Applications high, success rates low: the stats tell the story

Plus, average GPA and test scores and which schools require the MCAT

September 16, 2010

Gaining admission to medical school is a competitive process. In the table below, Success Rate indicates the percentage of applicants who received at least one offer of admission. Note that success rates for in-province applicants are generally higher than for out-of-province, because most medical schools reserve nearly all of their seats for local students. The grade point average (GPA)—or R score in Quebec’s CEGEP system—shows the average for successful applicants. The medical college admission test (MCAT) is a standardized test required for admission at many faculties.


Alberta	1,149	156	29.4	9.9	16.7	3.8	10.71
UBC	1,809	254	22.1	8	0	3.71*	10.6
Calgary	1,410	145	29.7	12	50	3.61	10.51
Dalhousie	692	110	38.4†	13.7	54.5	3.7	10
Laval	1,816	164	21.4	10	12.8	R score 33.3 (CEGEP) R score 30.9 (university)	Not required Not required
Manitoba	948	106	35.9	5.7	0	4.16 (4.5 scale)	10.57
McGill (5-yr)	440	88	23.9	N/A	N/A	N/A	Not required
	1,024	164	33.7	5.3	11.5	3.8*	10.9
McMaster	4,733	181	6.5	2.8	2.7	3.89*	Not required
Memorial	704	67	30.8	5.7	29.4	3.8	10
Montréal (5-yr)	1,627	207	24.8	3.8	0	N/A	Not required
	690	71	12	6.7	0	N/A	Not required
Ottawa	3,269	145	7.2	3.8	0	3.87*	Not required
Northern Ontario**	1,892	58	4.3	1.7	0	3.72*	Not required
Queen’s††	2,200	95	8	7.2	0	N/A	N/A
Saskatchewan	591	84	35.9	7.6	0	89.3%*	9.64
Sherbrooke	1,892	204	20.4	30.6	1.3	N/A	Not required
Toronto	2,731	222	11.5	8.8	2	3.88	11
Western	1,803	147	12.9	4.1	5.9	N/A	N/A

Total Applicants

Total Admitted

Success Rate (%) In-Province

Success Rate (%) Rest of Canada

Success Rate (%)Inter-national

Average GPA(4.0 scale)

Average MCAT

(4-yr)

Statistics on applicants, admissions and success rates are for 2008-2009. MCAT scores are for students entering in fall 2009. GPA scores are for students entering in 2010, except those flagged with an asterisk, which are from 2009. ††All figures for Queen’s are from 2006-2007. †Includes all Maritime provinces. **Located at Lakehead and Laurentian universities. Note: higher international success rates at some universities may be misleading, given that at some institutions the number includes students who applied for positions available under contract with foreign governments or educational institutions.

Source: Office of Research and Information Services, Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada; MCAT scores obtained directly from Canadian medical schools.

Tags: