Professional School

Teachers College

Getting into Teacher’s College is highly competitive and requirements vary from school to school. Entry to Teacher Education programs requires a high GPA and volunteer experience.  Read our Ontario Teachers Colleges for contact information.  The Ontario College of Teachers has also published Thinking about Teaching to assist you in your decision making.

Certification

Teaching programs are divided into categories based on grade-level:

Primary-Junior (Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6)

• A teachable subject is not required, however a course of studies that is related to child studies or a core subject area is preferred at some colleges

Junior-Intermediate (Grade 4 to Grade 10)

• One teachable subject is required, course requirements vary from college to college, and an average of 18 units is needed for a teachable subject.

Intermediate-Senior (Grade 7 to Grade 12)

• Two teachable subjects are required, course requirements vary from college to college, an average of 30 units is needed for the first teachable and 18 units for a second teachable

Application Process 

Start preparing early! Teacher Education applications are available in September through COMPASS.TEAS applications are due at the beginning of December. Admission decisions are made in April. Check the TEAS website for details regarding dates and deadlines.

Admission Requirements

You must be:

• In your final year of undergraduate study
• Completing all your degree requirements in April
• Have a minimum GPA of 8 at McMaster

Volunteer Experience

Gaining volunteer experience is important to your application consideration. Many programs value directly related experience with the age group you would like to teach and the closer the experience is to teaching the more value it has. Volunteer positions to consider include:

• Teachers Aide
• Coach
• Camp Counsellor
• TA for a University Course
• Lab Assistant
• Working with Learners with Special Needs
• Tutor
• Girl Guide/Boy Scout Leader

Whether the position is paid or unpaid is less important than the responsibility that you have in the role and recent experience or ongoing commitment holds greater value.  Some schools require a certain number of experience hours and letters of verification of the experience.

If you are looking for a volunteer opportunity come and speak with our Volunteer Connection team in Gilmour Hall 110.

Experience Profile

Many of the Faculties of Education in Ontario request that you complete an experience profile.  You may need to document courses you have taken, institutions attended and teaching related experience.  In some cases a short essay submission on your desire to become teacher will also be required. The Experience Profile may be a determining factor on your acceptance for an interview or admission into the program.

Consider attending a Personal Statement Workshop and read the Writing your Personal Statement. Sample personal statements are available in our Resource Centre to help you gather ideas.

Medical School

Applying to medical school is highly competitive. Most begin the application process in the spring of third year, or approximately a year and half before entering medical school. A lot of research, planning and preparation go into making a strong application.

Admission Requirements

Most medical schools require undergraduate courses in general chemistry, organic chemistry, biology and physics. Many also require courses such as math, statistics, English or French, biochemistry, humanities and/or social sciences. Certain medical schools do not outline any specific prerequisite courses but it is a good idea to include most of the subjects listed. You will require a 3 year undergraduate degree to be considered for admission. Review our Considering Medical School for more information and consult each university for specific admission criteria on a yearly basis. Generally, a grade point average of 3.8 on a 4.0 scale is the minimum acceptable average to be considered for admission. Schools may calculate your GPA based on your overall program of studies, on the last two years of studies or maybe even consider your marks in the prerequisite subjects.

NOTE: Medical schools may limit the number of places granted to applicants who permanently reside outside of the province in which the university is located.

MCAT

Candidates usually choose to take the MCAT immediately following second year of undergraduate studies. At this point, you will have completed your courses for medical school applications and are ready to write the MCAT. If you have not finished the prerequisite courses- two semesters each of biology, physics, general chemistry, and organic chemistry it would be better to wait.

The MCAT test is administered in a computerized format using a fixed-form method. Questions on the exam vary from version to version but do not change based on the skill of the individual taking the exam. Each multiple-choice question on the exam is weighted based on level of difficulty. Correct answers to questions of higher difficulty will affect your score. Additionally points are awarded to questions of greater difficulty. The exam length is four hours and 20 minutes, which includes:

• 70 minutes for Physical Sciences
• 60 minutes for Verbal Reasoning
• 60 minutes for the Writing Sample (2 essays)
• 70 minutes for Biological Sciences

An additional hour may be added to the length due to:

• 10 minute optional tutorial
• Three 10 minute optional breaks
• 5 minutes allotted for a mandatory non-disclosure agreement
• 5 minutes allotted for the void option screen
• 10 minutes allotted for an exam survey

During the exam, each question is displayed one at a time, you may go back to any question that has previously been viewed or answered within the same section. Once you have completed a section, you will not be able to go back and view or change any answers. MCAT score requirements required by each program vary. Most universities do not use the MCAT as the only factor for admission consideration. Other factors such as entrance essays, personal statements, grade point averages (GPA) and interviews are considered in addition to MCAT scores for program admission.

