MD Program

Application Process

Penn State College of Medicine strictly adheres to the following application process.

• Complete and submit an online application to the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS), indicating Penn State College of Medicine as a medical school of choice.
• Provide AMCAS with an official transcript, a service fee, and arrange letters of recommendations. AMCAS will verify application information and send it electronically to Penn State College of Medicine. Verified and processed AMCAS applications must be received by Nov. 15.
• Upon receipt of the verified and processed AMCAS application, the earliest being in July, the College of Medicine will notify applicants via email to complete and submit a web-based Secondary Application.
• Letters of recommendation are required from each institution that granted the applicant a degree and any institution the applicant is attending or plans to receive a degree. A composite letter of recommendation from a pre-professional committee is acceptable. If no such committee is available, letters should be solicited from individual faculty members as outlined in the secondary application instructions. If there is a pre-professional committee and a recommendation will not be forthcoming, the applicant can note this on the secondary application. Applicants who have been enrolled in a graduate program are required to provide an additional letter of recommendation from their graduate program. Please note that the College of Medicine only accepts letters through the AMCAS Letter Service system.
• It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the application is complete at the time of submission. It should include the completed and submitted secondary application, completion of the MCAT and the scores, all required letters of recommendation and payment of the $90 secondary application fee. The College of Medicine will not accept updates, including additional letters of recommendation or update letters from applicants, post-submission.
• It is the policy of the College of Medicine to deny requests to submit applications after the published deadlines.

Correspondence Policy

The "Preferred Addresses" (mail and email) listed on the applicant's AMCAS application will be used for all correspondence from Penn State College of Medicine. If there is a change in the addresses after submission of the AMCAS application, the applicant will need to enter the change(s) in the electronic application, then recertify and resubmit the application to AMCAS.

Email is a regular and official mode of communication during the application cycle. The College of Medicine recommends that applicants establish and maintain a unique and confidential email address that is not shared with others.

It is the sole responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the email address remains functional and the preferred mailing address is correct.

Letters of Recommendation

The College of Medicine accepts letters through the AMCAS letter system only. Applicants must send, or have sent, their letters directly to AMCAS. Please reference the website or call AMCAS at 202-828-0600 for further clarification.

Letters of recommendation are required from each institution that granted the applicant a degree and any institution the applicant is attending or plans to receive a degree.

If the applicant's letters are being transmitted to the admission committee by their undergraduate advising office, it is possible that the office is using VirtualEvals. Once the applicant's letters are posted to VirtualEvals, they will be downloaded by AMCAS and made available to the College of Medicine.

If the applicant's college or university has a pre-health committee or pre-health office that submits a recommendation letter(s), the applicant is able but not required to use their service.

If the applicant's college or university does not have a pre-health committee or pre-health office, or the applicant chooses not to use their service, the applicant is required to submit a minimum of four recommendation letters (maximum of six) using the guidelines below:

• At least two letters from faculty in science disciplines
• At least one letter from faculty in a non-science discipline
• At least one remaining letter from college faculty, community leader, employer, or others in positions of responsibility that know the applicant well

In either case, no additional letters are required, unless:

• The applicant has multiple degrees. If this is true, the applicant must submit one letter from each of the institutions that has granted them any of the following degrees:
  • Associate
  • Bachelor
  • Master
  • Doctorate
• The applicant has one or more years of graduate study or full-time employment at the time of application. If this is true, the applicant is required to submit one additional letter of recommendation from a member of the graduate faculty or work supervisor.

Interview Process

Applicants judged to be most qualified are invited for an interview. Other highly competitive applicants may be placed on a hold list and may be invited for interview later if space becomes available.

The interview is an essential component of the selection process. It provides vital information about the applicant that is not easily obtained by any other means. Interviews are presently being conducted in a virtual format.

Interviews with critical evaluations are a vital method within the admissions process for the assessment of the important nonacademic attributes of applicants. The selection committee places great importance on these evaluations in making decisions on admission.

Dates: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, mid-September through March.

Interview day: Half of the applicants will have a virtual interview in the morning, and the other half in the afternoon. Two faculty, staff members, and/or alumni of the College of Medicine will interview each applicant simultaneously. Later in the day, both groups will come together for informational meetings with admissions staff, College of Medicine leadership, and current medical students. 

