Office of Health Professions Information Session for 2019 Applicants to Medical, Dental, and Veterinary Schools

Objectives Introduce key concepts that are foundational to admission processes of health professional training programs Applicant characteristics for successful outcome Process for 2019 applicants Timing of your application and other information

Key Areas of Assessment for Admissions Cumulative GPA/Science GPA Admissions Tests* Health-related experiences Community Service/ADVOCACY Research experiences Recommendation letters (and committee letter) Interview Performance (MMI, panel, one-on-one) * MCAT, DAT, GRE for Medical, Dental, Veterinary Schools

Professional Schools Selection—Holistic Review Holistic review is a flexible, individualized way of assessing an applicant’s capabilities by which balanced consideration is given to experiences, attributes, and academic metrics and, when considered in combination, how the individual might contribute value as a medical student and physician. (AAMC) Distance traveled a key concept. Self-Assessment Guide will help you appraise the elements of your application.

Professionalism and Character Professionalism and integrity are essential components of the selection process. Exhibit high personal standards (social media!) Williams Code of Conduct and Honor System--know and follow. You must disclose disciplinary actions, misdemeanors, and felony convictions on both the AMCAS and some secondary applications. In general, TIME and EVIDENCE of humility, reparation, and/or lessons learned are necessary before applying.

When to Apply You should apply to medical school/dental school/veterinary school when all aspects of your application are strong, competitive, and you have a chance to be interviewed. This means your MCAT/DAT/GRE and GPA are competitive. You have assurance of quality of your references. You have a meaningful accumulation of medically-related experiences and volunteer work that speaks to your commitment to making a difference in the lives of others. If you have shortcomings in one aspect (Metrics), and you have a great story (e.g. DISTANCE TRAVELED) or a well-defined record of ADVOCACY, you need to speak with Barbara Fuller or Dr. Howard. The Self-Assessment Guide should assist with this decision.

Health Professions Process 2019 The process of preparation by student, HP advisor, faculty evaluators, employers, mentors, supervisors requires enormous investment of dedicated time, focus, and energy. Robust process with a timeline for all required elements and actions. Objective is to evaluate readiness and promise of health professions candidates from Williams College in a narrative (committee letter). Extracurricular activities Experiences in a relevant medical field Student’s personal story Academic record Letters of recommendation

Health Professions Committee Process for 2019 Intent to Apply Form – Google doc that you complete and submit before January 15. After February 1, need special permission. Important to have a firm count of participants in the application cycle. Submission of the form triggers manual authorization of your veCollect account (paid for by Williams). veCollect is the virtual filing system that stores these documents and letters of evaluation.

Health Professions Committee Process for 2019 Three required elements before committee interview (with Dr. Howard or Barbara Fuller) can be scheduled. Pre-Health Self-Assessment Guide* Resume Biographical Report You will upload these documents to your veCollect account. Directions for creating letter records for these documents are linked on the application timeline. *Note: The Guide is meant to provide the opportunity for self-reflection and honest assessment of your candidacy. It will not be used by the HP committee.

Health Professions Committee Process for 2019 veCollect Special Instructions You create three evaluator records for each required document in addition to creating evaluator records for all the letters of recommendation and committee letter. After you create the records, you have to select the envelope icon for an automatic email to be sent to you Will look like this: “collect+4575c77f….” Check trash or spam. Open in your inbox. Find link to which you attach your document. It may take up to 24 hours for veCollect to upload to your file.

Health Professions Committee Interview Objective is prepare you for AMCAS submission and to assess for Williams HP Committee review Biographical Report mimics the AMCAS application, so reviewed during the interview Choice of “most significant” activities and wording of activities Experiences before college should be included only if relevant or significant (e.g., 7 years of volunteering at your local hospital) Personal statement draft review Choice of medical schools (have a list ready) Alternative plans 90 minutes – 2 hours in length. Schedule on Handshake

Health Professions Committee Candidate File Resume Biographical Report (Word doc) Activities during academic year, spring break trips, winter term, summers Experiences before college should be included only if relevant or significant (e.g., 7 years of volunteering at your local hospital) Personal statement incorporated in the Bio Report This is your narrative and should provide a rationale on why this professional path; focus on something that is distinctive or less prominent in the rest of your application Transcripts (HP Office can download your Williams transcript You must send transcripts of coursework completed elsewhere to us. You will also have to send transcripts to AAMC when filling out AMCAS. Letters of recommendation

