Our holistic review process is designed to consider all experiences of the applicant, and we seek applicants with rich histories to ensure our matriculating class is reflective of the population it will ultimately serve.  It is vital that applicants demonstrate the academic aptitude to be successful in medical school, and a strong non-academic background is equally important in demonstrating an applicant’s readiness for a career in medicine. Applicants will be assessed based on the non-academic experiences included in the application. 

You should volunteer with a group or organization that you have a sincere interest in supporting; this may be the health industry or another organization in your community.

If you have personal connections to arranging these opportunities, you can pursue them to educate yourself on specific careers in medicine. Such opportunities are not required, and the Admissions Office does arrange them due to patient and physician privacy.

If you have limited volunteering and other extracurricular activities due to atypical obligations, you will be able to explain such in your application. Applicants are reviewed holistically in the context of their lived experience.

Yes. Learning opportunities in rural regions of the province are integrated throughout the Doctor of Medicine degree. For more information, please see the UGME website.

You should request your reference in the online application system at least 4 weeks prior to the deadline to provide sufficient time for referees to complete your request. The closer you get to the application deadline without officially requesting references in the application, the less time your referee has to respond. Many applicants often have incomplete applications due to failure to request reference letters in a timely manner from their referees.

Reference letters are due on or before the application deadline. References do not have to be completed in advance of submitting your application. References submitted in advance of applications will be held and then matched to the appropriate application when the application is submitted by the applicant.

You must submit two references, one of which must be academic (unless you have been granted an exemption for such, see Reference Letters).  You should seek references from people who can comment on your academic and professional attributes and know you well enough to add value to your application. Referees must satisfy the Reference Criteria on our website to be acceptable.