Medical School

• Meet with your Pre-Med Advisor and learn Pre-Med requirements, see Courses
• Talk with your Pre-Med Advisor about AP units transferring to medical school
• Think about your major and minor and develop a Pre-Med course of study
• Plan a tentative schedule for the next 3½ years
• Develop study skills and maintain an excellent GPA
• Begin extracurricular activities and participate in pre-med clubs, see Clubs & Organizations
• Get AAMC’s MCAT Student Manual for subject outlines
• Review medical school admission requirements
• Work/volunteer in a medical area
• Subscribe to medical student journals and read interesting books about medicine
• Challenge yourself to get a summer internship/volunteer job working with patients

• Start General Chemistry, see Courses
• Work/volunteer in a medical area
• Meet with your Pre-Med advisor to discuss your program
• Fine-tune your college schedule
• Maintain excellent GPA
• Check medical school’s entry requirements
• Consider participating in research
• Consider what you will do this summer
• Apply to MMEP (minorities only)
• Study and apply for MCAT (summer before junior year, only if Physics with a Lab is completed), see MCAT
• Plan for any special junior-year programs (ie. junior year abroad)

• Start Organic Chemistry see Courses
• Study and apply for MCAT (if not yet taken), see MCAT
• Take MCAT by mid-May; scores are reported about 30 days after test is taken
• Meet with your Pre-Med advisor and maintain the best GPA you can
• December: Check websites and begin personal statement
• Gather information about med schools you are interested applying to (plan to apply to at least 25 schools)
• Get AMCAS/AACOMAS/other applications
• February: Request at least 5 letters of recommendation from faculty (2 science, 1 non-science, 3 work/volunteer)
• Complete Must/Want Analysis forms for schools in which you are interested
• Work/volunteer in a medical area and consider what you will do this summer
• Meet with Pre-Med committee and submit letters of recommendation no later than May
• May: AMCAS opens for data entry but submission is mid-June
• May 20: Print AMCAS application and submit to Career Services Pre-Med Advisor for review
• June: AMCAS starts accepting applications
• June: Pre-Med committee writes your cover letter and attaches all letters
• If not happy with scores, register for upcoming MCAT
• Visit nearby schools in which you are interested
• Apply for Early Acceptance Program (optional)

• October 15: All schools vary on final deadline but earliest would be middle of October to apply to AMCAS (which governs medical school application process)
• Work/volunteer in a medical area and maintain the best GPA you can
• Take MCAT to improve scores if needed, see MCAT
• Confirm that schools have received your application materials and letters
• Complete secondary medical school applications and inform Career Services on where to send your letters
• Interview at medical schools and complete financial aid forms
• If wait-listed, send a letter confirming interest
• Consider what you will do this summer (keep your options open)
• Accept offer (by May 15)
• Accept additional offers if higher on your Must/Want Analysis list; withdraw previous acceptances
• Write thank you letters to medical school interviewers, references, and all advisors who helped you
• If you do not get accepted, consider Post-Bac, Summer Enrichment, and Masters Programs to strengthen your application

Forms

• Applicant Summary Form
• File Waiver Form

What is the Pre-Med Committee (PMC)?

The Pre-Med/Pre-Health Professions Committee at CLU is a committee of Career Services professionals and Science Faculty formed to assist CLU students and alumni to gain entrance into medical or other Health Profession's programs. The main purpose of the PMC is to submit all students Letters of Recommendations to various schools and build CLU's reputation as a Pre-Med/Pre-Health university.

What are the benefits of using the Committee?

Many Medical schools prefer a formal committee turn in recommendations, ensuring their confidential delivery. The committee is also useful when asking faculty or off campus letter writers for letters that may need to be sent to 10–20 schools. The Pre-Med Committee will handle mailing letters by deadlines to various schools. Writers need to send letters to Career Services by April 15th of each year. In addition, the committee drafts a cover letter and attaches to the separate letters. When your letters are mailed to schools, the committee will include a statement that the student applying has waived all rights to the contents of their Pre-Med file, mostly referring to the Letters of Recommendation. Lastly, Medical Schools get accustom to committees submitting letters and start to recognize the quality of the students who go through the formal committee. Students are still responsible for applying online, taking the MCAT or other exams, and forwarding transcripts.

What do I need to do to take advantage of this program?

Pick up a Pre-Med packet at the Career Center. It will include the following:

• Student Information Form/Waiver of Rights to Pre-Med File – This form starts your file. Complete and sign and begin to turn in transcripts, AAMCAS printout, Personal Statement, and MCAT or Other scores. Then when secondary requests from schools come in, your file is ready and you just provide us via email with where you want us to send letters. Also includes waiver statement to be signed and dated which states you will not have access to your file and that it is confidential.
• Applicant Summary Sheet – Used as a guide for letter writers. You will submit the completed Applicant Summary Sheet to faculty or employers, which provides information about you.
• Packet of handouts including courses to take, timeline, MCAT information, Medical School interviews, etc.

