University of Colorado, School of Medicine receives over 4,500 applications for 160 positions in the entering class. We interview around 600 applicants each year. See our Selection Criteria.
All applicants must apply through the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS.) Applications are online at http://www.aamc.org/students/amcas/start.htm . The deadline to submit the application is Nov. 1.
When we receive your verified application from AMCAS, we will send you an e-mail with instructions on how to access our Supplementary Application. The application fee is US$100. Access is only given to applicants whose verified applications were transmitted to us by AMCAS.
Fee waivers are automatically granted to applicants who have an AMCAS fee waiver (now obtained through the AAMC Fee Assistance Program). This information is forwarded to us by AMCAS.
No, the University of Colorado School of Medicine does not have an Early Decision program.
All letters must be transmitted electronically through AMCAS. Please do not submit any paper or electronic letters of recommendation to the Office of Admissions. Please visit the AMCAS website, for information on how to submit letters of recommendation through their services.
Applicants are required to obtain letters to support their candidacy for admission. We require three to five letters; letters can come from a faculty member, clinical experience, research experience, or a current job as the letter transmits cogent information about the applicant’s work. Though it is not required we recommend that you try and obtain at least one letter from a science faculty member. Obtaining a letter from the employer who you are working with during the application year is very important though again not required. Evidence of a successful engagement in a post-college experience is considered a valuable addition to other letters that also may be part of your file. Some colleges offer a pre-medical advising system and the committee writes letters for their students. If a committee letter is obtained, that is sufficient to meet the medical school letter of recommendation requirements.
We will accept electronic updates. However we cannot guarantee that these updates will be reviewed by our Admissions Committee prior to granting an interview. The only information that will be reviewed to determine your status for an interview is your AMCAS Primary Application, your University of Colorado School of Medicine Supplemental (Secondary) Application, and your required letters of recommendation. If there is was an error on your application or you need any changes made, please contact the AAMC at (202) 828-0600.
To ensure a full-review of updates on your file you may bring this information with you if you are invited for interviews.
No and Yes. AMCAS requires a copy of your official transcript that they use for the verification process. Thus, we receive your official grades on the AMCAS application. IF YOU ARE ACCEPTED to the University of Colorado, School of Medicine, prior to matriculation, we will require a final transcript from your college that includes all your grades and a notation from the registrar of the receipt of your degree. We communicate with students when these final transcripts are due.
We require that students take 8 semester hours each of the following courses with labs: general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics and biology. In addition, students must take 6 semester hours of English, which can be a combination of English Composition and Literature. In addition, students must complete 6 hours of math. Beyond that, we recommend taking courses in biochemistry, computer sciences, genetics, humanities, social sciences and others that broaden a student’s perspective.
We do accept AP credits for prerequisites. However, it is advisable to take upper level courses which evidence ability to handle a more rigorous course load.
Yes. At the time of interview, you will receive an informational packet which contains a number of items about the school, as well as a sheet documenting the requirements you have met, and those that must be fulfilled before matriculation. Students will have an opportunity to meet with the Administrator of the Office of Admissions to discuss any course related issues.
On occasion, applicants who graduated from college and had not initially chosen medicine as a career during their undergraduate years will take a small number of their prerequisites at the local community college. However, part of the overall assessment of each candidate includes the "strength of the science background" taken. If some of the science prerequisites are taken at the community college, these should be coupled with outstanding MCAT scores.
An undergraduate degree is not required for acceptance or matriculation. However, most applicants will have completed or be completing a bachelor's or a higher degree before they matriculate. If a student does not have a baccalaureate degree, one will be awarded to the student at the time of graduation from medical school.
Scores should be no older than 3 years at time of matriculation. An application is not complete until we receive MCAT scores. As an example applicants applying for August 2011 matriculation must have MCAT results from 2010, 2009, or 2008. The latest date you can take the test and still be considered for admission is September of the calendar year in which you are applying. If the MCAT has been taken several times, we consider the highest set of composite scores in evaluating the student's candidacy.
No, the University of Colorado School of Medicine does not make any exceptions to this policy and will not accept any waiver.
The Pre-Med Day is held in the fall of the year, normally in September after college students have re-entered their academic programs. If you do not reside in the states surrounding Colorado and would like to attend, please contact the Admissions Office (303)724-8025 in August to obtain the date and time of the session. Students in all Colorado, Montana and Wyoming schools are automatically invited.
An admissions program specialist primarily answers the phones and provides applicants information on questions of a general nature. Meeting with the Associate Dean for Admissions during the admissions cycle does not occur, and a special time for counseling applicants is set aside at the close of the admissions process for non-accepted students. For individual counseling during the admissions year, we recommend that you meet with your premedical advisor at your college.
