Early Assurance Program

Tufts University School of Medicine offers an early assurance program for eligible students at participating institutions. The institutions currently participating in this program are: Tufts University, Brandeis University, Boston College, College of the Holy Cross, and Northeastern University. Application forms are available through the premedical advisors at the participating schools. (We also offer a Maine Track Early Assurance program for eligible students at participating institutions within the state of Maine. Read more information about the Maine Track Early Assurance Program.)

Program Benefits

Participants in this program are offered the assurance of medical school admission without the substantial investments of time and energy that other premedical students typically make in the process of preparing for optimal scores on the MCAT exam and applying to numerous medical schools. Hence, program participants are free to explore other areas of interest during their academic careers, thus broadening their college experience.

Eligibility

The following groups of students are eligible to apply to this program:

• Sophomore undergraduates at Tufts, Brandeis, Boston College, and Holy Cross
• Sophomore undergraduates at Northeastern who will complete their Bachelor's studies in four years
• Middler undergraduates at Northeastern who will complete their Bachelor's studies in five years

All applicants to the Early Assurance Program in any given year are considered applicants to the TUSM entering class matriculating two years hence. For example, students applying in the spring of 2009 are considered applicants to the TUSM entering class matriculating in August 2011.

Therefore, in all cases, eligible students must be scheduled to complete their current academic programs in the two academic years following application to the Early Assurance Program and must be ready to enroll in TUSM two years after applying to this program.

To be eligible to apply, candidates for this program must have demonstrated academic excellence in their college work, particularly in the premedical science courses.

Eligible candidates will have attained a Science GPA (calculated on grades earned in courses offered by the departments of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Math) and a Total GPA (calculated on grades earned in all course work) equal to or greater than 3.5. By the end of the academic year in which the candidate applies to this program, (which in some cases may include the summer term immediately following application), eligible candidates will have taken two semesters of biology, two semesters of general chemistry, and at least one semester of organic chemistry. (See FAQ below for more information regarding eligibility issues).

The most competitive candidates will have had some volunteer or employment experience in a health care setting.

Please note that meeting the minimum eligibility requirements does not guarantee that an applicant will be selected to interview for the Early Assurance Program.

The Application Process

Applications become available by December of each year. The application deadline date is February 15.

The TUSM Admissions Committee reviews the applications submitted by interested candidates and invites selected candidates to visit the medical school for an interview. Interviews are usually conducted in March or April, while the spring semester is still in progress.

After interviews, the Admissions Committee requests selected candidates to forward transcripts to the committee after the spring term grades have been posted. After reviewing the transcripts that document spring term grades, the committee admits selected candidates to the program.

Candidates admitted to the program continue their studies at their home college for the duration of their current academic programs. During this time, they are required to do the following:

Complete (at their home college) any medical school course requirements not yet taken (such as the second semester of organic chemistry and two semesters of physics) by the end of the academic year following the application year (see FAQ below for exceptions), complete their Bachelor's degree requirements by the end of the second academic year following the application year, and maintain a level of academic performance during the two academic years following the application year comparable to the level of academic achievement demonstrated at the time of admission.

Apply to TUSM via an AMCAS special program application that precludes applying to other medical schools. This application must be submitted to AMCAS by the fall of the academic year preceding TUSM matriculation (fall of 2008 to matriculate in August 2009).

If these requirements are met, acceptance to the medical school is assured.

(Please note: Beginning in the fall of 2010, students entering into the Medical School via the Early Assurance program will not be required to sit for the MCAT examination prior to matriculation.)

Options and Commitments of Program Participants

Candidates who are admitted to the Early Assurance Program are not required to make a binding commitment to TUSM at the time of admission. Candidates may consider their options and remain uncommitted during the entire academic year following admission to the Early Assurance Program.

The binding commitment to TUSM occurs not later than the fall of the year preceding medical school matriculation, when the candidate submits an AMCAS special program application that precludes the candidate from applying to other medical schools for that entering year.

Candidates who are admitted to the Early Assurance Program may decide against continuing with the program for a variety of reasons. Such reasons may include the following:

The candidate wants to apply widely to a large number of medical schools in order to evaluate and compare many programs before making a commitment to enroll at a particular medical school.

