New medical school application process/timeline

[cowgirlMAC]

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Historically, when a new medical school begins accepting applications late in the cycle (like how UGA will in February pending accreditation), what does the process look like since it is quite expedited? Do they still do secondary essays or do they send interview invites based on the primary?
If the school is slated to begin in July, when would it been expected to get an acceptance?
I’m also very curious to what the applicant pool will look like. I will be entering the cycle to apply to this school. Are many people doing that? Are many applicants adding this school to their list in February? If the class is only 60 students, how should I think about how competitive this will be?

 

[wysdoc]

They usually still have secondary essays and do read them, and will interview longer in the year than the established schools.
(the following not fact but my opinion)
People who are competitive and have already had interviews and/or acceptances won't apply to these late-in-the-cycle startup schools, unless the school is offering a big incentive like free tuition.
This would mean most applicants have been passed over by all the other schools this year for whatever reason. A new school wants to choose students who can be successful and make it through all 4 years to graduation, but I think when they open up applications really late they are not going to get what they hope for in their inaugural class.

@cowgirlMAC I'm not sure what you mean by entering the cycle to apply to UGA, do you already have an active AMCAS application submitted?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

The central faculty and administration (including financial aid, student services, admissions) are usually in place to get preliminary accreditation. They have received briefings on integrating their student information system to AAMC resources such as AMCAS. They likely have a timeline, secondary essays, and a process for review that was reviewed by the accreditors.

There's no way to predict what the pool will look like, but remember that overall 40+% of AMCAS applicants have gotten 1 acceptance. A pilot class of 40-60 isn't going to make a dent in the competitiveness of the process or the pool.

 

[cowgirlMAC]

They usually still have secondary essays and do read them, and will interview longer in the year than the established schools.
(the following not fact but my opinion)
People who are competitive and have already had interviews and/or acceptances won't apply to these late-in-the-cycle startup schools, unless the school is offering a big incentive like free tuition.
This would mean most applicants have been passed over by all the other schools this year for whatever reason. A new school wants to choose students who can be successful and make it through all 4 years to graduation, but I think when they open up applications really late they are not going to get what they hope for in their inaugural class.

@cowgirlMAC I'm not sure what you mean by entering the cycle to apply to UGA, do you already have an active AMCAS application submitted?

I do not have an application submitted in this cycle; I will submit it when they begin accepting applications in February.

Thanks for your opinion on the applicant pool. Makes sense!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I do not have an application submitted in this cycle; I will submit it when they begin accepting applications in February.

Thanks for your opinion on the applicant pool. Makes sense!

You should get going with an AMCAS submission. Even if you are only sending your app to the new school, others will have their verified information ready to go, including letters. You are not the only one waiting, but plenty of others are ready to go.

 

[wysdoc]

You should get going with an AMCAS submission. Even if you are only sending your app to the new school, others will have their verified information ready to go, including letters. You are not the only one waiting, but plenty of others are ready to go.

Yes, get your application materials together for AMCAS. You will need letters, transcripts.
Might as well apply to the other "very new" school too: 2025-2026 Methodist University Cape Fear Valley Health SOM

 

[Snazzy_iceberg]

Historically, when a new medical school begins accepting applications late in the cycle (like how UGA will in February pending accreditation), what does the process look like since it is quite expedited? Do they still do secondary essays or do they send interview invites based on the primary?
If the school is slated to begin in July, when would it been expected to get an acceptance?
I’m also very curious to what the applicant pool will look like. I will be entering the cycle to apply to this school. Are many people doing that? Are many applicants adding this school to their list in February? If the class is only 60 students, how should I think about how competitive this will be?

How many seats does UGA's new school have?

 

[cowgirlMAC]

Yes, get your application materials together for AMCAS. You will need letters, transcripts.
Might as well apply to the other "very new" school too: 2025-2026 Methodist University Cape Fear Valley Health SOM

Yes, thank you both for the advice! I have loaded everything into my application; I am still working on the PS and activities essays. I called AMCAS this week, and they said it takes 24 hours to get verified at this point in the cycle, so I am comfortable waiting.
UGA is my absolute dream school, so I am not interested in applying to other programs at this point. If I don't get accepted this cycle, I will do the traditional broad school list when I try again.

 

[cowgirlMAC]

How many seats does UGA's new school have?

The inaugural class will be 60 students. They will work up to 100 for later classes.

 

[Snazzy_iceberg]

The inaugural class will be 60 students. They will work up to 100 for later classes.

Thanks! Do you know if it'll be heavily IS biased?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

@cowgirlMAC The questions you have mostly been asking are on their website. The mission is heavily Georgia focused by design. They aren't supposed to have much admissions information publicly available until after they have received preliminary accreditation.

About - UGA School of Medicine

The University of Georgia is establishing a new independent School of Medicine in Athens, building on the success of the Augusta University / University of Georgia Medical Partnership, which has been educating physicians in Athens since 2010. The establishment of a new public medical school at...

medicine.uga.edu

 

[cowgirlMAC]

@cowgirlMAC The questions you have mostly been asking are on their website. The mission is heavily Georgia focused by design. They aren't supposed to have much admissions information publicly available until after they have received preliminary accreditation.

About - UGA School of Medicine

The University of Georgia is establishing a new independent School of Medicine in Athens, building on the success of the Augusta University / University of Georgia Medical Partnership, which has been educating physicians in Athens since 2010. The establishment of a new public medical school at...

medicine.uga.edu

Thank you. I am a GA resident, and I'm aware of their mission and their current candidate status, which restricts recruiting.
My questions primarily concern whether there were other new medical schools that were granted preliminary accreditation in February, as opposed to earlier, such as October (like Belmont). I'm just curious about the applicant experience and the pace of primary->secondary->interview->acceptance.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you. I am a GA resident, and I'm aware of their mission and their current candidate status, which restricts recruiting.
My questions primarily concern whether there were other new medical schools that were granted preliminary accreditation in February, as opposed to earlier, such as October (like Belmont). I'm just curious about the applicant experience and the pace of primary->secondary->interview->acceptance.

How about April?

Accreditation Decisions for Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine

CHICAGO–The American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) today announced accreditation decisions made at its April 14-15, 2023, meeting. Comprehensive site visits occur at the end of an accreditation cycle. The following site visits were reviewed...

osteopathic.org