Cumming School of Medicine: How to Get in

Mission Statement

Vision Statement

“Creating the future of social and health equity.”

Mission Statement

“At the Cumming School of Medicine Office of Strategic Partnerships and Community Engagement, it is our mission to catalyze a social and health-equity oriented medical school by nurturing respectful relationship with diverse communities, collaboratively developing innovative models of engagement, informing curriculum and research, and co-designing initiatives for impact.

To engage with local, global and Indigenous communities to identify health inequities and foster a meaningful, co-creative response. To encourage active global citizenship, social accountability and a more inclusive view of health among students, staff and faculty by facilitating opportunities related to the social determinants of health. To innovate and create ethical partnerships with governments, academic institutions, providers, our internal community and communities worldwide in ways that advocate and promote greater health equity. To provide knowledge, operational guidance and evidence-based resources that enable and enhance social accountability initiatives within the CSM. To continually strengthen health equity across the communities we engage, by listening, learning and collaborating to ensure the future of health leads to improved health for all.”

Mandate:

• SUSTAIN and strengthen longitudinal community relationships
• DEVELOP, document and showcase best practices for collaboration with external partners and communities
• FACILITATE equity-centred education, research and service
• INNOVATE policies, products, programmes and initiatives for social and health equity

Admissions Statistics and Eligibility

Overall success rate: 9.12%

85% of seats are reserved for Alberta applicants

Average GPA: 3.89

Average MCAT: 513.96

Location: Calgary, Alberta

Cumming School of Medicine overall success rate:

Wondering if you are a competitive applicant for Cumming School of Medicine? Check out your chances using our Canada Medical School Chance Predictor!

Eligibility

Only Canadian citizens and permanent residents are admitted to the Cumming School of Medicine. International students, including American applicants, are not eligible to apply. You can find a list of Canadian medical schools that accept US students in our blog. Like many other medical schools in Canada, UofC gives preference to in-province applicants. To qualify as an in-province applicant, you must:

1. Have been physically present in Alberta for two consecutive years at some point between their 15th birthday and the first day of classes in the year of entrance.

2. Have been on active duty with the Canadian Armed Forces or the RCMP for 2 years before the first day of classes in the year of entrance. A letter from your commanding offer supporting your active duty must be received by the school by October 1 of the year of application.

If you have questions about whether you can qualify as an Albertan applicant, make sure to reach out to the admissions office. The school acknowledges residents who have been temporarily out of the province for vacation, educational exchange, or employment. The rules for temporary absence from the province are quite vague. This allows the admissions committee to consider the context of your residence history to determine whether you qualify to be an in-province applicant. Indigenous applicants from any of the Canadian provinces and territories are considered residents of Alberta and are expected to meet in-province applications criteria.

You should be aware that UofC might ask you to provide proof of your residency status, so make sure you have some supporting documents, i.e. a high school transcript, payment stubs, etc. They may ask for several documents, so it is important that you are clear about your status. Remember, when in doubt – reach out to admissions to clarify your status. If you knowingly try to misrepresent your residency, it might be red-flagged during the application review.

Available Programs

MD

Cumming School of Medicine has a three-year MD program. As I mentioned above, the program gives preference to Alberta applicants, who make up 85% of matriculants. Cumming School of Medicine receives more than 1200 applications from in-province students, so the competition is fierce. For in-province applicants, the minimum GPA requirement is 3.20. For out-of-province applicants, the GPA cut-off is 3.80. Out-of-province applicants must score at least 128 on their CARS to be eligible to apply to the MD program, while in-province candidates do not have a CARS minimum to apply.

Bachelor of Community Rehabilitation (BCR)

Community Rehabilitation and Disability Studies examines the economic, social, and political forces affect the marginalize people. During the course of your studies, much of your learning will occur while actively working on problems in class and through practical supervised field education. You’ll learn to design, deliver and evaluate community-based support services and how to form alliances that promote full participation in the community. Courses in this program include: Disability in Theory and Everyday Life, Introduction to Community Rehabilitation, The Organization and Diversity of Life, Introduction to Disability Studies.

