Admissions

LOCATION: Medical Education Building, Room 3201
PHONE: (504) 568-6262
www.medschool.lsuhsc.edu/admissions

Method of Application

The School of Medicine participates in the program designated as the American Medical College Application Service, referred to as AMCAS. All applications for admission to the first year class must be submitted through this service. The application process for the School of Medicine is divided into two stages. The first stage is of preliminary nature and handled by AMCAS. The second stage is an exclusive relationship between the School and those applicants who have completed Stage I and have received Stage II material directly from the Admissions Office.

Stage I

All applicants must apply through the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS). A web application is available from the AAMC’s web site at http://www.aamc.org.

For informational purposes, the address and telephone number for AMCAS is indicated below

American Medical College Application Service
Association of American Medical Colleges
Section for Student Services
2501 M Street, N.W. Lobby-26
Washington, DC 20037-1300
(202) 828-0600

Stage II (Complete Application)

After the preliminary application data (Stage I from AMCAS) has been received, material for completing Stage II of the application process will be made available with an explanation of the restrictions and special conditions, which will influence the consideration to be given to the completed application. Transcripts, personal letters of recommendation, biographies, and other related material should not be sent to the Admissions Office until the applicant has received instructions from the School for handling this data and the Stage II application has been filed. Official recommendations from a college pre-medical committee or comparable source of information may be sent directly from the college to the Admissions Office at a time, which conforms to the pre-medical committee’s policy for the release of this data. Action on an application by the Admissions Committee may be delayed until official recommendations from the proper sources have been received. Final selection of the entering class will be made from those who have completed the entire application procedure.

Dates for Filing

The earliest date for filing an application is June 1 for admission in the Fall of the following year. The deadline for submitting all materials to AMCAS is November 30. The deadline for submitting the Stage II application and completion of the application file is January 15.

Early Decision Program (EDP)

The LSU School of Medicine offers the Early Decision Program. If an applicant wishes to apply for EDP, there are certain rules established by AMCAS, which must be followed.

The earliest date to apply is June 1 and the latest date to apply is August 1.

The applicant may apply only to the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans and may not apply to any other schools prior to being informed of LSU’s decision. The applicant will be informed of this decision on or before October 1.

If accepted, the applicant must accept and he/she may not apply to any other schools. If the applicant is not accepted then he/she may apply to other schools. Ordinarily the files of those applicants who are not accepted are placed in the regular applicant pool and may be considered at a later date.

If the applicant who is accepted violates the terms of the acceptance, he/she is considered to have committed an irregularity and other schools to which he/she has applied will be notified.

Normally, only applicants who have a GPA and MCAT scores above average will be considered for EDP.

The Medical College Admissions Test

LSUHSC School of Medicine in New Orleans requires every applicant to take the MCAT. The test is administered multiple times during the year at testing centers throughout the nation. This examination must be taken at an appropriate time by all applicants. To obtain an application or additional information write to:

The MCAT Care Team
Association of American Medical Colleges
Section for Applicant Assessment Services
2450 N St., NW Washington, DC 20037
Phone: 202-828-0690 www.aamc.org/mcat
The MCAT is required and must be taken no later than September of the year of application.

Selection Factors

The LSUHSC School of Medicine in New Orleans is dedicated to providing the opportunity for an excellent medical education to all Louisiana applicants who are prepared to benefit from its curriculum and instruction. To this end, the Admissions Committee will strive to recruit and admit applicants from every geographic, economic, social and cultural dimension of the State of Louisiana or other states within the country. The primary goal of the School of Medicine in New Orleans is to produce competent, humanistic physicians. Those accepted applicants who are not legal residents of Louisiana, will be responsible for out-of-state tuition. In order to achieve this goal, the School of Medicine finds that having a diverse student body is essential. Diversity in all its forms benefits students by creating a dynamic, productive and positive learning environment that promotes better cross-cultural and cross-racial understanding. Ultimately the benefit of classroom diversity will help the School of Medicine produce individuals who are able to be effective clinicians within a multi-cultural environment.

