AP and CLEP exams may satisfy our premedical requirements in general biology, general chemistry, physics and statistics, but your college or university transcripts must clearly state the course subject for which credit was granted.
UW will accept pass/fail (or equivalent) grades for coursework completed during the pandemic. However, to give the best sense of an applicant’s comparative academic preparation, UW encourages as much coursework as possible be taken on a graded basis (vs. pass/fail). This is especially true for premedical requirements and all biology, chemistry, physics, and math courses.
These criteria are key considerations of the Admissions Committee:
UW School of Medicine and Public Health has a broad, multi-faceted mission aimed at advancing health and health equity through remarkable service to patients and communities, outstanding education and innovative research. The Admissions Committee seeks applicants whose aspirations are consistent with the school’s mission and who articulate how training at UW will further their goals. Strong applicants from throughout the United States are encouraged to apply to the MD program.
In addition to experiences, essays, and letters; applicants are encouraged to take and submit a score for the AAMC’s PREview professional readiness exam.
As a public institution, and consistent with the school’s mission and the Wisconsin Idea, the MD program focuses on training physicians to serve the health needs of Wisconsin. Therefore, approximately 70-75 percent of the student body in each class is comprised of Wisconsin residents, and non-resident admission is more competitive. For the MD-PhD program, residency is not a factor for admissions. Admission to the Wisconsin Academy for Rural Medicine (WARM) program is limited to applicants whose state of legal residence is Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois or Iowa.
Describe opportunities that have provided experiential knowledge of medical practice, such as volunteering or working in clinical, patient-facing contexts. Some examples include:
Applicants to UW must have these academic minimums:
To receive a secondary application, an applicant must meet these minimums with one exception: Applicants who do not have a 3.0 undergraduate GPA, but who have completed at least 12 credits of post-baccalaureate coursework in natural sciences (i.e., biology, biochemistry, physiology) and earned at least a 3.0 GPA in that coursework, may still receive a secondary application.
For otherwise eligible applicants, we accept coursework completed at non-U.S. institutions pending a foreign credential evaluation from a National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES)-approved service. In this case, we strongly recommend completing additional coursework at a U.S. college or university. This coursework should include at least two semesters of premedical courses to demonstrate your ability to perform well academically in a U.S. educational setting.
You must have completed a bachelor’s degree before beginning the MD program. The degree may be earned in any discipline. In rare cases, admitted applicants who have not completed a bachelor’s degree but who have completed another degree (e.g., a PharmD) may begin the MD program without a bachelor’s degree.
Due to our integrated curriculum, we are unable to accept transfer students. Applicants to our MD program must apply as first-year students.
The Admissions Committee considers all MCAT scores earned by each applicant. An applicant needs only one MCAT score that meets the minimum in order to receive a secondary application.
Each year’s entering class must take the MCAT no later than Sept. 15 of the previous year and no earlier than Jan. 1, four years prior the matriculation year.
If you submit your AMCAS application before a pending MCAT score has been reported, you must indicate any future dates when you intend to take the MCAT. We will hold consideration of your application until the scores have been released to us. Once the Admissions Committee has reached a decision on your application, we will not consider any additional MCAT scores for the current application cycle. Please do not submit your application until you have decided whether you will retake the MCAT.