Admissions Requirements

Admissions Information

Applicants applying for the 2008 entering class, please visit our UC On-Line Secondary Application at MedOneStop.uc.edu

GENERAL INFORMATION
The University of Cincinnati College of Medicine (UCCOM) is a premier institution ranking in the top third of medical schools in the United States. It has substantial research holdings and is number one in the state among public medical schools when it comes to NIH funding. It is a large, diverse medical school with 1,365 full time clinical and basic science faculty. The faculty, along with the outstanding physical facilities, provides an excellent foundation for medical education and preparation to meet the future health care needs of this country.

UCCOM is home to 621 medical students, 41 MD/PhD students, 426 graduate students and 227 postdoctoral scholars. The Academic Health Center includes the following resources as part of our campus: the Medical Sciences Building, the Cardiovascular Research Building, the Vontz Center for Molecular Studies, University Hospital, the Barrett Cancer Center, the Genome Research Institute, the Medical Sciences Libraries and the Health Professions Building. The Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, which includes a major teaching hospital, a Research Foundation and several outpatient clinical facilities, ranks second among the nations pediatric hospitals in research funding from the National Institutes of Health.

REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSIONS
To be admitted, a student must be a United States citizen or permanent resident (with a permanent residency visa) and have completed a minimum of 90 semester hours at a U.S. accredited four-year degree-granting institution of higher education. For students who have received a degree or are enrolled in an undergraduate college outside of the United States, a graduate degree or a minimum of 20 hours of science coursework from a U.S. college or university is required.

Students currently in a professional school or a degree-granting graduate program must complete all degree requirements and show documentation of graduation or completion of requirements prior to matriculation.

A baccalaureate degree is encouraged but not required.

MCAT scores received within the past three years are required. (For example, if you are applying for the 2008 entering class, you must submit scores from the 2007, 2006 or 2005 administration.)

All majors are valued. Students are expected to engage in a rigorous academic program that enables them to understand the basic principles of the sciences fundamental to medicine and to appreciate the psycho/social nature of humans. Applicants are expected to have the knowledge usually obtained in one-year courses in biology, general and organic chemistry, physics and mathematics. In addition, the undergraduate program should provide an understanding of the basic psycho/social, cultural and behavioral factors that influence individuals, families and communities. Regardless of the area of concentration, the applicant should have acquired effective learning, communication and problem-solving skills. Knowledge of the basic principles of statistics and computer literacy are strongly recommended.

All applicants must meet the College of Medicine Admission and Graduation Standards (Technical Standards) with or without reasonable accommodations.

OHIO RESIDENCY
As a state-supported university, the University of Cincinnati gives priority to Ohio residents. Please note:

If you have been a resident of Ohio but have been living outside of the state for educational reasons and have remained a dependent of an Ohio resident, you may have retained your Ohio residency for admission and tuition purposes.

If you have been a resident of Ohio but have been living independently outside the state for 12 months or longer, you have lost Ohio residency for admission and tuition purposes. In order to apply as an in-state applicant, you must have reestablished legal residence in the state for 12 consecutive months prior to matriculation.

For additional information about Ohio residency, please visit the following website:
http://www.uc.edu/registrar/residency.asp

PRELIMINARY REVIEW
The University of Cincinnati requires all students to apply through the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS). Upon receipt of the AMCAS application, all applicants receive an e-mail directing them to visit the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine website to complete the UC On-Line Secondary Application. This additional information allows the Committee on Admissions to make interview decisions in a timely manner.

COMPLETED APPLICATIONS
An application is complete when the Admissions Office has received the following: the AMCAS application, the UC On-Line Secondary Application, letters of recommendation and at least one set of MCAT scores taken within the last three years. (For example, if you are applying for the 2008 entering class, you must submit scores from the 2007, 2006 or 2005 administration.) Non US citizens must submit a copy of their permanent residency card.

The deadline for submitting all information is January 15th. Once the application is complete, the applicant is reviewed for an interview.

