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The
College of Human Medicine (CHM) is an accredited medical school that has
received national recognition for primary care training (family practice,
internal medicine, and pediatrics) and for innovations in medical education.
CHM was founded in 1964 in response to Michigan's need for primary care
physicians. Founding faculty held the philosophies of William Osler and
Francis Peabody, nineteenth century physicians who asserted, "the secret
to the care for the patient is caring for the patient." CHM continues
to teach students to understand both medical science and medicine within
society while maintaining a focus on the individual patient's needs. CHM
encourages a cooperative and collaborative learning environment. This, combined
with individual attention within a comfortable class size of approximately
156 students, helps students maintain their passion and personal well-being
as they confront the rigorous demands of medical education.
All applicants who submit a $60 nonrefundable Secondary Application fee will receive a Secondary Application.
Once CHM has received your VERIFIED AMCAS Application, you will be sent an email message with instructions on paying the Secondary Application fee. Please keep in mind that the verification of your AMCAS Application can be a lengthy process, and a significant amount of time could pass between the time you submit your AMCAS Application and the time CHM actually receives your verified application.
Upon receipt of your fee, you will be sent an email message with instructions on creating your personal login for the CHM Applicant Information System (CHM AIS). You will use the CHM AIS system throughout the admissions process.
After receiving the email message acknowledging receipt of your Secondary Application Fee, click the button or link above. On your initial visit to the CHM AIS system, click the "Need to create a login?" button on the right side of the login screen. Enter your email address (the current address you have on file with AMCAS) and your eight-digit AAMC ID number. The system will then email you a temporary password.
Once you receive your temporary password, return to the login screen. This time, enter your UserName (this will always be your email address) and your temporary password, then click the Login button. You will be taken to the main Application Information System menu. The following options will be available:
Check Application Status — view the status of your application
Secondary Application — complete your secondary application
Change Password — change your temporary password
Exit
If your email address changes after you submit your AMCAS application, you must make the change to your AMCAS application. Once that change has been made, please allow up to four hours for the new email address to be recognized by the CHM AIS. You will also receive an email message from CHM acknowledging the address change. Your password will remain the same.
Please be advised that the Office of Admissions cannot retrieve an applicant's password. If you forget your password, click the "Forgot your password?" button on the right side of the login screen. Enter your UserName, click the Reset Password button, and a new password will be emailed to you.
Communication and Email/Mail/Phone ChangesIf your email address, mailing address, and/or phone number changes, you need to edit your AMCAS application immediately. This is particularly important since the majority of our correspondence to applicants, including invitations to interview, are sent by email. You must make changes yourself; AMCAS will no longer make the changes and submit them to schools for you, and schools cannot edit applicants' contact information within the AMCAS system. You also need to notify CHM of any changes in your contact information. Please email changes to chmapp@msu.edu. To ensure that you receive email messages from CHM and important information isn't missed because it is deemed "spam" by your email provider, we recommend that you add chmapp@msu.edu to your email address book or list of contacts. |
As soon as you receive email notification that we have processed your Secondary Application
Fee, create your personal log-in for the CHM Applicant Information System (CHM
AIS) to complete and submit your Secondary Application.
Once we have sent you an email message acknowledging receipt of your Secondary Application Fee (or Fee Waiver), you may use the CHM AIS system at any time to check the status of your application. Be assured that your application status will be updated and an email message will be sent whenever your status changes.
Please note that our staff is unable to provide your application status or updates by phone. A call to check on your status is unnecessary; it will provide you with no additional information or advantage in the process. If you have a specific concern about your status, please communicate with us by email.
Also note that you will not see a status regarding letters of evaluation. If CHM has not received your requested letters of evaluation, we will contact you by email. Admissions staff is unable to respond to telephone requests regarding receipt of letters of evaluation. If you have a specific concern about your letters, please communicate with us by email.
American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS)
Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT)
Optional Essays - Special Programs
Procedures for Reapplying to CHM
All applicants to the College of Human Medicine (CHM) at Michigan State University must begin the application process by submitting a primary application to the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS), part of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). The American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) is a non-profit, centralized application processing service for applicants to the first-year entering classes at participating U.S. medical schools.You cannot apply directly to the College of Human Medicine.
While your AMCAS application can be submitted for verification in early June, the College of Human Medicine encourages you to submit your best application to AMCAS. This may mean that you will want to wait until you complete summer clinical experiences or research projects, or receive summer grades. However, be aware that other medical schools may process applications on a first-come, first-served basis.
CHM has a semi-rolling admissions process. Acceptances are made in stages but applicants are given the same consideration no matter when they apply (as long as the application deadline requirements are met). Some applicants will receive notification early in the application process, and others won't find out their final status until the end of the cycle.
The deadline to apply to CHM is November 15, 2007.
If you have any questions about the AMCAS application please contact AMCAS directly.
CHM requires that all applicants take the MCAT. Submit your existing MCAT scores with your AMCAS application. If you have not yet taken the MCAT or wish to submit new scores, you must take the MCAT no later than September 16, 2007.
The MCAT assesses problem-solving, critical thinking, and writing skills in addition to knowledge of science concepts and principles prerequisite to the study of medicine. The Committee on Admissions is consistent in recognizing the national average (or higher) in the four MCAT categories: Verbal Reasoning - 10, Physical Sciences - 11, Biological Sciences - 11, Writing Sample - Q.
| CHM does not accept any MCAT scores older than four calendar years (for the entering class of 2008 we will not accept scores older than April, 2004). If you are applying through the Early Decision Program, the last date you can take the MCAT exam is June 15, 2007. If you are applying as a regular applicant, the last date you can take the MCAT exam is September 16, 2007. The only applicants for whom scores from MCATS taken after September 16 may be considered are those who are on the Alternate list for the entering class, and at the discretion of the Committee on Admissions. |
Summer/Early Fall MCAT Exam:
If there is any change in your MCAT intent (removing your Next MCAT intent or changing your Next MCAT intent to a future date), you must recertify and resubmit the AMCAS application in order for this change to become an official update. Simply saving the change and exiting the application is not enough.
If you are taking the MCAT after you submit your AMCAS application (but no later than September 16), your application will be held by the Office of Admissions for an interview decision until your MCAT scores are received. To avoid any delay in reviewing your application once your scores are received, we suggest that you go ahead and pay your Secondary Application Fee and submit your Secondary Application.
If you indicated on your AMCAS application that you were going to take an MCAT exam prior to September 16 but did not take it after all, notify our office by email so that we can go ahead and review your application.
If you indicated that you were not going to take the MCAT exam again on your AMCAS application but changed your mind and took the exam again (on or before September 16), you must notify our office by email so that we will hold off on making an interview decision until we receive those scores.
Applications from residents of Michigan and applications with stronger academic profiles will be evaluated first.
Application evaluation includes the review of academic profile, motivation, presence of relevant experiences, and essay responses.
Applications that are outstanding (academic and nonacademic factors) in the initial review are then evaluated in depth on multiple parameters.
Letters of evaluation are requested when the application is under detailed review, and prior to an invitation to interview. This request may occur at any time during the application cycle; timing of the request is not related to the date an application was submitted.
Invitations to interview at CHM are extended to the most highly competitive applicants first, while those who are slightly less competitive may be held for consideration at a later date.
CHM has a semi-rolling admissions process. Acceptances are made in stages, but applicants are given the same consideration no matter when they apply (as long as the application deadline requirements are met). Some applicants will receive notification early in the application process, and others won't find out their final status until the end of the cycle.
All applicants who submit a $60 nonrefundable Secondary Application fee will receive a Secondary Application. If you have an AMCAS Fee Waiver, email that information to us and we will waive the Secondary Application Fee. Once we receive your verified AMCAS Application, we will send you an email message with instructions on how to pay the Secondary Application Fee.
Upon receipt of your fee, you will use the CHM AIS system throughout the admissions process. Once your Secondary Application Fee is paid, you will be sent an email message (typically within two business days)with instructions on creating your personal login for the CHM Applicant Information System (CHM AIS). You will use the CHM AIS to access and complete your Secondary Application, as well as check your application status throughout the application process. Submission of your completed Secondary Application is expected within two weeks. If your Secondary Application is not submitted in a timely manner, your application is at risk for being withdrawn from further consideration.
Once we receive your Secondary Application and final MCAT scores for 2007, the CHM Admissions Review Committee will carefully evaluate your AMCAS and Secondary Applications. When this review is complete, you will be invited to interview, rejected from any further consideration, or your application will be placed on hold for future review.
Applications are often held for comparison to the larger applicant pool that evolves over the year. This may significantly delay a decision on your application. We receive newly verified applications from AMCAS through January; therefore, most applications that are placed on hold will be reviewed again in February, 2008. CHM conducts interviews through March, and our admissions process is structured so that seats remain available for those applicants who interview later in the year.
If you are invited to interview you will receive an invitation by email. The invitation will include the date of your interview and an RSVP date.
Optional Essays — Special Programs
When you complete the CHM Secondary Application, you also have the option to complete essays for one of two special programs that CHM offers: The Rural Physician Program or the Leadership in Medicine for the Underserved and Vulnerable program. You may submit optional essays for only one of these programs with your Secondary Application. If you are accepted to CHM, you may submit essays for the other program at that time if you wish to do so.
The Rural Physician Program (RPP) was established in 1974. CHM and the Upper Peninsula Health Education Corporation (UPHEC) have partnered at the CHM Upper Peninsula campus (Marquette, MI) to train high-quality committed physicians to serve in rural primary care. The goal of the RPP is to provide students with enriched clinical experiences, community service opportunities, and rural lifestyle advantages. RPP students receive an excellent clinical education from MSU faculty and CHM-selected, board-certified volunteer physicians from rural communities. RPP students choose a variety of specialties, and most choose to practice in a rural area. CHM Rural Physician Program alumni are encouraged to establish practices in Michigan's rural communities. Application to the RPP requires the completion of two additional essays.
Leadership in Medicine for the Underserved and Vulnerable (LMUV) is a program at the College of Human Medicine’s Saginaw campus. It has a dedicated focus on the clinical and leadership skills and knowledge necessary to serve medically underserved and vulnerable populations in urban, rural, and international settings. This focus is built into the core curriculum experience for the required clerkships, especially in family practice, obstetrics/gynecology, and pediatric clerkships, and can include international health experiences. All elements of this curriculum, including the international experience, are built around the efforts of the Synergy Medical Education Alliance.
The medical students selected for this program will receive program support and didactic education specific to rural, urban, and international health. Housing and food will be covered for LMUV students when out of country, but students are responsible for the cost of their travel, an estimated $1,000 for the third year and $1,000 for the fourth year. Travel costs can be included in their financial aid package.
Application to this program remains available to applicants on Interview Day. For more information, visit the Synergy Medical Education Alliance website.
Click HERE to take a look at what some of our LMUV students were up to while in Costa Rica earlier this year.
| Please note that all students accepted into the LMUV program are required to speak Spanish at an intermediate conversational level (minimum) by the time they reach Block III (third year) of medical school. |
Applying to the Rural Physician Program or the Leadership in Medicine for the Underserved and Vulnerable Program does not give an applicant any advantage in the application process. Only after being admitted through the regular admission process will admission to the Rural Physician Program or the Leadership in Medicine for the Underserved and Vulnerable Program be considered. If you are not interested in the Rural Physician Program or the Leadership in Medicine for the Underserved and Vulnerable Program, do not apply to either of them in anticipation of preferential treatment of your application.
| Letters of evaluation should be sent only upon request – we want to be expecting your letters so that we many process them promptly upon receipt. You will not see a status regarding letters of evaluation. Once requested, we will watch for your letters, and will be sure to notify you if your letters are not received as expected. If you have a specific concern about your letters of evaluation, please communicate with us by email. |
Letters of evaluation from individuals who know you well and can attest to your abilities will assist the CHM Committee on Admissions in developing an overall portrait of you as an applicant to the medical school. CHM requires a minimum of three letters, though as many as five letters are accepted. Please do not submit more than five letters.
Letters should come from a variety of individuals who have known you in different settings. Letters must be written on letterhead stationery, or provided with detailed contact information for the author. At least one letter should be from a professor who can evaluate your science reasoning and performance. One letter should address your interpersonal experience and behavior. If your college writes a committee letter, please ask the committee to send the College of Human Medicine the letters from each of your faculty evaluators, if available.
We encourage applicants to submit letters of evaluation electronically through an online, confidential credential file management service, such as VirtualEvals or Interfolio. This will result in faster processing of your application materials.
Submit written letters to:
CHM Office of Admissions
Michigan State University
A-239 Life Sciences Building
East Lansing, MI 48824-1317
If you are invited to interview, you will receive an invitation by email. The invitation will include the date of your interview and an RSVP date. CHM conducts interviews primarily on Thursdays, although we occasionally interview on Tuesdays. We typically interview applicants from mid-September through March.
Interview Day provides you with an opportunity to meet CHM faculty and students, find out more about CHM, and learn about our mission: to discover and disseminate new knowledge, provide service at home and abroad, enhance our communities by providing outstanding primary and specialty care, promote the dignity and inclusion of all people, and respond to the needs of the medically underserved.
Interview Day includes a detailed overview of CHM, including information about the mission of the College, the curriculum, financial aid, the Rural Physician Program, the Leadership in Medicine for the Underserved and Vulnerable program (international travel opportunities), and our six community campuses. Applicants are also given a tour of the South Campus facilities. Lunch with current CHM students will provide an opportunity to have your questions answered from a student perspective in a more informal environment. You will have two 30-minute interviews — one with a faculty or professional staff member and the other with a current CHM student.
After you have completed the interview process, the Committee on Admissions will review your entire application, including:
AMCAS Application
Secondary Application
Grades and GPA trend
MCAT scores
Interview evaluation scores and written comments
Letters of evaluation
Once the Committee has completed its review of your application, they will make one of the following decisions:
Accept you into the next entering class;
Place you on the Alternate list;
Refer you to the Advanced Baccalaureate Learning Experience (ABLE);
Determine that your application is not competitive for the next entering class.
Decisions made by the Committee on Admissions are final and are not subject to further discussion.
If you are accepted to CHM, you will be asked to submit a $100 deposit fee to hold your place in the next entering class.
If you are placed on the Alternate list, your file will remain under consideration for acceptance until we notify you of a change in your status. Alternates may add additional information (i.e., additional grades, new MCAT scores, clinical, volunteer, and/or research experiences) to their file at any time. Alternate files are not ranked and are reviewed whenever the number of accepted applicants falls below the entering class size. The number of applicants accepted from the Alternate list varies each year. Alternates have been admitted into CHM as late as the two weeks prior to the start of Prematriculation Week.
If you are recommended as a potential candidate to the Advanced Baccalaureate Learning Experience (ABLE), a final decision on your application will be made by the ABLE Review Committee by May, 2008. If you are accepted into ABLE and successfully complete all phases of this postbaccalaureate program, you are guaranteed regular admission to the Fall 2009 entering medical school class. If you are not accepted into ABLE, the application process is complete and no further consideration will be given to your application.
If you are an unsuccessful applicant to the College of Human Medicine,the application process is complete and no further consideration will be given to your application. Decisions made by the Committee on Admissions are final, and there will be no further discussion with Dr. Shafer, Committee members, or Admissions staff members. However, there are steps you can take to become a more competitive applicant if you intend to reapply to CHM in the future.
The Committee on Admissions strives to make a final decision (accept, alternate, referred to ABLE, application unsuccessful) on each candidate's application in a timely manner. However, the Committee has a substantial number of applications to review at each meeting and it simply isn't possible to review every applicant's file in the time available. Many factors contribute to the timing of review if a given applicant. Additionally, files aren't reviewed in any particular order – i.e., someone who interviewed in November may get a decision before someone who interviewed in October. Please be assured that the CHM application process is specifically set up so that the time an applicant is reviewed for a final decision is not a factor in the decision. Seats in the entering class remain available through the end of the application cycle.
CHM values your interest in us, and the Committee works very hard to get final decisions made as quickly as possible. Final decision notification dates for spring, 2008 are:
January 9, 2008
January 16, 2008
January 23, 2008
January 30, 2008
February 6, 2008
February 20, 2008
March 12, 2008
March 19, 2008
March 26, 2008
April 9, 2008
April 16, 2008
April 30, 2008
We ask that you check your status using the CHM AIS system. When a final decision is made on your application, that decision will be posted on the CHM AIS system by 1:00 pm on the notification date. If you check your status and there is no change, it means only that the Committee has not yet made a final decision on your application. We regret that Office of Admissions staff members are unable to provide you with specific information about when a final decision will be made.
Thank you for your patience and understanding during this long and complex process.
The CHM application review process is very thorough and takes time. Each application is reviewed individually. In addition, applications are often held for comparison to the larger applicant pool that evolves over the year. This may significantly delay a decision to extend an invitation to interview or reject the application. Our admissions process is structured so that seats remain available for those applicants who interview later in the year.
Please do not call the Office of Admissions to inquire about the status of your application. Once you have paid the Secondary Application Fee (or have a fee waiver), you should use the CHM AIS system to check the status of your application. You will also be notified by email regarding select status changes.
If the Committee determines that your application is not competitive for the next entering class, the application process is complete and no further consideration will be given to your application. See Procedures for Reapplying to CHM if you intend to reapply in the future and wish to improve your application
CHM differs from many medical schools in that there is no University Hospital. As a community-based medical school, the College of Human Medicine is uniquely positioned to provide students with comprehensive training in clinical settings that most closely parallel the environment in which many physicians practice. Students spend their first year or two years on the main MSU campus, located in East Lansing, Michigan. The remainder of their CHM education is spent at one of six community campuses located throughout the state: Grand Rapids for years two through four or Flint, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Saginaw, or the Upper Peninsula for years three and four. Led by a Community Assistant Dean and CHM faculty, each community program is aligned with area hospitals and outpatient facilities that join Michigan State University in creating a rich educational environment for students. The curriculum and evaluation is the same in all communities. All community programs offer electives in both specialty and subspecialty areas. Research opportunities are also available.
All accepted applicants will have the opportunity to indicate a preferred community if they wish. These preferences will be taken into consideration as community assignments are made; however, the CHM Community Placement Committee makes the actual community placement decisions. Accepted applicants will receive their community assignment prior to matriculation.
Occasionally, students have a particular need for a specific community assignment. There is a process for special consideration for placement based on an individual student’s documented special need.
Community assignments may be subject to change after initial assignment due to various factors (changes in the student’s life circumstances, openings occurring as students enter an extended curriculum, etc.). A process for review and reconsideration of community assignment is available to matriculated students.
For more information about all of our community campuses, please visit the CHM Community Campuses web page.
If you are an unsuccessful applicant to the College of Human Medicine,the application process is complete and no further consideration will be given to your application. Decisions made by the Committee on Admissions are final, and there will be no further discussion with Dr. Shafer, Committee members, or Admissions staff members regarding the current application. However, there are steps you can take to become a more competitive applicant if you intend to reapply to CHM in the future.
If you are not accepted to CHM and you anticipate being a reapplicant, we encourage you to carefully review and evaluate your application. We recommend that you follow the procedure outlined in the Self-Assessment Guide section of the Premedical Handbook and Self-Assessment Guide. Initiate your plans for improvement as soon as possible.
Unsuccessful applicants may complete and submit the Self-Assessment Guide for review and have it returned with comments. Advising or conference call appointments are available for unsuccessful applicants who:
have completed and submitted their Self-Assessment Guide;
have been rejected from all other schools; and
have not yet submitted the AMCAS application for the next application cycle.
Final actions of the Committee on Admissions are not reversed. Therefore, representatives of the Office of Admissions (including the Assistant Dean for Admissions, Committee on Admissions members, and the Office of Admissions staff) will not discuss your application with you or anyone you designate once a final decision has been made. If you believe AMCAS made a clerical error, or that there was an error of fact in your application, you are welcome to contact the Office of Admissions by regular mail or email to have your concerns reviewed.
