Admissions Deadlines:

Regular Deadlines

AMCAS Application - December 1
Secondary Application and Letters of Recommendation -January 1 

Early Decision Deadlines

AMCAS Application - August 1
Secondary Application and Letters of Recommendation - September 1

Because interviews and acceptances are offered as applications and letters of recommendation are received and processed, we strongly urge you to complete your file as early as possible.

Standardized Test Scores:

Applicants must take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) within three years of date of potential matriculation. For more information about the MCAT, visit www.aamc.org.

Recommendations required:

Applicants are required to submit either

•  A Pre-Health or Pre-Medical Committee Letter (required if available to you)

 OR

• Three individuals letters (with a maximum of five), at least one of which must be from science faculty familiar with your academic work.

GW participates in the AMCAS letter service. All letters of recommendation must be submitted to AMCAS. For full information, please see the AMCAS application site. Please DO NOT send letters directly to our office.

Your file will be considered complete when all of the letters designated in the AMCAS system are marked as complete.  If you submit additional letters after your file is complete. they will be included in the review of your file ONLY if your file has not been reviewed.

Prior Academic Records:

At the time of application, applicants must have completed a minimum of 90 semester hours at an accredited American or Canadian college or university prior to matriculation. Transfer coursework from foreign schools or online coursework is not acceptable.

Applicants must have completed 6 credits of English as well as 6 credits of lecture and 2 credits of lab in each of the following sciences at an accredited American or Canadian college or university prior to matriculation: Biology (botany or biochemistry courses do not fulfill this requirement), General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Physics.

A letter of good standing is also required from any current graduate programs. If you are in a post-baccalaureate program, we require a composite letter from the program advisor or director.

Statement of Purpose: 

There are several places where the applicant will have the opportunity to inform us of purpose and goals on the AMCAS and GW Medical School Secondary Application.

Additional Requirements:

Complete the AMCAS Application:
Applicants must complete an online application from the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) and submit via the AMCAS web site by December 1. For more information, visit www.aamc.org/students.

Complete the GW Medical School Secondary Application:
After the GW Admissions Office receives the online application via AMCAS, the office will provide the applicant with a secondary application and information about the school. Applicants must return the completed secondary application and the $125 application fee to the Admissions office no later than January 1. Applicants are advised to complete the secondary application early, as files are not processed until after we receive a completed and signed application AND the $125 application fee.

Interviews:
Each year the Admissions Office offers approximately 1,000 interviews (via e-mail) to selected applicants. These interviews are "blind" (the interviewers do not read the applicant's file prior to the interview). Although we only offer interviews from September to March, acceptances into the class may be offered anytime after the initial interview up until the day before classes start in August. All final decisions will be mailed to those interviewed.

Background Checks:
GW participates in the AMCAS Criminal Background Checks Program. All students accepted to the program will be required to undergo a criminal background check as a condition of matriculation. In addition, an inquiry regarding institutional action will be made of all colleges attended.

Additional Information:
Academic excellence indicated through coursework and MCAT scores is very important for the study of medicine. However, evidence of compassion, service, integrity, cooperation, motivation and strength of character are equally important. The Committee on Admission looks for these qualities in deeds as well as words. Experience in leadership, health care, research, community service and other enriching activities are scrutinized, as are letters of recommendation and personal comments. The faculty of The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences consider it essential for all medical graduates to have the knowledge and skill to function in a variety of clinical situations and to provide a wide spectrum of patient care as required by the curriculum. Therefore, every medical student must master a common body of basic science knowledge and master the principles, knowledge, and procedures of the major required clinical specialty clerkships, including internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry, and primary (ambulatory) care medicine. This requires that every student have sufficient capacities and abilities in:

• Communication
• Observation
• Motor/tactile function
• Emotions/Intellect

The M.D. degree is, thus, an undifferentiated degree requiring that each student independently demonstrate these capabilities. Surrogates cannot be used to accomplish the essential requirements. Students may not have undue dependence on technology or trained intermediaries.

Communication includes the ability to speak, hear, read, and write sufficiently to achieve adequate exchange of information with other healthcare professionals and patients and their support network.

Observation includes the ability to perceive, using senses and mental abilities, the presentation of information through lectures, small groups and one-to-one interactions, and written and audiovisual materials. Students must be able to directly observe a patient’s medical condition. Other examples of use of perceptual abilities include, but are not limited to: gross and microscopic studies of organisms, cadaver dissections, and various diagnostic studies (including, but not limited to: interpreting electrocardiograms, chest x rays, mental status examinations, and auscultatory findings.)

Motor function includes the ability to perform physical examinations, basic laboratory, diagnostic, and therapeutic procedures. These procedures include, but are not limited to: urinalysis, airway management, insertion of nasogastric tubes and urinary catheters, pelvic and rectal examinations, obstetrical maneuvers, suturing, venipuncture, and arterial blood draws.

Emotional and higher level-intellectual abilities must be demonstrated. These include aptitude for rapid problem solving; rational thought; visual-spatial comprehension; understanding, synthesizing and recalling materials; interpreting results of patient interactions, examinations and procedures; and ability to formulate diagnostic and treatment plans. Students must have the ability for sound judgment and be able to function under physically taxing and stressful situations such as overnight call and lengthy working hours.

Reasonable accommodations will be made for applicants with disabilities who can meet the requirements noted above. These accommodations must be accomplished without altering the essential requirements of our medical education.

For complete admissions requirements and answers to frequently asked questions, please visit http://gwumc.edu/edu/admis/html/admissions/index.html.

International Applicants:

Applicants who are not U.S. or Canadian citizens or U.S. permanent residents may apply to the International Medicine Program designed to prepare non-U.S. citizens for medical administration and practice in their home countries.  International applicants must meet all the requirements of the regular M.D. program for consideration (excluding citizenship requirement) and must have actually completed a minimum of 90 credit hours, including all pre-medical course work at an accredited U.S. or Canadian college or university (we do not accept transfer credits from foreign schools). Applicants must be sponsored by their government or a medical institution in their home country and must matriculate directly from a U.S. or Canadian undergraduate school. For more information contact the Office of International Medicine Programs at (202) 994-2796 or visit www.gwumc.edu/imp.