McGill University, Faculty of Medicine Admission
McGill University, Faculty of Medicine Undergraduate Program
McGill University, Faculty of Medicine Application

The Facts

McGill University is a rather large, public institution located in the city of Montreal, Quebec, and has a combined graduate and undergraduate population of over 32,000 students. The university's Faculty of Medicine, however, is significantly smaller, and is home to about 500 graduate medical students. The average age of enrollment is around 24, and it is fairly rare for any of the students to enter the school directly from their undergraduate education. The school is perhaps best known for its terrific research facilities and programs, as well as for its emphasis on hands-on clinical experience. Aside from the basic MD degree, the school offers joint degrees in the MD/MBA, and the MD/PhD in various areas of the biomedical sciences.

Admission to McGill University's Faculty of Medicine is extremely competitive among the relatively few students who apply; last year, over 980 students applied for admission to the school, and approximately 222 of those students were accepted. Eventually however, only about 160 of the admitted students actually enrolled for the coming semester. The admitted students had average MCAT scores of about 11.2 in Biology, 11.4 in Physics, and 10.8 in Verbal, as well as an average undergraduate GPA of about a 3.7. Students are notified of their admissions status on a rolling basis, and are able to take advantage of the school's early application status.

McGill University's Faculty of Medicine has about 800 faculty members, all of whom come from relatively diverse medical and academic backgrounds. The school also boasts a very manageable student to faculty ratio of about 1:1, and the small classes allow for plenty of discussion and interaction between students and their professors.

Graduates of the Faculty of Medicine often go on to be accepted to some of the most prestigious and competitive residency programs in the nation, and most frequently specialize in the areas of primary care, emergency medicine, pediatrics, neurology, pathology, medical research, as well as immunology.

Clinical Programs

Students are required to complete extensive clinical programs including 8 weeks of general medicine, 8 weeks of general surgery, 8 weeks of psychiatry, 8 weeks of ob/gyn, 8 weeks of pediatrics, 4 weeks of family medicine, as well as 16 weeks of various electives. Students complete their clinical clerkships at affiliated facilities including Montreal General Hospital, Montreal Children's Hospital, Montreal Neurological Hospital, Sir Mortimer B. Davis-Jewish General Hospital, Douglas Hospital, as well as the Royal Victoria Hospital.

What's Good

"There are a lot of opportunities to use your newly-learned skills in action."

"If you are a resident Canadian, the school is an incredible deal."

"The faculty here are so incredibly dedicated to both the school and to their students."

What's Bad

"You can't really expect to have much of a social life while you're here; the workload is tremendous."

"There is never enough on campus graduate housing, which is annoying."

"Students get incredibly competitive here. It can be a real downer."

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