Medical Doctor Early Assurance Pathway

Prerequisites

• Complete at least one year of full-time coursework in a degree granting program of study in academic residence at Mount Union (any combination of fall and spring prior to application).
• Be enrolled at Mount Union throughout the period of application consideration.
• Show successful completion of a minimum of 20 semester hours of coursework in the subject areas of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and/or Math (BCPM) at the time of early assurance consideration. All graded courses must be completed with grades of “C-” or higher to count toward the 20 semester hour minimum.
  • BCPM coursework completed at another institution may count toward the 20 semester hours if posted as transfer credit to your Mount Union transcripts.
  • Advanced Placement and CLEP (testing by exam) credit earned may count toward the 20 semester hours if posted as BCPM course equivalent credit to your Mount Union transcripts.
• Possess a minimum overall/cumulative GPA of 3.4 or higher for all post-secondary coursework at the time of early assurance consideration. All GPAs are calculated using AAMC practices which includes all graded course attempts. Any institutional academic forgiveness policies are not included in early assurance GPA calculations.
• Possess a minimum BCPM GPA of 3.4 or higher for all post-secondary coursework in the subject areas of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Math at the time of early assurance consideration. All BCPM GPAs are calculated using AAMC practices which includes all graded course attempts. Any institutional academic forgiveness policies are not included in early assurance BCPM GPA calculations.
• Possess an ACT Composite score of 26 or be enrolled in good standing in Mount Union’s Honors Program in lieu of that minimum ACT score.
  • SAT results may be substituted according to the current ACT/SAT score concordance table.
  • The only eligible honors program at Mount Union is our institution-wide program known as University Honors.
  • Candidates that did not earn an ACT Composite score of 26 while in high school may re-take the ACT provided that a new score is submitted by the official transcript deadline for early assurance consideration (Friday of the first week of spring semester classes).

1. Apply to the M.D. Early Assurance Reserve List

The NEOMED College of Medicine offers Early Assurance for up to 2 seats in medical school each year to currently enrolled undergraduate students at the University of Mount Union. Interested candidates must consult with Mount Union’s Pre-Medical and Pre-Health Professions Program director (Dr. Bob Woodward, Department of Biochemistry, Chemistry and Physics) and review the NEOMED admission website for important procedures and deadlines during their first year of college enrollment well in advance of the application cycle. Candidates must then apply using the Mount Union M.D. Early Assurance Application which will be provided by Dr. Woodward. Applicants must complete the entire application and submit all required credentials by the Friday of the first week of spring semester classes.

Candidates will undergo an internal interview with the Mount Union Pre-Medical and Pre-Health Professions Committee during early February. Selected nominees will have their application materials forwarded to NEOMED at that point.

Interviews with NEOMED will be granted by invitation only following application review. Interviews are typically conducted in the spring semester. A successful interview with NEOMED is required prior to an official offer of early assurance.

Selection into the Early Assurance Pathway is done via an annual selective process. Early assurance offers will typically be made in April with a student response due in early May. Early assurance is not admission to the College of Medicine. Early assurance reserves a future seat in medical school should a candidate meet certain NEOMED admission standards at the time of application. The NEOMED Compass provides updated information on these standards.

2. Apply to the M.D. Program at NEOMED Via AMCAS

Students who have been accepted to the M.D. Early Assurance Reserve list will need to apply through the standard M.D. application via AMCAS to officially obtain their seat in the program. Remember that Early assurance is a privilege of the opportunity to secure a seat in medical school and not a right to matriculate to medical school.

Applications must be submitted by September 1 of the preceding year to be eligible for admission to NEOMED (e.g., If a student is applying for Fall 2025 admission, the student must apply for admission through AMCAS using the Early Assurance plan by September 1, 2024.).

All Early Assurance pathways at NEOMED are binding and enforced through AMCAS. Candidates who apply to other AAMC medical schools in addition to NEOMED at the time of Early Assurance application in AMCAS are subject to forfeiture of their early assurance reservation.

Students must complete the following:

• Attempt the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) at least once prior to July 31 of the preceding year to be eligible for admission to NEOMED (e.g., If a student is applying for Fall 2025 admission, the student must attempt the MCAT at least once by July 31, 2024.).
• Meet all admission dates and deadlines. It is also solely the student’s responsibility to be aware of all MCAT testing and score release dates.
• Be on track to successfully complete all required pre-requisite courses with a grade of “C-” or better to apply for admission to NEOMED. These required pre-requisite courses include:
• Two semesters of Organic Chemistry & Labs
• Two semesters of Physics & Labs
• Two semesters of Biology & Labs
• One semester of Biochemistry
• Meet or exceed the following overall/cumulative GPA, BCPM GPA, and MCAT scores as follows for admission to NEOMED according to this sliding scale recognizing the role of classroom performance while not relying solely upon standardized testing.
  
  

All GPAs are calculated using AAMC practices which includes all graded course attempts. Any institutional academic forgiveness policies are not included in early assurance GPA calculations. Additionally, all MCAT scores will consist of the best total score of all four sub-test scores summed from a single test date sitting. A candidate’s AMCAS Early Assurance Application for Admission dataset will be the official source of MCAT data. NEOMED does not require EAP candidates to meet minimum MCAT sub-score thresholds.

NOTE: All offers of admission are contingent upon the successful completion of remaining prerequisite coursework and successful clearance of a criminal background check. Academic performance that deviates significantly from that which secured admission may be revisited by the admission committee for consideration of remediation options or rescission of admission. Serious professionalism issues, such as convictions and/or academic misconduct or serious institutional infractions, will be revisited by the admission committee for acceptance re-consideration, including denial or subsequent rescission of admission.

• Receive a baccalaureate degree from the same undergraduate partner college/university where awarded early assurance. Early assurance is non-transferrable between institutions.

NOTE: Students from any major are eligible, as long as they complete necessary prerequisite coursework for NEOMED and the MCAT.

• Early Assurance students do not interview at the time of application for admission to NEOMED.
• Early Assurance Undergraduate admission decisions will be made by the NEOMED College of Medicine Admissions Committee in their October meeting using grades and MCAT scores officially recorded in AMCAS at the time of review. Candidates will receive an admission decision within two weeks.
• Candidates that do not meet their early assurance admission requirements in October review will have the following two options from which to choose:
  • Withdraw from their binding NEOMED early assurance agreement and forfeit their reserved seat in the NEOMED College of Medicine for the current admission cycle. Candidates may then select the option themselves using AMCAS to change their admission decision plan to Regular Decision. Their applications should then move into the AMCAS Regular Decision pool for consideration by other AAMC allopathic medical schools prior to the November 1 regular decision deadline. Or;
  • Take no action and maintain their binding NEOMED early assurance status, and a second review of their application credentials will occur in January by the NEOMED College of Medicine Admissions Committee. This timeline allows candidates the opportunity to submit fall semester grades and any new MCAT scores available at the time of review. All January review admission decisions are final for the admission cycle and candidates that do not meet admission standards will be denied admission for that admission cycle. Denied candidates shall not be reviewed again for that admission cycle.