Sherbrooke Medical School: How to Get In

Mission Statement

“Improve health and well-being of people and populations through education, research, clinical services, and knowledge transfer.”

A short statement like this lets you focus on a few, key elements of Sherbrooke’s mission. Let’s unpack this a bit.

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“Health and well-being” is a baseline for medical institutions, and here is Sherbrooke essentially saying that they are dedicated to medicine. However, “people and populations” is interesting. Populations means that Sherbrooke is not just interested in microcosms; they don’t want to improve health on an individual level, but system wide. This means that you should be community-conscious and indicate, if possible, a desire to be active on national and international levels. You should also emphasize diversity here. “Populations” can refer to groups of people within larger communities, so if you have a specific interest in ensuring that medical research and development is inclusive, this is a good value to latch onto.

Notably, Sherbrooke also says they value research. Research that you have participated in and can be included on your research resume will be beneficial to your application. Do you have clinical experiences? Sherbrooke mentions clinical services in their mission statement.

“Education” and “knowledge transfer” are not the same thing. While “education” might simply refer to the school itself and educating students, “knowledge transfer” is the sharing or disseminating of knowledge. This infers that you will be expected to fit into a community that acquires and imparts their knowledge collectively: you have been educated, now educate others. Help your fellow students and even your teachers and patients. Remember the valuable knowledge you bring to the table. Also, if you have education experiences, such as teaching, tutoring, or mentoring, in your background, make sure they are on your medical school resume.

Admissions Statistics

Overall Admission Rate: 8.1%

Seats Reserved for Québec Students: 83%

Language Requirement: French

Average GPA (accepted): not announced

Average MCAT (accepted): MCAT is not used.

CASPer: Sherbrooke is one of the medical schools that require CASPer for all incoming students, except First Nations and Inuit.

Eligibility

Out-of-Province: Yes

International: Yes

Any student is welcome to study at Sherbrooke, but it is important to note that Sherbrooke only teaches in French. So, you can apply from Québec, any other province in Canada, the US, or further abroad internationally, but only if you can communicate in French.

A helpful tip for international students is that the university admissions committee establishes equivalence for your degrees.

The vast majority of available spaces at Sherbrooke are reserved for Québec residents (80%); however, a large number of seats are also reserved for Canadian students who reside in the Maritime provinces (12%), these being New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, leaving only very few spaces reserved for other Canadian, US, and international French-speaking students.

If you are First Nations or Inuit, there are 8 slots available through the Québec First Nations and Inuit Physician Training Program. This program requires the candidate to have an R score (CRC) of 28 or more, be a Québec resident, and have First Nations or Inuit Status.

The Programme militaire d’études en médecine (PMEM) is a special program for Canadian Armed Forces members studying to become physicians. Spaces are set aside for applicants, and subsidies are available from the program. Identifying your military status in an email to Medical Admissions is necessary to apply. You must also notify military personnel Capt. Didier Edoukoi and Tina Lipcsey.

Selection Factors

MCAT

The MCAT is not used by Sherbrooke. However, Sherbrooke does use the CASPer test, which must be taken in French. It does not require the Snapshot extension, however.

GPA

GPA is not used by Sherbrooke, either. They use the R score (CRC) instead, which is similar to GPA but factors in a student’s performance relative to their group of peers. If you do not have an R score, your transcript will be “translated” by the admissions committee.

Coursework and Undergrad

To be eligible to study for your MD at Sherbrooke, you will need to fill one of two requirements:

1. Hold a DEC (Diploma of Collegial Studies) or DSS (Diploma in Health Sciences), or an equivalent diploma from outside of Québec.
2. Hold at least 90 university credits.

Either of these conditions must be met prior to the start of the academic year.

If you already hold a medical doctorate from Canada, the US, or another school in Québec, you are considered ineligible for application.

Prerequisites and Recommended Courses

Medical school prerequisites are common, and Sherbrooke medical school is no exception. These are courses that are required for admission.

Sherbrooke lists the following courses as their prerequisites.

It is expected that all courses will be taken at the post-secondary level, including equivalent courses taken by students outside of Québec.

Additionally, if you are not from Québec, you will need to prove your French language competency.

Personal statements, secondary essays, and letters of recommendation

Sherbrooke does not use personal statements, secondary essays, or letters of recommendation. This means that you will be relying primarily on your transcript to show your abilities and potential, at least until your interview.

Want to know the common application requirements for med schools? Check out this infographic:

Interview Format

The multiple mini interview (MMI) is used by Sherbrooke as its interview style, so it's wise to invest in some MMI prep. This format means you will be given multiple stations, each one lasting only a few minutes, to cover a wide variety of scenarios and questions to determine your efficacy as a physician.

MMI questions come in many different types. In addition to any scientific, medical, and academic knowledge you have, you should keep in mind your professionalism and the values of the school.

Sample Question:

Is it ethical for doctors to strike. If so, under what conditions?

Sample Answer:

I believe that health care professionals should not go on strike. While I do support unions and workers’ rights, I am also keenly aware of how important patients are and a strike or walkout could be extremely detrimental to patient health.

