There are a number of specific steps that need to be followed in order to be considered for admission to medical school:
1. Appropriate course preparation -- A separate document, "Courses
Recommended for Premedical Studies," describes the course sequence
that Goshen College recommends. The minimum requirement for all medical
schools is a year each of physics, general chemistry, organic chemistry,
and biology. These should be completed before taking the MCAT. It would
also be advisable to take at least one other biology course before the MCAT.
Developmental Vertebrate Biology is recommended for most students. Genetics
or Microbial Biology can also be helpful. A few medical schools have additional
requirements, described by the publication Medical School Admission Requirements,
available in the science
secretary's office.
2. MCAT
-- Applications become available at the science secretary's office in
late February every year. This test must be taken the year before a student
hopes to attend medical school. For a student planning to enter medical
school immediately after graduating, this would be at the end of their junior
year. The test is offered twice each year, in April and August. The closest
test sites are Notre Dame and Manchester in April and August, and IUSB in
April only. Upcoming dates are:
Reporting scores takes about six weeks. In the past, we recommended the
April test, so that completed applications could be sent to medical schools
for the advantage offered by being considered as early as possible. The
early date also gives students a chance to take the test again, if they
have a "bad day." However, two recent changes may make the later
test date more appropriate for some Goshen students. The second test date
is now earlier, and scores get to medical schools in good time. Also, as
medical school admission has become more competitive, more students are
spending a considerable amount of time in preparation for the MCAT. Because
the April date falls on the same week as Goshen College finals, students
have more opportunity for preparation with the August date.
The MCAT Student Manual describes the various sections
of the test, lists what you should know in each subject area and contains
a practice test for you to take. The manual can be ordered from the Association
of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) at the address listed in the next section.
Copies of some practice tests are available for check out in the science secretary's
office. Many bookstores also carry study guides such as the Betz
MCAT Study Guide. You can check out examples of several study guides
at the science secretary's office.
At the time you take the test you will be asked to submit a list of the
medical schools you want to receive your test scores. The medical schools
you list should be those that do NOT participate in the AMCAS application
procedure. (See #3.) Check the list in the MCAT application booklet.
Also check directions if you are applying to Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine.
The Premedical Committee wants to keep a record of the people taking the
MCAT and their scores. On the MCAT answer sheet there is a place for you
to mark so that a copy of your scores will be sent directly to the premedical
representative at the college. Please do this. There is no charge
to you for this. If you do not have this done, we request that you personally
give a copy of your scores to the science secretary. These are kept confidential
for the use of the committee only. This information helps us in counseling
you, and also helps us plan how to best serve future premedical students.
3. AMCAS Application -- The majority of the U.S. medical schools
participate in the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS),
a centralized application service. After you you submit a large application
form, AMCAS, for a stated fee, will send it out to the schools you have
requested. An open-ended one-page essay is the most time consuming part
of this application. It may be helpful to have a faculty member review a
draft of your essay. AMCAS also sends out your MCAT scores to the schools
you have selected. Not all schools participate in AMCAS. If you have
decided to apply to a medical school that does not participate in AMCAS,
the MCAT testing agency must be notified at the time you take the test to
send your scores. This is done free of charge if the agency is notified
at the time of the test. If the testing agency is notified after the test,
you pay!
In choosing the schools to which you wish to apply, you will want to
consult the publication Medical School Admission Requirements.
In this book there is a great deal of useful, general information about
applying to medical schools as well as information about specific schools.
The AAMC Curriculum Directory provides basic objective
data on the curriculum of every North American medical school matriculating
students. Two-page entries for all U.S. and Canadian medical schools include
data covering semester starting dates, total hours required in basic science
courses, duration of required clerkships, and time allotted to elective
programs. There are also lists of schools with special programs and special
medical-education opportunities.
A video, "The AMCAS Story," put out by AMCAS is available
for checkout at the science
secretary's office. This is designed to tell you about the application
process at AMCAS and has some tips on how to fill out the AMCAS forms.
These books and the video may be checked out for a day at a time from the
science secretary in Science 119. If you want your own copy of Medical
School Admission Requirements or AAMC Curriculum Directory write
to:
Information can also be obtained from Medical School catalogs. These
may be requested directly from the medical schools. Some catalogs are on
file in the main library. The Dean's Office has some information regarding
loans and grants for graduate schools. Feel free to make your needs known
and we will be glad to assist you in any way we can.
