Pacific Union College » Academics » Pre-Professional Programs » Pre-Medical Program » Information & Requirements » Junior/Senior Application Checklist

Checklist of Tasks to Accomplish Before Fall Quarter of Senior Year

• Take the MCAT.
• Make appointment for an interview with the Associate Dean of Loma Linda University Medical School in May.
• For Early Decision students only, request recommendation from PUC Medical Recommendations Committee by contacting the Academic Dean's office before May 1.
• Complete the AMCAS application and send it in to AMCAS by September 1.Submit the original and keep a completed copy of your application in your file. For the Early Decision program, get your application in to AMCAS by August 1.
• As soon as you receive the secondary application materials from the medical schools to which you have applied, take enclosed recommendation forms to the individuals that you want to recommend you, within a week. Request your recommenders to return the completed recommendation within a week. You may need to follow up on some of your recommenders if they seem to be slow in getting their recommendations in. Return, within a week, any other information that the medical school requests. Being diligent pays huge dividends. Take nothing for granted!

Checklist of Tasks to Accomplish During Your Senior Year

• Request a recommendation from the PUC Medical Recommendations Committee by contacting the academic dean's office as soon as autumn quarter begins.
• Make an appointment at the for an interview with the associate dean of Loma Linda University Medical School when he is here during Fall quarter.
• Have a complete transcript of your grades sent to the medical schools that you are applying to after each quarter of your senior year.
• Notification of acceptances will be sent to you sometime after the beginning of Christmas break. Almost all individuals will have been notified by the end of April.

Juniors Prepare to Apply During the Summer

Juniors, plan to start your AMCAS application before you leave for the summer. It is to your advantage to complete your application during the summer and submit it to AMCAS before you return to school next fall. AMCAS distributes your application to all the schools that you specify; and that takes a bit of time, especially when 40-50 thousand individuals are applying for medical school. So don't wait until the last minute. Completing your application takes several days by the time you write your essay and carefully check it over. Be sure to save a copy of your application.

Early Decision Program

Juniors with superior scholarship may receive a letter of acceptance to the medical school of their choice by October under the Early Decision Program. In this program, a junior makes regular application to the school of his/her choice, requesting an early decision. If this is granted, the student has the assurance of acceptance throughout the entire senior year. The only drawback is that one is locked into the school that gave the early acceptance. Juniors wishing to apply for Early Decision should (1) Immediately request a recommendation from the PUC Medical Recommendation Committee by registering your request at the academic dean's office; (2) Take the MCATt; and (3) Complete an AMCAS application and get it in by August 1.

Personal Interview with the representative from Loma Linda University

The representative, from Loma Linda University, interviews students during Spring and Fall quarter's each year. During the spring interview, the representative from Loma Linda University is anxious to see all juniors who will be applying either for Early Decision or the regular acceptance programs for enrollment in the following year's freshman medical class. The Fall interview is for the regularly applying seniors, not the Early Decision seniors. By this time, the Early Decision seniors should have already received notification of the status of their application (acceptance or nonacceptance). During this time, the representative from Loma Linda University will take approximately one hour to interview you.

Seniors

At the end of each quarter (fall, winter, and spring) you must have a transcript of your grades sent to the medical schools to which you have applied/been accepted. To do this, you go in person to the records office in Graf Hall and make this request. Failure to do this could jeopardize your being accepted or cause you to lose an acceptance you currently have.

If your graduation does not occur or is delayed, immediately notify the medical school and work out a solution with them. The medical school is expecting you to graduate.

Don't neglect caring for either of these two items. Your final matriculation could depend upon them. In all cases, after receiving your acceptance letter and responding in the affirmative, keep the medical school informed of any irregularities.