Frequently Asked Questions

Outlined below are adjustments we have made to our processed in light of COVID-19. Please contact the Office of Admissions at admissions@umassmed.edu if you have any questions.

GRADES:

At this time the University of Massachusetts SOM Admissions Office is accepting Pass/Fail grades for the Spring and Summer 2020 semesters, during the time frame when students educational experiences and academic evaluations are impacted by the COVID19 pandemic.

Grades are preferred, but Pass/Fail is acceptable when this is the only option students are offered by their institutions.

Likewise, online coursework is acceptable during time frames when distance learning is the only option for students.

As always, students’ academic preparedness for medical school is evaluated holistically and includes a number of factors such as: GPA, trajectory of GPA, rigor of coursework and MCAT performance.


MCAT:

The AAMC has published information about the impact of COVID19 on the MCAT exam. Please visit the American College Application Service (AMCAS) site for updated information.

APPLICATION CYCLE AND AMCAS APPLICATION:

The impact of COVID19 on the next admissions cycle is uncertain. We will be flexible and follow AAMC policies. Currently the AAMC has not changed deadlines for the 2021 Early Decision or regular cycle.

There are no anticipated changes in the current 2020 cycle. Please visit the AAMC site for updated information.

Our Admissions Committee is meeting (remotely) as scheduled. We have not cancelled any meetings because of COVID-19.

LOR:

We expect that LOR and committee letters will be provided for applicants. We expect that applicants will provide committee letters when this is available to them. As before, we will accept individual letters when premed committee letters are not available from the applicant’s institution.

The Office of Admissions does not arrange tours except for applicants who have been invited for an interview by the Admissions Committee. UMMS is a public institution and at all times our priority is patient rights and confidentiality. You are welcome to take a self-guided tour.

We strongly urge you to meet with your premedical advisor for counseling. Applicants are advised to apply to several medical schools and premedical advisors are the best source for guidance in applying to medical schools.

It is our policy that no member of the school, whether administration or faculty, shall counsel any applicant about his/her application during the time that it is under active consideration by the Admissions Committee. This policy insures complete fairness and equality to all applicants. Again, we emphasize the knowledge and experience that college premedical advisors have had with a variety of medical schools to which their students apply and urge students to continue consulting with them.

1. As an alumnus/a you have access to the premedical advisor at your undergraduate school regardless of when you graduated.
2. If you have been out of undergraduate school for more than four years, you must retake the required courses and you must have access to the premed advisor where you are taking the courses. Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis for applicants who have been involved in biomedical sciences after graduation.
3. In the event that there is no premedical advisor available at your institution, then you should request that a premedical committee be convened preferably consisting of members from the biology, chemistry and physics departments.

Applications for admission must be made through the American College Application Service (AMCAS). Applicants should consult the AAMC Medical School Admissions Requirements publication. This provides general recommendations concerning preparation for the study of medicine as well as specific information about UMMS and other accredited U.S./Canadian medical schools.

UMMS encourages students to pursue a premedical education of considerable breadth including liberal arts and all students must complete the required coursework. No single program is recommended as the best or preferred plan of study.

Applicants enrolled in a degree granting program are responsible for completing that program by the time they expect to matriculate at UMMS. The admissions committee considers withdrawal from a degree program for the purpose of matriculating to medical school as unacceptable behavior. 

Applications are considered provided all prerequisite courses are taken at a U.S. or Canadian college or university. Applicants who have graduated from foreign colleges must complete a minimum of one year of study in the U.S. or Canada. Be sure to review our academic requirements page for details on what programs of study can be completed to meet our requirements for foregin college graduates interested in applying to UMass Medical School.

All applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

The University provides equal opportunity and access to all applicants and students regardless of age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, disability and veteran's status. The University adheres strictly to all applicable state and federal regulations relating to nondiscrimination and equal opportunity.

One of our missions is to make medical school education available to those who might otherwise not be able to access or afford private medical education.

The decision to grant an interview is made by the Admissions Committee and the Office of Admissions will notify those applicants who are selected for an interview. Due to the large number of applications, it is not possible to interview all applicants.

UMMS will consider one year deferrals for academic work with a scholarly element or for compelling personal reasons. Requests for deferral will be considered on a case-by-case basis and must be approved by the associate dean for admissions.  

We do not provide such counseling. We strongly recommend that first you yourself look for any weaknesses in your application and remedy them, i.e., improve GPA, MCATs and fill in any experiential gaps. Secondly, confer with your premedical advisor.

