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Learn more about the Fall 2016 Cohort

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) about the Fall 2016 Cohort

FAQ's:
Q: What is a cohort?
A: The term "cohort" is used to describe a group of UMBC students and alumni who are applying to medical, dental, or podiatry school in the same year and with the assistance of UMBC's pre-health committee, also known as HPEC (the Health Professions Evaluation Committee). The Fall 2016 Cohort is a group of UMBC students and alumni who are applying for admission into professional school in Fall 2016.


Q: What is HPEC?
A: HPEC is an acronym for the "Health Professions Evaluation Committee", UMBC's name for their pre-health committee. An in-depth description of the history and purpose of pre-health committees can be found, here.


Q: What are the minimum requirements to be a member of the Fall 2016 Cohort?
A: There are certain minimum requirements for students who wish to apply to professional school with the assistance of UMBC's pre-health committee. The minimum requirements are linked here.


Q: Assuming I meet the minimum requirements, how do I join the Fall 2016 Cohort?
A: For current UMBC students, the first step to joining the Fall 2016 Cohort is to attend one of the Kickoff Workshops. At the Kickoff Workshops, instructions will shared about what information needs to be submitted by February 10. February 10 is NOT the deadline for recommendation letters! Please scroll down for more information about recommendation letters.

UMBC alumni (first-time applicants) who left UMBC prior to Fall 2014 are not required to attend any of the Kickoff Workshops, although they should alert Ms. Roelke about their interest in joining the Fall 2016 Cohort as soon as possible, and before January 30. Information from the Kickoff Workshops will be shared with first-time applicant alumni who are unable to attend the workshops.

Re-applicants (UMBC students who previously applied to professional school with the assistance of HPEC) are under a different timeline than the first-time applicants. Re-applicants who are interested in re-applying to professional school with the assistance of HPEC for the Fall 2016 cycle, should alert Ms. Roelke about their interests sometime between now and May 15, 2015.


Q: What is the deadline for joining the cohort?
A: The deadline for first-time applicants to join the Fall 2016 Cohort is Tuesday, February 10, 2015 at 4:00pm. At the Kickoff Workshops, instructions will shared about what information needs to be submitted by February 10. February 10 is NOT the deadline for recommendation letters! Please scroll down for more information about recommendation letters.


Q: When is the deadline for recommendation letters?
A: Students will learn more about how and when to ask for recommendation letters during the Kickoff Workshop. February 10 is NOT the deadline for recommendation letters. Students will have plenty of time to collect recommendation letters before the recommendation letter deadline, which will be discussed during the Kickoff Workshops.


Q: What is the HPEC deadline for the MCAT?
A: The Fall 2016 application year will be filled with many transitions as the new MCAT begins in April 2015. For the Fall 2016 application cycle, most medical schools will accept either old or new MCAT scores (or both). This trend is expected to continue for the next 2-3 application cycles as a full transition to the new MCAT takes place over the next few years. The Fall 2016 HPEC cohort will be a transition year, too. In order to accommodate the changes happening with the launch of the new MCAT, applicants must take the old or new MCAT (once) before the end of June 2015. For the Fall 2016 cohort only, the Health Professions Evaluation Committee has moved their MCAT deadline date to the end of June 2015. This is a temporary policy change which only applies to the Fall 2016 application cycle. For the Fall 2017 cohort and beyond, the Health Professions Evaluation Committee will return to the "take MCAT (once) before the end of April" policy. The minimum requirements page will reflect this policy change shortly. In summary, all pre-medical students who are interested in being a member of the Fall 2016 Cohort, are required to take the MCAT before the end of June 2015.

The HPEC MCAT deadline does not apply to retakes of the MCAT. For example, if a student takes the MCAT in November 2014, they have fulfilled the "take MCAT (once) before the end of June" minimum requirement. They can retake the MCAT at anytime. The retake does not have to occur before the end of June 2015, because the student in this example already took the exam once before, in November 2014.


Q: How do I know if I'm ready to attend the Kickoff Workshop for the Fall 2016 Cohort?
Answer for pre-meds: Many factors contribute to "readiness", but the prereq. pathway is the first indicator. If you completed CHEM 352 and PHYS 112 (or PHYS 122) and BIOL 303 lectures in Spring 2014 or prior, and you have a competitive overall and science GPA at 3.5 and above, and you are able to produce competitive MCAT scores in a timely fashion, then the Fall 2016 might be aligned with your pathway. Again, many factors need to be considered for readiness.

Answer for pre-dents: Many factors contribute to "readiness", but the prereq. pathway is the first indicator. If you completed CHEM 352 and BIOL 303 lectures in Spring 2014, Summer 2014, Fall 2014 or prior, then your DAT-prerequisite pathway is ideally aligned with the Fall 2016 Cohort. Most pre-dental students will begin to study for DAT in late Spring 2015 and into the Summer, taking the DAT sometime during the summer.


Q: Why is it important for me to apply to professional schools with the assistance of my undergraduate institution's pre-health committee?
A: Pre-health committees have been in existence at undergraduate schools since the 1970's. Here is the link to the history of pre-health committees, along with the opinions of the University of Maryland Dental School and School of Medicine about the importance of applying to professional school with the assistance of a pre-health committee.

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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on January 14, 2014 2:52 PM.

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