The Application Process

Preparing for and Applying to Medical School

Applying to health professions programs requires:

• Careful selection of individuals to write your letters of recommendation
• Advanced planning and familiarity with the application process
• Clear understanding of the timeline and requirements
• Awareness of how academic metrics and other factors affect your competitiveness

This is a sample timeline for an Entry Year 2027 applicant.

It is not necessary, and sometimes not advisable, to go to medical, or any other health professions graduate school, directly after completing your undergraduate degree. Many Wesleyan graduates take one to three years of Growth And Professional experience between graduation and health professions school matriculation. These GAP years serve to provide applicants education in the healthcare field, gaining valuable experience in health-related settings, such as community health centers, academic medical centers, or hospitals.

Graduates also work in consulting firms, biotech companies, academic, clinical, or public health research, patient care (if certified as an EMT, CNA, or medical assistant), medical scribes (ScribeAmerica), or teaching and learning with non-profits such as Teach for America or Americorps.

Current students and alumni (within five years of graduation) applying to medical, dental, or veterinary school may request an Institutional Letter of Recommendation (formerly called a Committee Letter) from the Wesleyan Health Professions Team. All students and alumni are eligible for career advising, assistance with applications, and mock interviews.

Generally, the process of applying to health profession school begins approximately eighteen months prior to your intended entry date. If you want to go to your intended health professions program immediately after graduating, you must begin the application process in the winter of your junior year.

You should check Handshake for relevant information sessions, and plan to take the MCAT, DAT, GRE, OAT, or PCAT exam in the spring semester, or when you feel confidently prepared.

To view the health professions admissions outcomes here at Wesleyan, please click here.

Applicants with DACA status can find a list of medical schools that will consider your application here.

THE CENTRALIZED APPLICATION SERVICES: AMCAS, AACOMAS, AADSAS, VMCAS

AMCAS is the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) application service that sends the information you file with them in a standardized format to the medical schools to which you wish to apply. This standardized preliminary application (known as the primary) consists of descriptions of your courses, standardization of your grades, transcripts from all institutions at which you took courses, as well as a “Personal Comments” section. The application itself must be completed electronically.

The AMCAS service will cost a flat fee that includes the cost of application to one school and additional fees for each school you apply to after that. Many medical schools subscribe to the AMCAS service, but some do not (e.g. medical schools in Texas, and schools of osteopathic medicine, which each have their own bespoke centralized application systems). It is essential to find out if schools you are interested in do not use the AMCAS service, given that you may need to request an application directly from the school or the service they use. The Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR), available on the AAMC website for a fee, is an important resource to make use of when you are thinking about where to apply.

Schools of osteopathic medicine (DO schools) use the AACOMAS application service. Detailed information about DO schools and their application service may be found here. Download a free copy of the Osteopathic Medical College Information Book (CIB) here.

The AADSAS is the centralized application for dental schools. The Guide to Dental School is a helpful resource for pre-dental students and alumni.

VMCAS is the centralized application for veterinary medicine schools. Their Application Overview provides a lot of information, and resources such as the VMCAS Applicant Guide.

Find information on Fee Application Assistance Programs: MD Programs, Osteopathic Medicine, and Dental Medicine Programs.

SECONDARY APPLICATIONS

When a health professions school receives your AMCAS, AACOMAS, AADSAS, or VMCAS primary application, they review it and decide if you meet their general requirements. If the school wishes to consider your application further, they will send you a secondary application. Secondary applications need to be completed promptly and submitted as soon as possible, along with the individual medical schools application fee (usually between $75 to $150). You may prepare by beginning to pre-write your secondary applications early. It is often only after receiving your secondary application that a school will review your letters of recommendation. 

After the completed application file has been reviewed, the medical school admissions committee will decide whether or not to invite selected applicants for an interview. Interviews are crucial for acceptance. Be sure to prepare for interviews carefully: sign up for a mock medical interview at the Gordon Career Center; look carefully at the medical school’s web site; talk to alumni who attend the school; and think carefully about how you would respond to typical interview questions. The Gordon Career Center has a brochure developed by the National Association of Advisors in the Health Professions (NAAHP) that specifically addresses health professions graduate school interviews. Ask us for a copy when you receive your first invitation.

