PRE-MED HANDBOOK

VII. Medical School Policies and Special Programs

US medical schools offer a number of innovative programs designed to assist students with special problems or particular needs. It is beyond the scope of these guidelines to discuss these programs in detail or to list the schools offering them. However, some introductory information on some of these programs may be beneficial to the student who is totally uninformed about such programs but may have interest in a joint degree or a reason to use some of the services offered. A starting place for information regarding any of these programs is the latest edition of the MSAR. Further information will be available from the medical school catalog. Some of the more popular programs and policies are outlined below.

Early Decision Program
The Early Decision Program (EDP) allows you to file a single application to a medical school offering such a plan well before the usual deadline (the EDP application deadline is August 1) and to receive a prompt decision from the medical school (by October 1). If you are admitted under the EDP you are obligated to attend that school. You would therefore apply for early decision only at a school of your first choice. The University of South Carolina School of Medicine and MUSC both offer EDPs. Both USC and MUSC consider applicants with the profile of the most recent entering class’ GPA and MCAT scores as potentially competitive applicants for early decision, meaning that if you have a GPA and MCAT score at the average of their last year’s entering class, you might be considered for early decision.

Only a small percentage of the class, usually less than 25 percent, is selected by the EDP at most schools who have such a program. To be reasonably sure of selection, you should have credentials at least as good as the average for the previous year’s entering class. The EDP applicant must take the MCAT no later than the spring before applying in summer and Pre-Professional Advising must be informed that an early decision application is being made. Letters of evaluation must be on file early and the Committee Interview, if desired, must be completed by the end of May.

If you are rejected under the EDP, you will be notified in sufficient time that the deadline for application to other medical schools may be met. It is sometimes possible for a rejected EDP student to be admitted during the regular admission cycle.

Notification
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has so called "traffic rules" that require member medical schools to observe certain restrictions for notification of accepted applicants. The earliest notification date (other than Early Decision Program applicants) is October 15. After this date most schools operate on a "rolling" notification basis.

The problem of applicants holding multiple acceptances into late spring and summer has become more acute during the past few years. Admissions committees are justifiably concerned when students continue to hold a place in the entering class of two or more medical schools, with deposits paid and no way for the medical school to know whether or not the accepted applicant plans to matriculate at their medical school. There is a "domino effect" that often affects several medical schools when one late decision is made and people move from alternate lists to a place in the class of a school higher on their personal preference list. You are justified in holding a place in the class of more than one medical school until you have been notified about pending financial aid applications, for in many instances such decisions will determine where you will matriculate. Once financial aid notification has been made, you should make a prompt decision and then immediately withdraw from all but the school at which you plan to matriculate. It is unfair to the medical schools concerned and to those students on an alternate list but who have no acceptance for some people to continue to hold multiple acceptances after they have all the information on which to make a decision. Some recent changes in the "traffic rules" require medical schools to issue a number of acceptances equal to the size of its entering class by March 15. After May 15 students with complete financial aid information who hold multiple acceptances will be asked to decide on the school at which they will matriculate and withdraw from all other schools. This should help the problem of applicants holding multiple acceptances.

Joint Degree Programs
Many medical schools offer students the opportunity to earn the MD degree plus another professional degree in a joint program. The MD/PhD combined degree program is the one most widely available. Others include MD/MPH and MD/JD.

The National Institute of General Medical Services (an institute in the National Institutes of Health) sponsors a Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) that supports students in MD/PhD programs. All tuition fees, plus a stipend provide for basic living costs. There is a "payback" provision in which a student is required to spend one year of teaching and/or research for each year of support. The competition for MSTP scholarships is very keen. Applicants should have considerable research experience as well as excellent GPA and MCAT scores to be competitive.

For more information about joint degree programs, please consult the MSAR.

Under-represented Minority Students
Since the late 1960s, US medical schools have greatly increased their efforts toward recruitment of minority students currently under-represented in the medical profession. Many of the programs which have been initiated are discussed in MSAR Chapter 8, entitled "Information for Minority Group Students." More complete information is available in the AAMC publication Minority Student Opportunities in US Medical Schools. Both publications are available in Pre-Professional Advising. The purpose of such programs is to increase the number of students entering medical school from minority groups that are under-represented in the medical profession.

Irregularities
Each year medical schools and/or the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) discover a few applications that have been supported by fraudulent documents or less than full and accurate information about the applicant’s academic program. The AAMC investigates all suspected cases of altered transcripts, bogus recommendations, failure to list all courses taken or cases in which a person may not have taken his/her own MCAT. A number of safeguards have been instituted to protect the integrity of the system, and when a case of fraud is discovered, it is euphemistically dubbed an "irregularity." Honest mistakes in transcribing grades or other errors caused by carelessness would not be considered an irregularity, but if an irregularity is discovered, a report is issued to all US medical schools by the AAMC describing the irregularity and giving the name and social security number of the applicant. In essence the individual involved in the fraud is publicly identified to all schools to which he/she applies. The quote often heard is "once an irregularity, always an irregularity" and a student involved in such fraudulent practices may never be admitted to a medical school.