Introduction to Page

» Powerpoint Presentations
» Deciding Where to Apply
» The AMCAS Application
» Secondary Applications and Sending Letters
» Osteopathic Medical School Applications

Powerpoint Presentations

The Health Sciences Committee provides informational meetings throughout the year for students at all levels of their education and pursuit of a career in healthcare. Below are resources taken from these meetings to help you get an idea of what can be expected in the application process.

These Microsoft Powerpoint presentations are from various meetings throughout the year. Even if you attended the meetings, they are a good reference.

Application Meeting (Fall 2009)

Selecting Medical Schools (Spring 2009)

Second Year Q & A

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Deciding Where to Apply

The national average number of schools to which pre-meds apply is about 12. Pomona students' average is higher. Given the complexity of factors to be considered, there can be no prescription regarding the number of schools to which to apply. The number should depend on the strength of your qualifications and the amount of time and money you wish to spend exploring possibilities. One is too few, unless you are a very strong early-decision candidate. But submitting dozens is far too many. Medical school admissions is not a lottery. Applications to more than 15-20 schools will not increase your chances of admission. Careful research and selection of schools that match your qualifications will increase your chances. Time spent in research now will save you time, aggravation, and money later on.

Consider some general information and advice about health professions careers. Consult resources in section 40 of the CDO library and on-line, including links from www.medsci.pomona.edu.

Read: For allopathic schools, the very useful book Medical School Admission Requirements is available in the Office of Career Development library, and at the Medical Science Committee Chair's office. You can order your own copy from: Association of American Medical Colleges, Membership and Publication Orders, 2450 N Street, N.W., Washington DC 20037-1129. (202-828-0416. fax 202-828-2223).

For osteopathic schools, obtain a copy of the admissions packet published annually by AACOMAS, available from the American Osteopathic Association (1429 Ontario Street, Chicago IL 60611. 800-621-1773).

Talk: to members of the Medical Sciences Committee, who have years of experience and current information generally unavailable elsewhere. While your family, friends of the family (including physicians), and peers may be helpful, some are apt to be misinformed or out-of-date on crucial steps in the application process and about particular schools.

Refer: to medical school catalogs and general information on the web. Request catalogs and bulletins directly from those schools which particularly interest you.

Choose: schools whose pedagogy, research emphasis, and clinical programs fit your style and goals. Examine your other priorities too, including your preferences and needs re: location, access to particular populations, student body composition, support services for students. There are no perfect schools. National "rankings" will give you very little useful information in identifying the schools that have the best programs and personnel to match your skills, personality, and tolerance for debt. Nonetheless, such rankings exist. Consult them at your own risk: U.S. News & World Report (published every March), The Gourman Report, A Rating of Graduate and Professional Programs in American and International Universities, and the AAMC's 1992 Institutional Goals Ranking Report. Remember: all ranking systems have biases, errors, and arbitrariness.

Read the AAMC Curriculum Directory, Medical School Admission Requirements, medical school catalogs and bulletins to determine differences in each school's origins, image, and philosophy. A majority of medical schools offer basic sciences in the first and second years and clinical study in the third and fourth years, but this pattern is changing. More and more schools are introducing clinical study and patient contact early in the curriculum. Many schools base their pedagogy on problem-based (group) learning or even independent (individual) learning, either in addition to or instead of the traditional pathway. Traditional pedagogy may be discipline-based (anatomy, biochemistry, microbiology, physiology, etc.), or organ-system based (digestive, cardiovascular, renal, etc.). When you visit schools, talk to as many students as you can to discover the details.

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The AMCAS Application

AACOMAS (Association of American Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service) and AMCAS (American Medical College Application Service) will accept applications mid-June and June 1, respectively. On-line applications are posted in advance of submission dates, so you can see what's required and start working. Neither application service accepts applications before the published acceptance date but it is important to submit your application as soon as possible after that date. Most medical schools have a rolling admissions policy, considering applications in the order received, even though their deadline for applications is as late as January of the following year. If you apply in June, your application will be reviewed early, and you will be considered for admission at a time when schools have plenty of space available. To delay submitting your application is to place yourself at a significant disadvantage.

AMCAS applications must be submitted on line. Information is on the AAMC Web Site, http://www.aamc.org. AACOMAS provides a similar electronic application.