• Academic factors such as recent grades and test scores within the last three years
• The strength of the letters of recommendations
• The strength of the interview
• Employment history of the applicant and whether or not he/ she had to work to go to college
• Demonstrated history of leadership
• Demonstrated history of community service
• A qualitative and quantitative assessment of the extracurricular activities in which the applicant participated
• Special honors that have been awarded to the applicant
• Unique personal attributes of the applicant
• Hobbies and other interests of the applicant
• Socioeconomic background
• Where geographically the applicant was raised
• Whether there were any factors in the applicant’s background that may have hindered him/her from achieving a higher level of academic achievement

The Admissions Committee believes that the proper consideration of such factors should result in our institution matriculating and graduating a representative cross-section of the population within the State of Louisiana and for the country at large.

There is no discrimination because of race, religion, sex, age, disability, national origin, or financial status. Minority students are strongly encouraged to apply, and to consult the www.AspiringDocs.org web site which provides undergraduate minority students with the support, information, and guidance they need to apply to and enroll in medical school. The Office of Community and Minority Health Education may be reached by calling (504) 568-8501. Dr. Edward G. Helm is the Associate Dean for this office.

Applications are not accepted from International Students.

Committee on Admissions

The faculty has delegated to the Committee on Admissions the responsibility of selecting those applicants who will enter the School of Medicine for the first time. The Committee is composed of members of the faculty and student body. Applications, which have reached a specified stage of completion, are reviewed by the Committee for appropriate action. Final approval of an applicant cannot be given by the Committee until all required information has been received. The Committee on Admissions usually evaluates applications for the first year class during the period of September through April. The first offers of acceptance may be mailed on October 15.

Interviews

It is mandatory that each applicant be interviewed personally before the Committee makes a decision on a request for admission. The Committee will request an interview at an appropriate time. All interviews are by invitation only and arranged by the Admissions Office. A routine advisory conference with each person who has submitted an application is obviously not possible.

Provision Governing Acceptance of Applicant

All offers to accept an applicant for admission to the School of Medicine are regarded as provisional acceptances. Provisional acceptance is in effect until the time of registration. The applicant must demonstrate a continuation of a satisfactory personal performance and a level of academic achievement, which is compatible with ability demonstrated at the time of interview. Official transcripts of all course work must be received prior to registration.

Applicants must notify the Admissions Office of their desire to accept a place in the class within two weeks of the date of the letter offering acceptance. Failure to notify the office promptly will be usually considered as sufficient reason to withdraw the offer. Acceptance of the offer for admission should be accomplished in the manner specified in the acceptance notice.

It is considered to be improper for an applicant to hold more than one place of acceptance after May 15. An applicant who accepts a place in the class is considered to be under obligation to cancel as soon as possible the acceptance of places which may have been established previously with other schools. It is also to be understood that if an applicant who has accepted a place with the School of Medicine subsequently decides to attend another school, the applicant will provide prompt notification of the change in the acceptance status.

If an applicant accepts the offer for admission, a one hundred dollar deposit must accompany the letter of acceptance. This deposit is refundable until May 15. If the applicant matriculates, this deposit is applied to the first semester’s fees.Applicants are strongly urged to complete the regular four-year undergraduate curriculum and take the appropriate recommended courses before the study of medicine. The school encourages a balance between the natural sciences, social sciences, and the humanities.

Minimum academic requirements for admission are satisfactory completion of the required subjects as specified below with a total of ninety hours of acceptable semester hours at the time of registration. All coursework must be completed in a satisfactory manner, at a grade-level of C or better, in an educational institution within the United States that has been approved by an appropriate accrediting agency.

On-line and/or correspondence coursework is not accepted. Acceptance of advanced placement for credit toward fulfilling specific requirements in the sciences (biology, chemistry, and physics) may be approved on a case-by-case basis. Transfer credit from medical schools outside of the United States is generally not permissible.

Required Subjects

 Other Recommended Courses

Beginning in 2015, a new MCAT (MR5) is required. In preparation for this exam, it is highly recommended that applicants to medical schools consider taking coursework in sociology, psychology, and ethics.  

Enrollment in any of the following science courses may be beneficial to applicants: cell biology, comparative vertebrate anatomy, computer sciences, embryology (developmental biology), histology, mathematics, microbiology, molecular genetics, physiology).

Selection from the following arts and humanities courses is recommended: economics, English, ethics, foreign languages, history, philosophy, psychology, public speaking, sociology.

Selection of Courses

It is strongly recommended that those who wish to prepare themselves for the study of medicine should enroll in a degree curriculum in college. While most applicants follow a program in biology or chemistry, it is quite possible for those from other major disciplines to receive favorable consideration for admission to medical school. Care should be exercised in planning the course of study to be certain that the required subjects can be completed satisfactorily before the date for registration.

