APPLICANT MANUAL 2011-2012

August 2, 2011

DOCTOR OF MEDICINE (MD)

CREATING THE FUTURE OF HEALTH
Since our establishment in 1967 we have become an international leader in health research, education and delivery. Our innovative, patient-based, cross-disciplinary program has earned University of Calgarys Faculty of Medicine a national and international reputation for excellence.

How to Apply Application Fees Admission Requirements Pre Interview Scoring Interview Final Ranking Cost to Attend Combined Degree Program Conditions of Acceptance FAQ

Deadline: October 15, 2011

Thank you for applying to our medical school for this coming year. We have an outstanding program, and are pleased that you are considering becoming a part of it. While each medical school in Canada is unique in its own way, ours is the only three year, clinical presentations based program in North America. Please take the time to explore the facultys webpages where you will find a wealth of information about the curriculum, the school and some important outcome measures (residency match results, etc.). We will also have more information available for you at the time of interviews. As many of you know, our entering first year class this year was 170 students, and we do not anticipate any further increases for this coming year. I am a graduate of this program myself, having graduated in 1998. Despite the dramatic growth in class size since then, I am continually struck by the degree of collegiality and cohesion evident within such a large group of people. It may be result of our noncompetitive pass-fail system, or it may simply be a function of the outstanding young men and women who make up our medical school classes. Regardless the reason, it is doubtless part of the reason that the medical school experience here at the U of C is as much fun as it is hard work. Take the time to read this application manual carefully, and do not hesitate to contact us directly if you have any questions. Depending on when you contact us, it may take a few days to get back to you, but know that we strive to make your application process as straightforward as possible.

Ian Walker, MD Director of Admissions University of Calgary, Faculty of Medicine

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Deadline: October 15, 2011

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section 1: General Information 1.1 General Information 1.2 Application Fees 1.3 How to Apply 1.4 UCAN Functionality 1.5 Checking for updates, accessing scores, interview schedule 2.1 Citizenship 2.2 MCAT 2.3 Minimum Full-Time Academic Year 2.4 Minimum GPA 3.1 Demographics 3.2 Transcripts 3.3 Grade Entry 3.4 MCAT 3.5 Letter of Reference 3.6 Activities, Employment and Awards 3.7 Publications 3.8 Fees 3.9 Application Timelines 4.1 Albertans and Non-Albertans 4.2 Scoring System 4.2.1 GPA (20%) 4.2.2 MCAT VR (10%) 4.2.3 Subjective Assessment of Academic Merit (10%) 4.2.4 Evidence of Speci\ied Non-Cognitive Attributes (10% each) 4.3 Standardized Scoring 4.4 Application Irregularities / Areas of Concern

Section 2: Application Eligibility

Section 3: Application Eligibility

Section 4: File Scoring

CONTINUATION TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section 5: Other Considerations 5.1 Disabled Applicants 5.2 Aboriginal Applicants 5.3 Combined Degree Program 5.4 Financial Aid 5.5 Cost to Attend 6.1 Post File Review 6.2 Interviews 6.3 Final Ranking 7.1 Offers/wait-list Basics 7.2 Conditions of Acceptant 7.3 Deferrals 7.4 Costs

Section 6:

Section 7:

Appendices Appendix 1 GPA Conversion Appendix 3 Technical Standards Appendix 2 Statistics Appendix 4 Recommended Courses Appendix 5 - Letter of Reference Formats Appendix 6 FAQ

Section 1 - General Information

1.1 General Information Please note that the admission policies are reviewed annually and the admission requirements from the previous year may not apply. Because of the nature of the selective procedures, deadlines are strictly enforced. All relevant documentation must be provided by the speci\ied deadlines. Applicants must read the manual carefully and follow the instructions precisely. Applicants who applied in the 2010-2011 cycle will have the ability to port their applications into the current cycle and edit the information as necessary. Please follow the instructions in the online application. Supporting documents are used only for the speci\ied year so you must secure references through the system, request transcripts to be sent to MD Admissions and release your MCAT scores to U of C MD. General Inquiries and Technical Support: ucmedapp@ucalgary.ca Mailing Address: Of\ice of Admissions & Student Affairs Faculty of Medicine University of Calgary G740 - 3330 Hospital Drive NW Calgary, AB T2N 4N1 Number of Applications: In the 2010-2011 application process, the admissions of\ice received more than 2200 applications for 170 positions. 644 applicants were interviewed (517 Albertans & 127 non-Albertans).

1.2 Application Fees All fees and payments are non-refundable. A fee of $150.00 is charged whereby $100.00 of the fee goes to the University and $50.00 remains in the Of\ice of Admissions for upkeep of the online application system. Payment is accepted by credit card ONLY. (Faculty of Medicine U of C will appear on your statement.) The Faculty of Medicine accepts MasterCard and VISA for the payment of application fees. Please ensure you have chosen the credit card payment option and review your credit card number and expiry date before submitting payment. If your card is declined or invalid, your application can not be processed. 1.3 How to Apply Click on the link provided on our web site or go to: https://ucan.ucalgary.ca/security/ or copy and paste it into your browser. If you applied last year, you already have a UCAN account and should use the same account this year. Please ensure that you select the 2012 application year when working of your application. If you did not apply last year, you will be required to set up a login ID and Password. Once you have done so you will receive an email requiring you to validate the ID and password. At this point you have a \ile set up and can begin to input your information. 1.4 UCAN Functionality Applicants can check the status of their application using the status tab found along the top row of the home page.

