The Supplementary Essay is a Bachelor of Health Sciences (BHSc) admission requirement for all applicants to the on-campus program (QH) and the BISC (QIH).

Applicants can access their Supplementary Essay in SOLUS using their Queen’s NetID. They will be able to choose 2 of 3 short essay questions which will remain valid for 30 days. If the applicant does not complete and submit their Supplementary Essays within these 30 days, the questions will change and their work will be lost.

Supplementary Essay answers have a 2000 character limit.

Note: Do not submit any additional materials (reference letters, CV, etc.) as they will not be reviewed by the admissions committee.

Why do we use a Supplementary Essay?

Admission to the BHSc program is very competitive and we know that there is more to an applicant than their academic performance. An applicant will not receive an offer of admission based on grades alone. We use the Supplementary Essay in addition to your academic record to learn more about you. Based on your Supplementary Information and your grades, you may be offered admission to Queen’s BHSc.

The minimum admission average and the number of students selected based on the Supplementary Essay varies from year-to-year and is dependent on the number of applicants to the program and the academic strength of the applicants each year.

To assist in the effort to identify and eliminate barriers to admission, applicants from a broad range of historically and currently underrepresented groups are encouraged to complete and submit the Equity Admission Self-Identification form when submitting their Supplementary Essays. Applicants can choose to complete this form if they identify as:

• An Indigenous person
• A member of a racialized/visible minority group
• A person with a disability
• A person who identifies as LGBTQ2S+

Only applicants who are academically in the competitive range for admission, will be considered. The information collected will only be used to support offers of admission; this information will have no negative impact on the application. In addition to this equity self-identification form, alternative admission pathways exist for Indigenous and first-generation students.

Please note that supplementary essays are read by a committee of faculty, administration, and staff. Readers are required to undergo various trainings including, but not limited to, sessions covering inclusivity, diversity, intersectionality, and human rights. Supplementary essays that are submitted with the equity self-identification form are reviewed by readers from equity deserving groups.