Health Professions Committee Process Committee review takes place in early-mid May. Standardized test scores not included in the file, so no worries if you have not taken the test. TWO of four required letters should be in your file by April 15, 2018; optimal to have all in by May 15, but June 1 is deadline. You will be rated according to the following: Academic Rigor/Strength of Schedule Leadership Community Service Extracurriculars Clinical experience Research Experiences (clinical, lab-based, public health or community-based) Letters of Recommendation Maturity/Readiness

Health Professions Committee Process cont’d Committee is Barbara, Lisa Howard, and 3 other faculty/community members, Task is to assess each Candidate’s file. Committee arrives at final confidential rating for each candidate: Recommended Good Very good Excellent Outstanding. Health Professions Advisors Write the official committee letter. Send the veCollect letter “quiver” to AMCAS.

AAMC Data on 2018 Williams Applicants Mean GPA Applied Accepted* Williams National CUM BCPM 3.56 3.47 3.65 3.71 CUM AO 3.63 3.69 3.83 CUM UG GPA 3.59 3.58 3.67 3.77 Mean GPA Mean MCAT Applied Accepted Section Williams National CPBS 128.6 126.4 128.9 128.2 CARS 128.7 125.9 127.6 BBLS 128.8 126.7 129.2 128.5 PSBF Behav 129.6 126.9 129.8 Total 515.8 505.9 517.2 513

Data on 2017 Williams Applicants 55 total applicants 52 MD; 3 dental 46 gained acceptances and matriculated—85% acceptance 6 are currently reapplying Schools # of EPHS Emory, Harvard, Michigan, Cornell, USC, U Mass 3 each Brown, Penn, Dartmouth, Tufts, Drexel 2 each Stanford, UCSD, UCSF, 1 each Dental: Harvard, U Conn MD/PhD: Tufts, Vanderbilt, Duke 1

If You Plan to Apply for 2019 Matriculation Submit the “Intent to Apply Form” “Get your house in order”— Think carefully about evaluators and ask them in a timely, polite manner Maintain your academic/work obligations, gain practical (hands-on) experience If possible, gain research experience with results and a product (thesis, poster, article) Hone your interpersonal skills: teamwork, cultural competence, leadership skills READ and BE INFORMED about health care and other topics (emergent diseases, end-of-life care, population medicine, substance abuse, social justice…). Literature of medicine is particularly rich: Humanities and Medicine programs at many medical schools. PLAN TO APPLY EARLY. All applications open around June 1. Have BACK-UP PLANS. There are no guarantees.

Our Ongoing Commitment Communication is vital to the process. Office of Health Professions will provide the structure but you must have initiative. How best to communicate with Health Professions Advisors Email any time Schedule appointments in Handshake Application Timeline is the guide for the process. Adhere to the deadlines. Your maturity and readiness for this process and for a professional career are demonstrated by your behaviors and attitude. More information will be added to this timeline as the year progresses.

Deadlines for 2019 Applicants January 15, 2018 Intent to Apply Form, Open veCollect Account January 31, 2018 Start on Evaluator Records; Request Outside Transcripts February 15, 2018 Pre-Health Self-Assessment Guide and Resume February 23, 2018 Biographical Report (Personal Statement included) March-April 2018 Interview Scheduling with Ms. Fuller and Dr. Howard April 15, 2018 Two letters of recommendation must be in veCollect June 1, 2018 Your candidate file must be complete Three documents by you; MD 3-4 letters of rec by evaluators; MD/PhD 4-6 letters; and outside transcripts

One more thing…. Filling out the AMCAS/AACOMAS/VMCAS/TMDSAS requires reading instructions. The Williams guidelines for converting course units have changed. All courses are 3.75 semester hours, and for every associated one hour of lab, and additional .25 semester hours is added. Biology and physics lab courses are 4.5 hours, and chemistry lab courses are 4.75 semester hours. Winter study classes are given 1 credit, and no semester hours. AMCAS/VMCAS/AACOMAS will manually make those changes after you submit. Read instructions online before you email us with questions!