Your Journey To Medical School
Tulane University School of Medicine attracts a large number of applicants each year. Because we desire to have applicants who balance humanism and academic rigor, we have consistently encouraged applicants to pursue a broad education. In addition, we seek out applicants who have a wealth of life experiences. This requires a rigorous interdisciplinary pursuit of academics and of sciences and humanities. Applicants are highly encouraged to earn an undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited college or university by the time of matriculation.
Additionally, TUSOM has identified several personal attributes that will be considered in the application process. These are academic ability, leadership, commitment to service, clinical activity, appreciation of community, scholarly activity, maturity, and a passion for medicine. These align with the AAMC expectations of premed competencies.
- Academic ability can be reflected in undergraduate and graduate level grades and MCAT scores. A deeper dive in this area can show upward trends or possible life events that may have impacted their academic journey, which would tell an applicant’s entire story. This attribute relates to the AAMC science competencies.
- Leadership is reflected in an applicant’s activities, experiences and listed leadership positions. TUSOM values “quality over quantity” and assessments of leadership activities should reflect this. This attribute relates to the AAMC professional competencies of oral communication, teamwork and collaboration
- Commitment to service is reflected in an applicant’s community service and volunteering experiences. This includes medical and non-medical service. Once again, TUSOM values “quality over quantity” and assessments of an applicant’s commitment to service should reflect this. This attribute relates to the AAMC professional competency of service orientation, ethical responsibility to self and others, cultural humility, and empathy and compassion.
- Scholarly activity is reflected in an applicant’s research experience. TUSOM recognizes the importance of research in medicine and understands applicants apply with various research experiences. Much like leadership and commitment to service, TUSOM much rather see an applicant deeply involved in a research activity rather than multiple projects that the applicant did not fully participate in. Additionally, being able to articulate the goal of the project and the importance of the research activity is valued in reviews. This attribute relates to the AAMC thinking and reasoning competencies.
- Maturity is reflected in an applicant’s personal statement and in their descriptions of their experiences and activities. This attribute relates to the AAMC professional competencies of resilience and adaptability, reliability and dependability, and interpersonal skills.
- Passion for medicine is a must not only for TUSOM, but in the field of medicine. Much like maturity, this is reflected in their descriptions of their experiences and activities. Did the applicant “check off boxes” or were they dedicated to their chosen experiences. This attribute relates to the AAMC professional competencies of commitment to learning and growth.
