UMBC Health Professions Evaluation Committee
Minimum Requirements for the Fall 2016 Cohort:


*The deadline for first-time applicants to join the Fall 2016 Cohort is Tuesday, February 10, 2015 at 4:00pm.*
(February 10 is NOT the deadline for recommendation letters! Please review the FAQ's announcement under the NEWS section for more information about the Fall 2016 cohort deadline.)


The HPEC process begins with the Kickoff Workshops which are open to current UMBC Juniors, Seniors, or Alumni who plan on applying to medical, dental, or podiatry school with expected matriculation in August 2016 (starting classes at professional school in August 2016). Only current UMBC students--those students taking UMBC undergraduate and graduate classess--are required to attend a Kickoff Workshop.




1. Letters of Recommendation
Every applicant must submit a minimum of three recommendation letters. Specifics are listed below for different applicant populations.

For current UMBC students (current UMBC undergraduates and UMBC post-baccalaureate students):
Every applicant must submit a minimum of three recommendation letters. Of the three minimum recommendation letters, two of the letters must be from two UMBC Biology, Chemistry, or Physics instructors/faculty who have served as the instructor for the applicant in a UMBC Biology, Chemistry, or Physics course.

Note: Applicants can obtain any combination for their two UMBC science instructor letters. For example: one Chemistry and one Biology letter; two Biology letters; one Physics and one Chemistry letter; two Chemistry letters, etc.

After obtaining two UMBC science letters, other potential recommenders include research mentors, employment/work supervisors, healthcare professionals the student has shadowed, supervisors from clinical-related experiences, supervisors from community service experiences, coaches, and/or advisors. Applicants are encouraged to secure the most relevant and strongest references and this will vary per student.

For UMBC alumni who graduated within the last two years (within the past 24 months, between August 2012–August 2014):
Every applicant must submit a minimum of three recommendation letters. Of the three minimum recommendation letters, applicants within two years of their graduation from UMBC are required to obtain only one letter of recommendation from a UMBC Biology, Chemistry, or Physics instructor who taught them during their tenure at UMBC.

If an alumnus desires to obtain more than one letter of recommendation from a UMBC science professor, they can certainly do so. Alumni in this category should understand that many professional schools will require two science letters from recent graduates such as those from 2012-2014. Applicants must assume personal responsibility to know what the professional schools to which they are applying require. Applicants are encouraged to secure the most relevant and strongest references and this will vary per student. After obtaining one UMBC science letter, other potential recommenders include graduate school professors, research mentors, employment/work supervisors, healthcare professionals the student has shadowed, supervisors from clinical-related experiences, supervisors from community service experiences, coaches, and/or advisors.

For UMBC alumni who graduated more than two years ago (graduation date was in May 2012 or earlier):
Every applicant must submit a minimum of three recommendation letters. Of the three minimum recommendation letters, applicants who graduated from UMBC more than two years ago are not required to secure any letters of recommendation from UMBC science professors.

If an alumnus desires to obtain letters of recommendation from a UMBC science professor, they can certainly do so. Alumni in this category should understand that many professional schools will require two science letters from more recent graduates. Applicants must assume personal responsibility to know what the professional schools to which they are applying require. Applicants are encouraged to secure the most relevant and strongest references and this will vary per student. Other potential recommenders include graduate school professors, research mentors, employment/work supervisors, healthcare professionals the student has shadowed, supervisors from clinical-related experiences, supervisors from community service experiences, coaches, and/or advisors.




A maximum of FOUR letters will be accepted for each dental applicant.
A maximum of FIVE letters will be accepted for each MD-only, DO-only, or podiatry applicant.
A maximum of SIX letters will be accepted for each MD-PhD applicant.




2. MCAT timing
Allopathic and osteopathic medical school applicants are required to take the MCAT (once) before the end of June 2015 in order to be eligible to access the services of UMBC’s HPEC and in order to be part of the official Fall 2016 Cohort. When students register for the MCAT, they should select the option to release their scores to Ms. Roelke, UMBC’s PreMedical Advisor and Health Professions Advising Coordinator.




3. UMBC Course Requirements
All applicants must complete (with C or better grades posted) at least FIVE non-laboratory UMBC Biology, Chemistry, or Physics courses by the end of the Spring 2015 semester. These five lecture courses, native to UMBC, must be considered as prerequisites required by the professional schools to which the student is applying (medical, dental, podiatry) or upper-level (300 level or above) Biology or Chemistry courses. Transfer courses do not fulfill any of the five science lecture courses. Independent studies, tutorial projects, laboratory or field research, co-op, service learning, or similar courses do not fulfill the aforementioned criteria for the five, lecture course minimum.




4. UMBC Letter Credentialing Service
All UMBC faculty, staff, and other personnel are required to submit their letters of recommendation to HPEC and use the credentialing services offered by our university. If a student chooses to have any UMBC employee, faculty, staff member or any person affiliated with UMBC, submit a letter to any professional school independently and outside the auspices of HPEC, the student-applicant will thus be choosing to not be a member of the official Cohort and therefore that student-applicant will be eliminated from the Cohort. In essence, that student is deciding to apply to professional schools on their own and without the support of UMBC's HPEC. Being eliminated from the Cohort includes giving up access to UMBC's letter credentialing service and the HPEC composite letter. Applicants who violate this policy will be immediately removed from the HPEC process.




