Get Herald RSSLast year, the Brown Medical School admitted students through a standard admissions process for the first time since 1985, a move that generated strong competition for a place in the program: admissions officers reviewed over 1,600 applications for 11 spots.
Since 1985, the Medical School has only admitted students through the Program in Liberal Medical Education, which accepts students before they enter Brown, and several specialized programs. This year - the second with the standard admission policy in place - the Medical School saw a 60 percent increase in applications. Assistant Dean of Medicine Arnold-Peter Weiss said that these applicants are vying for a yet-to-be-determined number of spots, and 20 to 25 will likely be accepted.
Candidates applying through the standard admission route (as 90 percent of prospective medical students do nationwide) are required to present Medical College Admission Test scores and undergraduate grade point averages. The majority of applicants to the Brown Medical School present GPAs of 3.6 or higher and MCAT scores of 10 or above, according to the Medical School Web site.
When considering standard applicants, Weiss said, admini-strators must first make sure the individuals can get through medical school and excel - information that usually comes from the MCAT and GPA numbers. Weiss stressed it is necessary to get students who are not "cookie cutters."
The desire for a diverse and well-rounded student body contributed to the adoption of a standard application procedure. The Medical School is particularly interested in enrolling students who are age 25 or older and who have engaged in activities other than formal education between graduation from college and their application to the Medical School. Weiss said that PLMEs entering the Medical School, who are usually 22 years old, learn a lot from students who have gone out into the world and held jobs and started families. Such students provide a "bubbling effect" which contributes to a liberal medical education, Weiss said.
Among those accepted last year through the standard admissions route were a programmer at Microsoft and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School.
For the 2005-2006 academic year, the Medical School's enrollment totaled 345 students. About 55 percent are PLME students, 13 percent were admitted from post-baccalaureate programs, 7 percent are Early Identification Programs students, 3 percent of students were admitted in the standard admissions process and 23 percent were admitted by other admission routes.
According to Asssociate Dean of Medicine Julianne Ip, the implementation of a standard admissions process represents a broader attempt to better attract doctors applying for residencies, a move partially motivated by President Ruth Simmons and Provost Robert Zimmer. As part of that effort, the Medical School is in the process of gradually increasing the size of incoming classes, she said.
These initiatives could substantially alter the character of both the Medical School and PLME, a fact that may explain why Brown waited so long to adopt a standard admissions process, said Ip, who was once a PLME student herself.
The Medical School gained full accreditation as a four-year program in the 1970s, at which time it also offered a six-year program that allowed students to complete their undergraduate studies and the first two years of their medical education before transferring to another accredited medical school, according to Encyclopedia Brunonia.
In 1985, when PLME was established, the Medical School was composed of about half combined program students and half standard admission students. The Medical School stopped admitting standard applicants in 1986.
PLME currently accepts about 60 students each year out of high school. The program is designed to focus on competency instead of course requirements so as to shorten traditional pre-medical requirements. The minimum GPA that PLME students must maintain is 3.0, which is meant to allow students to experiment with harder courses outside of the sciences.
According to Weiss, the number one thing the standard admission students admitted last year like about Brown is the mix of smart, driven students who have passions outside medicine. Non-PLME students expose PLME students to different perspectives and values. In turn, PLME students expose non-PLME students to a firm understanding of the philosophy and workings of Brown, Weiss said.