This status tab displays a green checkmark to a section which is complete and saved. UCAN will indicate whether or not references have been received. It is the applicants responsibility to follow up with their referee if the status indicates that the reference has not been received. The status tab will indicate when the MCAT has been veri\ied. Veri\ication is not indicated until after the deadline. The status tab will also allow you to see whether or not your tanscripts have been received and whether or not you have received an invitation to interviews. Section 2 Application Eligibility 2.1 Citizenship You must be a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant (permanent resident) in order to apply. We do not accept applications from individual international applicants. If you are accepted, you must provide proof that you had this status by the October 15th deadline. 2.2 MCAT You must have written the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) by the fall of year of application. We require that your scores be available for release to us prior to the application deadline of Oct 15, 2011. For this coming year, this means that the last eligible MCAT sitting would be on Sept 10th, 2011. We will accept MCAT scores from as far back as 1991. 2.3 Minimum Full-Time Academic Years You must have completed, by the time of application, two full time years of university education at an AUCC-recognized www.aucc.ca institution or equivalent international university. In order for an academic year to be considered full time, we require that you have completed 24 credits for which a grade has been recorded over a consecutive period of 8 months, usually Sept-April.

Alberta Residency The MD program at the University of Calgary de\ines an Alberta resident as someone who meets one or more of the following criteria: 1. have lived in Alberta* for the 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the \irst day of classes of the term for which admission is sought. 2. have obtained at least two years of their high school education in Alberta*. 3. have attended a university in Alberta as a full-time student for at least two years . 4. have resided in Alberta for 24 consecutive months at some time after completion of high school. 5. who will have been on active duty with Canadian Armed Forces for the two year period immediately preceding the \irst day of classes of the term for which admission is sought. (Applicants wishing to be considered Albertans under this clause must provide the Of\ice of Admissions with a letter from the Canadian Armed Forces con\irming their status.) *or NWT, Yukon or Nunavut

2.4 Minimum GPA GPA is calculated using only full time undergraduate years. Those applicants who have more than two full time years at the time of application and who have already or will be graduating from their undergraduate degree in the current academic year will have their worst academic year dropped from their GPA calculation. In the case of co-op studies, we will calculate an overall gpa based on full-time years (at least 24 credits Sept- April) as well as on full-time semesters (at least 12 credits), as long as actual grades are assigned for all of these credits. If the applicant is in the \inal year of their undergraduate degree or beyond, we will eliminate either the worst full-time year or the worst semester. Applicants with a completed graduate degree will have their overall GPA from their graduate program used as equivalent to one year of undergraduate GPA for the purposes of this calculation. In the event that an applicant has multiple years with graded courses within their graduate program, the graduate degree GPA will be calculated using the weights of the individual courses. Part-time studies as well as spring / summer courses are not used in this calculation. Further details and examples can be found in Section 4.2 below. Alberta residents require a minimum GPA of 3.2 based on this calculation in order to apply. Non-Alberta residents require a minimum GPA of 3.6 based on this calculation.

Section 3 Submitting an Application 3.1 Demographics Please complete all the questions. This information is crucial for a number of reasons, although the two most important are the obligation of the University of Calgary to report such data to both the Government of Alberta and the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada. 3.2 Transcripts Of\icial transcripts (1 copy only) are required for each college, CEGEP, university, junior college, or graduate school you have attended. For transcripts to be considered of\icial, they must be sent directly from the Registrars Of\ice to our Admissions Of\ice, be imprinted with the schools seal and/or bear the appropriate signature. We will not use opened transcripts sent by the candidates. We do not accept faxed transcripts. Failure to submit even one transcript will result in the termination of your application. Foreign Transcripts: Applicants who have attended post-secondary institutions outside North America must have their foreign transcripts assessed by World Education Services (WES): www.wes.org/ca. We require a WES Credential Evaluation Report, including a Course-By-Course Analysis. Applicants must arrange to have of\icial transcripts sent directly to the Of\ice of Admissions and must be received by the application deadline, October 15, 2011. WES evaluations must be sent directly to the Of\ice of Admissions and must be received by the application deadline, October 15, 2011. Please note that the Of\ice of Admissions reserves the right to apply its own evaluation. University of Calgary students must arrange to have U of C transcripts sent. Transfer credits or exchange program credits recorded on the transcripts will only be accepted if a grade has been provided. If not, you will need to order a transcript from that institution where the course(s) were taken. If the university/college you attended or are attending does not issue transcripts, you must arrange with the Registrars Of\ice to provide us with an of\icial statement of attendance and/or degree granted. Applicants holding applied degrees or two or three year diplomas must present 8 full courses of individual university transferrable coursework within their program. Please send your transcripts before you submit your application. Transcripts should be sent to the Of\ice of Admissions at the address below, not to the Registrar at U of C. The Of\ice of Admissions Faculty of Medicine G7403330 Hospital Drive NW Calgary, AB T2N 4N1 It is the applicants responsibility to ensure that all transcripts are received by the deadline of October 15, 2011. As we cannot keep up with the huge volume of received transcripts during the \inal 4-6 weeks of the application process, UCAN will not always accurately document receipt of transcripts. In order to ensure that we have received your transcripts prior to the application deadline, they must be ordered prior to October 1st. If you are able to provide documented evidence of having ordered the transcripts prior to October 1st, we will accept them even if they happen to arrive after the deadline. If you have this proof do not contact the of\ice of admissions about missing transcripts prior to Oct 21st. Current year grades are not included in the application assessment, and therefore there is no need to submit fall transcripts with updated course grades. If, after May 15th you are still being considered for admission, please arrange to have \inal transcripts for any courses for which you were enrolled in the previous year submitted to our of\ice. These must be received prior to June 30, 2012. 3.3 Grade Entry A grade must be entered into UCAN for all University level courses taken. This achieves several goals. Most importantly, it allows UCAN to accurately calculate your GPA for the purposes of the application. I also allows the \ile reviewer to review on a single screen the sum total of your academic results. 7