The Anschutz Medical Campus no longer provides tours, however you are more than welcome to take a self guided walking tour.
To request a tour, please complete the Tour Request Form. If needed, the Waiver Forms will have to be turned in on, or before the date of your tour as well. You can also take an independent tour with the help of our General Info Packet which contains walking tour maps. For high school students (individuals or a group) the Health Professions Opportunity Day and related activities are managed by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Please contact Vicky Saulsberry at 303/724-8003 for more information. All other individuals or groups requesting a tour of the Anschutz Medical Campus - please contact Jackie.Brinkman@ucdenver.edu.
Students who have not been offered acceptance or have been placed on the alternate list are encouraged to sign up for one of the information sessions being offered in April, May, June, and July. You can register for an information session here.
Yes. As a state institution, Colorado residents are our highest priority. The class normally has 75 percent or more students from the state. Students from Wyoming and Montana (students in the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education - WICHE) have the potential, if selected by our medical school and their state, to receive financial support that enables them to pay similar costs to those of Colorado’s residents. The non-resident applicant pool is about three times the size of Colorado’s, and competition is much greater.
No. We place a premium on diversity among fields of study, and many of our students are liberal arts majors. Beyond the required science courses, English and math, students will normally take a few upper division courses that they believe will prepare them for the rigor of a medical school curriculum.
The evaluation process starts soon after an application is complete. Since we screen each applicant individually, the process may take from several weeks to a couple of months. We utilize a system that enables us to evaluate the most academically qualified students first, although in the review, we go well beyond the academics in making decisions as to who is invited. Patience is of the essence.
Yes. Normally 25 offers are made initially after Oct. 15, and a comparable number in November, December and January. Our process is completed early March, and by the end of March all candidates who have been interviewed will receive notification as to whether they are accepted, on the alternate list or not accepted.
All students who are in the regular MD program have a total of six years (not counting leaves of absence) in which to complete their degree. Students who are in the Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD) will normally take seven or eight years to complete both degrees.
On your AMCAS application you must designate "Combined MD-PhD Program." Information on the program may be obtained from the MSTP website. Please note that the MD/PhD program has different deadlines. You may contact them at (303) 724-4600 or at mstp@ucdenver.edu.
If the MSTP committee decides not to interview you, the Admissions Office will be notified of such action. Upon receipt of that information, you will need to contact the Admissions Office that you wish to remain in consideration for MD only program.
The Office of Admissions and the MSTP Committee work together in processing applications, and all letters are sent to the medical school electronically by AMCAS.
No, however, if you have an interest in Global Health we encourage you to do your Mentored Scholarly Activity (MSA), a requirement for the MD degree, by engaging in research project that may be internationally based. About half of the fourth year class normally does an international elective. These are arranged through the Office of Student Affairs.
International students can apply. On a yearly basis we do have applicants who are non-US citizens, but who have attended college in the U.S. or Canada. International students should be prepared to escrow the full amount of tuition, fees and living expenses prior to matriculation for all four years of their medical education (approximately $350,000 in 2012). Tuition for international students will be at the non-resident rate. The escrow account must be fully executed by July 1 of the matriculation year.
We have not accepted transfer students for the past eight years, in part because of curriculum changes and the increasing class size. With the new curriculum, no transfer students will ever be accepted at the second year level, and to transfer at the third year, a student would need to be ready to enter the third year in April, having taken and passed Step 1. The University of Colorado School of Medicine will only consider students for transfer if they are currently enrolled in an AAMC Allopathic Medical School, are in good standing, and prior to matriculation at their current school were a Colorado resident and has maintained their Colorado residency standing. Should a student be able to meet these requirements, the next step is to determine if a vacancy exists, and should that be the case, then a competitive transfer process occurs. Students with the best academic records and the most compelling reasons for transfer would be given highest consideration.
If you wish to apply to UC SOM with advanced standing, please contact the Admissions Office in February of the calendar year in which you wish to transfer. You will be given access to a formal application that you must complete, along with copies of official transcripts of all prior academic work, two letters of recommendation from medical school faculty members, and a letter of good academic standing from the Dean of Academic and/or Student Affairs at the current school.
Tuition and fees (2012-2013) for Colorado residents is $34,728, and for non-residents, $60,682. Tuition normally increases about 7 percent per year.
Additional information on the costs of attendance:
No. Students have always accessed their own housing in nearby neighborhoods that allow them to walk, bike and drive or take public transportation to school. The student financial aid budget anticipates that medical students will have roommates (i.e. amount allotted based on cost of rental property in Denver), and the Student Assistance website can help in locating roommates.