Your best chances of being accepted into medical school lie with the
medical schools of your home state! So apply to all of them! All public
schools strongly favor state residents. If you apply to public schools
as a non-resident, your credentials must be much better than those of residents
to have a chance of acceptance. You may also want to apply to some private
schools or public schools that take a higher than average number of out-of-state
students. If one of your parents is an alumnus of any medical school, apply
to that school. Goshen College students may also want to apply to Indiana
University even if they are not Indiana residents. Automatic interviews
are granted to all residents who have a 3.0 GPA. Non residents who go to
college in Indiana get an automatic interview if their GPA is over 3.6 and
MCAT scores total at least 28, with no score below 7 and a writing score
of at least "N." Nonresidents with no Indiana ties need even better
credentials.
For the entering class of 1994-95 there were about 44,000 applicants nationwide.
They filled out nearly 500,000 applications for an average of 11 applications
per applicant. A total of 16,211 new entrants enrolled, which amounts to
37% of the applicants. The number of applicants for 1995-96 has been considerably
higher, with a consequently lower acceptance rate of about 30%.
The earlier your application is filed the better chance you have!
All schools have a date before which they will not accept applications.
Try to have all your applications in by the end of August. There is an Early
Decision Plan where you apply to only one medical school before August
1 and say you will go there if accepted. If you are not accepted under this
program, you will be notified by October 1, and can apply to other schools
at that time. At Indiana University, to be considered for the Early Decision
Plan for the 1997 entering class, applicants must have a grade point
average of 3.6, a MCAT total of 28, with no single numeric score below 8,
and a writing sample score no less than "N." Requirements will
vary at other medical schools.
4. Secondary Applications -- The AMCAS application is the initial
screening. If you pass this stage, most medical schools will send you their
own forms to fill out. Usually at this time you will have to send in an
application fee.
5. Letters of Recommendation -- After you have filed the individual
medical school secondary application they will ask for letters of recommendation.
In order to respond promptly, you need to make arrangements well ahead
of time. You may need additional letters of reference. IU and a few
other schools require a reference from the dean of students. The primary
item that IU is concerned about from the dean of students is whether you've
ever been academically disciplined. Goshen College will report any incidents
that required judicial-board action.
Before you leave campus for the summer
A. Select a GC faculty member as your primary reference. This person will draft the character and motivation statement for the premedical committee. Please get this person's approval for this job. This person should be someone who knows you well: probably your academic advisor, a professor you've had in several classes, or perhaps a professor you've worked for. Preferably this would be one of the members of the premedical committee (J.N. Roth, J.S. Miller, D.G. Clemens, J.D. Yordy, J.R. Buschert and R.J. Milne), but if none of them know you well, another choice would be better. Generally this recommendation should also come from a science faculty member, unless you have a non-science major and are not well known by any of the science faculty.
At the science secretary's office:
- B. Fill out the form requesting a premedical committee recommendation. The premedical committee will then fill out a composite recommendation. Include on the form the name of the faculty member you have selected to write your character reference. Also turn in the form on which you have indicated whether you will or will not waive your right to see the recommendation. We recommend that you sign the waiver.
The premedical committee prepares a composite recommendation. This committee is composed of faculty representatives of the various science departments. The registrar provides grade point averages. In addition to evaluations from committee members, a written evaluation from a faculty member you selected (see '1,' above) is included. From these sources a composite recommendation is prepared. The form will be prepared during the summer and held until you indicate to which schools you have applied and wish to have copies of the recommendation sent.
You may request a letter of recommendation from two other professors in the college to be automatically included with the premedical committee recommendation. Have these letters sent to the science secretary; they can then be sent out along with the committee's recommendation. Some medical schools may require as many as three or four individual letters of recommendation. You will have to make separate arrangements to have letters of recommendations sent that are not part of what the premedical committee sends.
When a medical school notifies you that they want recommendations, then request the science secretary to send copies of your recommendation form to these schools. The bottom portion of the form should be used for this purpose. Be sure to include an addressed, stamped envelope for each school. PLEASE DO NOT put a return address on this envelope. The science secretary will do this for you.