“The expert in anything was once a beginner.”
I’ve received a few questions regarding OSU’s MEDPATH Program and I’ll admit this post is long overdue. I know the OSU secondary deadline is coming up in a few days (November 1st) so this might be helpful to some people. As some of you may know, I was conditionally accepted into Ohio State’s Medical School. Still feels surreal. It’s an acceptance and I’m here at Ohio State, but…there are conditions. I was accepted into the medical school for the incoming class of Fall 2016 through the MEDPATH program. Yes, that’s not a typo. It’s Fall 2016. To retain my acceptance, I do have to complete the one year MEDPATH program. This entails:
- Achieving/ exceeding a 3.0 MEDPATH GPA in order to matriculate into Med-1
- Taking the MCAT (again) during spring semester as arranged by the MEDPATH Program and achieving/exceeding a certain MCAT score on the first attempt on that scheduled date
- Passing the Summer Pre-Entry Program
There are a few other requirements but these are the major ones. You can view the full list and official information on the program here. The program is fall, spring AND summer. The summer component (and the classes in general) puts you somewhat ahead of your fellow incoming MS1 students – you take Anatomy and a few other classes that you’ll be taking during MS1 with some of the same professors that teach in the medical school. It’s pretty cool. The whole program is designed to make you a strong and competitive student while in medical school; it’s meant to build you up for success. The people in charge of the program are really supportive and want you to succeed. There are only 15 people accepted, so this allows you to form close relationships with your cohort. There are a lot of resources and OSU is just amazing all around.
So yes, there are conditions BUT there’s also a white coat with your name on it waiting for you. The 2014-15 MEDPATH class had 13 out of 15 people matriculate. I would call that very successful, so going this route isn’t an impossible feat.
The application process:
Now regarding the application process, you do have to apply to Ohio’s medical school just like any other applicant and also turn in your secondary before the deadline. I personally applied early and completed my secondary for Ohio State sometime in July. Around October, I received a notification from the school informing me that I had been rejected but was being considered for MEDPATH and would receive more information about it soon. To be honest, I wasn’t aware of the program prior to receiving the correspondence from them. So I started scouring the web for any information on it (imagine if there had been a blog detailing all the info and an individual’s personal experience! *wink wink*). The information I did find (thank you SDN), did convince me that this would be an incredible opportunity if accepted.
I later received another email from OSU inviting me to fill out the supplemental MEDPATH application, that was due end of January. A few months passed and I was invited to interview at the school. The interview IS your medical school interview for Ohio State. It’s with a medical student and faculty. You go on a tour of the medical school and receive a lot of information just like other medical school interviews, but it’s recognized that you and the other interviewees are possibly incoming MEDPATH students. Just like OSU does for their incoming students, they call to let you know you got in. As I wrote in a previous post, when I received that call, or rather voicemail, I FREAKED THE HECK OUT!
The stats:
From what I understand – and please don’t take my word as the “official word” on this – 100 students who apply to OSU but get rejected are invited to apply to MEDPATH. You have to be invited to apply and that’s the only way you can get the supplemental application. Out of the 100 students, 30 students are invited to interview. There are 2 interview days in the first week of April and it’s split up with 15 people each day. I interviewed on the first interview day.
Out of the 30 people interviewed, only 15 are accepted. As you can see, it’s competitive BUT if you’re able to get an interview invite, the odds are in your favor (50% chance – at this point just ace your interview!). It’s a conditional acceptance. So you’re accepted to OSU at this point as long as you complete the aforementioned requirements, and of course, sign the form that you’re coming.
My experience thus far:
Loving it! I’m studying my butt off (hence the lack of posts) but I’m thriving and that’s honestly what matters. I’ll be detailing more about my experiences in future posts. I have exams coming up next week so it’s back to the books I go! However, I hope this information has been helpful. If you have further questions, drop a comment below and I’ll get to it as soon as I can.
All the best with applications!
A. Adejare-Smith, MD 
Glad to hear things are going well for you :)!
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Thanks! Hope first year is going well for you too!
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It has its challenges, but it’s great nonetheless! 🙂
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Hi! Thanks for your post on this program. I hope that it’s going well for you so far (though I’m sure it is!), and I was hoping I could ask a quick question. When you received the notice that your file was closed, did the portal say you were being considered for Medpath? Or did you receive notice about this through an email? Thanks!!
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Hey there! I received a notice through the portal saying I was being considered. I also received a reminder through my email to complete the separate medpath app.
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Hi I’m glad this program is working for you. I was wondering if you would mind sharing your stats that you had going in such as gpa? Thanks!
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what is the mcat score they are looking for you achieve during spring test
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It has to be at or above a 500
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Hi,
Hope this message finds you well. I was invited to apply to the MEDPATH program towards end of October. I was wondering whether one would hear from the committee in a situation where they are not selected for an interview or should one just wait till end of March to assume that they are not invited for an interview. Also, how early in March do they inform the students about their interviews? Thanks a bunch!
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Hey! I checked my email and found out I received my interview invite on March 6th last year. So I’m guessing they’ll send out the emails this week. I’m not sure how/ when they inform others who weren’t offered an interview. But I would definitely wait to get the official word, some folks may choose to accept/ deny the interview if they’ve received an acceptance elsewhere.
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Thank you so much for your prompt reply. Fingers crossed!
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Hi am gracy. I have read all your posts about medpath and was asking if i was to apply to medpath, do i have to first take the mcat prior to applying to the medpath or? please help. thanks.
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when in spring do they normally fix the MCAT tests and are there real classroom preparatory help for this test
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It’s typically scheduled for mid May and we have in class Princeton prep course from Jan till mid April.
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Hi,
I’m going to be a senior at the University Of Wisconsin Madison and was hoping to get a chance at this program. My gpa however is not the best and was wondering if you would mind sharing what your stats were as in even if they were of typical students that get into medical school or a bit lower?
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Hello,
Thank you for creating this blog! I was recently granted an interview for 2017 MedPath and I wanted to know if you could explain the interview process. Is it MMI or traditional, etc? Thank you!
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Hello! I love this! Quick question, what did you need to do BEFORE you applied to MEDPATH? What was you GPA? And did you have to take the MCAT PRIOR to applying to Medpath? I’m a little confused on what I need to do and have before applying .
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Was the summer program during the first 6 weeks of Summer?
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The summer portion of MEDPATH was for most of the summer. If I remember correctly we have like a week or two of vacation before we began med school right after
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Hi there,
Thank you for this blog! I am considering applying to post baccs this year for my gap year, but
also found this very helpful and interesting. Would you mind sharing what kind of candidate they look for for the Medpath program and sharing what your stats were when you applied?
Thank you!
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Hii, after the interview, how long does it take for the school/program co-coordinator to notify an individual that he/she has been accepted into the program?
Does it take a week or 2 weeks?
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It can vary. I believe they say 2 weeks, but my year it was more like 3 weeks. Safe to say, 2-3 wks, or at least less than a month!
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Hello,
Do you know what the minimum mcat for osu or the minimum mcat needed to be referred to medpath?
best,
Mosira
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Hi Mosira! Unfortunately I do not. But the most recent MCAT minimum for successful completion of MEDPATH program (in order to matriculate into the med school) is 501.
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