set of questions in each form.
HELPFUL LINKS
- Queen’s University Admissions Site: https://meds.queensu.ca/academics/mdprogram
- Admissions Statistics (2023-2024 Cycle): https://meds.queensu.ca/academics/mdprogram/admissions/admissions-statistics
- Frequently Asked Questions: https://meds.queensu.ca/academics/mdprogram/admissions/frequently-asked-questions#academics
- Admissions Pathways: https://meds.queensu.ca/academics/mdprogram/admissions/admissions-pathways-programs
- Queen’s Lakeridge Family Medicine Program Admissions Site: https://meds.queensu.ca/academics/mdprogram/queens-lakeridge-health-md-family-medicine-program