If the student does not enroll in a degree curriculum, it is considered important to follow a program which will allow time to take several of the recommended subjects and to complete more than the specified minimal number of required courses and semester hours. Elective courses should be chosen in relation to the student’s special interests and aptitude. An understanding of social and community problems will be very helpful in meeting the responsibilities of the profession of medicine. In addition to a good science education, it is desirable for the student to have a broad educational background in the arts and humanities.

Advanced credit for certain basic science courses offered in the first year medical curriculum may be allowed where it can be determined that the applicant has completed a course of study in the basic science area comparable to the material covered in the medical school course. This determination will not be made until the applicant has been accepted to the School of Medicine. The applicant must pass a certifying examination given by or under the supervision of the appropriate department of the School of Medicine. If the performance on the examination is considered to be of suitable level, the department may certify to the Records Office that credit for the course has been given and an appropriate grade entered into the record.

The School of Medicine does not accept pass-fail grades for required science courses. Credit is not given for work completed as a correspondence course; online courses are also not accepted.

Evaluation of College Records

A 4.0 system is used to determine quality point averages. Where D is the lowest passing grade, credit is given as follows: A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, and F=0. Where a course is repeated, the original grade and hours are also included in the calculation of quality point averages.

Transfer to Advanced Standing

The School of Medicine has a program whereby medical students enrolled at AAMC accredited schools of medicine within the United States and Canada can be accepted for transfer at advanced standing. Acceptance for transfer is limited to those enduring hardships. Examples of hardships include but are not limited to: spousal relocation to N.O. and family health issues. Students will be considered for transfer positions pending fulfillment of the following.

1. Louisiana residents will be given first priority.
2. Only those students who are in good academic standing at their school of medicine will be accepted. It is preferred to accept students after they have completed the first two years of medical school but on occasion the program will consider students for transfer after completion of the first year.
3. The number of students accepted will not exceed that number which will restore the third year class to its original size.
4. The prospective student must meet the same qualifications and requirements needed for admission to the School of Medicine.
5. The applicant must be able to meet all requirements for graduation with the class which the student is entering.
6. The student must send or have sent to the Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Records the following documents.
   1. From the medical school which the student is attending
      1. A letter of good standing from the dean of the medical school
      2. An academic transcript
      3. Two letters of recommendation from faculty members
      4. A letter from the finance office
   2. Additional required documents include
      1. A completed application form
      2. Scores from the Medical College Admissions Test
      3. Academic transcripts from all pre-medical schools attended
      4. An application fee
      5. A personal letter describing the student and the reasons for seeking a transfer to the School of Medicine
      6. The prospective student must become available for a series of interviews. The time for the interviews is to be arranged with the Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Records
      7. The deadline for filing a completed application (to include transcripts and letters of recommendation) is January 15 for transfer in the Summer of the same year
      8. The decision by the Committee on Transfers to accept, reject or place on a waiting list will be made at the earliest possible time and in all instances by April 1.
      9. The Committee for Admittance of Transfer Students will be composed of members of the Pre-clinical and Clinical Sciences Faculty and Associate Dean for Admissions. The Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Records will serve as chairman of the Committee.

Advanced Standing and Exemption of Courses

When a student is accepted for transfer from another medical school the student’s record will indicate the following.

“Transferred from (name and location of school) at the third year level”

Occasionally, students accepted for the first year class exempt one or more courses during the first two years. No consideration in exempting courses is given prior to the student’s accepting or rejecting the place offered in the first year class. Each case is decided on an individual basis in consultation with the Office of Student Affairs and Records and the department or teaching unit responsible for teaching each course in question. When the exemption is based on courses taken while enrolled in a graduate degree program of a medical center, the student’s record will indicate: “Credits accepted from (name and location of school).” This notation will be followed by a listing of the courses accepted and the grade received in each course as recorded on the official transcript of the previous school. When an exemption is based on a National Board examination grade or other criteria determined by the department involved, a grade is issued by the department at this School of Medicine. This may be a Pass, High-Pass, or Honors and is entered on the student’s record in a manner identical to courses taken at this School of Medicine. Thus, hours earned and honors hours are credited in the usual manner.

Additional Admissions Information

Additional information can be obtained by writing to

Admissions Office
LSU Health Sciences Center at New Orleans
School of Medicine
1901 Perdido Street, Box P3-4
New Orleans, LA 70112-1393