2024 Admissions

About the Selection Process

The criteria, policies and procedures for student selection and admission into the MDCM program and the Medicine-Preparatory year are formally established by the MDCM Admissions committee (Terms of Reference available here), and where required, have received approval from the Committee on Student Affairs and Enrolment (CESA), a standing committee of the university Senate.

Admission to the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences is highly competitive and meeting the eligibility requirements is not a guarantee of admission.

In the past few years, about 3000 applications have been received per cycle; about 500 interviews conducted for approximately 180 available positions in the first year class

We work hard to maintain a fair and balanced selection process. We attend to current best-practices with respect to the predictive validity of the tools we use (such as the multiple mini-interviews), and seek through our processes to appreciate each applicant's unique trajectory and perspective, life experiences, and accomplishments – as factors that can be recognized and understood for their value in a future career in medicine.

Note: Applications are evaluated according to applicant category.  

Note: Some universities and colleges have legacy programs which give special admission consideration to relatives of graduates; McGill University does not have a legacy admission program.  Admission to the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences is based solely on academic and competency-based criteria.  Letters of support from alumni, friends and family do not advantage (or disadvantage) an application. 


Preliminary assessment: Getting to the interview

Step 1 ► Prescreening of academic and non-academic criteria 

Based on the academic evaluation or Casper test approximately 4 to 6 times the number of candidates are moved forward to the CV review; for example, if we intend to interview 50 people in a particular applicant category, the CVs of the top 200-300 files in that cohort are evaluated.

The non-academic criteria are assessed through the online Casper test (20%) and the CV supporting document (CVMD) (10%). You can read more about the Casper test.

Step 2 ► Determining the interview invitation list

In order to determine which candidates will be invited to interviews, results of academic and supplemental document evaluation are weighted as follows:

For all applicants
Chart 20% CASPer  10% CV  70% Academics

Final assessment: Getting an offer

For applicants invited to the multiple mini-interviews, the final rank order list (which includes those who will receive an offer of admission and those who will be placed on a waiting list) is calculated as follows:

For applicants to the M.D.,C.M. (includes: combined program IMG 2-YR, IMG 4-YR) and Med-P Qualifying Year
Chart 100% Multiple Mini-Interviews

(Note that these formulas are guidelines only and are subject to review and change by the MDCM Admissions Committee at any time).

Waiting list

We keep our waiting list active as long as feasible, often right until the beginning of classes. 

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