Medical School Application
There are four parts to the medical school application process: the primary application, the secondary application, the interview, and admit status. Some students may choose to apply through an Early Decision Program. Some may apply to foreign medical schools. And some may consider other medical professions such as osteopathy, optometry, podiatry, veterinary medicine, or physician assistant.
GENERAL INFORMATION CHECKLIST FOR STUDENTS APPLYING TO MEDICAL SCHOOL
For each school to which you are applying, the following are important:
• Application form (AMCAS for most schools is the "primary application")
• Fee
• Academic record (AMCAS)
• MCAT
• Recommendations (Pre-Med Committee)
1. Application form
For all AMCAS schools, the AMCAS form is it. Other schools have their own forms (e.g. NYU, Columbia, Texas). Deadlines vary with schools (regardless of whether they use AMCAS) from October 31 to January 31. November 15 seems to be the median. Early Decision Applications should be in by August 1, with supporting documents in by August 15. In any case, early is better.
2. Fees
Fees will be required for applications to nearly all schools except some state schools. Usually the application fee is billed to you with the "secondary application" materials. Follow the instructions from the individual school. Most fees are $50 to $100. A separate fee is charged by AMCAS for its services. The fee schedule tends to change each year, but you may expect to pay at least $450 to AMCAS alone if you are applying to ten schools.
3. Academic record (grades)
For AMCAS schools, the AMCAS form will provide this information. Each transcript sent to AMCAS should be accompanied by a "transcript matching form," a page from AMCAS which helps them identify your transcript as yours. For non-AMCAS schools, you must have a transcript sent to the medical schools from the Registrar's office of each college you have attended. You can begin AMCAS in May, but must wait for final spring grades to complete it -- usually in early June.
4. MCAT
MCAT scores will be sent to AMCAS and to each of six non-AMCAS schools you choose separately at the time of the test. There is a special form to have MCAT sent to additional non-AMCAS schools after you have taken the exam. There will be a fee for these additional reports. Try to have an idea of where you want them sent when you first take the test. It will save time and money. In 2004, the regular MCAT registration fee was $190.00.
5. Recommendations
Recommendations are an important part of your credentials. The Pre-Med Recommendation Committee will provide these for you. The Committee recommendation includes the letters submitted on your behalf by four references you named, plus summary comments by the Committee chair. Have your primary application into the College Dean's Office by early May for the June evaluation. After the recommendation is ready, you will be notified and then it is your responsibility to see that it is sent to the schools to which you are applying. You fulfill this responsibility by completing a mailing form for each school. It is best to submit all of them at once, and as early as you know your file is active at the medical school. Send NO recommendation to AMCAS.
The following items are your credentials: transcripts, MCAT scores, and recommendations. Other data will be on the application form, such as your essay. The essay you write for the Committee will be practice for you. You may consult with members of the Pre-Med Recommendation Committee before and after the Committee has met for advice about how you should write the essay for your actual applications, including AMCAS.
GENERAL INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS APPLYING TO DENTAL SCHOOL
The same times hold generally for dental school applications if you substitute AADSAS for AMCAS and DAT for MCAT. There is no Early Decision Program and the fee schedule differs. Also, a big difference is that AADSAS does process recommendations, so send a Pre-Med Committee recommendation to AADSAS.
CHOOSING MEDICAL OR DENTAL SCHOOLS
Here are a few rule-of-thumb, broad principles, not to be taken as inflexible. Get some advice about their flexibility in your case:
1. For medical schools, the book, Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR), available from the AAMC is a primary source of information. Use it to help select schools after you know your objective credentials: grades, MCAT scores, Committee recommendation. For most, this will be mid- to late-June.
2. Historically, your home state schools and Georgetown are your best bets. The other Jesuit schools (St. Louis, Loyola, and Creighton) are very familiar with Georgetown's undergraduate program and are popular with our graduates. Many state schools, particularly in the West and Southwestern states, take only a tiny fraction of out-of-state applicants, so unless you are from these states or are exceptionally strong academically, do not waste your money on them. Many state-supported schools in the East and Midwestern states (Massachusetts being a notable exception), take larger percentages of students from out of state. If you have strong credentials and you are attracted to a state school which is not in your home state, check the admissions policy of that school. The MSAR will answer many of your questions about acceptance of out-of-state applicants.
3. The 20 most popular schools that Georgetown undergraduates apply to are (in descending order): Georgetown, George Washington, Drexel, New York Medical College, Thomas Jefferson, Boston University, Temple, Tufts, Loyola, Albany Medical College, Tulane, St. Louis, Virginia Commonwealth, NYU, Maryland, Rosalind Franklin, Einstein, Vermont, Eastern Virginia, and Wake Forest. Admissions success for Georgetown students at these schools ranges from 2% to almost 25%.
4. If your credentials are strong, you may consider the well-known private schools: Harvard, Hopkins, Yale, Stanford, Chicago, Penn, Cornell, Columbia, Washington University, Duke. Get some advice. These are often research-oriented schools.
5. For dental schools, consult the American Dental Education Association's list of dental schools. Clinical programs vary greatly among dental schools. Graduates of many schools still need to do a clinical internship, depending on how thorough their clinical programs were. Harvard is the research school.
6. Multiplying applications does not necessarily increase your chances. Selecting the right schools for you may increase them. If your list of schools exceeds fifteen you certainly need advice or you are probably wasting somebody's money.
7. Any medical school in the U.S. will prepare you in an adequate clinical program. Most researchers have gone through a clinical program first. However, there are a few schools which place emphasis on research, e.g. Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Stanford, Hopkins, Duke, Columbia, Washington University, etc., as well as a sizable number of schools which have combined M.D./Ph.D. programs. For information on these, see the MSAR for details.