INTERVIEW
All interviews are by invitation of the Committee on Admission and are arranged at a mutually convenient time. The Committee interviews approximately 650 applicants each year. Each applicant interviews with one member of the Committee. Interviews take place on Mondays and Tuesdays. There is an informational program from 11:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. to introduce applicants to the College of Medicine curriculum, student services, research opportunities and financial aid. A tour of the medical school and lunch are provided.

Please try to arrive about 25 minutes prior to your interview to give yourself sufficient time to check in and get to your interview. Applicants traveling to and from Cincinnati by air should note the airport is in Northern Kentucky. Please allow at least two hours to get to and from the airport.

FINAL DECISION
The Committee on Admissions reviews the interview report along with letters of recommendation and all other materials supporting the application. To assess the applicant’s readiness for medical school, the Committee looks carefully at the following but not limited to:

Academic Background – grades and grade trends, all MCAT scores, post- baccalaureate and/or graduate experiences, honors courses, research experiences and any independent study courses

Personal Growth and Development – maturity, leadership skills, interpersonal skills, involvement in activities helping others, sensitivity and tolerance toward others, critical thinking skills and communication skills

Professional Development – demonstrated experiences in health care settings, understanding of issues and dilemmas facing medicine, knowledge of medical school demands and pressures and external vs. internal pressure to pursue a medical career

Decisions are communicated on a monthly basis. Students are notified that they are accepted, placed on the Alternate List or denied acceptance.

Accepted applicants are required to respond to the Office of Admissions offer within two weeks. The University of Cincinnati abides by the AAMC Traffic Rules and students may hold multiple acceptances until May 15th. After that date, students may only hold one medical school acceptance.

ALTERNATE LIST
By May 15th, the Committee on Admissions emails a confirmation form to all candidates placed on the Alternate List asking them if they wish to remain on the List. Offers of acceptance are made from this list as openings occur during the spring and summer. Although the Office of Admissions is often asked how many students are accepted from the List, there is no easy answer. The number varies from year to year. Unfortunately, we do not provide a numerical ranking. As soon as an opening occurs, we notify the next person on our Alternate List by telephone and/or e-mail.

ADMISSIONS AND GRADUATION STANDARDS
The University Of Cincinnati College Of Medicine strives to graduate physicians of the highest quality. The College has a tradition of training outstanding clinicians committed to the delivery of excellent patient care, training leaders in biomedical research and promoting careers in academic medicine. The College provides the opportunity to achieve diverse goals in medicine. Regardless of the professional role chosen, a graduate from the College of Medicine is expected to have a strong sense of commitment to serving his/her community, to adhere to high ethical standards, and to be sensitive to individual, cultural, and ethnic differences that exist in society.

The admissions process will select those applicants who have demonstrated an ability to excel in a rigorous academic program and who present evidence of significant academic and personal achievement. The accepted student is expected to have acquired a firm understanding of the sciences preparatory for the study of medicine and be knowledgeable of the basic social, cultural and behavioral factors that influence individuals, families and communities. In addition, the accepted student is expected to have acquired effective learning, communication and problem solving skills.

All students are expected to act as professionals and to be responsible for themselves and their own behavior and actions. Professional behavior would include such things as completing promptly all assignments and responsibilities attendant to the diagnosis and care of patients, showing up for all required experiences on time and prepared, and completing all assignments on time. Candidates will continually demonstrate integrity, honesty, caring, fairness, respect for others and self, empathy, maturity, dedication and the ability to distinguish and practice confidentiality. Working with others in an effective, mature and sensitive manner with all members of the medical community, healthcare teams and medical school community is required. Candidates are expected to make an effort to understand prejudices and preconceptions that might affect the patient, medical community or collegial relationships; especially in the areas of race and ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation, age, and religious differences.