Essays and Personal Statements

Many schools require applicants to submit a personal statement or essay. Be sure to understand what is being asked and answer in the allotted space. Start at least a few months ahead of time to give yourself opportunity for revisions and refinement. Be sure to check your spelling and grammar! Come to our Resource Centre (Gilmour Hall 110) and review the books we have on this subject as well as our Writing Your Personal Statement and Personal Statement Checklist FYIs. Writing Your Personal Statement workshops are offered by the Student Success Centre during the fall semester. Register on OSCARplus.

Letters of Reference

Get to know your professors. This will help when it comes time to request a letter of reference for your application. A personal reference from a professor will reveal your character and personality as well as your ability and knowledge of course content  Make an appointment to discuss your request and take the time to explain what is important to you and why you are asking for a reference. Leave a copy of your resume and personal statement to assist with the development of the reference letter. As well, references will need to complete the “Confidential Assessment Form”.

Extra-Curricular Activities

Marks are important but not everything. Some medical schools focus more on academic factors and others focus on non-academic factors. All admission committees are looking for well rounded candidates. Get involved in activities early; take leadership, as well as supporting positions.

Applying

All Ontario Medical School Applications are submitted to the “Ontario School Application Service (OMSAS)”. For other provinces, visit each school’s website for instructions

The information noted above is meant to act as a guide.

Law School

Here's what you need to know about applying to Law School in Ontario:

• There is no particular program of study required at the undergraduate level before applying to law school.
• Knowing what law schools are looking for in an applicant will help in your decision on where to apply.
• Most schools look at many factors including: academic performance (GPA), LSAT score, personal statement, experience, interviews and letters of recommendation.

Application Process

Research schools by going to open houses and speak with admission representatives a minimum of one year before you intend to apply. The Continuing Education Fair is a good place to start. Consider attending a Personal Statement Workshop and read the Writing your Personal Statement FYI. Sample personal statements are available in our Resource Centre to help you gather ideas.

Online applications are available in early August. The deadline for applications to first year programs is early November and that includes transcripts and reference forms. Applications to the Canadian & American Dual JD program through Windsor University have a deadline of mid-April.

Admissions Test

The LSAT (Law School Admissions Test) is a standardized test required for admission to most (but not all) law schools in Canada.  It consists of five sections of multiple choice questions, each 35 minutes in length plus a 35 minute writing sample.

Four of the five multiple choice sections are scored: two logical reasoning, one reading comprehension, and an analytical reasoning. The additional section is not scored and is used to try out new test questions.

The writing sample is not scored; a copy is forwarded to the law schools you are applying to.  The LSAT is scored between 120 and 180.  Most law schools report that the median LSAT score of admitted students falls in the 155-165 range.

Test Dates and Registration Information: Tests are scheduled for June, October, December and February. Refer to the LSAC website for registration information, procedures, deadlines and processes for alternative testing arrangements.

Admissions Requirements

You must be in your final year of undergraduate study.

Candidates apply to attend Law School through the Ontario Law Schools Application Service OLSAS.

Many law schools do not wait until the admissions deadline to start accepting or declining candidates; instead they evaluate applications on an ongoing (rolling admission) basis. The schools do early admissions, in late November and early December. First round admissions from January through March and second round admissions May through July. If you haven’t heard anything from your preferred law school after the first round, follow up with the admissions office to see if there is anything you have missed or need to add.

Personal Statement

This is the portion of professional school applications that will address your motivation and suitability for the program and the profession. The admissions committee will have your transcripts to evaluate your academic performance and they may have confidence in your knowledge through admissions tests, but they still want to get to know about you.

The personal statement is your opportunity to really explain to the admissions committee who you are, what you want to achieve and how you are going to achieve it – generally speaking. When sitting down to think about what to write, first and foremost, make sure you understand what each school and each program is asking for as some may want a listing of activities, an essay or responses to specific questions.

Focusing your personal statement to each program is just as important as focusing your resume to each job. You need to know who your target audience is and what they want to know about you.  Generally, most admissions committees are looking for personal statements that are:

• Insightful - ask yourself “why” in order to get to a deeper level
• Credible – your statements are backed up with evidence
• Specific – give some details, so they can have a “picture”
• Personal – representing yourself and your experiences
• Precise – well articulated and efficient with words
• Well researched – you know the program, school, profession and yourself
• Well written – vocabulary, grammar and essay structure

Student Resources:

Writing Your Personal Statement
Personal Statement Checklist
The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) has excellent resources to help you with the “well written” aspect.