York University Medical School Requirements

Ontario’s healthcare landscape is set to undergo a significant transformation with the announcement of a new medical school at York University. This development comes as part of Premier Doug Ford’s broader strategy to address the critical shortage of family doctors in the province. As York University prepares to open its doors to aspiring medical professionals in 2028 and add to the existing 17 medical schools in Canada, prospective students are eager to learn more about the requirements for admission.

Although the exact requirements for York University’s medical school have still not yet been released, there are hints from their various update posts, in combination with current Canadian medical school requirements, that can give us an idea of what it might look like.

Academic

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

Non-Academic

Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)
CASPer Test
Supplementary Application
Letter of Reference
Interview

Prerequisite Courses

All medical schools in Canada require at least 3 years of undergraduate study to be completed before an applicant can matriculate into their school. Some even require 4 years of undergraduate study to be completed. However, current trends indicate a movement toward 3 years of undergraduate study. Combined with the accelerated nature of the York University program to produce family physicians, it is our guess that York University medical school will require three years of undergraduate study to apply

Most medical schools in Canada have little to no requirements for prerequisite courses, contrary to their American counterparts. This allows Canadian medical schools to have a wide depth and breadth of students from different backgrounds who become physicians. We expect York University to follow this trend and have no prerequisite course requirements.

GPA Calculation and Requirements

Most Ontario Medical Schools have no bias towards in-province (IP) over out-of-province (OOP) applicants. However, premier Doug Ford has stated that he intends for this medical school to prioritize “taking care of our students, our kids first.” This leads us to believe that there will be in-province bias for Ontario applicants. This is because the university wants students who graduate from their program to serve the communities they studied in.

Minimum GPA to Apply	Average Grade of accepted applicants	Lowest GPA Admitted
Unknown	Estimated 3.9 cGPA	Not Released

Cumulative GPA, or the total GPA of all years of study, being used as an admission factor has been the trend for all Canadian Universities. In fact, many universities have begun phasing out weighted GPAs from their admissions.

MCAT and CASPer

MCAT and CASPer Overview:

The CASPer test has become increasingly more heavily weighted at Canadian medical schools, while the MCAT has been rumoured to begin phasing out of the admission process at many schools. The best guest is that York University will require the CASPer but perhaps not the MCAT.

CASPer Required	MCAT Required	MCAT Scores Considered
Most Likely	Possibly	Unknown

MCAT Admission Score Statistics:

Typically, a high MCAT score is not required for most Canadian medical schools as GPA is the key metric in academic prowess, and a 50th percentile and above will be enough to gain admission to a school. If GPA is weighted competitively the CARS section is most likely to be weighted heavily.

	C/P Score	CARS Score	B/B Score	P/S Score
Minimum Score Admitted	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Average Score Accepted	Typically Low	Typical High	Typically Low	Typically Low

CASPer Test: The Canadian Professional Health Sciences test must be taken in August of the year of application submission. Both the 90-minute situational judgement test and the snapshot is required. The CASPer SnapShot is required within 10 days of completing the CASPer exam.

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. 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

Most medical schools in Canada require applicants to fill out a supplementary application. In Ontario universities, most applicants will be required to follow the OMSAS autobiographical sketches (ABS). The purpose of the ABS is to get a brief understanding of who the applicant is as a person and what they have learned from their experiences that would make them a better physician. York University will most likely look at all 32 activities submitted to the ABS, completed since the age of 16, in the following categories:

Employment
Volunteering
Extracuricular Activites
Awards/Accomplishments
Research
Other

Quality is more important than quantity in this section of your application.

You will be required to provide verifiers for all activities. They may be contacted.

Reference Letters:

Most Ontario universities require three letters of recommendation from applicants. Applicants are not allowed to use family members, friends/colleagues of family members, neighbours, or someone who may be perceived as their peer as a referee. Additionally, the references must meet the following criteria:

One academic/employment-related reference
One non-academic reference
One reference of your choosing

Your references will be asked the following questions:

Would this applicant make a good physician?
Rate the applicant on their communication skills
Rate the applicant on their problem-solving skills
Rate the applicant on their professionalism (e.g., commitment to ethical practice, standards of behaviour and accountability to others)
Rate the applicant on their empathy (e.g., demonstrating consideration of others’ perspectives)
Identify and comment on 1 area of improvement for the applicant
Share any other information you feel may be relevant to a medical school’s admissions committee.

Medical School Interview:

Mandatory	By Invitation	Number of Applicants Invited	Entering Class Size
Usually	Always	Unknown	Estimated: 240

Shortlisted candidates are required to interview at all Canadian medical schools. Interview format usually takes one of two forms:

Multiple Mini-Interview: During the MMI, applicants will move between interview “stations” in a circuit. This interview assesses the non-cognitive qualities of an applicant, which could include empathy, critical thinking, ethical decision making and communication skills.
Panel Interview: Designed to personally get to know the candidate via topics like decision making, life experiences, interactions with others, and future goals, and;

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

Offers of Admission Decision:

Offers for admission are usually based upon a mix of academic achievement, supplemental application, and results of the interview process. Most medical schools do not disclose any information about how each of the admission requirements is combined in the decision-making 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: