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Rural and Underserved Populations to Medicine

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ABOUT

The Rural and Underserved Populations in Medicine program established in 1998 for second-year Texas A&M University (TAMU) System students considering a career in medicine and who are from medically underserved areas or parts of the state without adequate numbers of primary care physicians. The program is designed to recruit and jointly admit highly qualified TAMU system students with conditional admissions to the Texas A&M College of Medicine (requirements for admission must be met).

 

A Unique Opportunity

For a number of years, Texas has suffered from a shortage of primary care physicians, particularly in the rural and underserved areas with a disproportionately low number of primary care physicians. Our hope is that your background, combined with our outstanding medical education, will help develop some of the best physicians available to respond to this need.

Partnership Universities

The Rural and Underserved Populations to Medicine  is a cooperative program between the Texas A&M College of Medicine and the following partner universities:

  • Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View
  • Tarleton State University, Stephenville
  • Texas A&M International University, Laredo
  • Texas A&M University, College Station
  • Texas A&M University, Commerce
  • Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi
  • Texas A&M University, Kingsville
  • West Texas A&M University, Canyon
  • Texas A&M Education Center - McAllen
  • Texas A&M San Antonio
  • Texas A&M Central Texas

The program is designed to recruit and jointly admit a select group of students to our partner universities with a guaranteed admission to the Texas A&M College of Medicine.

Eligibility and Selection Criteria:

At the time of application, applicant must have:

  • Completed freshman year with at least 24 credit hours (fall and spring semesters) and with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.50, hours completed over the summer cannot be used toward the 24 credit hours.
  • Completed Biology I & II, and Chemistry I & II with a B or better (AP or Dual Credit Accepted). Will be allowed to apply if Bio II OR Chem II are in progress.
  • Demonstrated in-person healthcare/clinical observation experiences.
  • Demonstrated in-person non-healthcare community service experiences.
  • Two letters of recommendations (at least one from a TAMU faculty member.
  • U.S. citizens or U.S. Permanent Residents (preference will be given to Texas residents.

Application opens September 1 and closes November 1 on any given year.  

THE APPLICATION

The program will select up to 5 students per year per entry point from a pool of scholars who are seeking enrollment to one of the Texas A&M University system campuses.


  • IMPORTANT: The application must be filed online through the TAMHSC Admissions Processing Portal (APP), the health science center’s form processing software. Please visit website for application and selection timeline.
BEGIN  APPLICATION THROUGH APP
 

LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

  • Two individual letters of recommendation are required. One of those letters has to be from a Texas A&M faculty member
  • Letters must be on official letterhead and addressed to Gaby Loredo and uploaded into the application portal.

TRANSCRIPTS

Unofficial transcripts are required to make the application complete. These can be uploaded into the application portal.

SELECTION TIMELINE

Selection and Evaluation Process

After applications have been evaluated, the selection committee will choose a selected number of applicants to move forward in the process and will conduct interviews. From this pool, the final applicants will be chosen. Applicants are chosen for their communication skills, intellectual capacity, motivation for medicine as a career, service orientation, leadership and ethical responsibility to self and others. See website for Evaluation and Selection timeline.

Personal Interviews- Zoom Format

Applicants will be invited for an interviews based upon their competitiveness in the pre-screening process. Each invited applicant is given a 30-minute panel interview by a combination of faculty admissions committee members, medical student admissions committee members, and faculty or administrator guest interviewers. The interview is required for possible selection, and the process of admitting applicants to the program is competitive.

  • Sept 1: Application opens (8 a.m.)
  • November 1: Application closes (5 p.m.)
  • November: Applications screeend and Interview Invitations sent
  • December:  Virtual Interviews will be held and Acceptance/Alternate/Denial notifications sent

 

REQUIREMENTS

Eligibility

To be eligible for admission into the PPC Program, you MUST reside in a rural, or medically underserved, or primary care, or health professional shortage area as defined by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Please visit the HRSA website to verify your eligibility based on your permanent address.

 

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS INTO THE COLLEGE OF MEDICINE


  • Satisfying with a "B" grade, or higher, the College of Medicine's undergraduate course requirements (47 semester hours). See below.
  • Achieving a cumulative 3.50 GPA and 3.50 BCPM GPA (Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics) by the time of enrollment into medical school at the end of each semester.
  • Score at least a 50% percentile MCAT Comprehensive Score with not less than a 40% percentile in each of the subsections.  Two attempts are allowed.
  • Participating in a Pathway to Medicine Seminar Course specifically designed to uncover the intricacies of the medical school application and interview processes and exploring the lessons, medical school curriculum, and issues that describe medicine as a practice and a career (Spring semester).
  • Participating in advising sessions with the College of Medicine's Director of Admissions and Early Admissions Programs.
  • Participating in mentoring sessions with College of Medicine medical students.
  • Active participation in MCAT preparation
  • Clinical Experiences - shadowing experiences in a private practice or hospital setting (at least 60 hours per month or minimum of 30 hours per year).
  • Community Service Activities - participating in non-healthcare community service (at least 5 hours per month  or minimum average of 60 hours per year).
  • Complete baccalaureate degree from Texas A&M University within a four or five year degree plan
  • Applying only to the Texas A&M College of Medicine.

* A complete list will be provided in the Acceptance Acknowledgement Agreement Form.

Conditional Acceptance Into The College of Medicine

Students accepted to the Rural and Underserved Populations to Medicine Program must also apply to the College of Medicine by the end of their junior year through the TMDSAS no later than August 1. The EAP gives the student the opportunity to secure an acceptance from the College of Medicine as early as October 15. The guidelines for application via EAP include:

  • Applying only to the College of Medicine through the Texas Medical and Dental Schools Application Service (TMDSAS ) by August 1 of the year of application.
  • Submitting the COM's Secondary Application and all required supplemental information by September 1.
  • Attending only the Texas A&M College of Medicine if offered a place under EAP. If a student applies to other medical schools, the acceptance is rescinded and is responsible to repay cost of Kaplan MCAT Prep course.