OMSAS 2026-27: $220 Fee, October 1 Deadline and GPA Calculation

How much does OMSAS cost?

OUAC charges a $220 application fee plus $135 for each medical school, the same at all seven. Ontario transcripts ordered through the application add transcript request fees. You pay through Flywire under Review and Submit, in full, before the deadline. Fees are not refundable, OUAC takes no partial payments and dropping a school does not refund its fee. Here is the arithmetic.

How does OMSAS calculate GPA?

OMSAS turns every grade into a value on its 4.0 scale using OUAC's Undergraduate Grade Conversion Table, which assigns each university a scale and lists the value for each grade. Look up your university's scale on OUAC's page. Then OMSAS weights each course by length and divides total points by total weight. It is not an average of yearly averages. Our OMSAS GPA calculator does the weighting and each school's rule once you type in your OUAC values.

Course weights, per OUAC: a full-year course counts 2, a half-year course 1, a three-quarter course 1.5 and a lab 0.5. Repeated courses count twice if both grades are on your transcript. Failed, incomplete, supplementary and summer courses count. Pass or credit courses, college courses, graduate courses and IB or AP grades do not.

A worked example (ours)

One invented full-time year. Each grade is already converted to its OUAC value, then gets its weight.

36.4 points divided by 10 weights gives an OMSAS GPA of 3.64. Full-year courses count double, so raising chemistry one step on OUAC's scale, from 3.70 to 3.90, would lift this year to 3.68. On percentage scales, a grade just under the edge of a band costs the most.

Applied this cycle? Starting in November, your OMSAS GPA calculations show in Document Tracking. Check every course against your transcript and report any change by December 2, 2026 through Secure Applicant Messaging.

How does each Ontario school use your GPA?

Differently. OUAC says each school may use a different GPA than the one OMSAS calculates. Here is each school's rule from its page in the OMSAS guide, with OUAC's applicant and seat counts. The ratio is our math.

Which Ontario schools need the MCAT or Casper?

Four need the MCAT: McMaster, Queen's, Toronto and Western. McMaster scores only CARS, with a minimum of 123 (see our CARS guide). Ottawa, NOSM and TMU do not require it. You must release all scores from the last 5 years, and scores released before July 1, 2026 had to be released again. Your AAMC ID and date of birth must match on both sides or OMSAS cannot find your scores.

Each school also adds its own step. Casper is required at McMaster and Queen's (dates in our Casper test dates guide). Ottawa uses an early-phase MMI on Acuity Insights. TMU invites every applicant to a Kira Talent assessment, and Western's own ABS is completed on Kira after OMSAS closes (see our Kira guide). Toronto asks for brief personal essays.

How do OMSAS references work?

You need three referees: one academic or employment referee, one non-academic referee and one of your choosing. Each fills in an online Confidential Assessment Form (CAF), and OUAC sends only the form, so extra letters are not accepted. Use their work or university email. You can submit before the references arrive, but none can be submitted after the deadline. References can be in French only if you apply just to Ottawa or NOSM, per the OMSAS FAQ.

The CAF asks whether you would make a good physician, rates you on communication, problem solving, professionalism and empathy, and asks your referee to name one area where you can improve. Those four attributes map well to the CanMEDS roles Canadian schools assess.

What transcripts does OMSAS need?

One official transcript from every postsecondary school you attend, attended or withdrew from, including exchange, transfer and Letter of Permission courses. Ontario transcripts are ordered inside the application. Other Canadian and US schools send theirs directly, and US grades are converted without a WES evaluation. International transcripts need a WES course-by-course evaluation. Everything had to arrive by October 1, and OMSAS cannot warn you about missing transcripts at the deadline, so check Document Tracking yourself. Final transcripts are due June 30, 2027.

What is the Ontario residency rule?

Since July 1, 2025, Ontario's publicly assisted universities must reserve at least 95% of their medical admissions for Ontario residents, with the rest for other Canadian citizens, permanent residents and protected persons. In short, you count as ordinarily resident if you are a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or protected person, you or your spouse lived in Ontario for 12 consecutive months after turning 14, and that person either earned an Ontario high school diploma or has not since lived 12 months in another province. Time in full-time postsecondary study counts only if it was an in-person Ontario degree program of 4 or more years. Read OUAC's scenarios before you answer the question.

What to do now

If you applied for fall 2027. Our list for November, from the OUAC dates above.

1. Open Document Tracking and confirm every transcript, all three references and your MCAT scores show as received.
2. When your OMSAS GPA calculations appear this month, check each course, grade and weight against your transcript.
3. Report any error by December 2, 2026 through Secure Applicant Messaging. After that, you own the mistake.
4. Watch for school steps that come after OMSAS closes: Western's ABS on Kira, TMU's Kira assessment, Ottawa's early-phase MMI.
5. Start interview practice now. Ontario interviews run from January to April.

Where the interview is an MMI, our MMI schools table shows the format at each school, and MMI practice questions with answers is a good place to start.

Practice the question your referees already answered

The CAF asked each referee to name one area where you can improve. Interviewers often ask a version of the same thing. Answer it out loud before they do.

Frequently asked questions