It is the goal of the College of Medicine to provide an environment that will facilitate success in medical school. Although each entering student has impressive credentials, we realize each student is unique and individual needs may vary; therefore, we encourage you to contact the Office of Student Affairs if you have any questions. The Admissions and Graduation Standards and the Essential Technical and Health Standards will be periodically reviewed and modifications will reflect the changing medical education curriculum and educational environment.

ESSENTIAL TECHNICAL AND HEALTH STANDARDS

A. TECHNICAL STANDARDS

In addition to the acquisition of the appropriate knowledge in the sciences and the humanities, the faculty of the College of Medicine agree that the successful medical student should demonstrate the following skills and technical standards. Qualified students with documented disabilities are provided with reasonable accommodations and the determination of whether an applicant or current student meets the technical standards will be done on an individual, case by case basis utilizing the existing College of Medicine procedures. Technological compensation can be made for some disabilities in some of the technical areas, but a candidate should be able to perform in a reasonably independent manner without a trained intermediary or auxiliary aid. The use of a trained intermediary by a candidate means that a candidate’s judgment must be mediated by someone else’s power of selection, observation, perception or cognitive support. For instance, relying on an intermediary to perform physical exams for a student with a severe physical disability is not acceptable and would alter the fundamental nature of the medical programs. Accommodation may involve an auxiliary aid but none that substitute for an essential technical skill or supplements clinical and ethical judgment. Candidates must be free of, and not dependant on, illicit drugs.

COGNITIVE ABILITY
The candidate must demonstrate the ability to assimilate large amounts of detailed information, integrate that information and be capable of utilizing it for problem solving. He/she must be able to process information and demonstrate the ability to reason, comprehend, measure, calculate, analyze, memorize, organize, and synthesize complex information. In order to appreciate experiences in the laboratory and clinical settings, the candidate must perceive and understand visual spatial relationship structures and three dimensional relationships.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS
The candidate must be able to demonstrate and use (in English) the knowledge acquired during the medical education process to elicit, convey, clarify and transmit information (both in oral and written form) effectively, accurately, efficiently and sensitively to patients, their families and other members of the health care team. Candidates must be able to communicate with patients in order to elicit information regarding mood, activity and posture and perceive nonverbal communication. Communication and transmission of information includes reading, writing, hearing and speech. For example, candidates must be able to present legible, accurate and skillful information in oral and written form to a preceptor, professor, teammate, patients, families and other members of the health care team. Candidates must also be able to effectively and efficiently participate in sometimes fast paced small group discussions/interactions and in patient care settings where clinical decisions may depend on rapid communication.

BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SKILLS
The candidate must possess the emotional stability and the maturity necessary to interact with others in a responsible manner, to use sound judgment and to use ethical and clinical reasoning. The ability to make decisions appropriate to the care of patients; to function in a stressful and demanding environment; to adapt to new and changing situations and to cope with ambiguity is essential to the development and performance of future physicians. The candidate must be prompt in completion of all responsibilities in attendant to the diagnosis and care of patients.

The possession of human relations skills is equally important. The candidate should demonstrate compassion, empathy, a caring attitude, tolerance, an acceptance of differences, personal generosity toward others, thoughtfulness and a general concern and respect for other individuals.

PHYSICAL CAPABILITY
The medical education process is both demanding and challenging. The candidate must have sufficient emotional and physical stamina to acquire the knowledge and skills required in the classroom, to perform the duties in the basic science laboratories, to participate in activities on clinical rotations, to tolerate physically and mentally taxing workloads and function independently, competently and effectively under stress. The candidate must be able to complete the curriculum within the maximum time period specified by the faculty.