Leaders in Medicine

The Leader in Medicine (LiM) joint degree program offers students the opportunity to pursue graduate studies (Master’s, PhD or MBA) in conjunction with the medical program (MD). The goal of this joint program is to train highly motivated students to become the future leaders of clinical and investigative medicine. The LiM Affiliate program is designed to allow students enrolled in medical school, who may have already completed a graduate degree or who were accepted into medical school without a graduate degree but have a strong interest in research, to participate in the program if interested in both the clinical and research part of medicine.

Pathways to Medicine

The Cumming School of Medicine offers a Pathways to Medicine, which includes a scholarship and guaranteed admission to the MD program upon completion of the undergraduate degree, provided specific conditions are met. Eligibility for the Pathways to Medicine program is restricted to individuals from low-income backgrounds, with a particular focus on rural and indigenous students. Admission to the MD program is conditional upon the following:

• Maintenance of an overall GPA of 3.40 or greater over the course of their undergraduate studies.
• Achievement of the minimum MCAT score required of regular applicants at the time of application, if such minimums are in place at the time.
• Completion of the application process in the same manner as regular applicants with a score on the file review and the interview above the twentieth percentile.

Academic Curriculum

Tuition and Other Costs

Annual tuition for the MD program is CAD$16,063.02. Additionally, you will be paying around CAD$5,161 for textbooks and supplies each year. Other program fees will cost around CAD$1,240.46 annually; these include your U-Pass, athletics, student union fees, and so on. A one-bedroom apartment in Calgary will rent for around $1,200. Additionally, you will be paying around $450 for food per month if you cook your meals at home. Although a U-Pass is included in your tuition fees, you might want to use a car during your 3rd- and 4th-year clerkships to travel to and from your rotations. Gas, insurance, maintenance, and parking will cost you around $600 per month. Don’t forget the travel costs associated with out-of-Calgary and out-of-province electives you will be taking in your clerkship years. You should also keep in mind expenses related to CaRMS and residency interviews in your final year of medical school. If you want to learn more about how much medical school costs, make sure to read our blog.

Funding Opportunities

The University of Calgary offers both competitive and nominated awards and bursaries to medical students enrolled in the MD program. Please visit this website to check out their awards, medical school scholarships and bursaries, information for eligibility, how to apply, and deadlines. You will need to apply through the myUofC portal. The deadline for Medicine Bursaries is August 10 and for medical Elective Awards, the deadline is April 1 of each calendar year. You can apply to the Faculty of Medicine Bursaries (ranging from $400-$8,000, average $2000-$3000) by completing one single application.

Differential Tuition Bursary

To be eligible, you must be paying the differential tuition fee to the Cumming School of Medicine for the academic year in which the Differential Tuition Bursary is awarded. You must also provide the Student Awards Office with proof of your outstanding government student loan debt (Federal/Provincial) to date. 

Cumming School of Medicine Special Bursaries

To receive a Special Bursary, you must be experiencing a financial hardship which has put you at serious risk of withdrawing from the MD program. You must also be paying the differential tuition fee to the Cumming School of Medicine for the academic year in which the Special Bursary is awarded.

You can complete the “Medicine Special Bursaries” questionnaire in the Cumming School of Medicine Bursaries application. The Cumming School of Medicine will contact you in late August if more information is required.

Professional Student Line of Credit

Medical school tuition is not cheap, but there are external funding opportunities you can access to help you cover the costs. Canadian banks provide students with a professional line of credit, often in the range of $300,000 or more. The difference between a government student loan and a bank line of credit is that with a line of credit, interest charges are immediately calculated on any funds that you use. Keep in mind that many banks will advance funds based on individual credit ratings and requirements. So, check out the websites of the different banks and make sure that the bank you choose is giving you the best option.

Application Timeline

Don't forget to check the official school website for the most up-to-date medical school application timeline.

Application Process

You will use an online application called UCAN to apply to the Cumming School of Medicine. You must use the Google Chrome browser for the optimal functionality of the system. The application fee is CAD$150 and non-refundable. You must use a MasterCard or Visa credit card to pay your fee.

Returning applicants should already have a UCAN account that they can use for their application. As a returning applicant, you must select the "Re-Apply Applicant" tab to fill out your information. You must re-enter all the pertinent information and re-send all documentation because your information from the last time you applied is not kept on file. If you’re a new applicant, you will be required to set up a new username and password. Once validated, your file will be set up and you can begin filling out your application.

