Admissions decisions

The Admissions Committee makes all final decisions on applications. The Committee is comprised of more than 20 members, including clinical and basic science faculty, medical students and medical residents. Committee members represent SIU locations in Springfield, Carbondale, Quincy and Decatur.

All final admissions decisions are communicated via U.S. postal mail. Below are examples of admissions decisions and what they mean to the applicant.

Accept – Congratulations! You have been offered a seat in the upcoming class. You may reserve your place by submitting a $100 enrollment deposit within two weeks of the notification of your acceptance. This deposit is refundable until April 30. Acceptance offers are awarded in three batches (December, February, March). After the final batch is offered in March, acceptances will be offered as needed. NOTE: Full acceptances are not offered directly from an Admissions Committee meeting.

Accept When Place Available (AWPA) – Top applicants are placed on this list after an Admissions Committee meeting. This AWPA list is considered to be a list of acceptable applicants. Applicants are rated on this list according to how well they meet the mission goals of this institution. Acceptance offers are made to applicants on the AWPA list in the three batches mentioned above. All applicants who are accepted will start on the AWPA list. Most applicants on this list will receive an acceptance before classes begin in August; however, it is possible for some applicants to not be accepted if there are more acceptable candidates than there are openings in the class.

Ranked Alternate – This category is a list of alternate applicants. Like the AWPA list, these applicants are rated on the list according to how well they identify with the missions and goals of the institution. It is unlikely that many, if any, applicants will be accepted from this list. Positions in the class are only offered to Ranked Alternate applicants if the AWPA list has been exhausted. If someone on the Ranked Alternate list is offered a place in the class it is likely that it would occur between June and August of the entering year.

Deny – Denied applicants are not reconsidered. These applicants are allowed to reapply for future admissions cycles.