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Selection Criteria

Medical schools consider the following when selecting students for admission:

• Academic record (GPA, rigor)
• MCAT scores
• Application and personal statement (activities, service, etc.)
• Recommendation letters (including evaluation letter and dossier from Health Professions Committee)
• Interview assessment
• Residence (for public-supported medical schools)

A student's grades are considered by medical schools as the most important single predictor of medical school performance. The mean GPA of students admitted for the fall of 2006 class was 3.64 (Science 3.54). Medical schools take notice of improvement. If a student struggles and then shows gradual improvement, that is a positive factor.

MCAT scores are reviewed by the medical schools and are compared to the students' GPA. In

2006 the median MCAT score of successful applicants was VR = 9, PS = 10, BS = 10 with a WS of P. If MCAT scores are low, students should retake the test but only after preparing carefully. The scores will be reported as a retake to the medical schools.

Below is a breakdown of admissions statistics for accepted students at representative medical schools in 2006:

Factors the University of Iowa committee considers include (but are not limited to), from the NAAHP Admissions Panel:

• MCAT. Scores below 8 are not preferred, and we don't “add” the scores. Each is considered separately. If the MCAT has been retaken, the more recent score is considered most heavily, but the first score will be taken into consideration. Scores that rise are preferred.
• GPA. T he average GPA of our admits is 3.72 overall and 3.66 BCPM. Resident and non-resident averages are the same. We have graphs to plot the freshman-senior year, postbac courses, cumulative GPA and graduate work. We look for rising trends, major GPA, science GPA and number of courses taken that year (if they have a 3.0 listed for their senior year, but there's only one class that was taken in the summer, this is not considered a downward trend for a student with a 3.5 GPA overall. All grades are considered as they come to us from AMCAS (if a course is retaken, both grades count). A major downtrend or dip should be explained in our 3rd essay on the secondary application.
• Activities. A re they appropriate for a person who wants to be a physician? Are there clinical experiences included? Volunteerism? Are they many, but without a great deal of substance, or a few with many hours and continued connections? Are they leaders in their activities? Are they participating members but not leaders? Did they participate in research? Did they have to work to pay their way through school? Were they an athlete or musician (this might affect the time they had available to volunteer)?
• Essays. Do these essays reflect insight into medicine, their experiences and their motivation to pursue medicine? Are they just lists of activities, or thoughtful, reflective essays?
• Recommendations . Did they seem to know the applicant in a significant way? Was it a potential mentoring situation? Did the student take advantage of an opportunity to interact in a meaningful way? Is there an indication of communication skills? Teamwork? Are there hidden meanings in the letters?
• Interviews . Our interviews are scored, but written comments are required to indicate how that score was derived. Were the answers insightful? Did they reflect activities in which the student participated, or did they utilize lists (such as character traits)? Nervous applicants are within our norms.
• Diversity. How might this applicant add to the diversity of our classroom education? Are they geographically diverse? Socio-economically diverse? Second careers? Do they come from a culturally diverse background? Have they traveled extensively, or worked with underserved populations? Foreign language background? An unusual major in college?
• Other factors . Does this applicant have misdemeanors or felonies? If so, is the explanation they provided insightful and reasonable? Did this applicant have extenuating circumstances (illness, death in the family, natural disaster, etc., that adversely affected their grades? Is there a reasonable explanation?
• Re-applicant . All not-admitted applicants are offered an opportunity to talk with our admissions staff about the admissions committee decision. It is to their advantage to do this. Comments from the staff person are entered into the database, and are accessible by the committee members reviewing the file the next time. If the applicant follows the committee's recommendation, this is looked upon favorably.

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