MOTOR COORDINATION AND SENSORY SKILLS
Sufficient motor function, tactile ability and sensory abilities are required to attend and participate effectively in all classroom, laboratories, conferences, clinical settings, and activities that are part of the curriculum. Candidates must be able to respond to emergency situations in a timely manner. Candidate must be able to perform CPR, airway management (both endotracheal ventilation and mask/bag), nasogastric tube, placement of intravenous and foley catheters, simple wound repair, the application of pressure to stop bleeding and basic obstetrical procedures.
Candidates must be able to perform simple lab tests (urinalysis, pregnancy test, etc.), use a standard light microscope, ophthalmoscope, stethoscope, prepare slides and use a computer. Other essential requirements include the ability to elicit patient information, such as performing a complete physical exam that includes inspection, auscultation, palpation and percussion as well as other diagnostic maneuvers and procedures such as a venipuncture, subcutaneous injection, intramuscular injection, and PPD/skin test battery.
Other required examinations include, but not limited to, neurological, gynecological, prostate, pediatric and obstetric examinations (with appropriate instruments). The candidate is also expected to execute both gross and fine muscular movements, equilibrium, and assume reasonable bodily postures required to provide a general and specific diagnosis and treatment of patients.

OBSERVATION AND SENSORY SKILLS
Through independent observation, the student must be able to acquire information in the basic medical sciences, including that obtained from demonstrations and experiential activities. For example, a candidate must be able to evaluate radiographic imaging studies and identify sub cellular structures, cells, tissues and organs on microscopic and macroscopic levels. Observation of patients necessitates the functional use of the sense of vision and the other senses. Candidates must have sufficient exteroceptive sense (touch, pain and temperature) and proprioceptive sense (pressure, position, movement, stereognosis and vibratory). A candidate must be able to observe a patient accurately from a distance and close at hand. Candidates must not lack any of the senses to the point that they cannot recognize normal versus abnormal and can not acquire or perceive sufficient factual material to accurately assess a patient’s health status.

B. PATIENT HEALTH AND SAFETY STANDARDS

CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK
Not only is the review of applicant character and conduct as a citizen an important consideration for the student entering medical school, but it also impacts possible future licensure as a practicing physician, concerns the safety and well-being of patients and has implications for liability issues affecting the medical school and affiliated clinical facilities. A criminal background check for medical school students is a standard affiliation agreement and requirement with the College of Medicine clinical training sites, especially in pediatrics (a required third year clerkship) and geriatrics. Ohio Law mandates criminal background checks for all prospective employees in positions where the individual will be caring for older adults (Ohio Senate Bill 160) or children (Senate Bill 38). Students who have lived in Ohio for more than five years (from the signature date of their medical school application) must present proof that they have had a criminal background check completed through the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCI). If a candidate is not an Ohio resident or has been an Ohio resident for less than five years, they must request that the BCI obtain information from the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). Candidates must give permission to the College of Medicine to obtain a copy of any arrest record or conviction record in the BCI files.

IMMUNIZATIONS
Health care providers in contact with patients, especially those with compromised immune systems, are at risk for contracting and transmitting infectious diseases. All candidates must maintain established College of Medicine immunization requirements for their own protection and the protection of their patients and the populations that they serve against preventable communicable illness. At least 14 days prior to matriculation, candidates must present proof of immunizations (an immunization history signed by your personal physician who is not a relative), as well as the Medical Questionnaire. All
immunizations are required unless medically contraindicated (personal physician documentation must be provided). Additional testing, evaluation and documentation may be required in individual cases. Clerkships, electives, educational activities as well as affiliated hospitals and programs might require additional immunizations. It is the candidate’s responsibility to familiarize themselves with all immunization requirements and to meet all deadlines with the understanding that required immunizations and/or tests are a condition of continued enrollment. Candidates who fail to submit their immunization history and Medical Questionnaire at least 14 days prior to matriculation may have their seat in the College of Medicine rescinded. Students who are not in full compliance with all required immunizations within one year of matriculation will be suspended.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Is a baccalaureate degree required?

A baccalaureate degree is preferred but not required.

Can a student apply if they are currently enrolled in a graduate or professional degree granting program?

Students currently in a professional school or a degree granting graduate program must complete all degree requirements and show documentation of graduation or completion of requirements prior to matriculation.

Does the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine allow students to delay matriculation?

The College of Medicine allows a one (1) year deferral for students who wish to take a year off prior to matriculating into the College.