Admissions

Opening the door to Ohio State Medicine starts here. Your application for admission is through the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS), available online at: http://www.aamc.org/students/applying/.

If you designate Ohio State on the electronic AMCAS application, you'll receive an e-mail from the College of Medicine directing you to the web-based secondary application. AMCAS applications will be accepted starting June 1 until November 1 of the year prior to anticipated matriculation. No applications are accepted by AMCAS after November 1. To ensure timely processing of your application, the Ohio State secondary application is due 30 days after receipt.

MCAT – All applicants are required to take the MCAT within three years of their application. For the class entering medical school in 2009, scores will be accepted from tests taken in 2008, 2007, 2006. To receive consideration for the current application cycle, the last month to take the MCAT is September of the year prior to intended matriculation.

Although the MCAT is offered in January, first-time test taker scores will be received too late for consideration for that year’s entering class. Consideration will be given to applicants who have an interview date and elect to repeat the January test in an effort to improve previous scores.

The College of Medicine Admissions Committee will evaluate you by competitive admission standards. The academic profile of candidates admitted in 2007 include a 3.74 grade point average and MCAT composite of 34.

Along with your strong academic performance, we look for you to be self-motivated and compassionate, with strong integrity and interpersonal skills to match the intellectual, physical and emotional capacities needed to master the medical curriculum. Diverse interests and backgrounds are helpful in establishing a balanced view of society necessary for success in medical practice. We encourage you to include such subjects as philosophy, literature, writing, history, arts and languages in your traditional premedical curriculum.

You must embody high ethical standards, especially honesty and concern for others, and must be free of substance abuse, addictions and violent behaviors. You must also possess the skills required to practice direct patient care. Candidates for admission must have somatic sensation and functional vision and hearing. The Admissions Committee will evaluate candidates according to the College of Medicine Technical Standards for Admission.

Regardless of the undergraduate curriculum or college major chosen, the following science courses are required. Each should be a full academic year or equivalent sequence.

General chemistry with qualitative analysis
Organic chemistry with laboratory
Physics with laboratory
Biology

In addition, coursework in biochemistry or cellular and molecular biology is strongly recommended.

Applicants are required to demonstrate spoken, auditory, reading, and writing proficiency in the English language. Applicants who indicate that English is their second language or have been recommended for assessment after interview by the Admissions Committee may have their admission decision delayed pending review of scores from the Test of Spoken English (TSE), the Test of English as Foreign Language (TOEFL), or a SPEAK test (the Ohio State institutional equivalent of the TSE).

The College has implemented a system of self-disclosure and criminal background checks as well as drug testing for all accepted applicants and medical students. Upon acceptance, you will be required to submit a self-disclosure form and undergo a drug screen in preparation for your educational and clinical experiences and facilitate your ability to interact with patients as well as meet the requirements of affiliated healthcare institutions while you are in medical school. Your ability to matriculate is dependent upon meeting all entrance requirements.

The College can provide you a variety of support services and assistance with financial aid, including scholarships, fellowships, work-study programs and student loans. We also assist out-of-state students with the process of establishing in-state residency status. Complete information on financial aid may be obtained from the Office of Student Financial Services.