Be meticulous about completing the AMCAS and AACOMAS forms, and start working on them early, well before the opening date. These forms are processed by computer before being sent on to medical schools, and any irregularities resulting from carelessness or misreading of instructions may cause delays. Read all directions very, very carefully. Do exactly what AMCAS and AACOMAS require, but make sure that you communicate what you consider important, whether or not the form explicitly asks for the information.

Schools that participate in an application service obtain rosters of applicant names. They also receive a copy of the application you submit, including standardized academic records and your Personal Statement. Personal Statement Advice

After you have sent your application to AMCAS and AACOMAS, send the Submission of Applications to AMCAS and AACOMAS form to the Medical Sciences Office (Smith Campus Center #148). Fax (909) 621-8058 or e-mail to breynolds@pomona.edu is OK.

You must apply directly to  non-AMCAS allopathic schools directly.  Pay close attention to their application dates, which vary, and apply soon after applications open.

This is a list of the non-AMCAS allopathic schools:

http://www.clarku.edu/departments/prehealth/applying/amcasdeadlines.cfm

Use your home address for receipt of materials from medical schools, AMCAS and AACOMAS, since you may be contacted during the summer. If you will be somewhere else over the summer, be sure to make arrangements for med school mail to be forwarded or opened.

Transcripts. It is your responsibility to arrange with the Registrar's Office to have your official transcripts sent to AMCAS and AACOMAS and also to any medical school requesting an official transcript (but don't send transcripts directly to medical schools unless they ask). You must download a transcript matching form from the AAMC Web Site to give to the Registrar. Review your transcript with the Registrar to make sure it is both complete and accurate. Clerical errors do happen. Ask the Registrar to send your transcripts immediately after your second semester grades are posted. AACOMAS and AMCAS medical schools do not require transcripts for the initial application. Cross-registration courses taken at the other Claremont Colleges are listed as Pomona courses on the Pomona transcript and therefore also on application forms, including AMCAS and AACOMAS application forms.

If you have ever attended any 2-year or 4-year colleges or universities outside of the Claremont Colleges, you must obtain official transcripts from each and every one of them even if the courses also appear on your Pomona transcript, for example, college courses you took while you were in high school or in summer session. Request these transcripts early, as other Registrar Offices may not be as efficient as Pomona's. AMCAS and AACOMAS will accept transcripts as early as March. This does not apply to Pomona study abroad programs at foreign universities. You will list these universities on your application but no separate transcript is required.

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Secondary Applications and Sending Letters

As soon as you  submit your application s to AMCAS ,  AACOMAS, or TMDSAS (Texas system) email  the  Submission of Applications  form to  Brenda Reynolds in the Medical Sciences Office . About 1,000 such requests come in every spring/summer and they are filled on a first-come, first-served basis, so do not delay.  If you add more schools after submitting your primary application, send another Submission form listing the additional schools.  Pomona uses Virtual Evaluations (VE) to transmit letters of recommendation electronically and securely to medical schools.  Most U.S. medical schools (MD, DO, TMDSAS, and some MD-PhD programs) participate.  Your letters are scanned and uploaded as a pdf. file, and letters arriving later (e.g. after a summer project is completed) will be sent in hard copy.  As soon as you receive invitations to submit Secondary Applications from non-VE schools, contact Brenda Reynolds and ask her to mail your letters to those schools.  Check the list, which is updated each year   http://www.virtualevals.org/ .

Be readily available in the summer and early fall to respond to requests for secondary applications. Requests for supplementary materials may or may not indicate that you have passed a preliminary screening process. These requests vary from merely a request for additional money to detailed questionnaires and several essays. You will need a professional photograph taken in a conservative setting for many secondaries. Secondary applications require your prompt and careful preparation. It is seriously disadvantageous to delay submission of secondary applications.

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Application Documents

You will need all of the following documents in your application process. These documents are updated for the ENTERING CLASS OF 2011.

These documents are in a Microsoft Word 2000 format, please e-mail Brenda Reynolds if you are unable to read the files

• Deadlines
• Biographical Information Form
• Authorization for Committee Letter
• Faculty / Staff Letter of Evaluation Request Form
• Outside Letter of Evaluation Request Form
• Submission of Applications to AMCAS, AACOMAS, and Others
  

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