Selection Factors

Coursework and Prerequisites

Applicants to the Cumming School of Medicine can choose to do their undergraduate degree in any discipline they prefer. As with other medical schools, you might consider taking science and non-science courses to prepare you for the study of medicine and your MCAT. While the UofC does not identify strict medical school prerequisites, they give a comprehensive list of courses they recommend applicants to pursue in their undergraduate career. You are encouraged to take science courses that would introduce you to basic scientific topics, such as:

• Introductory Biology
• Inorganic Chemistry
• Organic Chemistry
• Introductory Physics
• Anatomy
• Biochemistry
• Genetics
• Molecular Biology
• Physiology
• Pharmacology

You are also encouraged to take social science classes such as sociology, psychology, anthropology, indigenous studies, philosophy and ethics, women's and gender studies, and literature. Statistics, population health studies, and scientific writing and foundations of scientific inquiry can also assist you in developing the skills required of medical professionals.

To be eligible to apply, you must complete at least two full-time years of university education in an MD-PhD granting institution or complete two years of full-time post-secondary studies that are fully transferable to an MD-PhD granting institution. An academic year is considered full-time if you get at least 24 credits from September through April and are assigned grades for at least 18 credits, i.e. not pass/fail courses. Your two full-time academic years can be completed at a non-MD-PhD school if there are 24 credits in transferable courses per year.

Full-time coursework does not include continuing education or extension certificates. There are times when UofC may admit full-time study over a consecutive period of 8 months outside of the September-April period, but this is done on a case-by-case basis. A co-op program will be recognized if one semester involves coursework (at least 12 graded credits) and the other semester is a co-op placement.

Remember, the admissions committee can always ask for clarifications about, decline, or place conditions on your coursework if something is unclear. If you’re not sure whether your coursework qualifies as full-time, make sure to reach out to the admissions office.

Transcripts

You must provide official transcripts (1 copy only) from every post-secondary institution (college, CEGEP, technical school, university, junior college, or graduate school) you have attended, including foreign institutions. Transcripts from exchange or abroad programs must be submitted even if you only took one course and even if that course and grade appear on another of your transcripts.

If you have attended a post-secondary institution outside of Canada and the US for more than one semester, you must have your foreign transcripts evaluated by World Education Services (WES). International Baccalaureate (IM) and Advanced Placement (AP) courses are not considered post-secondary, so do not send these transcripts. For transcripts to be considered official, they must be sent directly from the Registrar’s Office of your home institutions to Cumming School of Medicine admissions office. They must have the school’s seal and bear the appropriate signature. Personal copies of transcripts or transcripts with opened envelopes are not admitted. UofC does not accept faxed or electronic transcripts. Failure to submit even one transcript will result in the termination of your application, so try to get your transcripts in early! It would be wise to take care of your transcripts in July of the application year before the registrar's offices get busy with the upcoming school year. The earlier you request the transcripts to be sent to the UofC, the less stressful your application process will be. All transcripts must be sent to the following address:

The Office of MD Admissions

Cumming School of Medicine

G212—3330 Hospital Drive

NW Calgary, AB T2N 4N1

Note: Do not send your transcripts to the Registrar's Office of the University of Calgary. You must make sure to indicate the MD admissions address on the envelope.

GPA and MCAT

For in-province applicants, the minimum medical school GPA requirement is 3.20. For out-of-province applicants, the GPA cut-off is 3.80. Be mindful that UofC does not round your GPA, i.e. if your GPA is 3.79, you do not meet the criteria. In addition to the GPA minimum, out-of-province applicants must score at least 128 in the MCAT CARS section to be eligible for file review by the admissions committee.

For the UofC to calculate your GPA, you must have a minimum of 39 units/credits associated with a numerical or letter grade. Your GPA will be calculated using full-time undergraduate years (minimum 24 units/credits) completed at or transferable to an MD-PhD-granting institution of which 18 units or more have numerical or letter grades assigned between September and April. This means that spring and summer semesters are not considered for GPA calculation. Part-time periods of study are also not considered. If you have completed or will complete your undergraduate degree before you begin the MD program, your lowest GPA year will be removed from the calculation.

