NOSM Admission Policies

Last Updated on June 17, 2020

Northern Ontario School of Medicine

After submitting your OMSAS application, your dream could be to join the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. The school’s mission is to improve the health of people and communities in Northern Ontario by providing advanced education in the medical field. The school has main campuses in Thunder Bay and Sudbury with teaching and research sites all over Northern Ontario. Students can expect to interact with small and large communities in the region prior to completing their medical training.

Be aware of deadlines when submitting your Northern Ontario medical school application. If the application is not fully completed and all relevant documentation received, you risk facing disqualification. The institution is keen on recruiting students who are from Northern Ontario and possess strong interest and attitude in practicing medicine in urban as well as rural and remote areas. The school also admits students from the Aboriginal/Indigenous and Francophone communities. To apply, you must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. Currently, the school doesn’t accept transfer students. You will be required to complete the 4-year medical program upon admission to NOSM.

Language Proficiency Requirements

The Selection Process & Overall GPA

To be admitted to NOSM, you must be proficient in written and spoken English. All the NOSM OMSAS application materials must be submitted in English. The school can deny admission if the applicant’s written and spoken English is considered inadequate. The applications received at NOSM will be screened and scored after evaluating 3 important areas: The student’s GPA, autobiographical sketch and context.

NOSM has a minimum GPA of 3.0 on the 4.0 scale. Students’ grades are converted to the 4.0 scale using the OMSAS Undergraduate Grading System Conversion Table. All the undergraduate course grades that are completed at a recognized institution including those obtained during supplementary, spring and summer study will be included in the GPA calculation. If a course is repeated and you have both grades on your transcript, both will be included in your GPA calculation. If you have a graduate degree an additional 0.2 will be added to your undergraduate GPA. However, your graduate degree must be conferred and NOSM must have received your final transcript in order to be considered for the 0.2 admission.

Autobiographical Sketch and Questions

Context

The sketch is considered to help handpick applicants who have a genuine interest in fulfilling NOSM’s values. Among the things that the examiner will examine include:

• Growing up in Northern Ontario or a city/town in Canada
• Demonstrate interest to live and work in Northern Ontario or with underserviced communities
• Demonstrate ability to identify the needs of the community and make a difference
• Interest in cross-cultural experiences
• Participation in volunteer work and extracurricular activities.

The student’s context is simply based on their place of residence for the past 1 year or more. Preference will be given to those students who have lived in Northern Ontario or other rural/remote areas in Canada for the last 1 year or more. Aboriginal/Indigenous and Francophone applicants will also have an advantage. Components such as age, gender, race and religion are not considered during the selection process. You are not required to write the MCAT in order to apply to NOSM.