Medical Careers Advisory Committee
*note: this page does NOT contain information
about the 7-year BS/MD program - please contact Dr. Dennis Shevlin (x2021,
shevlin@tcnj.edu) for information on the BS/MD program
Marcia
L. O'Connell, Chair
moconnel@tcnj.edu
Room
228, Biology Building
771-2879
The Medical Careers Advisory Committee assists
TCNJ students and alumni from any major who would like to apply to medical
school. On this page are included the courses a student should take in
order to apply to medical school, the timeline a
student must follow in order to apply (including relevant deadlines), and what is required to create a file
with the committee. For information regarding other health professions,
students should contact Dr. Raymond Fangboner, Chair, Department of Biology
(Room 203, Biology Building, x2462).
NOTE: THE FINAL
DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION OF A FILE IS THE DECEMBER 1ST PRECEDING ENTRANCE
INTO MEDICAL SCHOOL THE FOLLOWING FALL.
Courses
- the standard BIOA curriculum will prepare a
student for medical school (for students not in the biology major the basic
requirements are: Themes in Biology, a second biology course, General Chemistry I and II,
Organic Chemistry I and II, and Physics I and II. Calculus A and B)
- the physics requirement should be completed
before taking the MCAT (therefore typically by the end of the junior year)
- students intending to apply to medical
school should NOT take Human Anatomy and Physiology
Timeline
It is first and foremost the
responsibility of the student to ensure that their completed application
(including a composite letter) reaches the medical schools in a timely manner.
ALL STUDENTS SHOULD HAVE SENT IN ALL OF THEIR MATERIALS BY OCTOBER AT THE
LATEST. The following timeline must be met in order for this to happen.
If you intend to apply to medical school in
order to attend the fall following graduation, you must follow the timeline
below in order to have your application facilitated by the department. If
you have already graduated, you must start the process by February 15th of the
year that you apply.
- By February 15th of your junior year (or the
equivalent) you must inform the chair of the Medical Careers Advisory
Committee (currently Dr. O'Connell) of your intention to apply to medical
school. This can be done via email.
- By March 31st you must meet with the chair
to discuss your status and the establishment of a file.
- If you take the MCAT in April of your
junior year and wish to apply using those scores, you must complete your file
by July 31st in order to guarantee that your composite letter will be sent
within 3 weeks (if your file is completed after July 31st, your letter will
take 4-8 weeks to be sent). The only paperwork that can come in after
July 31st are
letters of recommendation - BUT ALL OF THESE LETTERS MUST ARRIVE NO LATER THAN
DECEMBER 1ST. Note: while a list of schools
must be present in the file by July 31st, additional schools can be added to
the list after this date.
- If you take the MCAT in August (either for
the first or second time) you must complete your file by September 31st in
order to guarantee that your letter is sent in four weeks. The only
paperwork that can come in after September 31st are letters of recommendation
- BUT ALL OF THESE LETTERS MUST ARRIVE NO LATER THAN DECEMBER 1ST.
NOTE: you can submit your application to AAMCAS before
you receive your scores from the August exam.
Creating a File
In order to apply a student must meet with the
chair of the committee in order to establish a file. When complete, this
file is then reviewed by
the committee in order to determine whether a composite letter will be written.
NOTE: Once a file is complete, and it has been
determined that a composite letter will be written, it takes between 3-8
weeks for that letter to be put in the mail.
The contents of a complete file are as follows:
- hard copy of application to AAMCAS (MD),
AACOMAS (DO) or the equivalent application service for other allied health
professions (these applications become available on line in May/June, and can
be submitted as soon as they are complete, in other words, before the
composite letter is sent)
- transcripts, both from TCNJ and from any
institutions attended after graduating from TNCJ (the
TCNJ transcripts can be printed out from TESS, and should reflect the
student's record at least through their completed junior year)
- list of medical schools (MD, DO, or both)
to which the student is applying
- list of referees writing letters of
recommendation (see below)
- all letters of recommendation (minimum of
five)
Letters of recommendation:
- a composite letter of recommendation
(prepared by the committee) is strongly recommended for those applying to MD,
DO, veterinary, optometry, podiatry, and dental school
- it is recommended that the file contain at
least 5 substantive letters of recommendation
- letters should come from professors,
research advisors, persons in the medical field, and/or professional mentors
(e.g., a supervisor from the tutoring center)
- ideally, at least three letters would come
from professors in the sciences
- if you are applying to DO schools, it is
strongly recommended (and required by PCOM) that one of your letters of
reference is from a DO