Medical college sees influx of applications
About 500 applicants already want to be part of the 60-student class at Commonwealth Medical College next fall.
BY SARAH HOFIUS HALL
STAFF WRITER
Published: Sunday, October 26, 2008 4:08 AM EDT
About 500 applicants already want to be part of the 60-student class at Commonwealth Medical College next fall.
Since the college received its preliminary accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education earlier this month, faculty and staff have answered hundreds of calls and e-mails from prospective students. The admissions staff is also busy planning open houses and scheduling visits to graduate fairs across the region.
Its been a whirlwind since we first received our accreditation, said Debra Stalk, the colleges director of admissions. Its really, really exciting.
Prospective students apply for admission through the American Medical College Application Service. After the college received its accreditation Oct. 6, it took 10 days for the service to list the college.
In just one day without the college telling students they were finally able to submit their applications 129 people applied, Stalk added.
The college could receive as many as 3,500 applications by the Dec. 15 deadline, she said.
Some of those applications will come from students at the University of Scranton and Marywood University.
Theres considerable interest, particularly among local students, said Mary Engel, Ph.D., the University of Scrantons director of fellowship programs and medical school placement.
Many seniors have already either applied or have prepared applications, Engel said.
At Marywood University, pre-med track students are also interested in applying to Commonwealth, said Deborah Hokien, Ph.D., chair of Marywoods science department.
Representatives from Commonwealth will be visiting the campus to speak with students soon, Hokien said.
We are very much looking forward to working with them, she added.
While the admissions staff at Commonwealth has yet to sort through the first 500 applications, an initial review shows strong candidates, Stalk said.
Im really anticipating that well be able to achieve our target goal of finding 70 percent of students from Pennsylvania, she said. There seems to be enough strong candidates from Northeast Pennsylvania.
Interviews are expected to begin the first week of November, and will continue through February or March, Stalk said. Up to 400 students will be interviewed for the 60 medical degree spots.
Were looking for very bright and capable students, she said.
Staff members went to a graduate fair last week at East Stroudsburg University, and open houses are planned at the schools Scranton location at Lackawanna College, and the regional campuses in Wilkes-Barre and Williamsport.
The college will begin accepting applications for the Master of Biomedical Sciences program Nov. 1, via its Web site,
www.thecommonwealthmedical.com.
With community donations, all doctor of medicine students who are accepted for the fall 2009 semester will receive $20,000 scholarships for each of their four years of school. The colleges goal is to eventually be tuition-free.
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