Even though we do not use summer courses and part-time years in the calculation of GPA, we still need them to be entered into UCAN. Failure to do so can result in the termination of the application. Grades should be entered as found on the transcript. If your transcript shows both letter and percentage grades, the percentage grade should be entered. Please note that we do not use IB or AP credits, so there is no need to enter those into UCAN. 3.4 MCAT You must enter your MCAT scores directly into UCAN, and we will verify after the October 15th deadline. If you have taken the test more than once, you must choose one set of scores which you would like us to use. (see Section 4.2.2). It is imperative that you contact AAMC to arrange for the release of your MCAT scores to us. This is not an automatic process, and failure to do results in the termination of several applications each year. You can do this through the MCAT Testing History (THx) System at https://services.aamc.org/mcatthx/. 3.5 Letters of Reference Applicants are required to submit the names and contact information of three referees in support of their applications. As part of this process, applicants will direct UCAN to send the referee a link to the reference letter form. Although many of the questions asked of referees are common to all three forms, each of the three forms is unique, and attempts speci\ically to obtain information helpful to the assessment of one particular attribute of the applicant (See section 4.2 below). Therefore, applicants should choose referees carefully, keeping in mind the ability of the referee to comment speci\ically on the attribute in question. The three different forms focus on the following attributes, and are identi\ied as such on UCAN: Organizational, Management and Leadership Skills Commitment to Communities and Advocacy Interpersonal Behaviours and Collaboration The exact content of each form is attached to this Applicant Manual as Appendix 5. UCAN will display in real time once a reference has been complete. It remains the applicants responsibility to ensure that the references are complete. No extensions to the deadline of Oct 15th will be granted for the completion of references. If a referees believes that they have completed a reference, but it does not show as received in the applicants UCAN status page, the referee should be advised to contact the Of\ice of Admissions directly. In the event that an applicant wishes to change his or her references, this can be done simply by deactivating the reference in UCAN and selecting a new recipient. It is not possible to have more than one active reference of each type, however, and once made inactive, a reference cannot be re-activated. Applicants are advised to choose referees who have substantial knowledge of the applicant and are able to give an unbiased assessment. Family members, family friends and peers are not appropriate referees, regardless of their position or knowledge of the applicant. 3.6 Activities, Employment and Awards Applicants are given the opportunity to identify up to 30 awards, extracurricular, employment or volunteer activities, or other formative experiences.

For each item, the applicant is asked to provide a title (e.g. Owner of Dog Walking Business) as well as a brief description (e.g. Day to day provision of service to clients, as well as development of business plan and accounting duties.). Applicants are also asked to identify the time commitment involved in the activity or experience. For 10 of the 30 items listed a longer (max 1000 characters) Impact Statement is requested, describing the importance of the item in the life of the applicant and the impact it has had on them. These are often referred to by the applicants as their top 10. 3.7 Publications Applicants are requested to list all academic publications as part of the application process. This may include oral and poster presentations as long as the abstract has been published in the conference proceedings. Applicants may also include published prose or poetry, but not articles written for student newspapers, newsletters or brochures. These latter publications may be included in the 30 activities if they are deemed suf\iciently important by the applicant. 3.8 Fees All fees and payments are non-refundable. A fee of $150.00 is charged whereby $100.00 of the fee goes to the University and $50.00 remains in the Of\ice of Admissions for upkeep of the online application system. Payment is accepted by credit card ONLY. (Faculty of Medicine U of C will appear on your statement.) The Faculty of Medicine accepts MasterCard and VISA for the payment of application fees. Please ensure you have chosen the credit card payment option and review your credit card number and expiry date before submitting payment. If your card is declined or invalid, your application will not be processed. 3.9 Application Timelines September 2011 You must release your MCAT scores to the University of Calgary. You must release your scores to the University of Calgary MD online through the AAMC. It will not occur automatically. You must re-release your MCAT scores for each new application cycle. The deadline to submit the on-line application is October 15th, 2011 (11:59 p.m. MDT) All transcripts, reference letters, MCAT scores and the application fee must also be received by October 15. Week of Jan 30th, 2012 Invitations to and on-line scheduling for Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) February 25th & 26th, March 3rd, 2012 Interview Days May 15th, 2012 First date for offers of admission sent out via email. June 1st, 2012 First round of wait-list offers sent out. June 30th, 2012 Final transcripts must be received. July 15th, 2012 (Anticipated) Application and applicant manual will be available for the 2012/2013 application cycle. July 25th-27th, 2012 Orientation (Students must attend.) July 31st, 2012 First year classes begin.

