Advanced Standing Entry 
Advanced Standing Application  
Eligibility Info   
Application Process   
Selection Timeline  

Updated January 18, 2008:  The Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine is now accepting applications for advanced standing admission to the M3 year.  In the 2008-09 academic year, we anticipate that a small number of seats will be available to qualified candidates.   Although we do not know the exact number of open seats, we will be interviewing selected applicants in the spring.  We welcome your completed, qualified application.      

THE ADVANCED STANDING ENTRY POINT 

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Advanced Standing admissions to the College of Medicine is considered only for the M3 year on a space available basis.  This varies from year-to-year. 

IMPORTANT ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION   

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Please note the following important information regarding eligibility determination for Clinical Advanced Standing:  

• Candidates must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States. Priority is given to Ohio residents.  
• A bachelor's degree from an accredited U.S. college or university is required for all NEOUCOM students in order to receive the M.D. degree.

Candidates currently attending or eligible to return to an LCME-accredited U.S. medical school who are certified in good standing by their dean may be considered for M3 transfer if they have completed two years. Candidates currently attending an osteopathic school or a foreign medical school who are certified in good standing by their dean may be considered for M3 after completing at least two years at their current medical school. Candidates must pass the USMLE Step 1 in order to be considered for M3. Preference will be given to candidates who score at the national average or higher.     

Graduates of osteopathic schools may be considered for Clinical Advanced Standing Admission. Graduates of foreign medical schools are not eligible for Advanced Standing admission.

Podiatric and dental students and graduates are encouraged to apply to NEOUCOM through the four-year M.D. Degree Admissions (Direct Entry) and not through Advanced Standing Admissions.

The College of Medicine does not discriminate against any persons on the basis of age, race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, nor does it discriminate against any U.S. citizen or permanent resident on the basis of national origin. The College of Medicine complies with all laws and regulations concerning persons with disabilities or veteran status.

THE APPLICATION PROCESS   Top of Page   

Application Materials and Deadline:  If and when the College accepts Advanced Standing applications, the following materials constitute a completed application for Advanced Standing Admissions to NEOUCOM and must be postmarked by April 1, 2008. 
1) Advanced Standing Admissions Application
2) Payment of a $150 application fee (nonrefundable)
3) Official transcripts from all current and previous post-secondary enrollment
4) Two recommendation forms
5) Official NBME transcript of USMLE Step 1 Score Report or date scheduled to take USMLE Step 1  
6)  If you have other information that would be helpful to the committee, such as clinical skills evaluations, please send these materials as well.

Application Fee:  As an applicant seeking Clinical Advanced Standing admission to the College of Medicine, you are required to pay a nonrefundable application fee of $150 to defray the costs of processing your application. Attach a check or money order to your application made payable to the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (or NEOUCOM). Cash will not be accepted.  

Transcripts:  Official transcripts from all current and previous post-secondary colleges/universities attended are required. In unusual cases where such transcripts are impossible to obtain, it may be possible to make special arrangements by notifying the Office of Admissions in writing.

Test Scores:  Please have an official NBME transcript of your USMLE Step 1 scores forwarded to the Office of Admissions.

Essential Functions Required for Admission, Continuation and Graduation:

The primary mission of the College of Medicine is to provide all students with the training to become qualified physicians oriented to the practice of medicine at the community level. As such, faculty are responsible to develop and implement a medical curriculum designed to educate humane physicians for the highest standards of the practice of medicine.

Preparations and training to become a physician requires each student to understand and meet the Essential Functions Required for Admission, Continuation and Graduation identified below. The faculty has developed the course requirements and activities (including but not limited to lectures, seminars, laboratories, clinics, physical examinations, patient procedures) and adhere to individual hospital rules and regulations as well as COM policies regarding these activities. Learning is based on active student participation rather than simple observation and/or note taking.

A candidate for the M.D. degree must be able to demonstrate intellectual-conceptual, integrative and quantitative abilities; skills in observation, communication, motor functions; and mature behavioral and social attributes. Technological compensation can be made for some handicaps in certain of these areas, but a candidate should be able to perform in a reasonably independent manner without a trained intermediary. (The use of a trained intermediary means that a candidate's judgment must be mediated by someone else's power of selection and observation.)

