Dalhousie Medical School Requirements and Acceptance Rate

The Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine is one of 17 medical schools in Canada. It is also one of the smaller medical schools in Canada admitting 132 students annually.

In 2021, the Dalhousie medical school acceptance rate was 7.43%. Of the 1,777undergraduate students that applied, only 132 were admitted into the program. However, the acceptance rate for applicants who applied from non-maritime applicants is significantly smaller at 0.88%. Of the 1,132 applicants who applied, 10 were admitted to the program.

The Dalhousie medical school undergraduate requirements, including admission statistics, are categorized below in the priority of what an applicant must submit to be considered:

Academic

  1. Pre-requisite courses
  2. Minimum number of years of undergraduate study required
  3. GPA

Non-Academic 

  1. Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)
  2. CASPer Test
  3. Supplementary Application/ Personal Statement
  4. Interview

Dalhousie Medical School Requirements: Prerequisite Courses

All students applying to Dalhousie Medical School must have completed at least 3 years (90 credits) of undergraduate study by the proposed year of entry. Their degree must be completed or in progress to be completed by the year of entry. There are no full course load requirements. Successful applicants who are enrolled in an undergraduate program in progress at the time of application, and have submitted this degree for eligibility and GPA calculation, will receive an admission offer which is conditional upon the successful completion of their undergraduate program by Jul 31st of the year of entry into the medical program. Otherwise, there are no specific prerequisite courses required for this University.

Dal Med Requirements: GPA Calculation and Requirements

The Dalhousie medical school has a bias towards in-province (IP) and maritime applicants over out-or-province (OOP) applicants. Of the seats available 79 positions are reserved for Nova Scotia residents, 30 positions for New Brunswick residents, 6 positions for PEI residents and 9 positions for Canadian residents outside of the Maritime provinces. This is because the university wants students who graduate from their program to serve the communities they studied in. As a result admission requirements are less competitive for IP applicants versus OOP applicants.

Minimum GPA to Apply (Maritime)Minimum GPA to Apply (Non-Maritime) Average GPA of accepted applicantsLowest GPA Admitted
3.33.73.80Not Released

When calculating GPAs for admissions the 60 most recent credit hours (2 years of study) of graded courses from a completed or in-progress to be completed 90-120 credit baccalaureate degree will be used.

Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer term courses are eligible for GPA calculation, provided they contribute to the degree requirements. Pass/Fail and Credit/No Credit courses will not be included in the GPA calculation. This includes exchange programs and/or semesters abroad.

Dalhousie Medical School Requirements: MCAT and CASPer 

MCAT and CASPer Overview:

CASPer RequiredMCAT RequiredMCAT Scores Considered
✓✓NR

MCAT Admission Score Statistics:

C/P ScoreCARS ScoreB/B Score P/S Score
Minimum Score Considered123123123123
Average Score Accepted507 Total507 Total 507 Total507 Total

CASPer Test: The Canadian Professional Health Sciences test must be taken in August of the year of application submission. Only the 90-minute situational judgement test is required. The CASPer snapshot will not be taken into consideration by the admissions committee.

Medical College Admission Test: The MCAT must be written and submitted by August. Any test that is written within 5 years of the application deadline is valid for the application cycle. Minimum MCAT score cutoffs will be made based on the GPA of the applicant according to this formula. For those looking for MCAT prep courses, we recommend those offered by the Princeton Review. They are a reputable long standing company that offers a variety of different course options to meet individual needs.

Supplementary Application and Personal Statement

Applicants will be required to complete a supplemental application and personal statement through an application portal. The personal statement consists of 5-short answer questions designed to assess a variety of non-academic attributes. Questions may vary annually and responses are limited to 1700 characters. Applicants’ responses should
answer the question directly and provide specific examples, where applicable.

The supplemental application gives applicants the opportunity to list any activities, occurring during the past 5 years, that they believe provide additional information to support their application. Activities will be broken down into the following categories:

  • Extra Curricular Activity/Personal Interest
  • Volunteer Activity
  • Paid Employment and/or Work Training Experience
  • Awards, Research, Achievements

In each section, a maximum of 7 entries are permitted. In choosing activities to list, applicants should thoughtfully consider the relevance of each entry and how it relates to attributes that are applicable to the study of medicine (such as, but not limited to, intellectual curiosity, social values, personal maturity, communication skills, reliability, teamwork, motivation, initiative, leadership, etc.)

If a section contains 2 or fewer entries, you will be prompted to provide additional information (maximum 250 words) about any factors that may have limited ability or opportunities to participate in activities applicable to the category.

You will be required to provide verifiers for all activities included in your supplemental application. They may be contacted to elaborate on or confirm that certain events you described took place.

Dal Medical School Interview:

MandatoryBy InvitationNumber of Applicants InvitedEntering Class Size
✓✓300-400132

Shortlisted candidates will be required to partake in an interview with the Dalhousie admissions team, usually scheduled in the last week of November. When making interview invite decisions is determined by GPA eligibility, MCAT eligibility and CASPer. For non-Maritime applicants, interview selection is also determined by information regarding an applicant’s compelling reasons for choosing Dalhousie Medicine as their preferred choice. For the past few years, all maritime applicants that met minimum requirements were given an interview.

The interview format will be that of an MMI. Invited applicants will rotate through 10 different interview stations (and 2 rest stations). Each station will last approximately 8 minutes with a 2-minute transition between stations. The interview stations cover a range of scenarios with the goal of assessing the applicant’s motivation, compassion, ethics, teamwork, awareness of societal issues, critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills, among others. Stations may have discussion-based, problem-solving, or role-play scenarios. However, there will be no assessment of an applicant’s scientific knowledge.

If you are looking for interview practice check out our posts on both MMI Practice Questions and Standard Interview Practice Questions. Additionally, the Dalhousie medical school has some practice interview questions which can be found on their website here.

Dalhousie Med Offers of Admission Decision:

Dalhousie Medical School’s offers for admission will be based upon a mix of academic achievement, supplemental application, and results of the interview process. The exact formula for the decision-making process is provided below:

  • GPA: 15%
  • MCAT: 10%
  • Supplemental Application and Essay: 30%
  • Interview: 40%
  • Discretionary: 5%

Requirements for other Medical Schools in Canada:

If you would like an in-depth analysis of the medical school requirements for other universities in Canada click here. Or if you want information on a specific university click on any of the following links:

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