Section 4 File Scoring 4.1 Albertans and Non-Albertans All Albertan applicants who meet the minimum criteria to apply (see section 2) undergo full \ile review. Non Albertan applicants will initially be ranked using the following formula: 2 x GPA + MCAT (VR) The top 200-250 applicants based on this calculation will subsequently undergo full \ile review. 4.2 Scoring System Each \ile is independently evaluated by 3 or 4 members of the admissions committee, including at least one faculty member, one trainee (student or resident) and one community member. The entire \ile is reviewed in a holistic manner, with scores assigned for evidence of attributes which the MD program has previously identi\ied as consistent with the terminal objectives of the program. As such, there are no discrete scores assigned for extra curricular activities or letters of reference, although these items inform the scoring in multiple areas. Scores are assigned in the following areas: Academic ability 40%(consisting of GPA, MCAT VR and subjective assessment of academics), and 10% for each of the following:

Evidence of Communication Skills Evidence of Excellent Interpersonal Skills and Collaboration Evidence of High Ethical Standards and Professionalism Evidence of Commitment to Communities and Advocacy on Behalf of Others Evidence of Intellectual Curiosity, Scholarship and Research Evidence of Organizational / Management Skills And Leadership

Each of these subjective assessments is done by the assessors looking at the totality of the application \ile, including extra-curricular activities, employment, letters of reference, academic history and any other information contained in the \ile. 4.2.1 GPA (20%) GPA is calculated in the same way as described in section 2.4. GPA is calculated using only full time undergraduate years. Those applicants who have more than two full-time years at the time of application and who have already or will be graduating from their undergraduate degree in the current academic year will have their worst academic year dropped from their GPA calculation. Applicants with a completed graduate degree will have their overall GPA from their graduate program used as equivalent to one year of undergraduate GPA for the purposes of this calculation. In the event that an applicant has multiple years with graded courses within their graduate program, the graduate degree GPA will be calculated using the weights of the individual courses. Part-time studies as well as spring / summer courses are not used in this calculation.

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4.2.2 MCAT VR (10%) Although applicants will report all sections of the MCAT, only the VR section will be used in the objective calculation of application scores. If the MCAT has been written more than once, the applicant must choose one set of scores to use for the purposes of application. In general, this should be the one with the highest VR score. 4.2.3 Subjective Assessment of Academic Merit (10%) Each assessor assigns a score corresponding to his or her subjective assessment of the academic strength of the entire academic record. This includes, but is not limited to, such things as the types of courses taken, trends in grades over time, extenuating circumstances, consistency and subjective review of the entire MCAT score (VR, BS, PS and WS). The overarching question that the reviewer is asked to answer is, To what extent does this applicant demonstrate evidence of the academic skill necessary to master the material within the MD curriculum? 4.2.4 Evidence of Speci\ied Non-Cognitive Attributes (10% each)

GPA Examples Brian is in his 4inal year of his BSc. His annual GPA has been 3.12, 3.4 and 3.3. Since he is graduating this year, his 4irst year is eliminated, and his GPA for applying is calculated as 3.35. Clare has been out of school for 2 years. She has a BA and an MA. Her annual GPAs for her BA were 3.7, 3.2, 3.6 and 3.1. Her GPA in her MA was 3.8. Her 3.1 year is eliminated, and her calculated GPA is (3.7+3.2+3.6+3.8) / 4 = 3.575.

The question posed to assessors is, To what degree does this Tyler is in the last year of his MEd. He has a BSc. applicant demonstrate evidence of [attribute X]? In order to His annual GPAs have been 3.8, 3.9, 4.0, 3.7. His answer that question, assessors draw information from the GPA in his Masters is 3.8. Because his MEd is not application itself as well as from the letters of reference. complete, it is not included in his GPA calculations. Assessors will consider the life history and activities / His 3.7 year is removed, and his GPA is calculated experiences of an applicant in so far as they demonstrate as (3.8+3.9+4.0) / 3 = 3.9. either openness towards or pro\iciency in the skills and attributes in question. It is important for applicants to note Candace is in the 4inal year of her BComm. Due to family commitments, she has completed only two that one of the reasons for adopting an attributes-based years full time, having completed the rest of her assessment tool was the recognition that the same attributes courses on a part time basis. Her GPA in her full can be manifest in many different ways, some of which appear time years has been 3.8 and 3.65. Since she only super\icially more impressive, but may not actually provide evidence of greater likelihood of success within medical school. has two full time years, she is not eligible to drop a year from the GPA calculations, and her application Using Ability to work in teams as an example, this might be GPA is calculated as (3.8+3.65) / 2 = 3.725 manifest just as much by having worked as a part-time short order cook as by having been on a sports team while in university. Applicants are therefore encouraged to think carefully and critically about their own experiences and to highlight those things which demonstrate those abilities essential to the practice of medicine, rather than to simply compile a list of their greatest accomplishments. 4.3 Standardized Scoring All scoring of application components will be done using standardized scoring. What this means is that the raw scores assigned by the assessors (or calculated in UCAN for GPA and MCAT VR) are converted to standardized scores based on the distribution of scores obtained by all applicants within a given years applicant pool. Under this system, the mean score for a given application component will be designated as a score of 100, with a standard deviation of 15. If an applicants score is one standard deviation above the mean score in a particular area, his or her score will therefore be 115.