If you are planning to complete or have already completed a graduate degree before matriculation into the MD program, the graduate degree will be included in the GPA calculation as a single full-time undergraduate year. However, for this to apply, each year must be associated with a minimum of 18 units of coursework associated with a numerical or letter grade.

Beware, you will need to indicate in your UCAN application if you have already completed your degree or whether you anticipate graduating before matriculation into the MD program. The admissions office reserves the right to recalculate your GPA once your final grades are received. They may re-evaluate and possibly retract your offer of admission if your final grades hurt your cumulative GPA. You must complete your degree by June 30th of the year of entrance to matriculate into the MD program.

Additionally, applicants with long academic records have the option to exclude academic work that is greater than 10 years old. This is done with an understanding that in some cases, early academic performance in university is not indicative of the applicant’s current performance or potential. Therefore, if you would like to exclude your early academic performance form the GPA calculation, you can choose to do so when you fill out your UCAN application. Keep in mind, you cannot elect to eliminate some courses and not others – this works as an “all or nothing” function. Remember, even though these will not be used in your GPA calculation, you must still enter all your coursework and grades into UCAN.

GPA counts for 20% of your application assessment:

Your MCAT must be written by the fall of the year of application. Your scores must be released to the Cumming School of Medicine before the application deadline, i.e. October 1st of the application cycle. UofC will not consider an MCAT score received longer than five years ago. Your MCAT CARS section accounts for 10% of your application assessment, so doing well on your MCAT is vital. As I mentioned above, Non-Albertan applicants must score at least 128 on their CARS to be eligible to apply to the MD program. Albertan candidates do not have a CARS minimum to apply. Whether you are an in- or out-of-province applicant, your best CARS score will be selected automatically for use in the file review process.

MCAT CARS section counts for 10% of your application assessment:

You do not need to enter your MCAT score directly into UCAN. It can be automatically downloaded from the AAMC by the MD office as long as you make sure to release your MCAT score specifically to the University of Calgary and specifically during your chosen application cycle, i.e. if you wrote the MCAT last year and are applying the year, you must release your scores during this application cycle before October. This means that you must contact the AAMC to release your MCAT score to UofC. If you're worried about that your MCAT can affect your chances of acceptance, check out a list of medical schools that do not require MCAT.

Find out what is a good MCAT score from our video:

Employment History

You are required to provide a complete list of all your paid employment experiences. Note, all your paid positions need to be included, so do not disregard your early or short-term jobs. These experiences teach you valuable lessons and build character, so don’t think of them as too trivial for this application. For each job, you are asked to provide a descriptive title, i.e. waiter, math tutor, lifeguard, the duration, and approximate number of hours per week. You do not need to provide a detailed description of your role. If the hours worked were inconstant, consider giving a range. Additionally, you must provide the name and professional contact information of a verifier who can attest to the duration and extent of your employment. This is usually either the employer or direct supervisor. A co-worker is not considered an appropriate verifier.

Publications and Awards

You do not need to submit copies of your publications but should be prepared to present a copy if requested. The following categories of publications can be entered in this section:

1. Peer-reviewed academic publications.

2. Published abstracts resulting from oral or poster presentations at national or international meetings.

3. Non-peer-reviewed academic or non-academic publications.

4. Presentations (oral and/or poster at regional, national, or international meetings).

You may also include published prose or poetry, but not articles written for student newspapers, newsletters, or brochures. Local or regional presentations at lab meetings, academic half days, or unsanctioned conferences should not be entered. You should familiarize yourself with the expected scholarly format of providing each entrance. Make sure to visit the UofC website to learn more.

As part of your UCAN application, you will need to enter a list of awards you consider significant. They should be listed by name and you should be prepared to demonstrate proof of the award upon request.

Top 10 Experiences

In this part of the application, the admissions committee is looking to get a sense of your personality and life experiences. Remember, you are not required to write a personal statement, so this is the only glimpse at your personality the adcoms will get. Although you already provide some background information about your education and employment in other parts of the application, the top 10 experiences you will choose to include will reveal what kind of values, skills, and experiences you can bring to the study of medicine.

