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Application Process

Phase I: AMCAS Application

All applicants to VTCSOM must complete an application through AMCAS to be considered for admission to the school.  Students are encouraged to submit their application as early as possible. AMCAS opened in late May.  The deadline to submit the AMCAS application for admission to VTC is December 1. For more information, and to begin the application process, visit the AMCAS website. MCAT tests are required and should be taken no later than August or September in the year before anticipated entry.

Phase II: Secondary Application 

The decision to send a secondary application invitation to an applicant will reflect VTCSOM's commitment to attracting a diverse body of learners who will likely achieve academic success in the rigorous academic setting of medical school, while experiencing further growth in other important aspects of professionalism. Holistic reviews of each application will be made by a faculty subcommittee before making a decision about whether or not to invite a secondary application. Each applicant who meets the minimum criteria will be sent an invitation to submit an online secondary application. Applicants will be required to submit a $85 non-refundable application fee along with their secondary application.

Students who are invited to submit an online secondary application will be notified by e-mail, and provided a link to access the VTCSOM secondary application. 

VTCSOM will be seeking students who are interested in making contributions to greater society through a life-long career of inquiry, including the practice of evidence-based medicine, clinical and basic science research, and scholarship. Applicants who have experience in inquiry, research, scholarship, innovation, or leadership are encouraged to apply. Accordingly, the secondary application, along with the Educational Testing Service (ETS) Personal Potential Index (PPI) web-based evaluation report and standard letters of recommendation, helps to uncover information about applicants’ activities involving inquiry, research, and leadership, as well as behavioral evidence of honesty, integrity, trust, teamwork, and service to others.

Essay Questions

In addition to a request for additional personal information, our secondary application will include a series of short (maximum one page) essay questions designed to explore the candidate’s prior experience in self-directed learning, independent study, research, inquiry, and leadership activities. In particular, the candidate will be encouraged to describe how any of these activities may enhance their contributions to society during a career in healthcare delivery.

Personal Recommendations

VTCSOM uses the PPI evaluation process developed by ETS as a source of personal recommendations, along with traditional letters of recommendation. We request a summary report from ETS verifying the applicant has been evaluated by three (minimum) to five (maximum) evaluators, including one from a science or math faculty member with significant contact with the student. The applicant may choose the evaluators for their remaining evaluations. It is not necessary for the applicant to have their PPI evaluations done by the same faculty members that provided their standard letters of recommendation. We encourage applicants to get evaluations from some of the supervisors, mentors, or employers they listed in the Work/Activities section of their AMCAS application.

However, for the 2009-2010 application cycle, applicants can choose to send the ETS PPI report, traditional letters of recommendation, or both. Traditional letters may be sent electronically to VTCSOM via VirtualEvals or Interfolio. (NOTE: This is a change to our earlier policy requiring an ETS PPI summary report as part of the secondary application). 

The ETS PPI process helps to evaluate six critical attributes of applicants that have been identified as essential for successful graduate study. These include knowledge and creativity, communication skills, teamwork, resilience, planning and organization, and ethics and integrity. Applicants are encouraged to review the information on the ETS website: http://www.ets.org/ppi

To initiate the ETS PPI evaluation process, applicants will be asked to create an account with ETS and provide a list of evaluators, including faculty, supervisors, or employers and their contact information (name, mailing address, phone number and e-mail address. ETS will notify the potential evaluators by e-mail. Evaluators will be asked to complete a short (15-20 minute) electronic evaluation on the applicant. Applicants will receive a notification of completed evaluations by e-mail. After applicants indicate to ETS which evaluations they want included in their report (maximum of five per report), ETS will forward the summary reports to the schools designated by the applicant. 

The minimum criteria that constitutes a complete package in order to be considered for an interview at VTCSOM includes the following:

1. Completion of the AMCAS online application process with documented MCAT scores, and
2. Completion and receipt of a completed VTCSOM secondary application, and
3. Receipt of a report from ETS verifying the applicant has been evaluated by three to five references using the ETS PPI web-based evaluation system and/or standard letters of recommendation sent electronically via VirtualEvals or Interfolio, and
4. AMCAS application listing personal experience in several of the following areas:  patient care experience, research experience, scholarship, leadership, plus behavioral evidence of a strong interest in medicine, and 
5. No felony convictions

When the application is complete (items listed above), the application will again be reviewed and a decision will be made to:

1. Invite the applicant for interview and assign a tentative date for interview, or
2. Inform the applicant that they will not be considered further in the application process, or
3. Hold the application for future consideration as the admissions process proceeds

Phase III: The Interview 

Interviews will take place on the VTCSOM campus, in Roanoke, Virginia on several weekends throughout the fall and winter months. The fall interview dates are: October 17, November 14, and December 5. Interviewees will meet with key leaders from the VTCSOM faculty and administration, including the director of admissions and the associate dean for Student Affairs. Interview day activities will include presentations of the VTCSOM curriculum, an overview and tour of facilities, an orientation to the interview process, and lunch, as well as the actual interviews. All interviewees should plan to be on campus from 8:00 a.m. until approximately 4:00 p.m.

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Phase IV: The Acceptance Process

VTCSOM will use a rolling admission process and expects to send out its first group of acceptances approximately a month after its first interview weekend.  Additional acceptances will be sent out approximately a month after each interview weekend.  Some students not offered an initial acceptance will be notified that they have been placed on a wait list. 

Once notified of acceptance, students will have four weeks to notify the VTCSOM Admissions Office of their decision. If an applicant accepts the offer of admission, a deposit of $100 will be required at that time. Additionally, each accepted applicant will be advised that matriculation to VTCSOM will be dependent upon:

1. Satisfactory results of a criminal background check, and
2. Satisfactory completion of a drug screen, and
3. Satisfactory completion of their bachelor’s degree program and receipt of official transcripts from their undergraduate institution and any graduate degree programs, and
4. Understanding of and agreement to abide by the VTCSOM Standards of Ethical and Professional Conduct Policy (SEPCP), and
5. Ability to comply with VTCSOM's Technical Standards, and
6. Completion of the VTCSOM medical history and physical examination forms

Materials necessary to accomplish these tasks and information regarding financial aid, health services and housing will be sent to students holding a place in the class at various intervals before matriculation.