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If it is one standard deviation below, it will be 85. For example, if the mean VR score for all applicants is 8.9, with a standard deviation of 2, then an applicant with a VR score of 11 will have a standardized score of slightly greater than 115. An applicant with a VR score of 5 would have a score of slightly greater than 70. It is important to keep in mind that standardized scores are based upon a mean score, and are not therefore out of any particular number. 4.4 Application Irregularities / Areas of Concern Applicants should be aware that although offers of admission are generally made based solely on the composite scores achieved in each of the different areas of the assessment (\ile review, MMI, etc) there is one exception to this rule. At any time in the application process an application may \lagged by an MMI assessor, \ile reviewer or member of the admissions of\ice staff as possibly demonstrating evidence of characteristics inconsistent with the practice of medicine at the University of Calgary. Once so identi\ied, the application will be reviewed by a sub-committee of the admissions committee, where the concern will be reviewed and considered. Notwithstanding any scores achieved by that application, the admissions committee reserves the right to terminate any application pursuant to this area of concern process. Common reasons for review at the sub-committee level include academic misconduct, misrepresentation on the application, prior criminal behaviour and unprofessional behaviour exhibited at the time of MMI or elsewhere. Section 5 Other Considerations 5.1 Disabled Applicants The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary is committed to supporting applicants and students with disabilities through the use of appropriate accommodations. Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact the Disability Resources Centre (http://www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/Others/DRC) with any questions regarding accommodation for their disabilities while enrolled in the medical program. Any applicants who feel they will require accommodation in order to complete the MMI should make those needs known to the Admissions of\ice staff as soon as possible. All applicants offered interviews will be asked to attest to their ability to meet the technical standards of the MD program at that time. If an applicant will require accommodation in order to meet those technical standards, he or she will be asked to indicate that prior to MMI. Any applicant who indicates a need for accommodation will be referred to the Accommodations Committee who will review the applicants speci\ic needs and abilities and will determine whether appropriate accommodation can be offered. This information will not form part of the application \ile and no individuals involved in the application process will be made aware of the applicants request for accommodation. A more detailed description of this process is available in the Faculty of Medicine's policy on Accommodation for Applicants With Disabilities, available from the Of\ice of Admissions upon request. The declaration of a need for accommodation on the part of applicants is voluntary but as a signi\icant period of time is generally required to process accommodation requests, early declaration is strongly advised. In the event that an applicant does not indicate the need for accommodation until such time as an offer of admission is made, the Faculty of Medicine reserves the right to defer matriculation for one year pending review of the request by the Accommodations Committee. Students with disabilities are encouraged to pursue their studies as long as their continued involvement does not pose a health or safety hazard to themselves or others, and as long as they are able to meet core requirements for a medical degree. Please see the technical standards appendix 3 of this document.

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5.2 Aboriginal Applicants The Faculty of Medicine encourages and supports applications from candidates belonging to our Aboriginal population. If you wish to declare that you are of Aboriginal ancestry within the meaning of the Constitution Act of 1982, you must send a copy of your card for our \iles or offer other documentation of your Aboriginal status. There are no reserved positions for Aboriginal applicants at U of C. In recognition of the tremendous need for Aboriginal physicians in Canada, the following modi\ications to the applicant process are made for all self- declared Aboriginal applicants:

1. All Aboriginal applicants will be considered residents of Alberta for the purposes of meeting 2. All Aboriginal applicants who meet the application criteria will be invited to interview. 3. The scores assigned to various components of the application process (academics, MMI, MCAT,
letters, etc.) will be adjusted to ensure the same score distribution as non-Aboriginal applicants in areas where historical data shows Aboriginal applicants to have been consistently disadvantaged. 4. Aboriginal applicants will be invited to include in their application a personal statement regarding their connection to the Aboriginal community. This will not be scored, but will be used by the \ile reviewers in understanding the applicant within his or her social context. Any questions regarding these process modi\ications may be directed to the Director of Admissions. 5.3 Combined Degree Program / Leaders in Medicine Applicants must apply separately to the Faculty of Medicine for the MD program and to the selected Graduate Program in the Faculty of Graduate Studies and be recommended for admission by each program. Prospective applicants must also complete a supplemental application for the combined MD/ Graduate program. Joint program applications may be obtained from the Graduate Sciences Education of\ice. For more information please go to: http://www.fp.ucalgary.ca/jointMDPhD/index.html 5.4 Financial Aid Signi\icant \inancial aid is available to students. No applicant should be dissuaded from applying to the MD program on the basis of cost, as the program will work closely with all students to ensure that \inances do not become a barrier to successful completion of the MD program. As part of our commitment to \inancial accessibility, a limited number of MMI bursaries are available to applicants for whom the costs of attending the MMI represents a signi\icant hardship. Bursaries consist of return economy airfare and one night stay at Hotel Alma (on the U of C campus). Applicants wishing to apply for an MMI bursary are required to address a letter to the Director of Admissions outlining his or her \inancial circumstances in as much detail as possible. Supporting documentation, such as tax returns, may be requested to support the application. application criteria.