Since you have a limited amount of entries, make sure to be selective about what you include and reflect on your experiences with the CanMEDS roles in mind. Choose activities or experiences you feel are important in your personal and professional development. These can be extracurriculars for medical school, like employment, volunteer, academic, research, or private events that influenced your life. For each experience or activity, you must identify a title, i.e. sports team, working in a shelter, ballet school, etc., and provide a detailed description of the activity and a statement regarding why you chose these experiences as one of your top 10.

If experiences you include are related to employment, volunteering, or education, you must provide a verifier who can attest to the nature of the experience and its duration. It is highly recommended that the verifier has an email associated with the organization/institution included in your description of the experience. Personal emails, i.e. Gmail, Yahoo, etc., will not be accepted. If you cannot provide a verifier, you should check the box indicating this and be ready to provide more details if required by the admissions committee. If possible, try to provide the number of hours spent in each activity included in the Top 10. Of course, you do not need to provide any such details in the descriptions of life events or personal struggles, so leave these sections blank or enter “Not Applicable.”

Remember, the experiences you choose to include in your Top 10 might have been included in other parts of your application, like publications, awards, or employment. This means that these experiences will be in your application twice and this is normal. So, if a job, award, or a publication is included in your Top 10 Experiences section, it must also be entered in their appropriate “other” section.

Examples

History of Eastern Europe

Verifier: Prof. Albert Hunt

Contact: [email protected]

The History of Eastern Europe proved to be an unforgettable experience for me that caused me to think deeply about humanity.

Prof. Hunt’s teaching style bordered on storytelling, and he discussed the myths and legends along with the history of the region. I loved learning about other cultures because I developed a sense of empathy for others through learning their culture – people I haven’t even met!

That sense of empathy is my biggest takeaway, and I want nothing more than to connect with people and understand them. I believe that this will be a great asset in the medical profession.

Running

I run most days. I love the feeling of getting experiencing the natural world through exertion and speed.

When I started running, it was incredibly difficult, and I was winded before one kilometer. As I improved, I decided to enter competitions, but I never had as much fun competing as I did just training for the run.

My favorite way to compete is against myself. “Personal best” is the best feeling in the world. I managed to hit a 5k run in 35 minutes this summer, and I am thrilled. I pushed myself and beat my previous fastest time by forty seconds. 

Running gives me a stress outlet essential for studying hard, but it also has made me more patient with myself, and taught me how to set goals and accomplish those goals. It has also taught me that I love healthy competition for self-betterment.

My Uncle Kurt

I loved my Uncle Kurt very much. He was a pilot, and he was going to take me up. He never got the chance.

Uncle Kurt was with the air force, and he was doing practice maneuvers when something went wrong. Apparently one of his gauges malfunctioned, and he flew a little too close to the plane next to him.

We heard about his death later that day, and I am still recovering from it. Uncle Kurt used to talk to me about dreams. He had the perfect metaphor, in his world of horizons and sky’s-the-limit. In many ways, I owe my ambition to my uncle.

I would never have applied to medical school without Uncle Kurt. His ambition to “fly high” inspired me. He pursued his dreams, even in the face of danger, and I find that encouraging as well. I also think it’s important for a physician to understand sacrificing of oneself for the sake of others. I like to think Uncle Kurt taught me that, as well.

Popping the Question

It was the summer I graduated and I was out for a walk with my girlfriend. We were just strolling around almost aimlessly. She was effortless and casual, I was tense and nervous because I was fingering the ring the whole time.

We were looking out over the city at night. It felt like the perfect moment and I asked, and she said yes.

There is nothing worth having that carries zero risk, and the things that make us the most nervous are the best in the world. My relationship is the best example of this, but this is a life philosophy of mine that I believe in fully.

Sending in this application makes me nervous as well, but I know the future I want, and I have all the support I need from the girl who said yes. I won’t let risk or nerves hold me back, not in a thrillseeking way, but in a way where I can manage stress, focus on my goals, and move forward with my dreams.

Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity

Verifier: Max Smith, supervisor

Contact: [email protected]

100 hours/year

Every summer, I go with Habitat for Humanity to build houses for people who do not have a place to live.

Imagine some of the hottest weather you’ve ever experienced, and the afternoon we were doing the shingles was a little hotter than that, sitting up on the roof with nowhere to hide.

