Early Medical School Selection Program
Program Summary
The Early Medical School Selection Program (EMSSP) was developed with a consortium of historically black colleges and universities in 1982. In order to make the program more diverse, it has been expanded to include students from colleges with large Hispanic populations and the Indian Health Service. The program provides an early and more gradual transition into the medical school curriculum through provisional acceptance into medical school at the completion of two years of undergraduate study.
Students accepted into the program will remain within their undergraduate colleges through the junior year and must complete the maximum number of required science courses prior to entering the senior year at Boston University. During this senior year, students will retain their degree candidacy at their undergraduate institutions. Students will take MMEDIC courses and participate in individualized programs of study in the senior year which will satisfy undergraduate academic requirements while providing a gradual transition into the medical school curriculum.
The September following the granting of the baccalaureate degree from their undergraduate institutions, students who have performed at the prescribed level will matriculate into the School of Medicine at Boston University and pursue a decompressed medical school curriculum, having already fulfilled requirements for certain medical school courses. Upon completion of the School of Medicine requirements, the degree of Doctor of Medicine will be granted by Boston University.
Requirements for Admission
U.S. citizens are eligible to apply during the sophomore year of college, upon the recommendation of their premedical advisors. Admission to the program is based on the academic record, letters of recommendation, scope and quality of college and community activities, and such factors as personality, character, and maturity of the applicant. Requirements include Biology (1 year) with laboratory and General Chemistry (1 year) with laboratory.
In addition to the normal distribution of courses in the humanities and social sciences, applicants are strongly urged to complete the equivalent of one full year of physics (with laboratory) prior to beginning the senior undergraduate year at Boston University. Students are required to spend the senior year in residence in Boston University housing. Students must take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) no later than the spring of the fourth year of undergraduate study, and are required to file an AMCAS application in the fall of the senior year.
Applications for the Early Medical School Selection Program may be obtained from the Early Medical School Selection Program Director, Boston University School of Medicine, 715 Albany Street, Room A-4, Boston, MA 02118.
