So this week, like I said before, I’m going to go thru each section of the UMKC BA/MD app process. I think it will be helpful in several ways:[ol]
[]freshmen/sophomores who are beginning to learn, in general, about what combined Bachelor/MD programs are, what things they should be planning ahead for, starting some basic EC involvement (while mainly focusing on maintaining grades in school and prepping well for college entrance standardized exams). A good start is looking at Chapter 11 “Undergraduate/MD Programs” in The Official Guide to Medical School Admissions (also called the MSAR) released by the AAMC every year: http://members.aamc.org/eweb/upload/Official_Guide_Preview_2016.pdf. You can also just as easily look at previous MSARs in your local libraries and go to the specific chapter on combined Bachelor/MD programs, as it really changes very little.
[]juniors who are in the midst of really building up their CVs and finishing up their standardized exams
[]incoming seniors, who will be wrapping things up after this summer/early fall to apply in the fall.
[]parents, who are also learning about this entire process from the beginning and want to know what they can do to help their son/daughter and streamline things[/ol]
Since it’s quite a bit to cover from top to bottom, I’m probably going to do a section at a time and just label it by parts - Part 1, Part 2, etc. I thought of pasting it in a GoogleDoc, but I wanted this to be easily seen by people who’ve never used GoogleDoc before (including parents, for whom even using all the features of College Confidential can be a challenge).
So let’s get started:
PART 1
UMKC Application for Admission (Available after August 1):
So this is the general application for admission to the undergraduate university which is on the Volker Campus. I’m not going to go thru the online UMKC General Application for Admission, as it’s pretty self-explanatory, although you can see it here in PDF format: http://www.umkc.edu/apply/documents/umkc-application.pdf. Most BA/MD applicants who are applying easily make the cutoffs for undergraduate admission to UMKC. It can be easily completed online.
In order to go on to the next step of being evaluated for the BA/MD program, you do have to receive an acceptance to the undergraduate institution FIRST (which is relatively easy). So obviously, if you’re not accepted to the undergrad to begin with, then you won’t be considered for the combined program.
Grade Point Average (GPA):
http://blog.prepscholar.com/whats-a-weighted-gpa-how-to-calculate-it
So each high school/school district across the country will have a different GPA system in which they go by. Because there are so many varying systems, it’s important to put them all along some consistent plane for comparison. So UMKC does this (to my understanding) by going by an UNweighted GPA. Meaning on this scale, a Pre-AP/Pre-IB/Honors/AP/IB course is NOT given extra weight in terms of the calculation of the GPA. Which then leads to the next section, regarding rigor.
For the entering Year 1 2015-2016 class, the average unweighted GPA was 3.81, with a range of 3.2 - 4.0. The minimum to be considered for admission to the BA/MD program is a 3.0.
This does NOT look to be your cumulative high school unweighted GPA printed on your transcript (see under “Holistic Review of Applications” - “the candidate’s unweighted high school GPA in the 17 core requirements of the university”): http://med.umkc.edu/bamd/admission-requirements-eligibility/. Those 17 core requirements are:
Rigor of high school curriculum:
http://blog.prepscholar.com/what-does-a-rigorous-high-school-courseload-look-like
By rigor of your high school curriculum, the program is more trying to see - did you take a demanding or rigorous curriculum that requires more effort and dedication - i.e. Pre-AP/Pre-IB/Honors/AP/IB courses or did you stick with all, if not mainly, “regular”/on-level courses
This will vary at your particular school in terms of available course offerings, but in general, this means, having Pre-AP/Pre-IB/Accelerated, AP/IB, Honors, dual college credit, or college prep classes on your transcript, and more importantly, DOING WELL in those courses.
Class rank:
So based on what was said earlier in the thread in this past 2015-2016 application cycle, at an application workshop done by the School of Medicine, it looks like that your high school class rank is no longer looked at (I don’t know why) at the BA/MD application level.
That being said, if you are a freshman just starting out, these are what you should try to aim for at minimum in terms academic achievement: https://www.umkc.edu/admissions/docs/2009MedApplication.pdf (see page 5) [Note: This is a 2008-2009 BA/MD application]
In-state (Missouri) - rank within the top 10% of the graduating class
Regional (Arkansas, Kansas, Illinois, Nebraska or Oklahoma) & Out-of-state - rank within the top 5% of the graduating class.
Transcript:
Have an official mailed transcript from your high school sent to the university. This should includes grades up until the end of your junior year. UMKC does not require a mid-year transcript to be sent, unlike some other schools. The only other time a transcript will be needed will be once you’ve been given an acceptance and they need a final transcript confirming that you’ve indeed graduated from high school.
Standardized test scores
http://med.umkc.edu/bamd/admission-requirements-eligibility/ - Look under “ACT/SAT Score”
Important to note from the above link: The latest test score accepted for initial application review is the October test date. October test scores are considered as “on time” for admissions consideration. If a student is selected for an interview, the latest test score accepted for final review is the December test date.
So right now, the UMKC BA/MD program accepts either the ACT or the SAT (previously called the SAT Reasoning Test). If you’re from Missouri, you are REQUIRED to submit the ACT. If you’re regional or out-of-state, you may submit an ACT or SAT score, as different states have different preferred exams – i.e. http://www.studypoint.com/ed/sat-and-act-test/.
The school does NOT superscore. You can see what superscoring means here: https://ink.niche.com/act-sat-superscore-your-test-scores/. It’s essentially taking the highest scores from each section, regardless of particular test date, to come up with the highest score. To reiterate, UMKC does NOT do this. Also, the writing sections of the ACT and the SAT are not looked at.
As of now, the UMKC program does not ask for applicants to take SAT Subject Exams in particular areas the way some other Bachelor/MD programs do (i.e. Miami HPME, Northwestern HPME, GWU, etc.). AP Exam scores do not enter into the application process, since those are more for obtaining credit, AFTER you’ve matriculated.
Starting with the 2015-2016 application year, the MINIMUM ACT score is a 24 (1090 SAT). This is not equivalent to being assured an interview if you were to get a 24. It’s the minimum floor to even be considered. To put in perspective, the average ACT score for those Year 1s who entered in 2015-2016 was a 31 (this is in-state, regional, and out-of-state all together)
to be continued with Part 2…