A handful of students will attend Ohio University in Fall 2014 knowing exactly what they will be doing for the next seven or eight years.
OU’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine interviewed 32 students last month for its new Early Assurance Program, which provides 12 students a direct path from undergraduate studies at OU into HCOM’s medical program for accepted students, said John Schriner, HCOM assistant dean for admissions.
OU is not the only school offering some high school seniors a direct entrance into its medical college. An early assurance program to HCOM is or will be available to students at John Hopkins University and Ohio Dominican University.
As one of the two primary advisors for students admitted into the program, Soichi Tanda, a professor of molecular biology, said he is excited to initiate the program to offer students an opportunity already in place elsewhere.
“I feel like we were a little too late,” Tanda said. “We finally caught up with the other institutions in Ohio.”
OU opened the program to applicants in December, said Breanne Sisler, associate director for communication in Undergraduate Admissions.
Admissions sent more than 1,500 letters to in-state students who applied to OU and met initial prerequisites — a high school GPA of 3.5 and an ACT score of 28 or SAT combined critical reading and math score of 1250, Sisler said.
Students who enroll in the Early Assurance Program are not forced to attend medical school, but Schriner said he hopes a student would let the college know as soon as possible if the student changes his or her mind.
Those who are accepted in the program will be required to take a practice but not the official MCAT, or the medical school entrance exam, Schriner said. HCOM typically accepts about 4 percent of its 4,400 regular applicants, Schriner said.
The Early Assurance Program offers two different tracks to applying students: a standard program of four years in undergraduate school and four years in medical school, or a three-year term in undergraduate studies followed by four years in medical school.
Students are eligible for the three years in undergraduate studies — the “3+4 program” — if they major in the College of Arts and Sciences’ biological science, chemistry or biochemistry program or if they major in HTC’s biological sciences program.
Students in the program have a variety of courses they must take to enroll in HCOM, as well as participate in clinical observations with regional primary care physicians and engage with current medical students.
“We can recruit such motivated students, so our student body itself can benefit from those students,” Tanda said.“Those students tend to return their talents by helping underclassmen.”
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Required classes for Early Assurance Program undergraduate studies:
Minimum six semester hours of English
Six semester hours of behavioral science
Eight semester hours of biology
Eight semester hours of physics
Includes labs where relevant, and students must receive a C or better in required classes
This article orginally appeared in print under the headline, "HCOM to offer new program."