5. Institutional and Judicial Actions
A list of applicants will be submitted to the appropriate UMBC offices to check for any judicial or institutional actions and acknowledgement of any institutional actions will be communicated to the professional schools.

Health Professions Evaluation Committee (HPEC) Kickoff Workshops for the Fall 2016 Cohort

*The deadline for first-time applicants to join the Fall 2016 Cohort is Tuesday, February 10, 2015 at 4:00pm.*
(February 10 is NOT the deadline for recommendation letters! Please review the FAQ's linked here for more information about the Fall 2016 cohort deadline.)

Kickoff Workshops are open to current UMBC Juniors, Seniors, or Alumni who plan on applying to medical, dental, or podiatry school with expected matriculation in August 2016 (starting classes at professional school in August 2016).

The annual Kickoff Workshop dates are advertised on the NEWS section (http://www.umbc.edu/blogs/premed/) of the PreMedical and PreDental Advising Office website at the beginning of each Fall semester.

CURRENT UMBC Students who are First-Time Applicants to professional school:
MANDATORY attendance is required at one of the Kickoff Workshops for any current UMBC student who is expecting to matriculate into medical, dental, or podiatry school in Fall 2016. Current students who are taking classes at UMBC in Fall 2014 are required to attend one of the Kickoff Workshops. The definition of "Current UMBC Students who are First-Time Applicants" includes Previous Non-Completers from previous UMBC cohorts or students who previously applied to professional school but did so independently. First-Time Applicants are those students who desire to apply to medical, dental, or podiatry school with the assistance of UMBC's pre-health committee, for the first-time. All students must meet the minimum requirements of the cohort. *The deadline for first-time applicants to join the Fall 2016 Cohort is Tuesday, February 10, 2015 at 4:00pm.* same content is repeated in each workshop.

No need to RSVP for workshop attendance. The deadline for first-time applicants to join the Fall 2015 Cohort is Tuesday, February 10, 2015 at 4:00pm. February 10 is NOT the deadline for recommendation letters! Please review the FAQ's linked here for more information about the Fall 2016 cohort deadline.

UMBC Alumni who are First-Time Applicants to professional school:
UMBC Alumni who are not taking classes at UMBC in Fall 2014 are not required to attend any of the Kickoff Workshops. Alumni are always welcome to attend a Kickoff Workshop if they desire, but attendance is not mandatory for alumni who are not taking classes at UMBC in Fall 2014. All HPEC homework assignments and other tasks are handled via email and/or a Blackboard® community, therefore an alumnus does not have to be living in the Baltimore region in order to participate in the HPEC process. Sometime before January 30, 2015, UMBC Alumni should email Ms. Roelke at Christy.Roelke@umbc.edu to express interest in joining the Fall 2016 Cohort. Please include the month and year of your UMBC graduation. All alumni must meet the minimum requirements of the cohort. The deadline for first-time applicants (current UMBC students or UMBC alumni) to join the Fall 2016 Cohort is Tuesday, February 10, 2014 at 4:00pm. February 10 is NOT the deadline for recommendation letters! Please review the FAQ's linked here for more information about the Fall 2016 cohort deadline.

UMBC Re-Applicants:
Re-Applicants from a previous HPEC Cohort (students who already applied to medical, dental, or podiatry school with the assistance of UMBC’s HPEC) are not required to attend any of the Kickoff Workshops. Re-Applicants are always welcome to attend a Kickoff Workshop if they desire, but attendance is not mandatory for Re-Applicants who are not taking classes at UMBC in Fall 2014. Re-Applicants should email Ms. Roelke at Christy.Roelke@umbc.edu between April 15, 2015 and May 15, 2015 to express interest in joining the Fall 2016 Cohort. Please include the month and year of your UMBC graduation. All Re-Applicants must meet the minimum requirements of the cohort they desire to join.

The Kickoff Workshops explain the application timeline for each professional school area. Students will also be introduced to the pre-application homework documents that must be submitted to UMBC’s Health Professions Evaluation Committee (HPEC), along with the minimum requirements to be a member of the Fall 2016 Cohort. *The deadline for first-time applicants to join the Fall 2016 Cohort is Tuesday, February 10, 2015 at 4:00pm.*

For additional information, please visit the Applying sections for each career area on the office website:
Medical, http://www.umbc.edu/premed/medical_applying.php
Dental, http://www.umbc.edu/premed/dental_applying.php
Podiatry, http://www.umbc.edu/premed/podiatry_applying.php


Check out the Fall 2016 FAQ's linked here.


The same content is covered in both workshops.


No need to RSVP for workshop attendance.


HPEC Fall 2016 Cohort Kickoff Workshops:
Friday, January 30, 2015
University Center 312
Noon-12:50pm

Or

Tuesday, February 3, 2015
University Center 312
Noon-12:50pm

*The deadline for first-time applicants to join the Fall 2016 Cohort is Tuesday, February 10, 2015 at 4:00pm.*
Sponsored by The PreMedical and PreDental Advising Office and the UMBC Health Professions Evaluation Committee (HPEC).

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.