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Section 6 Post-File Review 6.1 Interviews Successful applicants for interview will be noti\ied via email. Interviews will be conducted February 25th, 26th and March 3rd, 2012. Interviews take the form of an MMI, or Multiple Mini Interview with 9 verbal stations. Please visit the MD Admissions website closer to the date of the Interviews at: http://www.medicine.ucalgary.ca/mdprogram/prospective/admissions Applicants invited to interview, will be able to schedule their interviews on-line using UCAN. 6.2 Final Ranking The \inal application score will be calculated as follows: Pre-Interview Score 50% MMI Verbal Stations 50% When the aggregate scores are ranked in order, offers of admission are made accordingly. Section 7 Final Decisions and Offers of Acceptance 7.1 Offers / Wait-list Basics Offers of admission will be made on May 15th. A limited number of applicants who are not initially offered admissions will be placed on a wait-list. The \irst round of wait-list offers will be made on June 1st ,2012; subsequent positions will be offered to the applicants at the top of the wait-list until all positions have been \illed. Due to last minute changes in the plans of applicants, it has been our experience that we continue to offer a very small number of positions into mid July. Wait-listed applicants will be noti\ied when the class has been \illed. Unsuccessful applicants should note that we will not give speci\ic feedback or advice on the unsuccessful application, although we are happy to answer general questions regarding the admissions process. We will also publish, on our website, reference statistics describing the average application scores of successful applicants upon the completion of the application cycle. 7.2 Conditions of Acceptance All offers of acceptance are conditional upon the following terms:

Transcripts for courses taken during the year of application must be submitted and must show maintenance of academic performance. Applicants who do not have a degree (at the time of application) are required to maintain a GPA of 3.2 or greater during the year of application (cumulative for that year). Failure to do so will result in revocation of any offer which may have been made. This does not apply to applicants who already have a university degree at the time of application.

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7.3 Deferrals

All applicants offered admission will be required to submit a criminal record check the results of which will be shared with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta. In the event that the College \inds an applicant to be ineligible for an educational license, the offer of admission will be revoked. All successful applicants are required to commence a program of immunizations before registration day. (The immunization form will be made available on our web site to accepted applicants). All successful applicants will be required to complete a BLS (Basic Life Support) course prior to beginning medical school.

Students wishing to apply for deferral should make this request in a letter to the of\ice of admissions within 15 days of the date at the top of their acceptance letter. Deferrals will be considered for exceptional academic and/or non-academic reasons but will be vetted by this of\ice. In general, deferrals will not be granted for circumstances or opportunities which were foreseen at the time of application. This includes deferrals for the purpose of completing a degree or other course of study currently underway. In other words, individuals should not apply if they are not prepared to begin the MD program in late July 2012. Normally a maximum of \ive (5) students per year can be accommodated. It is at the sole discretion of the Director of Admissions to grant/deny a deferral. Generally, deferrals will only be available to those applicants offered a position on May 15th. We strongly suggest that you do not accept a deferral at more than one school. 7.4 Costs Tuition: General Fees: Books & Instruments: Other Costs Membership in the Canadian Medical and Alberta Medical Association $ 66.00 Membership in the Canadian Federation of Medical Students $ 60.00 Calgary Medical Students Association $ 125.00 Registration with College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta $ 50.00 7.4.2 Financial Aid Signi\icant \inancial aid is available to students. No applicant should be dissuaded from applying to the MD program on the basis of cost, as the program will work closely with all students to ensure that \inances do not become a barrier to successful completion of the MD program.

$14,650 $950 $4,528 (year one), $2,830 (years two and three)

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Number Grade GPA Conversion

90.00 89.50 89.00 88.50 88.00 87.50 87.00 86.50 86.00 85.50 85.00 84.50 84.00 83.50 83.00 82.50 82.00 81.50 81.00 80.50 80.00 79.50 79.00 78.50 78.00 77.50 77.00 76.50 76.00 75.50 75.00 74.50 74.00 = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 4.00 3.97 3.94 3.91 3.88 3.85 3.82 3.79 3.76 3.73 3.70 3.67 3.64 3.62 3.60 3.58 3.56 3.54 3.52 3.50 3.48 3.45 3.42 3.39 3.36 3.33 3.30 3.27 3.24 3.21 3.18 3.15 3.12 73.50 73.00 72.50 72.00 71.50 71.00 70.50 70.00 69.50 69.00 68.50 68.00 67.50 67.00 66.50 66.00 65.50 65.00 64.50 64.00 63.50 63.00 62.50 62.00 61.50 61.00 60.50 60.00 59.50 59.00 58.50 58.00 58.0 = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 3.09 3.06 3.03 3.00 2.96 2.92 2.88 2.84 2.80 2.76 2.72 2.68 2.64 2.61 2.58 2.54 2.50 2.46 2.42 2.38 2.34 2.30 2.25 2.20 2.15 2.10 2.05 2.00 1.70 1.30 1.00 0.00 0.00

Nine Point GPA Conversion

9.00 8.00 7.00 6.00 5.00 4.00 3.00 2.00 1.00 = = = = = = = = = 4.00 3.70 3.30 2.70 2.00 1.30 0.00 0.00 0.00

Course weights
6 Credits 5 Credits 4 Credits 3 Credits 2 Credits 1 Credit = = = = = = 1.00 0.84 0.67 0.50 0.34 0.17