Interview Agenda

All times are eastern standard time (EST).

Group 1

7:30 a.m.: Arrival to Zoom room; welcome and overview of day's activities
8 to 11 a.m.: Interviews

Group 2

10:30 a.m.: Arrival to Zoom room; welcome and overview of day's activities
11 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Interviews

Groups 1 and 2

2 p.m.: Virtual meet-and-greet with the Associate Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid, and Q&A
2:45 p.m.: Virtual tour of the College of Medicine and Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center complex
3:15 p.m.: Virtual "hangout" with medical students
4:00 p.m.: Groups are finished for the day

Application Review

After the receipt of all required materials including interview evaluations, the applicant files are reviewed in a holistic manner according to medical student selection committee procedures. Decisions are made by the admissions committee after careful consideration of all aspects of the application.

Applicants will be placed in one of three categories – “Acceptance”, “Hold for Continued Review” or “Denied Acceptance”.

Applicants will be notified of acceptance into the class entering in the fall after Oct. 15 and as late as required until the class is filled. Applicants have two weeks to respond to an offer of acceptance on or before April 30*. After April 30*, applicants have five business days to respond.

After an applicant is accepted, a $100 deposit is required and is applied to the first semester tuition. The deposit fee must be paid on or before May 15* (no exceptions) and is not refundable upon withdrawal after this date.

Accepted applicants seeking to defer their admissions must contact the Director of Medical Student Admissions with their request. The deadline for a deferral request is May 15 of the admission cycle year (no exceptions). Please note, there is a very limited number of deferments allowed each year. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.  Applicants selected for admission late in the cycle from the "Hold" list are not eligible for deferment.

Files placed in the “Hold” category remain active in the admissions process. They are continuously reviewed until the class is filled and may be selected for acceptance at any time prior to the first day of orientation.

Applicants in the Hold category are permitted to submit a statement of intent after April 30*.

Unsuccessful applicants of previous admissions cycles who reapply for admission must submit a completely new AMCAS and secondary application, application fee, and additional letters of recommendation. Any previous application will act as an additional resource file.

*If a date falls on a weekend or holiday, the next business day applies.

Criminal Background Checks

The College of Medicine participates in the AAMC-facilitated pilot program for performing criminal background checks on conditionally accepted applicants. The admissions process depends on the integrity of the answer to the AMCAS felony statement and timely disclosure of any related matter after submission of the application. Falsification of this information can result in dismissal from the College of Medicine.

Students should also be aware that criminal background checks will also be required during medical school in order to participate in certain clinical rotations.

According to the Pennsylvania Medical Practice Act, the state medical board may refuse to issue a license or certificate to an applicant for a number of reasons including:

• "Being convicted of a felony or being convicted of a misdemeanor relating to a health profession or receiving probation without verdict, disposition in lieu of trial or an Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition in the disposition of felony charges, in the courts of this Commonwealth, a Federal court or a court of any other state, territory or country."
• "Conviction of a felony under the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act or similar criminal statute of another state, unless certain conditions are met."

Please contact the Office of Medical Student Admissions at 717-531-8755 or StudentAdmissions@pennstatehealth.psu.edu if you have questions about criminal background checks.

Licensure and Felony Convictions

On January 1, 1986, the following amendment to the Medical Practice Act went into effect:

The board shall not issue a license or certificate to an applicant who has been convicted of a felony under the act of April 14, 1972 (P.L. 233, No. 64), known as The Controlled Substance, Drug, Device, and Cosmetic Act, or of an offense under the laws of another jurisdiction which if committed in this Commonwealth would be a felony under The Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act, unless:

• At least ten years have elapsed from the date of conviction;
• The applicant satisfactorily demonstrates to the board that he has made significant progress in personal rehabilitation since the conviction such that licensure of the applicant should not be expected to create a substantial risk of harm to the health and safety of his patients or the public or a substantial risk of further criminal violations; and
• The applicant otherwise satisfies the qualifications contained in or authorized by this act. As used in this division the term "convicted" shall include a judgment, an admission of guilt, or a plea of nolo contendere.

Applicants can obtain further information from the State Board of Medical Education and Licensure, Post Office Box 2649, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2649, for information relating to licensure requirements.