The candidate wants to apply to his or her state medical school(s) before making a commitment to a private medical school such as Tufts. (Private medical schools are significantly more expensive than state schools. Candidates are encouraged to research this issue and discuss it thoroughly with their families).

The candidate may have suffered significant academic setbacks in the academic year following admission such that his or her academic performance does not fulfill the requirements of the program, and thus the candidate is not assured of medical school admission via this program. Candidates in this situation are very strongly advised to consult their college premed advisor.

Candidates who decide (for whatever reason) not to continue with the Early Assurance Program but rather to apply via the regular admissions process to multiple schools are welcomed and encouraged to apply to TUSM as well. While the assurances of the Early Assurance Program would no longer apply, the TUSM Admissions Committee would be happy to consider regular-process applications from candidates in this situation.

Please note that candidates who decide to apply to multiple schools via the regular admissions process will need to consult with their college premedical advisor for information and advice regarding the timetable and requirements of the regular admissions process.

Also, please note that an admission to the Early Assurance Program is a conditional admission to a specific TUSM entering class, i.e., the class that matriculates two years after the application year. For example, a candidate who applies successfully in the spring of 2009 will be offered a conditional admission to the TUSM class that enters medical school in August 2011.

If a candidate who has met all Early Assurance Program requirements and has received a formal admission to TUSM wishes to take a year off after college before enrolling in medical school, he or she would need to submit a formal request for a deferred matriculation. The Admissions Committee considers such requests on a case-by-case basis.

While an Early Assurance Program participant may postpone his or her enrollment year by requesting and receiving a deferral, under no circumstances can he or she advance the enrollment year. If an Early Assurance program participant were to graduate from college after three years of study instead of the traditional four (i.e., one year after applying to the Early Assurance Program), that student may not enroll at TUSM a year ahead of schedule.

Students who expect to graduate from college in three years and who wish to enroll in medical school immediately after graduation are encouraged to meet with their premedical advisor for information and advice. Students in this situation are eligible to apply to TUSM via Early Decision or regular process.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many students apply to the Early Assurance Program, and how many are admitted?

Over the last several years, we have typically received between fifty and sixty applications for this program each year. Of the applicants who meet the minimum eligibility requirements, a majority (>50%) are invited to interview. Of those who are interviewed, a majority (>50%) are admitted to the Early Assurance Program.

I know that to be eligible to apply, I must have taken at least 5 science courses by the end of the application year (a year of biology, a year of general chem, and at least one semester of o-chem). Can I apply if some of those courses were taken during the summer, at another school, or as AP courses in high school?

Because we do not want to exclude high-achieving students who may be treading a curricular path that has diverged from the standard pre-med course sequences, we are reluctant to issue inflexible rules concerning this question. However, our admissions committee does have expectations; we hope the following statement will be helpful in clarifying the committee's concerns.

When evaluating an Early Assurance program applicant's academic record, the admissions committee is interested in observing the applicant's academic performance in at least five rigorous science courses taken in a challenging environment. For many applicants, this will mean that the five courses will have been taken at the applicant's home school during the regular academic year in the context of a full course load.

Some applicants, however, have taken even more rigorous paths that may include AP courses and/or summer courses as well as advanced (beyond the introductory level) science and/or math courses. Such applicants present the committee with ample evidence of their academic ability and are by all means encouraged to apply.

Other applicants, while meeting the minimum eligibility requirements, may have taken a somewhat less rigorous path. In general, AP courses and summer school courses are considered less rigorous than courses taken during the academic year and may weaken an application that does not also contain additional evidence of academic achievement. Summer courses taken at other schools that are considered less rigorous than the same courses offered at the applicant's home school may also weaken the application.

It is highly unlikely that an applicant who has transferred to one of the participating schools from a less rigorous school would be admitted to TUSM via the Early Acceptance Program.

What happens if I am admitted to the Early Assurance Program but do not finish my premed courses during the first academic year following my admission? What if I schedule physics for the second academic year following my admission?

In this case, we would wait until we had the opportunity to review your performance in that course before issuing a formal admission to the medical school. Assuming your academic performance met the program's requirements, you would receive a medical school admission letter in the summer prior to medical school enrollment as opposed to the preceding fall or winter.