What is the deadline to have letters sent by faculty to Committee?

Faculty will need to address letter to "Dear Medical School Admissions:" and send letter to Career Services/PMC (mail code 2400) by the April 15th deadline. We will make copies of all letters and send out to Medical Schools who request a secondary application. There is no limit for the number of schools to which the PMC will send the Composite Letter and copies of your Recommendations.

When will the Committee send my letters to schools?

From July 15th to Nov. 30th. Committee will keep original copies of all letters.

Academic Achievement

Grade Point Average

• 5% of those accepted had below a 3.0 GPA
• The average GPA of those accepted is 3.5
• GPA is examined in context of the student's overall educational data
• The easier it was to be accepted to your undergraduate college, the higher your GPA must be
• An upward pattern in your GPA demonstrates the ability to adjust to educational demands over time

Science Course Grades

• A solid level of good performance (3.5 or better) will demonstrate the ability to handle the intellectual demands of medical school
• Effort given to achieve those grades gives a pre-med student the opportunity to evaluate his/her abilities and career choice

College Attended

• Attendance at a university with an affiliated medical school will offer some degree of priority because universities accept a number of freshmen from their own college
• Those who attend a private college have a better chance of getting into a private medical school
• An undergraduate college with an established medical school admission record is an advantage

Intellectual Potential

MCAT Scores

• Indicator of academic potential
• Will be used to support academic record
• Confirms your status as an attractive applicant

Letters of Recommendation

• Supplement the quantitative data provided by transcripts and MCAT scores
• Adds to overall impression that your college work established
• Medical schools prefer letters from the Health Professions Advisory Committee, natural science or other faculty members

Personal Attributes

Exposure to Medicine

• Extracurricular activities like Summer Enrichment Programs are useful (see Barron's Guide to Medical and Dental Schools by Paul Wischnitzer)
• Special Achievements such as acceptance to honor societies and receiving awards for scholastic achievement
• Leadership Activities such as developing teams to visit the sick in the school infirmary or visiting the elderly

Am I a Competative Applicant?

A quick way to determine if you are a competitive applicant for medical school is to use this formula:

Science GPA x 10 + MCAT = >65

That is, multiply the GPA of your science classes by 10, then add your MCAT score. If the result is greater than or equal to 65, then this is a good indicator that you are a competitive candidate for medical school.

The American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) is a non-profit, centralized application processing service for applicants to the first-year entering classes at participating U.S. medical schools. For the 2006 entering class, most medical schools will be participating in AMCAS. Applicants to medical schools that do not participate in AMCAS, as well as all advanced standing and transfer applicants, should contact schools directly for application instructions. You should also contact schools directly for application information regarding joint or special programs, such as BA/MD, MD/Ph.D., MD/JD, and so forth.

AMCAS does not render any admission decisions and does not advise applicants where to apply. Each participating school is completely autonomous in reaching its admissions decisions. AMCAS provides only the application processing service. The AAMC and AMCAS neither endorse, nor have any relationship to, commercial counseling services concerned with admission to either U.S. or foreign medical schools.

Regardless of the number of AMCAS schools to which you apply, you submit just one application to AMCAS via the Web. You must also request an official transcript from each college of registration in the United States and Canada. AMCAS then assembles your application file, verifies it and forwards the application to your designated medical schools. AMCAS also sends your MCAT scores for tests taken since April 1991, provided you have released them to AMCAS.

Applying to AMCAS

To initiate your application to any of the schools participating in AMCAS, you may apply on line (AMCAS-on-the-Web) via the AAMC website at www.aamc.org. (Click on AMCAS). New AMCAS applications become available mid-June of every year.

Deadlines

All dealines are set by the individual medical schools and represent when materials (application and fees) must be received by AMCAS. Submitting materials as early as possible avoids any processing delays or missed deadlines. You are responsible for ensuring that all required information is received by AMCAS according to the school-specific deadlines set forth in the application. In addition, applicants are responsible for checking the status of their submitted application.

Refunds

AMCAS will not issue refunds for missed deadlines. You will be eligible for a refund of your AMCAS application fees—minus a $160 non-refundable service fee—if you withdraw your application before it has completed the verification process. You will receive a refund only for those schools for which the published deadline has not yet passed at the time you withdraw your application.

Fees

The fee for applications for the 2006 entering classes is $160 for the first designated school and $30 for each additional school, regardless of the point at which you add school designations. Those unable to pay this fee may apply for a waiver through the AAMC Fee Assistance Program (FAP).