The University of Illinois
College of Medicine Admissions guide
chicago
peoria
rockford
urbana
Your world-class medi
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e’d like to congratulate you on your decision to pursue the noblest profession. You’ve burned a lot of midnight oil to prepare yourself for the challenges ahead. Now it’s time to turn your dream of a career in medicine into an exciting reality.
To train tirelessly to become the best doctor or medical scientist you can be. To seize the best opportunities to develop your skills today, so that you can use your talent and knowledge to benefit humankind tomorrow. The University of Illinois offers a world-class medical education to help you achieve these goals. One of the largest and most diverse medical schools in the nation— with four campuses throughout the State of Illinois — the College of Medicine is dedicated to producing new knowledge in the medical sciences, developing best practices in health care delivery and educating the next generation of physicians and biomedical scientists committed to serving the needs of Illinois and the nation. Our students, residents, fellows, faculty and alumni have achieved the highest levels of accomplishment in research, scholarship, community service and compassionate clinical
Diverse learning experiences: As a University of Illinois medical student, you’ll have access to unparalleled opportunities in urban, rural ang global medicine.
care. Inspired medicine. It happens here.
cal career starts here. One medical school. Four campuses. Which one is right for you? Although the University of Illinois is accredited as one medical school, our students attend four different campuses: Chicago, Peoria, Rockford and Urbana. Each campus has its own unique character and offers different opportunities for research and study based on the local culture, partner organizations and patient populations. Illinois Medicine students complete their M1 course work on the Chicago or Urbana campuses. Students assigned to the other sites complete their M2-M4 training at Peoria or Rockford after completion of their M1 basic science courses in Urbana. You will receive the same College of Medicine diploma, regardless of the campus. No matter where you go, you will get a world-class medical education!
Chicago
Peoria
Rockford
Urbana
The CHICAGO campus of the College of Medicine is located in the heart of the world’s largest medical district, just west of the city’s business center. Medical students have access to an extraordinary science education, as well as extensive clinical experience with a diverse and underserved patient population at one of the district’s eight teaching hospitals. Students accompany physicians on rounds and learn to take patient histories starting in their first year. Students also have access to some of the best training in the country, including the Medical Scientist Training Program, a combined MD/PhD program that prepares students for careers in academic medicine and research; the Urban Medicine Program, which prepares students to serve in underserved urban communities; and the Global Medicine Program, a four-year curriculum designed to prepare medical students for a career in global health.
the Peoria Campus is located midway between Chicago and St. Louis along the Illinois River. At this campus, second- through fourth-year students get clinical experience at two major adjacent affiliate hospitals, which provide access to more than 900 patient beds, a referral patient population of more than two million people, a Level 1 trauma center and a full-service tertiary children’s hospital. Peoria students learn and train with urban and rural patient populations through such programs as the Rural Student Physician Program. The Peoria campus is known among students for its small class sizes and exceptional facilities, including the Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center, which opened in 2013. This $51 million virtual hospital, which replicates all aspects of patient care, uses actual medical equipment combined with the latest in simulation technology.
The Rockford Campus provides intensive academic and comprehensive clinical training for second- through fourth-year students. The campus is home to the Center for Rural Health Professions, which works to improve health and healthcare delivery in rural communities, and the Rural Medical Education Program, which offers a four-year curriculum for Illinois residents who make a commitment to practice family medicine in rural Illinois. The College of Medicine at Rockford recently completed a $26 million renovation and expansion project, established a new Master’s Degree program in medical biotechnology and partnered with the Colleges of Pharmacy, Nursing and Public Health to establish an expanded health science campus. The establishment of the first endowed professorships and the development of MERIT, a program to address child abuse in the Rockford region, reflect the University’s commitment to excellence in medical education and service to the Rockford community.
The Urbana campus is located on the original campus of the University of Illinois (with over 44,000 undergraduate and graduate students) and offers a complete, four-year medical education program leading to an MD degree. The first-year basic medical science program also serves students who will complete their last three years of medical school at Peoria or Rockford. Urbana offers a superb education that includes collaboration with colleagues across campus and leading-edge research opportunities in extensive and highly ranked research facilities. Urbana is also home to the dual-degree Medical Scholars Program, which is designed to give students an opportunity to study medicine while gaining knowledge and expertise in other fields. This unique program gives our academic physician-scholars the multidisciplinary skills they will need to address complex healthcare issues and inequities in the modern healthcare landscape.