But I was part of a great team, working for a great cause. I always enjoy myself while putting up houses for those who have a need for shelter and home.

The job has taught me a lot, in terms of skillsets – like shingling, or rudimentary carpentry skills – and in terms of character building, particularly patience and perseverance. It takes time to put up a house.

This has influenced me in two ways. First, because my volunteer hours made me realize I wanted to help people, and led me to my decision to enter medicine.

Second, because I learned the perseverance necessary to pursue a tough goal like medical school.

Data-Entry and Summary

Verifier: Ms. Lauren Hsu

Contact: [email protected]

I work full-time (40 hours/week) for a data analytics company. We handle information from surveys and other studies that are used by political organizations, think tanks, news outlets, and other places that are committed to understanding the world we live in.

My role is mostly crunching numbers. Information comes in, needs organizing into columns, tables, graphs, charts, and summaries. That’s me; I do that.

I can’t tell you that my work is thrilling, but I do feel that it is important. We are living in a world that is swimming in information, but thirsting for truth, and I love that I get to work for a company that promotes and spreads true, factual, empirical data and information.

I am hoping to become the kind of physician who engages with research and cutting-edge advancement, and my lab experiences have taught me how to deal with data, collect information, and use that knowledge to arrive at understandings about the world.

The Semester Abroad             

My school gave students the option to study abroad for a semester, and I wound up heading off to the University of Edinburgh. I thought this would be a good choice because there would be no language barrier. Clearly, I had never experienced a thick, Scottish brogue before.

Culture shock was wonderful in retrospect. The food is very different, and eating out is much more expensive, for example. I grew as a person more in that one semester than in the rest of my schooling. I discovered firsthand how limiting my perspectives could be, just from not knowing about another country firsthand.

I decided that expanding my cultural palette would be my mission. So not only did I get to experience the university, but I made it a point to visit the pubs, the out of the way places, the people who didn’t think like I did.

In the medical field, I will need to relate to patients from all walks of life, and I will need to keep my mind open to new ideas. I believe that my empathy and my open-mindedness have both been boosted by my time abroad.

Valedictorian

Verification: official school transcript

When I heard that I would be the class valedictorian, I was as surprised as I was happy. I wish I could tell you that I was perfectly humble, but I was thrilled. It’s not that I was bragging, proud, or vain about it, but I had worked incredibly hard in my last years of school, and I felt validated.

Then came the speech, and I experienced that fear of public speaking that so many people encounter. I went to the drama department of the school and asked if I could get a little help. The department head said he’d give me some tips.

I spent time learning calming breathing techniques and focusing exercises used by actors, and these helped a lot.

Doctors are required to communicate directly in very difficult circumstances, and I know that I will use these techniques again as I speak with patients.

I learned that even a reward can be hard work, but that every experience is worth what you put into it. In fact, that’s what I used as the subject of my speech.

Scoring Low on the MCAT

497 stared at me from the page, my heart hit my shows, and all I could think about was how I didn’t know why I procrastinated for so long.

I was miserable all the next day, feeling like my future had become anchored forever, weighted down by that low MCAT score 497. Worse, I knew it was my fault.

Then I realized that if it was my fault I did poorly, I could be the cause of a great result as well. I booked my next MCAT that day.

What had my study habits been? I knew they needed fixing. When I studied, I was fine, but I was easily distracted and put off my times. So I set iron-clad blocks of time to study and used an alarm on a calendar app to strengthen my “no excuses” policy.

From that moment onward, I was the most efficient student of all time. I continue to use those habits I developed, and studying apps. I am far more productive now than ever, and my new number reads 512. It was my most efficient failure ever.

A Combination Family

My mom gets mistaken for my babysitter a lot, which is really frustrating. We come from a mixed-race family, and my skin is a lot lighter than hers. This has given me a unique perspective of the world.

One time, when I was about twelve, it happened in a grocery store checkout line, and somebody – rudely – started asking mom about who’s kids we were, and I exploded. I was so angry and so tired of it, and I started chewing this person out.

Mom told me that, as hard as this is, we’re lucky because we get to be the change that the world needs. We get to tell people about our great, unique, combination family. This isn’t a problem, it’s an opportunity.