Letter Grade GPA Conversion

A+ A AB+ B BC+ C CD+ D DF = = = = = = = = = = = = = 4.00 4.00 3.70 3.30 3.00 2.70 2.30 2.00 1.70 1.30 1.00 0.70 0.00

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Appendix 2 Technical Standards In 1996, the Association of Canadian Medical Colleges (ACMC), after consultation with the Canadian medical schools, developed a draft policy on the technical standards for admission to medical school for students with disabilities. The rationale for this policy was not to preclude students with disabilities from consideration for admission, but rather, an acknowledgement that in order to ful\ill the requirements of the MD degree, every medical student must exercise certain skills and abilities. The draft document, based on similar standards developed by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), identi\ied certain skills in observation, communication, motor, intellectual, behavioural, and social realms that are required for the MD degree. In Spring 2000, further consultation among the members of the ACMC Committee on Admissions and Student Affairs resulted in minor modi\ications of the original draft and produced the following recommendations. These standards are recommended guidelines. They recognize the fact that medical education takes place in a variety of settings and utilizes many different modalities for teaching and assessment. In addition, the standards acknowledge the fact that medical students are often encouraged to be interactive learners and to apply their knowledge in clinical settings. In choosing to utilize all or part of the guidelines, each medical school should be familiar with the appropriate provincial and federal legislation pertaining to persons with disabilities and make modi\ications accordingly. The technical standards include the following skills: Observation: The candidate must be able to observe demonstrations and experiments in the basic sciences including physiologic and pharmacologic demonstrations in animals, microbiologic cultures, and microscopic preparations of micro-organisms and tissues. A candidate must be able to accurately observe a patient at a distance and close at hand. Observation includes functional use of the senses of vision and other sensory modalities. Communication: A candidate must have the capability to be able to speak, hear, and observe patients in order to elicit information, describe changes in mood, activity, posture, and perceive non-verbal communications. A candidate must be able to communicate well with patients. Communication includes speaking, reading, and writing and must be effective in settings in which the time for communication is short. Motor: A candidate must have enough motor function to elicit information from patients by palpation, auscultation, percussion, and other diagnostic techniques. A candidate should be able to perform motor activities required to provide general care, perform diagnostic procedures, and provide emergency treatment to patients. This would mean, for example, performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation, administering intravenous medication, applying pressure to stop bleeding, and opening obstructed airways. These actions require co-ordination of gross and \ine muscular movements, equilibrium, and the functional use of senses of touch and vision. Intellectual Abilities: These abilities include measurement, calculation, reasoning, analysis, synthesis, problem solving, and comprehension of three dimensional and spatial relationships of structures. Candidates must be capable of completing their medicine program in a timely fashion and within the usual time frame.

Behaviour and Social Attributes: A candidate must possess the emotional health required for the care of patients. Candidates must be able to perform physical and emotionally taxing work and function effectively under stress. They must be able to adapt to change, cope with uncertainty, and accept criticism. However, these skills can be met with accommodation, which ampli\ies the means by which the disabled student can achieve the desired end or required standard. Accommodations, which might reasonably be expected, include modi\ication of course load, extended time for examination, utilizing readers, sign-language interpreters, and tutors. In general, the school would assume the costs associated with the accommodation.

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Appendix 2 Statistics

Class of 2010 Class of 2011 Class of 2012

Males Females Average Age Average GPA (of best two completed full time years) Average Overall Undergrad GPA Average MCAT Physical Sciences Verbal Reasoning Writing Samples Biological Sciences # with only 2 undergraduate years # with only 3 undergraduate years # of B.Sc. Other Bachelor's # of Master's # of Ph.D. Professional Degrees

59 76 24.2 3.85 3.69 10.56 11.07 Q 11.77 2 20 94 10 17 5 5

74 76 24.8 3.82 3.62 10.2 10.65 Q 11.29 0 12 118 16 26 3 2

88 92 24.8 3.82 3.68 10.74 10.17 Q 11.22 3 26 144 16 41 3 1

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Appendix 4 Recommended Courses No speci\ic courses are required for application or acceptance to the MD program. The admissions committee recommends that applicants consider taking as many of the following courses as their schedules allow, as the content of these courses will be helpful during the MD program. Whether or not an applicant has taken these courses at the time of application will not be taken into consideration in scoring the academic record.

Recommended Undergraduate Courses Two semesters of Biology Two semesters of Chemistry Two semesters of Physics Two semesters of English One semester of Psychology, Sociology or Anthropology One semester of Calculus or Statistics Two semesters of Organic Chemistry Two semesters of Biochemistry Two semesters of Physiology

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Appendix 5 - Letter of Reference Formats Introduc*on Thank you for agreeing to act as a referee for ____________. Please be aware that all reference forms can be accessed by the applicant under FOIP legisla*on. As such, if you would like to address any of your concerns about the applicant in condence, please contact the Director of Admissions directly at ucmedapp@ucalgary.ca Part 1 How well do you know the applicant? In what capacity do you know the applicant? Part 2 Please rank the applicant according to the following aHributes. If you answer excep*onal or below average for any aHributes below, please describe your reasoning in the space to the right.
Exce p-o nal (Top 5%) Well Abo ve Aver age Abo ve Aver age Below Averag e (Bo"o m 50%)

A"ribute

Aver age

Unable to Assess

Explana-on
(if applicable)

