School of Medicine: The Admission Process

Published on Friday, January 24, 2025

By: Demondes Haynes, MD

The medical school application process has changed significantly since I applied 30 years ago. Here is an overview of our SOM admissions process. Applicants apply through the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS).

The Admissions Executive Committee (AEC), comprised of 15 SOM faculty, is vested with the final authority for all decisions regarding admissions. The members of this committee must have first served as a member of either the File Review Committee (FRC) or Interview Committee (IC). The AEC makes applicant decisions using the Experiences, Attributes, and Metrics (EAM) model as recommended by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). This is commonly referred to as a holistic review process. This process provides a balanced review of applicants based on our SOM Mission.

FRC members are trained to review applicants’ essays and work/activities sections of the AMCAS application. They provide a score and comments to the AEC for each applicant reviewed. FRC members do not have access to the applicants’ metrics. Their review is based on a standardized rubric.

 The IC conducts interviews using the multiple-mini interview (MMI) format. These MMI scenarios assess applicants’ attributes and are based on the AAMC’ premed competencies. More about those competencies can be found on the AAMC website.

The IC is blinded to the applicants’ application. The interview scenarios are scored based on a standardized score sheet. The MMIs are standardized, and all IC members undergo in-person training on conducting MMIs and scoring applicants. The scores and comments are provided to the AEC. Interviews are conducted from mid-August to mid-December each year.

The AEC has access to the entire application including metrics and letters of recommendation. The committee deliberates and makes decisions beginning in September each year with the class being filled by mid-January of each academic year. We currently accept up to 165 students each year. We solicit more faculty participation in the FRC and IC. These committees count toward scholarly activity. Please reach out to us if you are interested in participating.