McGill Medical School Requirements and Acceptance Rate

The Mcgill University Faculty of Medicine is one of 17 medical schools in Canada as well as the oldest medical school in Canada.

In 2021, the McGill medical school acceptance rate was 5.81%. Of the 3,695 undergraduate students that applied, only 215 were admitted into the program. However, the acceptance rate for applicants who applied from outside of Quebec is significantly smaller at 0.9%. Of the 1,325 applicants who applied, 12 were admitted to the program.

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

Academic

Pre-requisite courses
Minimum number of years of undergraduate study required
GPA

Non-Academic

Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)
CASPer Test
CV and Verifiers
Letter of Reference
Interview

McGill Medical School Requirements: Prerequisite Courses

Most students applying to the McGill Medical School must have completed at least 4 years (120 credits) of full-time undergraduate study by the proposed year of entry. Quebec residents can apply after a 3-years CEGEP diploma. In addition to this, the following prerequisite courses must be taken during your undergraduate degree

Prerequisite Course	Credits Required
Biology	6 units
General Chemistry	6 units
Physics	6 units
Organic Chemistry	3 units

McGill Med Requirements: GPA Calculation and Requirements

McGill has a bias towards in-province (IP) applicants over out-of-province (OOP) applicants. This is because the university wants students who graduate from their program to serve the communities they studied in. Up to 11 seats in the program are given to OOP applicants and up to 2 seats are given to international applicants. As a result admission requirements are more competitive for OOP applicants versus IP applicants.

Minimum GPA to Apply	Average GPA of accepted applicants (IP)	Average GPA of accepted applicants (OOP)	Lowest GPA Admitted
NR	3.91	3.99	NR

The McGill Medical School will take an overall average of all courses taken during your undergraduate career.

The Winter 2020 term will be excluded from these calculations and 2019-2020 full-year courses are not counted in the GPA. Courses for which a “Pass” or “Credit” grade is assigned are counted for credit, but will not be included in the GPA calculation.

McGill Medical School Requirements: MCAT and CASPer

MCAT and CASPer Overview:

CASPer Required	MCAT Required	MCAT Scores Considered
✓	X	Highest Score

MCAT Admission Score Statistics:

	C/P Score	CARS Score	B/B Score	P/S Score
Minimum Score Admitted	NR	NR	NR	NR
Average Score Accepted	NR	NR	NR	NR

CASPer Test: The Canadian Professional Health Sciences test must be taken by November of the year of application submission. Only the 90-minute situational judgement test is required. The language does not need to be the same as the one you used to submit your application or the one you prefer for interviews. The CASPer snapshot will not be taken into consideration by the admissions committee.

Medical College Admission Test: The MCAT is not required by the admissions committee. It is only mandatory for students who are applying using an undergraduate degree from a non-Canadian university. Only your highest total MCAT score from the past 5 years will be considered. 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.

McGill CV and Verifiers

Applicants will be required to complete a curriculum vitae to be considered for admission. You will be given the opportunity to highlight 2 pages worth of activities in the following categories:

Education & Training: Certificates, Licenses, and Memberships
Work Experience: Both traditional and non-traditional work (e.g. family caregiving, volunteer employment) can be listed in this category.
Service to the Community: A wide range of structured or unstructured activities can be included here
Research & Publications: Publications may be listed in Vancouver or APA citation format. Examples of activities commonly included are research assistantships or internships as well as supervised projects, posters, presentations or publications.
Awards & Distinctions: If you choose to include this section, it is recommended that you not list more than approximately 5 awards. Consider which awards or distinctions are the most meaningful to you in demonstrating your competencies.
Extra-Curricular Activities, Skills & Hobbies: Note the difference between Extra-Curricular Activities and Skills and Hobbies: Extra-Curricular activities are usually organized, structured activities run by a school, club, or non-profit organization.

You will be asked to provide the title, institution, description and start/end date of any activities you list.

Additionally, applicants are required to provide verifiers for all activities included in your application. They may be contacted to elaborate on or confirm that certain events you described took place.

McGill Medical School Reference Letters:

Two letters of references are only required for applicants applying to the combined MDCM & Ph.D. program. All other applicants do not require a letter of reference.

McGill Medical School Interview:

Mandatory	By Invitation	Number of Applicants Invited	Entering Class Size
✓	✓	673	215

Shortlisted candidates will be required to partake in an interview with the McGill admissions team. Invites to interviews will be made based on the following criteria:

Academic Context (aka GPA): 70%
CASPer: 20%
CV: 10%

The interview format will be that of an MMI. Invited applicants will rotate through 10 different interview stations that are either task-oriented, simulation/scenario-oriented, or discussion-oriented.

Stations are designed to evaluate the various abilities and skills that form the basis of the Physicianship curriculum component, which in turn references the CanMeds roles developed by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Applicants must indicate, at the time of application, if they wish to be interviewed in French or English (or if either language is fine).

If you are looking for interview practice check out our posts on both MMI Practice Questions and Standard Interview Practice Questions.

McGill Med Offers of Admission Decision:

McGill Medical School’s offers for admission will be solely on the results of the MMI interview process.

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: