Selection Process
The medical school application process is complex and takes time. We hope the information provided will help you to better understand our admissions process.
General Information
Priority in the application review process is given to applications from residents of Michigan with strong academic profiles.
Invitations to interview are extended first to applicants who are residents of Michigan and to those who closely fit the mission of the college. The college conducts interviews through February, and our admissions process is structured so that seats remain available for applicants who are reviewed and interviewed later in the application cycle. Applicants are not negatively affected by the timing of the application review or interview.
Your application may be placed on HOLD FOR INTERVIEW DECISION. It is very common for applications to be held for an interview decision, for comparison to the larger applicant pool that evolves over the year. We receive newly verified applications from AMCAS through January; therefore, most applications that are held for an interview decision will be reviewed again in January. Please do not call the office if your status has not changed; as soon as a decision is made, your status will be updated. Our staff has no information beyond that listed on your CHM Applicant Portal status page.
The college has a rolling admissions process. Acceptances are made in stages throughout the cycle, but applicants are given the same consideration no matter when they are reviewed or interviewed. Some applicants will receive notification early in the cycle, and others will not receive a final application status until the end of the cycle.
The office staff is unable to project when you will receive the next status update. Please use your CHM Applicant Portal account to track your application status. Your patience is appreciated as we give individual consideration to all applications during this time.
Application Status after Preliminary Review
When we have received all of your application materials (AMCAS and secondary applications, Letters of Evaluation, MCAT and CASPer scores), the Admissions Review Committee will carefully evaluate your entire application. When this detailed evaluation is complete, one of three things will happen:
- You will be invited to interview by email invitation
- Your application will be deemed unsuccessful and will receive no further consideration.
- Your application will be placed on Hold for Interview Decision. It is very common to hold applications for an interview decision, for comparison to the larger applicant pool that evolves over the year.
We receive newly verified applications from AMCAS through January; therefore, most applications that are held for an interview decision will be reviewed again in January. This may significantly delay a decision on your application. You will not see a change in your application status until your application is reviewed again and a decision is made.
The college conducts interviews through February, and our admissions process is structured so that seats remain available for applicants who are reviewed and interviewed later in the application cycle. Applicants are not negatively affected by the timing of the application review.
The office staff is unable to project when you will receive the next status update. Please use your CHM Applicant Portal account to track your application status.
Interviews
If you are invited to interview, you will receive an Interview Day invitation by email and your application status will be updated to INVITED TO INTERVIEW. The College of Human Medicine holds interviews on a number of Mondays and Fridays from mid-September through February, at both the Grand Rapids and East Lansing community campuses.
Interview Day provides you with an opportunity to meet faculty and students, find out more about the college, and learn about important aspects of our mission:
- providing outstanding primary and specialty care
- promoting the dignity and inclusion of all people
- responding to the needs of the medically underserved
You will learn about our mission, the Shared Discovery curriculum, financial aid, our preclinical and clinical campuses, the Leadership in Medicine for the Underserved program (international travel opportunities), and the Rural Physician Program. Current students may be present at lunch to provide an opportunity to have your questions answered from a student perspective in a more informal environment. You will have one multiple mini-interview and one 30 minute interview with a current medical student. Regional interviews are not offered.
Committee Decisions and Outcomes
Decisions made by the Committee on Admissions are final and are not subject to appeal or revision. Once the interview process is complete, 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 conditionally 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
*Accepted applicants will receive a conditional offer of admission pending receipt by the college of a clear Criminal Background Check (CBC). All conditionally accepted applicants will receive notice either confirming or rescinding the offer of admission.
**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 clinical, volunteer, and/or research experiences, additional letters of evaluation, letter of continued interest) to their file at any time. This is the only instance in which additional information will be accepted.
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 as late as a few days before the start of Prematriculation and Orientation 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 in June. If you are accepted into ABLE and successfully complete all phases of this postbaccalaureate program, you are guaranteed regular admission to the following 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 not subject to appeal or revision. However, there are steps you can take to become a more competitive applicant if you intend to reapply to the College of Human Medicine in the future. See Procedures for Reapplying to CHM if you intend to reapply and wish to improve your application.
CHM Applicant Portal
You will use the CHM Applicant Portal throughout the application process to track the status of your application. You will also be notified by email regarding select status changes.
Your application may be placed on HOLD FOR INTERVIEW DECISION. The office staff is unable to project when you will receive the next status update. Please use your CHM Applicant Portal account to track your application status. Your patience is appreciated as we give individual consideration to all applications during this time.
Please do not call the Office of Admissions to inquire about the status of your application, as the staff does not have access to any information beyond that which is posted on your Application Status page.
It is very common for applications to be held for an interview decision, for comparison to the larger applicant pool that evolves over the year. We receive newly verified applications from AMCAS through January; therefore, most applications that are held for an interview decision will be reviewed again in January. Please do not call the office if your status has not changed; as soon as a decision is made, your status will be updated. Our staff has no information beyond that listed on your CHM Applicant Portal status page.
Submitting Additional Materials
DO NOT submit additional materials or updates. The college accepts additional information only when an applicant is placed in the alternate pool after interview or by Committee request. We believe that the AMCAS application you initially submitted is representative of your academic abilities and activities.
Unsolicited materials will be discarded.
Final Decision Time Line
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 is not always possible to review every applicant's file in the time available.
Files are not reviewed in any particular order. Many factors contribute to the timing of review of a given applicant, so someone who interviewed in November may get a decision before someone who interviewed in October. Please be assured that the application process is specifically designed so that the time an application 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.
Use the CHM Applicant Portal to check your application status. When a final decision is made on your application, that decision will be posted to your status page in the CHM Applicant Portal by 5:00 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.
Office of Admissions staff members are unable to provide you with specific information about when a final decision will be made.