The final step in the process is receiving acceptances. Some students may receive acceptances as early as October, but most students will hear back from schools beginning in mid-winter and into early spring.

EARLY DECISION

Early decision is an option ONLY for very strong applicants who want to take their best shot at their most desired school. The student applies to ONLY that school very early in the admission cycle, and then must wait to hear from that school before applying anywhere else. For these applicants, the medical school promises a decision usually in early October. The great benefit of this is that the application process is shortened and the applicant saves the expense and energy required for making many applications. The risk is that, unless you are a superb applicant, you lose the advantage of being an early applicant in other schools’ admissions cycles.

DEFERRALS AFTER ACCEPTANCE

Medical school policies on deferrals vary. The reasons considered valid for deferral and the length of deferral permitted without requiring re-application varies from school to school. Most schools are willing to grant deferrals to students to postpone matriculation for one year, if they believe there is a good reason (such as a life-changing experience or opportunity that could not have been anticipated at the time of application). This is an issue that you should research carefully if you think you will need to defer and talk over with your academic advisor or the Health Professions and Life Sciences Career Advisor.

EARLY ASSURANCE AND SPECIAL PROGRAMS

Early assurance medical school programs allow eligible undergraduates—often in their sophomore or junior year—to secure a conditional acceptance to medical school before completing their bachelor’s degree. These programs typically waive the MCAT requirement and may offer reduced application stress by allowing students to focus on academics, research, or clinical experiences rather than the traditional med school admissions process. Applicants are usually expected to maintain a strong GPA, demonstrate commitment to medicine through extracurricular activities, and potentially meet program-specific requirements. Early assurance pathways are competitive, but they can provide motivated students with a streamlined route to becoming physicians.

Some notable early assurance programs include:

• BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
• Icahn School of Medicine Mount Sinai
• GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS)
• Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (SUNY Buffalo)
• Tufts University School of Medicine

Of these, Wesleyan students may be eligible for the BU & Mount Sinai programs.

POST-BACCALAUREATE PREMEDICAL PROGRAMS

It is not uncommon that applicants do not complete the required premedical courses during their undergraduate years. One option for those wanting to complete these required courses after graduation from Wesleyan is to take them individually at a four-year college or university while working.

Another option is to enroll part- or full-time in a post-baccalaureate premedical program, which is set up as a concentrated program of study. There are many post-baccalaureate programs around the country. These programs can take between one and two years, depending on what courses one still needs to take to fulfill the medical school admission requirements, and whether one attends full- or part-time. Some post-bacc programs are may be eligible for Federal Stafford Loans.

For applicants that feel that their academic performance makes them less competitive applicants, there are also post-baccalaureate programs that are structured to help individuals enhance their academic record. A listing of post-baccalaureate programs can be found at AAMC Post-Baccalaureate List.

MD/PHD & OTHER JOINT DEGREE PROGRAMS

Medical schools make it possible to complete more than one degree in less time than it would take to do them separately. Combinations such as the MD/PhD, MD/MPH, or even MD/JD are not uncommon. The most common for Wesleyan graduates is the MD/PhD, which is a path one might choose in preparation for a position in academic medicine, combining clinical practice with teaching and/or research in health care. For an MD/PhD in the sciences, a strong science background and the support of professors who have supervised undergraduate research activity are expected. Sometimes, there is one admission committee for both programs; at other schools you have to apply separately, then interview separately, for joint programs. In some cases, MD/PhD students have all tuition waived and receive a stipend for living expenses. There are a number of schools that also allow for or encourage the MD/PhD in the Humanities or social sciences.

STAYING IN TOUCH

As you proceed through the admission process, we hope that you will stay in touch with the Gordon Career Center. Both our personal interest in your application and our professional interest in how Wesleyan students are received at medical schools make us eager to know how you are doing. Whether you are off-campus or on, please telephone, drop in, or send an email. Once you have finalized your plans, please update your information in Wesleyan’s alumni directory.

Applicants who receive no invitations to interview, or who are not successful in gaining admission to medical school after interviewing, should consult with the Health Professions and Life Sciences Career Advisor about the next steps. It is not always advisable to reapply right away.