Conquering the Ontario Medical School Application Service (OMSAS) Autobiographical Sketch (ABS) is a rite of passage for every Ontario medical student. Here, you get to showcase who you are, what you’ve done, and importantly – why medical schools should take you. The deceptively simple task of inputting your out-of-classroom activities can be a head-scratcher for many, and a source of frustration, sleepless nights, and self-doubt.
While the ABS does indeed require time and self-reflection, it does not have to be feared! Here, we break down everything you need to know about what the ABS is, how to complete it, and how to make yourself stand out to medical schools across the province.
First thing’s first: What is the “ABS” anyway?
Simply put, the ABS is a structured resume with descriptions. That’s it. You have up to 32 spaces to present your best and brightest activities and/or achievements since age 16. Each ABS entry must be classified under one of six categories: Employment, Volunteer Activities, Extracurricular Activities, Awards and Accomplishments, Research, or “Other.” It’s up to you to decide what category best describes the activities you select, and there’s no right or wrong answer. Go with your gut, and you’ll be good.
You’ll need to provide the date that you started and ended the activity, so schools can get a sense for the length of commitment you put into the experience. A location, or at the very least, a postal code, will have to be entered to indicate the location of the activity.
Not too tricky, right? Let’s dive into the specifics of the entries in a bit more detail…
Activity descriptions: Character count will be your greatest enemy
Once you select the category your activity falls under, new fields will appear below, all of which are required. The fields will differ depending on the category, and help to make sure you provide all the information necessary for that area of experience. For instance, let’s imagine you volunteered at your local hospital, and wanted to include this in your sketch. After selecting “Volunteer Activities” for the category, you’ll see that a “Verifier” needs to be added, as well as “Level of Education,” “Hours,” whether your volunteering was done in the summer or academic year, and before or after university, as well as the responsibilities involved. The content required varies slightly for each of the six categories, but the idea is very similar, and they all share one important feature: the incredibly tight character count.
Ok, I understand what the ABS is and the categories involved. What’s the big deal, and how do I make myself stand out?
Many students who first glance at the ABS figure it will take them a couple hours to fill out. Activity descriptions are short – 150 characters, and the rest seems like basic biographical information. Remember, however, that you have up to 32 of these bad boys to complete, and character limits are not always easy to abide by. How do you condense what may be a very complex, rich experience into only 150 characters (not words!)? Keep reading to find out our strategy for success.
Before even beginning to fill out the ABS, it is absolutely essential to be strategic and plan out your activities. You want to ensure that you are submitting a diverse portfolio here – 32 awards or scholarships will not be sufficient to get into medical school, no matter how prestigious those awards may be. Start by writing down each of the six headings, leaving the “Other” category vacant for any things that may not fit neatly into the other groups. Now, take some serious time to reflect on what you have done since age 16. Don’t rush through this. Quality ABS statements come from thoughtful reflection on what makes an applicant who they are. It’s important that it showcases the best of you, and this may in fact mean leaving certain activities off the list.
For example, let’s say you have 20 solid experiences that are pretty evenly split across the categories. Amazing. Now let’s imagine in addition to that, you have five short-term, very mediocre experiences that really don’t align with the person you’re presenting yourself as in your application. Do not feel the need to include every single thing you’ve done! Be thoughtful, and always ask yourself whether this is a significant experience you are proud of, and has shaped who you are as a person.
In line with this, also take your personal situation into account to determine how far back you go. Yes, you’re technically allowed to venture back to age 16. Technically. However, if you are a mature applicant in your thirties, moving backwards a couple of decades probably isn’t the best strategy. You want to show your file reviewers what you have done in the recent past and/or are currently doing. Certainly feel free to include significant experiences or life events, but be careful if you find that all of your ABS items are from years or even decades ago.
As you continue reflecting on what to include, be sure to think outside the box. Increasingly, medical schools are interested in originality. So, delete from your brain any cookie-cutter laundry lists of things that the “perfect medical school applicant” has to do. Be original. Be you. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t include your hospital volunteer experience, or co-chairing your university pre-med society. Rather, it means you should feel the freedom to create an ABS with a wide variety of experiences – conventional and otherwise.
