Admissions Requirements
Selection Factors
Admissions Policies

ADMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS

AT THE TIME OF APPLICATION:

• Must be an Illinois resident (unless applying to the M.D./J.D. program which accepts out-of-state applicants)
• Must be a U.S. citizen OR have a permanent resident visa
• Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) scores must not be older than three years, with:
  • Minimum verbal reasoning subtest score of "7"
  • Biological sciences subtest score of "7"
• Overall cumulative undergraduate or last 60 hours or course work grade point average must be 2.70/4.0 scale
• Science cumulative undergraduate grade point average minimum 2.70 (or last 60 hours of science gpa)
• Must complete 60 credit hours in a U.S. college/university

AT TIME OF MATRICULATION:

• Must complete and pass a criminal background check
• Must have completed a minimum of 90 Semester hours of undergraduate course work in an accredited, degree-granting college/university

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SELECTION FACTORS

BEFORE THE MCAT: SIU School of Medicine does not require specific prerequisite courses. To perform well on the MCAT, however, we recommend:

• Two years of chemistry, including organic
• One year of physics
• One year of English composition
• One year of mathematics, including statistics
• One year of biological or life sciences
• One semester of biochemistry, cell/molecular biology, physiology, genetics

• Academic strengths
• Involvement in extracurricular activities
• Employment and volunteer experiences
• Area of residence, with preference given to central and southern Illinois residents and those from rural, inner-city or disadvantaged backgrounds

• Evidence of responsibility, maturity, integrity, and compassion
• Proper motivation
• Identification with the goals of the School
• Exploration of medicine as a career
• Service orientation
• Good interpersonal skills

NOTE: Meeting the admissions requirements does not ensure admission, as the School is limited to admitting 72 freshman students. Although the Admissions Committee uses no quotas, active efforts are made to recruit qualified applicants from groups traditionally under-represented in the medical profession.

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ADMISSIONS POLICIES

MCAT:

The Admissions Committee considers MCAT scores that are no more than 3 years old (i.e. 2007 MCAT scores are the oldest considered for 2010.) The latest MCAT scores considered for 2010 entry are those from a September 2009 test date. The Admissions Committee uses the most recent MCAT scores during its review of applications. The minimum MCAT requirements can be found in our Admissions Requirements section.

Letters of Recommendation:

Beginning the 2010 application cycle SIUMED will accept letters of recommendation submitted through AMCAS’ letters of evaluation utility. AMCAS offers a number of ways through which letters can be submitted. Visit the AMCAS letters of evaluation page to learn more about how your letters could be sent.

SIUMED requests applicants to submit letters of recommendation at the time they are invited to submit a supplementary application. At that point applicants have two options:

1. Submit one pre-health professions committee letter or other composite letter of recommendation.
2. Submit four individual letters. This option requires three letters written by academic sources (i.e. professor or research advisor) and one personal or professional letter. All supplementary materials, the application and letters of recommendation, must be received by the Admissions Office by February 1, 2010.

*** Letters from political sources are not recommended***

Illinois Residency:

SIUMED only accepts legal Illinois residents for the regular M.D. program. Legal residents are considered to be those in possession of a valid Illinois drivers’ license and who are also registered to vote in the State. Only the combined medicine and law (M.D./J.D.) program considers non-Illinois residents.

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Last updated February 5, 2010

Southern Illinois University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action institution in accordance with Civil Rights legislation and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, handicap or national origin in any of its educational programs, activities, admissions or employment practices.

NOTE: Most of the forms on these web pages are in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF).