University of Minnesota Medical School Office of Admissions

1. University of Minnesota Medical School Office of Admissions Understanding the application and evaluation process. Dimple Patel Associate Dean for Admissions

2. Agenda • U of MN Medical School Admissions Goals • 2013 National Application Overview • 2014 U of MN Twin Cities Application Overview • Selection Criteria • Holistic Review • Questions to Consider

3. Goals for Medical School Admissions • To select the highest qualified students for each entering class. • To enhance the diversity of the student body in medical school classes. • To establish policy on medical school admissions requirements.

4. Medical School Applications 2008-2013

5. 2013 National Applicant Pool • 48,014 Total applicants • 6.1% Growth from 2012 • 35,727 First-time applicants • 690,281 Total applications • Applicants apply to 14 schools on average. • How many schools did you apply to? • 20,055 Enrollees

6. 2013 TC Application Overview

7. MCAT and GPA 2014 Primary Applications 2013 National Applicant Pool: 3.54 AVG GPA and 28.4 AVG MCAT Supplemental Applications

8. MCAT and GPA 2014 Interviewees Current Accepts 2013 National Matriculate Pool: 3.69 AVG GPA and 31.3 AVG MCAT

9. U of MN MD Selection Criteria • Strong academics • Applicants with lower GPAs and MCATs who were invited to interview had either significant medical and non-medical experiences or outstanding graduate-level grades, or a combination of both. • Commitment to improving the human condition • Professional conduct • Outstanding interpersonal skills • Dedication to lifelong learning

10. Commitment to improving the human condition • Essential: • Sustained and meaningful commitment to human service demonstrated through volunteer, work, academic, or other experiences • Understanding of medicine • Commitment to rural patient care (Duluth applicants) • Desired: • Commitment to care of the underserved • Commitment to community and global patient care • Commitment to rural patient care (Twin Cities applicants)

11. Professional conduct • Honesty and integrity, particularly regarding instances of personal failings or mistakes (essential) • Institutional actions • Misdemeanors • Compassion, evident through evaluations, prior employment, or experience in other roles that require compassion (essential) • Self-awareness, evident in a student’s knowledge of their own strengths, weaknesses, and when to ask for help (essential) • Ethical behavior (essential)

12. Outstanding interpersonal skills • Oral and written communication skills must be excellent, both to share knowledge and to convey empathy (essential) • Teamwork skills require acknowledging other team members’ expertise, accurate self-assessment, assuming leadership when appropriate, and subsuming individual interests to the work of the team (essential) • Leadership & diversity experiences (desired)

13. A dedication to lifelong learning • Intellectual curiosity (essential) • Demonstrated scientific aptitude—a fundamental appreciation of how the scientific method is applied to the discovery of medical knowledge and to medical practice (essential) • Potential for academic success (essential) • Psychological resilience as demonstrated through emotional stability, skills to cope with stress, an ability to deal with sacrifice and hardship, maturity, good judgment, and an ability to defer gratification (essential) • Creativity (desired) • Research experiences (desired; essential in MD/PhD applicants)

14. Holistic Review • Holistic review is a flexible way of assessing an applicant’s capabilities, by which balanced consideration is given to experiences, attributes, and academic metrics and, when considered in combination, how the individual might contribute value as a medical student and future physician.

15. Holistic Review MCAT GPA leadership values coursework trends persistence individual interests commitment employment knowledge of the profession

16. How do I get the interview? • Competitive MCAT • Competitive GPA • Graduate Education • Substantive Post-Graduate Work Experience • Volunteer Experience • Clinical Experience • Research Experience • Life Experience

17. MCAT and GPA Questions to consider • GPA: Highly competitive, Average, or Less competitive? • Is there an upward trend in your academic profile? • BCPM • Did you have withdrawals? • Grades less than a B? • What other factors contributed to a lower GPA? • When were the courses taken? • What are your MCAT sub-scores? • How many times did you take it? • The committee sees all scores.

18. Personal and supplemental commentsQuestions to consider • Clear and concise? • Are your responses exaggerated? • Substantive reasons for wanting to pursue medicine with demonstrated experiences? • Non-residents: What are your ties to MN? If no ties, what unique contributions will you bring? • Did you have someone read your comments?

19. Medical and/or human service experienceQuestions to consider • Have your experiences been sustained and substantial? • Demonstrated growth • What are those experiences and how did you explain them? • Volunteer, research, medically related • Do your experiences come across as a checklist?

20. Letters of recommendationQuestions to consider • Who wrote your letters? • Faculty • Physician • Supervisor • Did you talk about what the letter would address? • Professional conduct • Academic achievement • Interpersonal skills • Dedication to lifelong learning

21. The Interview • Ability to communicate effectively; establish rapport with interviewer • Level of maturity • Passion for and understanding of medicine • Empathy for humanity • Essential and desired qualities • Knowledge of the U of M • Confirmation of candidate’s written profile

22. More questions and observations • Why medical school? • Are you ready to apply? • Perfection is not a weakness! Be more self aware. • Think about your bias. Where did it originate? • For every opinion, you have to think about the opposite opinion(s). • Self assess and seek feedback throughout the process. • Widen your lens on issues and beliefs. • The numbers matter, though they are not the only things considered.

23. More questions and Observations • What experiences have I had that show my ability to go above and beyond my natural talents? Have I had experiences that have tested my values or broadened my thinking? • What kinds of experiences have I had that demonstrate I have the ability the work with people that are different than me? • How have I demonstrated a commitment to lifelong learning? • What kind of patient interaction have I experienced? • What did it teach me?

24. More questions and Observations • Who is reading your application? What could their values and beliefs be? Think about the broad spectrum of values and beliefs here. • A distinguished faculty member • A current student • An alum • A clinician • A research scientist • A patient • Think about the distance you have traveled • Could you have gone further? • Could you have taken a different route? • Did you do it alone? • Could you have incorporated others?

25. Thank you for taking the time to review this presentation. We have several resources on our website to assist you as well. http://med.umn.edu/medical-school-students/medical-school-admissions/