presented by: Shannon Hinsa and Steve Sieck

Prepared with help from:Michelle Sears

We support applications to a variety of health professional graduate programs including:

MD DO Dentistry Veterinary School OT, PT, etc.

The application process can be quite similar among these, and we will focus upon MD and DO as those tend to be the majority of students.

◦ What do Medical Schools want?

◦ Understanding the Medical School Admissions Process

◦ About AMCAS and AACOMAS

◦ The 2014 AMCAS and AACOMAS Applications

◦ Requirements of Grinnell’s HPAC for Committee Letter Writing

◦ Questions / Comments from SHOT

Completion of required courses and good grades

Good MCAT scores Personal characteristics that will make you

a caring physician Demonstration of interest in bettering the

human condition Some human health experience Research experience Off campus study

75% of all Grinnell

Graduateswere

accepted

87% of Grinnell

Graduates with an

MCAT of 30 or higher

were accepted

92% of Grinnell

Graduates with a GPA of 3.6 or higher

were accepted

95% of Grinnell

Graduates with an

MCAT of 30 or higher & a GPA of 3.6 or higher were

accepted

Data is for 2002 thru 2013 Grinnell Graduates that applied to MD/DO programs within 5 years of graduation.

Services of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM)

Non-profit, centralized application services

◦ Collect applicant information◦ Collect one set of transcripts◦ Verifies academic records◦ Provides standardized grading information to

participating schools◦ They collect and average your grades across institutions,

grouping by science and non science

◦ Do not screen applications or make admissions decisions

Applying is a two-step process

◦ 1. Primary Application: AMCAS and/or AACOMAS

◦ 2. Secondary Applications: Medical Schools

Websites: www.amcas.org

www.aacom.org

Medical School

Primary Application

Complete online application

Send college transcripts

Identify Committee Letter of Recommendation

Pay application fee

AMCAS/AACOMAS processes the primary application.

Once this processing is complete, AMCAS/AACOMAS sends the primary application to the medical schools selected by the applicant.

At this point, the medical school takes over the application.

Secondary Application

Interview

Upon invitation from the medical school:

Submit letters of recommendation

Submit additional writing samples

Send updated transcripts if necessary

Pay additional application fee if

required

Schedule interview date upon invitation from the medical school

AMCAS/

AACOMAS

April - July

◦ 22 different testing dates throughout the year

◦ Your MCAT scores are valid for a three year period.

Request to gather information needed to prepare committee letter; Electronic form available on the HPAC website.

Provide state of residence

Identify key recommenders (Profs. & others)

Extracurriculars

Essay

Deadline 10 PM on Wed. April 2

Form 1

55% of Grinnell students that matriculate to medical school attend a school in their legal state of residence.

School Students matriculated

School Students matriculated

Iowa 10 Georgetown 2

Minn-Minneapolis 8 Massachusetts 2

Dartmouth 4 Michigan State 2

U Wash-Seattle 4 Nebraska 2

Chicago Medical 3 Penn State 2

Colorado 3 San Juan Bautista 2

Emory 3 Southern Illinois 2

Johns Hopkins 3 U Chicago-Pritzker 2

Kansas 3 U Wisconsin 2

Oklahoma 3 Vanderbilt 2

Case Western Res 2 Wash U St Louis 2

George Washington 2

Medical SchoolsGrinnell Graduatesattend.

Complete online at www.amcas.org or https://aacomas.aacom.org/ in June/July, the earlier the better

Request transcripts from Registrar. (Include in special instructions: "Biology Genetics Letter.“)

Indicate that Committee Letter will be sent from Grinnell.

Send Letter Request Form pdf file to [searsmic].

AMCAS Instructions AACOMAS instructions

Summer/Fall

If a medical school is interested, a secondary application will be sent to you.

Submit additional writing samples

Pay additional fee, if required.

Authorization to send committee letter of recommendation; Electronic form available on the HPAC website.

Submit to us only after you’ve been sent secondary applications by medical schools or you need a letter sent to a school.

Form 2

Not all medical schools use the AMCAS application process

Most non-MD and non-DO programs require individual applications

In these cases we can still do committee letters, but the application process that you will use may be different.

Summer/Fall

◦ Faculty complete HPAC recommendation forms

◦ Recommendations/Ratings are compiled by committee

◦ Member of committee is primary writer of letter; letter goes through several revisions

◦ Another member is secondary reader, more revisions

◦ HPAC co-chair reads and edits final letter

◦ Letter is sent within 4 weeks of receipt of Form 2.

SHADOWING◦ Facilitate shadowing at GRMC (limit of 12/hrs per year)◦ Alumni Externship Program (job shadow program during spring

break) * 2014 Program is on hold, but will hopefully continue soon!

INTERNSHIPS◦ Extensive summer internship resources◦ GRINNELLINK Program: Reserved/funded internships (some in

health-related fields)

GRADUATE/PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL ADVISING

◦ Review of application essays◦ Conduct mock interviews targeted at medicine and other health

professions◦ Facilitate web-based MCAT prep course through Kaplan

AMCAS and AACOMAS

HPAC website

Center for Careers, Life, and Service (CLS)

Contacts – Michelle Sears in Science Division Office

Co-Chairs of HPAC: Shannon Hinsa, Steve Sieck.

Albany  Arizona Boston University  Calif-Davis  Drexel University  Duke  Harvard  Hawaii  Howard Indiana  Jefferson  Kentucky  Med Col of Georgia  Minnesota-Duluth  Missouri Columbia  New Mexico  

New York Med  North Carolina  Northwestern  Ohio State Sanford SOM of the U of SD Temple Texas-San Antonio  Texas-Southwestern  Tulane  U Illinois  U Michigan  University Buffalo  Vermont  Wright State  Yale

Medical Schools Grinnell Graduates attend.