I think about that all the time. My mom could have internalized everything, but she’s the better person. I am trying to be more like her all the time.

I believe my desire to be a healer comes from my mom – I want to take problems and heal them and make these wounds better. Problems are opportunities, and healing starts where harm has begun.

What makes a good example and a bad one?

A good example is one that shows your unique self, and connects that unique person to the school to which you are applying – Cumming School of Medicine.

Remember to show, not tell, your qualities and achievements.

Highlight school values.

Don’t be afraid to show weakness, as long as you address how you are growing out of those weaknesses and working to being a better person.

Use clear, precise language; you don’t want to ramble!

Reference Letters

You will be required to submit names and contact information of three recommenders. You will direct UCAN to send a link to the reference letter form to each of your referees. It is highly advised that your referees use professional email addresses whenever possible. Medical school recommendation letters from referees without a professional email, i.e. Gmail, Yahoo, and the like, will undergo an additional layer of verification.

Cumming School of Medicine has three recommendation letter forms that contain similar questions, but each of the three forms is unique. Each form is designed to obtain information about one of your particular attributes. The three forms focus on the following skills and are identified in the following way in UCAN:

• Organizational, management, and leadership skills
• Commitment to communities and advocacy
• Interpersonal behaviors and collaboration

You should choose referees who can speak to these attributes specifically. If you wish to change your reference, you can deactivate the old reference in UCAN and select a new recipient. It is not possible to have more than one active referee for each reference form and once made inactive, a referee cannot be re-activated.

Make sure to choose referees who can speak to your candidacy specifically. Some organizations offer to provide standardized form letters, but this will not be accepted by UofC. It is your responsibility to ensure that the references are received by the deadline indicated by the school.

Pre-Interview Application Assessment

The University of Calgary medical school has an assessment equation to evaluate each complete application. The assessment includes objective and subjective evaluation of academic and non-academic skills and accomplishments. Scores are assigned in the following way:

Academic Attributes:

GPA 20%

MCAT CARS 10%

Global Assessment of Academic Merit 10%

Intellectual curiosity, scholarship, and research 10%

Non-academic attributes:

Evidence of communication skills 10%

Evidence of excellent interpersonal skills and collaboration 10%

Evidence of maturity, insight, and resilience 10%

Evidence of commitment to communities and advocacy on behalf of others 10%

Evidence of organizational, management, and leadership skills 10%

Your file will be reviewed holistically. Your extracurricular activities and letters of reference are not assigned any specific scores, but they still inform the scoring in multiple areas that have assigned scores, i.e. evidence of commitment to communities and advocacy on behalf of others, evidence of organizational, management, and leadership skills, etc.

Interview Format

At UofC, interviews take the form of Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI) either live or virtual. The number and type of stations varies each year. The interviews are typically conducted in February and March. Your MMI score makes up 50% of your final ranking. Firstly, you should know how to prepare for med school interview. To get ready, make sure you know how to prepare for your MMI and practice with our MMI questions. You should also go over common medical school interview questions. 

Your MMI performance counts for 50% of your final ranking!

Acceptance and Waitlist Information

Offers of admission will be made in mid-May via email. The status tab on UCAN will also allow you to see whether or not you have received an offer. A limited number of applicants who are not initially offered admission will be placed on a waitlist. The first round of waitlist offers will be made on or before June 1. Subsequent positions will be offered to the applicants at the top of the waitlist until all positions have been filled. Due to last minute changes in the plans of applicants, it has been our experience that we continue to offer a very small number of positions into late June. Waitlisted applicants will be notified when the class has been filled. Unsuccessful applicants should note that we will not give specific feedback or advice on the unsuccessful application, although we are happy to answer general questions regarding the application process. If you want to learn how to get off a medical school waitlist, make sure to read our blog.

Contact Information

Admissions website

Admissions email: [email protected]

FAQs

To your success,

Your friends at BeMo

BeMo Academic Consulting

Disclaimer: BeMo does not endorse or affiliate with any universities, colleges, or official test administrators. The content has been developed based on the most recent publicly available data provided from the official university website. However, you should always check the statistics/requirements with the official school website for the most up to date information. You are responsible for your own results. 

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