To illustrate, I’ll describe a few quirky ABS items I included, which I felt were important to my character and would set myself apart in the application process. During the years leading up to my application, I took theatre classes and was involved in several productions, so included that in my sketch. I’m also a recreational runner, and worked with a coach to train for local races. One of my favourite ABS items was my entry about card magic, which I did as a hobby. It ended up being a talking point in one of my interviews, where I described a patient experience doing card tricks for children while they waited in the Emergency department.
When I first started brainstorming for my sketch, these activities certainly weren’t on the list. However, in taking the time to think about what was important to me and what I spent my time doing – beyond the “typical” pre-med activities I was also engaged with – I was able to come up with a unique application that stood out. And that is the key with all aspects of your application: being genuine, sincere, and illustrating you are a human being who will be able to do more for their patients than regurgitate medical facts.
Once you have figured out what activities to include (and please, don’t feel the need to use all 32 spaces! Quality over quantity, folks.), you will have the exciting experience of putting together the various details mentioned above – including the dreaded 150-character descriptions. Our suggestions for a great description in such a tiny space? One sentence discussing what you did, and a second with the impact it made (the “so-what?,” in other words). Many, many students just provide a list of what each experience involved, which is ok. However, to really shine here, consider what you took away from the activity, what it taught you, or why it was so meaningful. As an example, the final sentence of your hospital volunteering experience might be: “Opened my eyes to the challenges of chemotherapy, and the need for patient-centred care that addresses individual needs.” This shows your file reviewer that you have taken something significant away from each experience, which has prepared you for the road to becoming a physician. This framework (first sentence description, second sentence impact) can be applied to literally everything in your ABS, and though it will take some thought, will help you ensure you’re getting the most out of your entry descriptions. Pro-tip for making the most of your character limits to accomplish this: don’t hesitate to use point form and/or word abbreviations (w/, &, etc.). While it can be uncomfortable using short-forms in something as formal as your medical school application, reviewers will be sensitive to the constraints you’re under. When every character counts, using these work-arounds means you won’t be wasting precious space on unnecessary content.
*A note for those applying to the University of Ottawa: as an added bonus, you have the opportunity of selecting your “top three” experiences from each category. How fun! Given that there are six categories, this gives you a potential total of 18 “top experiences” for uOttawa to see. Don’t think too hard about it. Consider what experiences from each category you are most proud of, and try to pick ones that add up to a diverse application portfolio. Also note that many applicants will not have 18 experiences selected – depending on how many entries they have for each category, and whether they consider those entries to be some of their top material. Just because you only have three research experiences to include, doesn’t mean you need to select them all. Go with what feels right. Consider which activities you would be most comfortable discussing in an interview,and which do the best job of showcasing your personal qualities, character and values.
On the CanMEDS framework…
A final word on what many applicants know all too well (or have heard rumours of): the CanMEDS framework, complete with its “roles:” Communicator, Collaborator, Leader, Health Advocate, Scholar, Professional, and Medical Expert. Essentially, these are qualities that Canadian medical schools see as important for applicants, medical students, and physicians alike to possess. When putting together your ABS (as well as other aspects of applications and interview prep – for Ontario as well as the rest of Canada), you should have these roles in the back of your mind. However, don’t feel the need to explicitly state them, again and again, in every aspect of your application. Illustrate that you have these qualities, but no need to say “I was a strong communicator” for every role that involved communication skills. Take the time to find interesting and insightful ways to demonstrate you are aware of and possess these important qualities.
Final words of wisdom
You have come a long way to reach the point of creating an OMSAS account, and applying (or re-applying) to Ontario medical schools. The application process is a journey in and of itself, but doesn’t have to be a negative one. Allow it to be a time of self-reflection, where you acknowledge what makes you YOU, and try not to pay attention to what others are putting down for their own sketch. There is no single ideal person that medical schools are looking for. Truly, they just want incoming students who are real, and not only have the smarts to be good doctors, but the human qualities as well. So, with all this in mind, enter into your ABS with confidence, and use it as an opportunity to elevate yourself as the stand-out candidate that you are!
Take care and best of luck!
The Scholr Team