Observation:  The candidate must be able to observe demonstrations and experiments in the basic sciences, including but not limited to physiologic and pharmacologic demonstrations in animals, microbiologic cultures, and microscopic studies of microorganisms and tissues in normal and pathologic states. A candidate must be able to observe a patient accurately at a distance and close at hand. Observations necessitate the functional use of the sense of vision and somatic sensation. It is enhanced by the functional use of the sense of smell.  

Communication:  A candidate should be able to speak, to hear and to observe patients in order to elicit information, describe changes in mood, activity, and posture, and perceive nonverbal communications. A candidate must be able to communicate effectively and sensitively with patients. Communication includes not only speech but also reading and writing. The candidate must be able to communicate effectively in oral and written form with all members of the health care team.  

Motor:  Candidates should have sufficient motor function to elicit information from patients by palpation, auscultation, percussion, and other diagnostic maneuvers. A candidate should be able to execute motor activities reasonably required to provide general care, to perform diagnostic procedures, and to provide emergency treatment to patients. Examples of emergency treatment reasonably required of physicians are cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), the administration of intravenous medication, and the application of pressure to stop bleeding. Such actions require coordination of both gross and fine muscular movements, equilibrium, and functional use of the senses of touch and vision.  

Intellectual-Conceptual, Integrative, and Quantitative Abilities: These abilities include measurement, calculation, reasoning, analysis, and synthesis. Problem solving, the critical skill demanded of physicians, requires all of these intellectual abilities. In addition, the candidate should be able to comprehend three-dimensional relationships and to understand the spatial relationships of structures.

Behavioral and Social Attributes:  A candidate must possess the emotional health required for full utilization of intellectual abilities, the exercise of good judgment, the prompt completion of all responsibilities attendant to the diagnosis and care of patients, and the development of mature, sensitive and effective relationships with patients. Candidates must be able to tolerate physically taxing workloads and to function effectively under stress. They must be able to adapt to changing environments, to display flexibility, and to learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical problems of many patients. Commitment to excellence, service orientation, goal setting skills, academic ability, self-awareness, integrity, and interpersonal skills are all personal qualities that are assessed during the admission and education process. Because the nature of medical education is based on a mentoring process, candidates are expected to be able to accept criticism and respond by appropriate modification of behavior.  

Handicapped individuals are encouraged to apply. Applicants whose responses indicate that they cannot meet the expectations will be further reviewed by the Admissions Committee to assess the extent of difficulty and the potential for compensating for such difficulty.

Recommendation Forms: The two recommendation forms should be given to persons in the categories stated on the application who know you well and can evaluate you.

At least one form should give us information about your undergraduate college performance. Because each undergraduate college has a different way of handling premedical evaluations, you should check with the premedical advisory committee at your college about its own method of handling such forms. If they wish to use their own format, it will be accepted only if it is sent directly from the undergraduate college to us. Should your college not have such a committee, one science faculty recommendation will be considered in its place.

The remaining form should be given to the academic dean at the institution you presently attend. It is your responsibility to make certain that your recommenders submit these forms to us. Your file is not complete until our office receives these recommendations. Recommendations from people other than those listed on your application will not be considered.

Interviews: If seats become available, the primary selection session will be scheduled for May or June.  Selection sessions are by invitation only. Priority for interview session will be given to candidates who have competitive credentials, including USMLE Step 1 scores by the stated deadline.

The interview will be conducted over three days. Invited candidates must pay a fee to defray the costs. They must also bear the cost of their living expenses over this period.

Criminal Background Check:  The Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine will require a criminal background check (CBC) on all applicants offered acceptance to the College.  In addition, a CBC may be required annually thereafter to meet enrollment and registration requirements.  If offered acceptance to the College, this acceptance is conditional, pending the result of the background check.  The College reserves the right to revoke an offer of acceptance and/or to terminate participation in any and all curricular activities based on the background check report.  Applicants offered acceptance must also incur the cost of the CBC.

Inquiries: Because it is difficult to handle telephone inquiries concerning unusual circumstances or hardships surrounding your situation, please elaborate in writing and submit your explanation to Admissions at NEOUCOM.

   SAMPLE SELECTION TIMELINE   Top of Page

Mailing Address: All application materials need to be postmarked by April 1, 2008, and mailed to:

Clinical Advanced Standing Program
Office of Admissions
Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine
4209 State Route 44, P.O. Box 95
Rootstown, OH 44272-0095

Thank you for your interest in the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (NEOUCOM). Transfer students from other medical schools are referred to as Advanced Standing applicants at NEOUCOM and are considered for admission on a space available basis.