The technical standards reflect the key attributes that all applicants must possess in order to successfully complete the undergraduate medical education program and continue to perform competently in postgraduate medical training.

We will consider transfer students, if spots are available, from Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) accredited medical schools only. See the Transfer to School section of our website for more information.

Please review our academic requirements for full details and policies.

Academic requirements for the entering class of 2019 are:

- Biology or zoology with a lab - one year or two semesters

- Physics with lab - one year or two semesters

- English composition, literature or writing intensive coursework - one year or two semesters

- Chemistry – applicants must fulfill one of the following chemistry sequences:

            - Sequence 1 – One year or two semesters of general (inorganic) chemistry with lab AND one year or two semesters of organic chemistry with lab

            - Sequence 2 – One year or two semesters of general (inorganic) chemistry with lab AND one year or two semesters of organic chemistry with lab AND one semester of biochemistry

            - Sequence 3 – One year or two semesters of general (inorganic) chemistry with lab AND one semester of organic chemistry with lab AND one semester of biochemistry

            - Sequence 4 – One semester of general (inorganic) chemistry with lab AND one year or two semesters of organic chemistry with lab AND one semester of biochemistry

Biochemistry is strongly recommended for the entering class of 2019.

One semester of calculus and one semester of statistics is also recommended for the entering class of 2019.

Academic requirements for the entering class of 2020 are:

- Biology or zoology with a lab - one year or two semesters

- Physics with lab - one year or two semesters

- English composition, literature or writing intensive coursework - one year or two semesters

- Calculus - one semester

- Statistics – one semester

- Chemistry – applicants must fulfill one of the following chemistry sequences:

            - Sequence 1 – One year or two semesters of general (inorganic) chemistry with lab AND one year or two semesters of organic chemistry with lab AND one semester of biochemistry

            - Sequence 2 – One year or two semesters of general (inorganic) chemistry with lab AND one semester of organic chemistry with lab AND one semester of biochemistry

            - Sequence 3 – One semester of general (inorganic) chemistry with lab AND one year or two semesters of organic chemistry with lab AND one semester of biochemistry

Prerequisite coursework can be in progress during the application process. An official transcript with final grades should be sent to UMMS once coursework has been completed.

Required courses must have been completed within 6 years prior to application. Recent graduates, up to 3 years prior to application, would still meet the time frame for completing prerequisite courses. Exceptions may be made for applicants who have been involved in biomedical sciences after graduation.

If your premedical advisor states in writing that a course is equivalent to one of our required courses, we will accept the substitution.

It is preferable that required courses be taken during the regular academic year at a rigorous four-year college or university.

We strongly recommend that you take them at the same institution and where a premedical advisor is available.

All prerequisite coursework must be completed via classroom-based learning.

We accept both the new and old MCAT exam if taken between 1/1/2015 and 9/19/2018 for the entering class of 2019. With that in mind, it is best to look at the percentile and strive for 65th percentile or greater overall and in each subsection. The Admissions Committee reviews all completed applications in their entirety and MCAT scores are only one of many factors considered by the Admissions Committee.

Our entering students have an average GPA (BCPM, AO and Total) of 3.7. We have no "automatic cut-offs". The Admissions Committee reviews all completed applications in their entirety and GPA scores are only one of many factors considered by the Admissions Committee.

At minimum we require a premed committee letter, if your school has a premed committee, or two letters of recommendation from prerequisite science instructors. We will mark your application complete based on our office receiving letters from all of the individuals you list on your application. If there are any changes to your list of letters of recommendation, it is your responsibility as the applicant to notify the Office of Admissions of these changes in writing via email at admissions@umassmed.edu.

UMMS does not have a maximum. Please confirm with AMCAS regarding their limits surrounding letters of recommendation. On average, applications have no more than five letters of recommendation including a premed committee letter packet. Your application will be deemed complete upon receipt of all of the letters you listed on your application. If there are any changes to your list of letters of recommendation, it is your responsibility as the applicant to notify the Office of Admissions of these changes in writing via email at admissions@umassmed.edu.

UMass Medical School accepts both residents and non-residents of Massachusetts into the School of Medicine. To determine if you qualify as a Massachusetts resident for tuition and fees purposes, please review our Residency Classification Policy. Please note attending a Massachusetts college does not establish residency in and of itself.

Residents and nonresidents of Massachusetts are eligible to apply to the MD and MD/PhD programs. Please review our Residency Classification Policy to determine if you qualify for in-state tuition.