McMaster University

According to McMaster's website, the four major requirements to apply for their medical program are:

• Completion of at least three years of undergraduate study (30 half-year credits or 15 full-year credits or a combination) by May of the entry year.
• Minimum GPA of 3.00 out of 4.00 on the OMSAS scale.
• Minimum of 123 in the CARS section of the MCAT (McMaster does not consider any of the other MCAT sections).
• Casper must be completed, to be used competitively.

McMaster does not have any course-specific prerequisites.

McMaster does not require traditional essays. Your personal qualities are primarily assessed through the Casper test and the Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) if invited.

Official Criteria:

McMaster is very transparent about what they are looking for when reviewing applications. The admission process functions on two formulas:

• Pre-Interview Formula: 32% GPA, 32% MCAT CARS score, 32% Casper score, plus a bonus of 1–4% for graduate students.
• Post-Interview Formula: 70% MMI score, 15% GPA, and 15% MCAT CARS score.

McMaster does not look at your ECs directly and has no essays.

Unofficial Insights:

If you want to be a competitive applicant, it is believed that your CARS score should be 128+; the Classes of 2025, 2026, and 2027 had mean CARS scores of 129.

For an estimation of what Casper, GPA and CARS score you need to have a good chance at getting an interview at Mac, see the table below

Additional admissions statistics for the classes of 2025 , 2026 , and 2027 .

2024–2025 Cycle:

• OMSAS Due: October 1st, 2024
• Interview Invites Sent: January 16th, 2025
• Interview Dates: March 1st, 2nd, and 5th, 2025
• Offers of Admission (OMSAS-Wide): May 13th, 2025

Interview invites are sent in one wave, typically in early-mid January.

2024-2025 Interview Dates:

• March 1st, 2025
• March 2nd, 2025
• March 5th, 2025

McMaster uses a virtual Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) system on Kira Talent.

The format includes 10 stations: 8 where you are being assessed and 2 "rest stations" where you can relax and/or speak to a current McMaster Med student. The distribution of assessed vs rest stations is random.

Each station is 10 minutes long, and you are given 2 minutes at the start to read the prompt and collect your thoughts (NO NOTES).

The interview questions are not necessarily about your specific extracurricular experiences; rather, they are prompts about relevant social/health issues, acting/scenarios involving interpersonal relationships, or vague/seemingly unrelated topics. You must answer in a way that both addresses the prompt and lets the interviewer learn about you as a person. Being able to speak about your experiences more generally can help a lot here.

According to McMaster's Manual for Interviewers , they assess:

• Analytical and Critical Thinking
• Exploration of Multiple Perspectives
• Understanding of Professional and Ethical Principles

For more detailed interview advice, visit our Interview Guide.