The only conditions under which a walkout would be possible would be, at most, a partial strike allowing doctors to maintain minimal health care that would adhere to the Hippocratic Oath’s maxim of “First, do no harm.” Assuming patients’ health would not deteriorate, a certain number of doctors might stage a walkout or perform a strike action, but it could not be an entire action.

Any strike actions would also need to be coordinated with other health care unions, such as nurses’ unions, to ensure that they would not be striking at the same time, which would also cause serious harm to patients.

So, while I agree in theory with striking, on a practical level, for health care workers, strikes are impossible unless they are only partial.

Acceptance and Waitlist Information

Applicants will receive an email offering them a place or a refusal. Each place that becomes available will then be offered to the next candidate according to their rank on the “list of excellence.” Thus, offers could be sent throughout the summer according to withdrawals until the start of the school year.

Application Timeline

Submission Dates

Submit before November 1^st or March 1^st.

CASPer results are due before October 25^th or February 23^rd. These dates are relative to the November and March submission dates. In other words, if you are submitting for November, your CASPer results are due before October 25^th.

Response Dates

You have a limited time to respond to your Sherbrooke acceptance. If you are accepted at Sherbrooke, depending on when you are accepted, you have a limited amount of time to reply.

In a recent year, these application response time frames were:

Tuition and Debt

In-province tuition: $12,285

Out-of-province tuition: $33,437

According to a recent AAMC report, most Sherbrooke graduates exit the school debt-free.

Scholarships and Financial Aid

Sherbrooke has several scholarships available which are specific to the medical program. They include excellence entrance scholarships, research grants, remote region scholarships, and academic excellence scholarships, such as the Stearns Family Scholarship, PH Desrosiers Scholarship, and Canadian Medical Association Foundation Scholarship. There are also financial aid grants available to students on the various campuses.

Residency Match Data

Sherbrooke is one of the medical schools with the best match rates. Their students received a match 90–95% of the time.

Where Can Graduates Practice?

Canadian medical school graduates can practice in the United States, but they are required to go through an additional process, including writing the USMLE Step 1 test and subsequent steps to do a residency. Information on the USMLE might not be covered by Sherbrooke’s program. International Medical Graduates (IMG) need to go through an observership program in the US, in addition to having the required visas.

Commonwealth countries, like Australia and the UK, will accept Canadian physicians. Obviously, immigration laws still apply, and some countries, like New Zealand, can be difficult to obtain immigration papers for, even if you are from another Commonwealth country.

Available Programs

MD Program

The four-year Doctor of Medicine degree aims to train students in how to act competently in typical professional situations (situations professionnelles types [SPT]), how to engage in community involvement activities, and how to reflect on their practice to better meet the challenges of medical practice.

Residency Programs

Sherbrooke offers numerous residency programs in internal medicine, family medicine, emergency medicine, and many other specialties. Some distinctive programs address sports medicine, senior care, and palliative care.

Fellowships

Current fellowships include interventional digestive endoscopy and intensive care.

Dual Degrees

In addition to their MD program, Sherbrooke offers an MD-PhD Program as well as an MD-MSc. Both programs allow students to use one of their internships to write their thesis, either the master’s thesis or doctoral thesis.

MD-MSc:

To be eligible for this program, you must apply to the master’s program as well. It is recommended to begin this application process at least 12 months prior to the start of the master’s degree. A delay in completing your MD must be expected – at least 6 months.

MD-PhD:

The entry requirements for this program involve having a master’s degree already, or else obtaining special authorization from the school. You must also obtain permission for an extended suspension of your MD studies (about two years).

Academic Curriculum

The program is arranged in trimesters. Instruction is done in small groups, which focuses on teamwork and lets students receive more hands-on learning.

The program is system integrated. Clerkship is done via a variety of health care institutions in all kinds of areas: urban, suburban, and rural and remote areas. Students will spend one-third of their clerkships in community-based settings.

Primary care is the focus of the curriculum; this is the specialty chosen by 60–65% of graduates. There is a 7-week rotation in Family Medicine which is required of all students.

Location

Sherbrooke University is located in the city of Sherbrooke in southern Québec, Canada, but is comprised of four campuses altogether, including Saguenay, Montérégie, and Moncton, New Brunswick.

Affiliated Hospitals and Health Care Centres

• Sherbrooke University Hospital (Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke [CHUS])
• CSSS-IUGS
• Charles-Le Moyne Hospital
• Agence de la Santé et des services sociaux de l’Estrie
• Agence de la santé et des services sociaux de la Montérégie
• Direction de la santé publique de la Montérégie

Contact Information

Official Admissions Office Website

Detailed Contact Information Web Page

Email: mailto:[email protected]

Address:

Office Z7-1301

University of Sherbrooke

3001, 12th Avenue North Sherbrooke (Québec) J1H 5N4

Telephone:

Regular: 819 821-7686

Toll free: 1 800 267-8337

FAQs

To your success,

Your friends at BeMo

BeMo Academic Consulting

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