OSR-GSA Committee on Admissions Update
July 2008
AMCAS
As of 7/15/2008, 15,059 applications have been submitted and 7,451 have
been verified. The current verified application turn-around time after
AMCAS has received all of its documents has been 12 business days. The
Fee Assistance Program (FAP) eligibility threshold is currently 300% above
the poverty level and the number of applications as of 7/11/2008 increased
26% to 3,597 from the same time last year. The number of applications
approved increased 23% to 2,583 and the number of denials increased 35%
from the same time last year.
Criminal Background Checks
As of 7/15/2008, 2,669 background checks have been conducted in the Criminal
Background Checks (CBCs) pilot study. The checks have found one Felony,
45 Misdemeanors, and 19 cases of other than honorable discharge from the
military. A decision regarding the success of the pilot is expected to
be made in early 2009.
Holistic Admissions and Enhancing Diversity Update
The COA discussed several suggestions to help with the AAMC Holistic Review
project for admissions. Suggestions included a "tool kit" for admissions
officers that consists of a definition of holistic review as it relates
to admissions, identify tangible predictors of success in medical school,
inclusion of holistic review in the 2008 annual meeting, and will request
that Holistic Review remain on the agenda of the Council of Deans (COD)
and the GSA Steering Committee.
Letters of Evaluation (LOE) Update
The Letters of Evaluation (LOE)/Recommendation pilot study being conducted
by AMCAS is well under way, with 27% of all letters of recommendation/evaluation
received as of 7/15/08 sent by virtual evaluations and 73% arriving in
the mail. The COA has recommended that letters of evaluation/recommendation
be authenticated by AMCAS, which is currently being considered.
Medical Students with Disabilities
The COA participated in a conference call with the Director of MCAT Test
Accommodations Review, John Hosterman, PhD. The COA agreed to investigate
methods to publicize disability education for test accommodations and
plans to complete a systematic review of the AAMC Disabilities Template.
Additional Items
The GSA-COA also discussed revisions to the AAMC handbook for admissions
officers, the MCAT, current research data regarding applicants and accepted
students, and issues related to the US News and World Report Medical School
Rankings. If you have any questions, comments, or recommendations concerning
the GSA-COA, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Gabriel Fine
OSR GSA-Committee on Admissions Liaison
University of Washington School of Medicine
fineg@u.washington.edu
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