Early assurance to medical school as an undergraduate
Reserve a future seat in medical school as an undergraduate student through early assurance
50 years ago NEOMED was founded as “Northeast Ohio Universities’ College of Medicine” as a collaboration between 3 universities to educate and train physicians to serve our communities. Today, NEOMED maintains that tradition as we collaborate exclusively with a network of nine colleges and universities in northeast Ohio to offer reserved seats in medical school through early assurance to a select group of currently enrolled undergraduate students.
The NEOMED early assurance plan allows talented undergraduate students to reserve a future seat in the NEOMED Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) program. Students are nominated by a designated pre-health/pre-medical student advisor at their undergraduate school for early assurance privileges. Once nominated, students are screened and interviewed by NEOMED faculty and staff to help determine if early assurance is the right plan for them. If a future seat is reserved through early assurance, candidates must later satisfy admission standards as measured by their grades, math and science grades, and MCAT scores to matriculate to NEOMED.
All M.D. students matriculating to NEOMED regardless of admission plan will master the same rigorous medical school curriculum. M.D. students will eventually compete with thousands of medical school graduates nationwide for a limited number of post-graduate residency slots in clinical settings after NEOMED to complete their medical education. NEOMED’s early assurance admission plan is designed to ensure that all of our matriculating M.D. students have the same opportunity to thrive in medical school at NEOMED and successfully compete for their intended residency match. In support of this goal, the NEOMED early assurance plan has undergone redesign. This redesign will incorporate increased academic standards to ensure medical school readiness and infuse contemporary co-curricular career building experiences into the education of every early assurance student. We will do so while maintaining the level of medical school access to ensure our future physicians reflect the communities they serve.
One of about every 11 practicing physicians in Ohio is a NEOMED alumni.
Are you interested in accepting this challenge?
Contact the NEOMED liaison at one of our cooperating undergraduate schools for more information about reserving a seat in a future class through early assurance to continue the tradition of transformational leadership.
Participating Early Assurance Schools
The University of Akron
Contact: Ms. Ashley Rini rini@uakron.edu
Baldwin-Wallace University
Contact: Dr. Colleen Nye cnye@bw.edu
Cleveland State University
Contact: Ms. Antoinette Speed a.l.speed@csuohio.edu
Hiram College
Contact: Dr. Brad Goodner goodnerbw@hiram.edu
John Carroll University (Starting in 2025)
Contact: Ms. Kathy Lee klee@jcu.edu
Kent State University
Contact: Ms. Erin Lawson elawson1@kent.edu
University of Mount Union
Contact: Dr. Robert Woodward cnhs@mountunion.edu
Walsh University
Contact: Dr. Jackie Novak jnovak@walsh.edu
Youngstown State University
Contact: Mr. Johnny Ware honors@ysu.edu
Currently enrolled students at the above schools may be eligible for early assurance to NEOMED and should contact the designated individual at the cooperating college or university for more information.
NEOMED counsels prospective college students still in high school to contact the above college and universities directly in the event they are making a college choice in a large part based a potential early assurance opportunity with NEOMED. NEOMED does not endorse one school’s offerings over another. All cooperating schools have a history of providing NEOMED students with an excellent pre-medical foundation. Families are highly encouraged to select an institution based on overall fit for your student’s expectations of an undergraduate experience. We encourage families to learn more and develop an orientation toward viewing medical education in the context of culmination after the completion of the required post-graduate residency after medical school as opposed to focusing on an undergraduate “fast-track” to medical school. Student development and co-curricular experiences are an integral component of medical education.
COMING IN 2025-26
Introducing the NEOMED Transformational Year
Over the past 50 years the practice of medicine has changed immensely. Medical education has responded accordingly. Today’s medical school candidates present exceptional levels of academic achievement paired with corresponding MCAT mastery in preparation for a compelling career that will include life-long learning and medical board exam proficiency. Today’s medical school candidates more often than not complete gap year experiences adding hundreds of hours of clinical employment and service, research, leadership, and advanced degree credentials to their career experiences prior to starting medical school. Every medical school student starting the NEOMED M.D. program will need to reach this level of curricular and professional-development proficiency prior to starting medical school regardless of admission plan.
Beginning with early assurance students matriculating to NEOMED in 2025 and fully adopted for 2026, early assurance students joining NEOMED from cooperating undergraduate schools will complete a one-year master’s degree program of study at NEOMED prior to entry into the NEOMED M.D. program.
Students demonstrating complete mastery of pre-medical curriculum as evidenced by college grades paired with corresponding MCAT results that predict medical school success will have an exciting set of one-year master’s degree choices from which to select prior to starting the M.D. program. Each one-year master’s program will focus on creating transformational physician leaders. The additional graduate degree credential, networking, and experiences gained in a NEOMED gap-year will equip early assurance students with the competitive co-curricular resume that is absolutely necessary to compete in today’s residency match process where nearly all candidates present “pass/fail profiles” from pre-clerkship work and the USMLE Step 1 exam.
Students with early assurance privileges who do not reach these rigorous academic metrics and are continuing to establish their medical school readiness will have the opportunity to complete a year in transition in the NEOMED medical school foundational master’s program to earn acceptance in medical school at NEOMED.
These new early assurance program standards will begin for students planning to matriculate to NEOMED in 2025 and reach full implementation for students matriculating to NEOMED in 2026. Watch for details about the new transformational year for early assurance undergraduate students starting at NEOMED in 2025 and 2026.
The Process
The Early Assurance Undergraduate Plan provides a two-step process to enter the College of Medicine at NEOMED as a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) student.
Step 1
The first step consists of undergraduate students currently enrolled at a cooperating college or university earning an early assurance nomination through their current school’s nomination process. Nominated candidates will interview with NEOMED for early assurance privilege. Early assurance privilege reserves a seat in a future medical school class at NEOMED should candidates meet or exceed early assurance plan admission standards.
Step 2
The second step allows students granted early assurance privileges to start the M.D. program at NEOMED in 2023 and 2024 to apply for admission through AMCAS using the Early Assurance plan to earn their admission.
Note: Degree program composition and early assurance admission requirements and standards are subject to change starting with students matriculating to any degree program at NEOMED in 2025.
Eligibility Guidelines
Students interested in early assurance privileges to NEOMED are to meet with the designated pre-medical advisor at their partner college or university.
Admission Requirements
Candidates must be on track to successfully complete a bachelor’s degree program at their partner institution (the reserved seat is forfeited should you transfer) and complete all required pre-requisite courses with a grade of “C minus” or better to use their early assurance privileges and successfully apply to the College of Medicine at NEOMED.
Note: NEOMED no longer offers any direct from high school provisional admission or dual admission programs to medical school (formerly known as “B.S./M.D.”). Reflecting the challenges associated with the rigor of on-time graduation from an allopathic medical school and attaining the demanding out of classroom experiences necessary for successful post-graduate residency match, the NEOMED early assurance program is not an accelerated program on study.
RELATED
- All NEOMED Admission Plans
- Scholarships and financial aid
- Tuition and costs
- Visit NEOMED
- Contact Ms. Jill Thompson in NEOMED Admissions: jthompson@neomed.edu
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