Demonstrates the ability to perform tasks eec*vely and in a *mely fashion Demonstrates the ability to establish rapport, trust, and ethical behaviour among peers Demonstrates the ability to recognize vulnerable or marginalized popula*ons Demonstrates the ability to delegate roles when appropriate Demonstrates the ability to cri*cally evaluate informa*on and apply this appropriately to decision making Demonstrates the ability to interpret and integrate informa*on in order to problem solve

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Demonstrates the ability to share decision making among other group members Demonstrates the ability to set priori*es and balance commitments in academic, extracurricular, and personal life Demonstrates the poten*al to act as a mentor for peers Demonstrates the ability to adhere to moral and ethical behaviour Demonstrates the ability to resolve, manage, and prevent conicts Demonstrates respect for cultural, gender- based, and ethnic diversity Demonstrates the ability to eec*vely lead a team and implement change Demonstrates the ability to contribute to the wellbeing of others within their community Demonstrates the ability to ask ques*ons in order to seek out more informa*on Demonstrates the ability to recognize personal areas of weakness and to develop strategies for self improvement Part 3 Op-on 1 Collaborator As Collaborators, physicians eec-vely work within a healthcare team to achieve op-mal pa-ent care. Physicians work in partnership with others who are involved in the care of individuals or specic groups of pa*ents. It is essen*al for physicians to be able to collaborate eec*vely with pa*ents, families, and an interdisciplinary team of health professionals for the provision of op*mal pa*ent care. ASer carefully considering the statement above, please answer the following ques*ons. 1. Please provide a specic example of when the applicant worked in a collabora*ve role to achieve a goal. What skills does the applicant possess that allowed them to achieve this goal? 2. What personal characteris*cs does the applicant possess that might aect their ability to be a collaborator? 3. Would you like a member of the admissions commiHee to contact you directly about the applicant?

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Op-on 2 Manager As Managers, physicians are integral par-cipants in healthcare organiza-ons, organizing sustainable prac-ces, making decisions about alloca-ng resources, and contribu-ng to the eec-veness of the healthcare system. Physicians interact with their work environment as individuals, as members of teams or groups, and as par*cipants in the health system locally, regionally or na*onally. Physicians func*on as managers in their everyday prac*ce ac*vi*es involving co-workers, resources and organiza*onal tasks, such as care processes, and policies as well as balancing their personal lives. Thus, physicians require the ability to priori*ze, eec*vely execute tasks collabora*vely with colleagues, and make systema*c choices when alloca*ng scarce healthcare resources.

ASer carefully considering the statement above, please answer the following ques*ons. 1. Please provide a specic example of when the applicant acted in a managerial role. What *me management and leadership skills does the applicant possess that allows them to be an eec*ve manager? 2. What personal characteris*cs does the applicant have that may aect their ability to be an eec*ve manager? 3. Would you like a member of the admissions commiHee to contact you directly about the applicant? Op-on 3 Advocate As Advocates, physicians responsibly use their exper-se and inuence to advance the health and wellbeing of individual pa-ents, communi-es, and popula-ons. Physicians recognize their duty and ability to improve the overall wellbeing of their pa*ents and the society they serve. Communi*es and socie*es need physicians special exper*se to iden*fy and collabora*vely address broad areas of need. At this level, advocacy involves eorts to change specic prac*ces or policies on behalf of those served.

ASer carefully considering the statement above, please answer the following ques*ons. 1. Please provide a specic example of when the applicant demonstrated their ability contribute to the wellbeing of others. What experience does the applicant have in iden*fying a need and ac*ng on it? 2. What personal characteris*cs does the applicant possess that might aect their ability to improve the wellbeing of others? 3. Would you like a member of the admissions commiHee to contact you directly about the applicant?

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Appendix 6 FAQ 1. What is the deadline date? October 15, 2011. The application must be submitted electronically and received by this date. We require one (1) copy of all of\icial transcripts, of\icial MCAT scores and three letters of reference. No application received after October 15th will be considered. 2. Can my transcripts arrive before my application? In fact it is preferred; they will be kept on \ile. 3. How many applicants do you currently accept? There were 170 seats available in 2011. We are unable to make speci\ic future class size commitments at this time. A minimum of 85% of seats are reserved for Alberta residents. 4. What is the policy if the MCAT is written more than once? We consider the best set of scores as determined by the applicant and (upon veri\ication) will use the ones submitted with your application. 5. What is your cut-off for the MCAT? We do not have a minimum cut-off. The distribution of scores obtained by applicants is available on our website. 6. What are your required courses? We recommend, but do not require, that applicants complete a full year of each of: biology, chemistry, physics, English, organic chemistry, biochemistry and physiology as well as a semester of either psychology, sociology or anthropology and a semester of either calculus or statistics as preparation for the MD program. Applicants will \ind these courses helpful as preparation for the MCAT. 7. Is any particular undergraduate degree preferred? No. Applicants are urged to have an alternate career in mind and their program should re\lect that. 8. Graduate Students These applicants are reviewed by the committee in the same way as undergraduate students. Seats are not reserved speci\ically for students with graduate degrees. 9. Why do I have to enter my academic record if the medical school has my transcripts? All grades for every applicant must be entered into our database and we do not have the resources to do this for 1900 applicants. 10. Is it possible to transfer into the U of C MD program? The University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine does not consider transfer requests.

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