OwlMD LogoOwlMD Guide

Autobiographical Sketch (ABS)
Guide

Owl with various activities representing ABS categories
What is the Autobiographical Sketch?

The Autobiographical Sketch (ABS) is a critical component of your OMSAS application. It provides medical schools with a comprehensive overview of your experiences, activities, and accomplishments outside of academics. The ABS helps admissions committees understand who you are beyond your grades and test scores.

Your ABS includes sections for:

  • Employment

    Paid work experiences, including part-time jobs, internships, and full-time positions.

  • Volunteer Activities

    Unpaid service and community involvement.

  • Extracurricular Activities

    Sports, clubs, hobbies, and other non-academic pursuits.

  • Research

    Laboratory work, clinical studies, publications, and presentations.

  • Awards and Accomplishments

    Scholarships, honors, recognitions, and other achievements.

ABS Format and Character Limits

Each ABS entry has strict character limits that you must work within:

  • Activity Name: 60 characters
  • Organization: 100 characters
  • Description of Responsibilities: 150 characters
  • Start and End Dates
  • Hours per Week
  • Weeks per Year
  • Verifier Information

Optimizing Your 150-Character Descriptions

You only have 150 characters to describe your responsibilities for each section. Use abbreviations to save characters, and present your ideas in short clauses separated by semicolons.

Example for a neuroscience summer research position:

"Design exp. to study neurons; Ethically sacrifice+collect mouse samples; Run stat. analysis; Write article for pub; Present findings @ poster comp"

ABS Strategy by School

Each Ontario medical school uses the ABS differently in their admissions process:

  • University of Toronto

    Toronto requires an additional ABS statement (500 words) expanding on one of your activities. They also consider your entire ABS when evaluating your application.

  • McMaster University

    McMaster does not directly evaluate your ABS in their pre-interview or post-interview formulas.

  • Queen's University

    Queen's considers your ABS (along side your Panel nterview performance) if you make it past their MMI.

  • Western University

    Western uses a unique essay-based system instead of the traditional ABS format. They ask for specific essays about experiences related to teamwork, equity, social accountability, and self-directed learning.

  • University of Ottawa

    Ottawa evaluates your top three entries from each ABS category as part of their admissions process.

ABS Best Practices
  • Focus on quality over quantity of experiences
  • Highlight leadership roles and long-term commitments
  • Be specific about your contributions and what you learned
  • Ensure all verifier information is accurate and up-to-date
  • Distribute activities across different categories
  • Emphasize experiences that demonstrate the CanMEDS roles
  • Include diverse activities that show different aspects of your character