Why choose the University of You’ll reap the benefits of a modern curriculum taught by a dedicated and distinguished faculty. With innovations like team-based learning, peer-to-peer instruction and clinical skill simulation, we take curricular excellence to the next level. Our distinguished faculty contributes to the College’s reputation as one of the best schools for both undergraduate and graduate medical education— and many of our faculty members have been recognized as top physicians and researchers in their fields.
BECOMING LEADERS Students carry on the College
You’ll have early access to outstanding clinical training. No other medical school can compete with our early and extensive clinical training opportunities, which will begin during the first two years of your medical education. At all COM sites, you’ll have opportunities to learn best practices for treating underserved rural and urban patient populations. In Peoria, you can supplement your patient-based clinical experience with the latest developments in simulation technology at the world-class Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center.
We have a top-ranked social mission. We rank in the top 20 universities nationally for our social mission to educate a diverse workforce of physicians committed to providing accessible, affordable primary care in underserved communities to achieve a higher quality of health care for all.
Our diversity is unparalleled. From our curriculum to our students — and from research to clinical care — we are committed to and value diversity in all of its forms. We have one of the most diverse medical schools in the country — composed of students who come from a wide variety of geographic, cultural, linguistic and socioeconomic backgrounds and possess many different skills and talents. Since 2006, we have served three times more students who are underrepresented in medicine than all other U.S. medical schools combined. It is our belief that this diversity of talents, ideas and perspectives fosters a more vibrant and enriching educational and training environment that prepares students to work in our global society.
We’re performing groundbreaking research. As a University of Illinois medical student, you’ll have many opportunities to work with professors and fellows who are furthering the practice of medicine with new knowledge about diabetes, cancer, tropical parasitic infections, gene regulation and more. Two examples of our commitment to excellence in research training are the Medical Scholars Program in Urbana and the Medical Scientist Training Program in Chicago, which collectively host the largest population of MD/PhD students in the U.S.
Scholarships are a priority. It is our goal to recruit the most talented candidates and ensure that these candidates are not forced to turn down an offer of admission for financial reasons. There is no application required; all admitted candidates are considered for possible scholarship.
Our graduates do well in the Match. Graduates of the College of Medicine pursue residencies at many of the nation’s top medical institutions in a wide variety of subspecialties, ranging from internal medicine to neurosurgery.
We have extraordinary residency programs. The College of Medicine offers more than 70 residency programs for nearly 1,000 residents across our four campuses. These programs offer some of the best training in the country, including an emergency medicine residency that is regarded as one of the best of its kind, a neurosurgery residency that includes six and a half years of training at the University of Illinois Hospital and other Chicago-area hospitals, family practice and rural medicine residencies in Rockford and an internal medicine residency in Urbana. Residents are exposed to a multitude of health care delivery systems and interact with a variety of patient populations.
PAVEN AUJLA U rb ana
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aven Aujla, a third-year medical student at the University of Illinois, started out as a triage volunteer at the Avicenna Community Health Center, which provides free health care for uninsured and underinsured members of the Urbana-Champaign community. She worked her way up to volunteer clinic manager, a leadership role that she enthusiastically embraced while guiding the center through a period of significant growth and expansion to meet the needs of the community. During this time, she forged a new partnership with a local healthcare provider to offer services to more low-income patients, relocated the clinic and launched an outreach program to provide nutrition counseling and healthcare for the patrons of a local soup kitchen. She also enlisted the aid of bilingual medical and nursing students to offer translation services for patients and a nutrition student group to conduct healthy lifestyle workshops. To increase access to lifesaving pharmaceuticals, she created a free pharmacy program, made arrangements to stock the pharmacy’s shelves with donated drugs and recruited local pharmacists to share their expertise. This was all while Aujla completed a PhD in neuroscience and her M2 year as an MD/PhD Medical Scholar. “It has been so gratifying to be able to help the patients at Avicenna and to see how grateful they are for the health services we provide,” she confides. “I hope my experience as a community volunteer inspires other College of Medicine students to do the same.”
Illinois College of Medicine? THROUGH SERVICE: of Medicine’s mission of social service by giving back to Illinois communities and beyond
JOSHUA LAWRENZ
AYODELE OKE
Felix Yong Tamariz
Rockford
C h ic ag o
Peo ria
oshua Lawrenz, MD ’14, says his lifelong dedication to service stems from a strong Christian faith. While pursuing his medical degree in Rockford, he volunteered at the Bridge Clinic, which provides free health care for uninsured adults, and served at Carpenter’s Place, a Rockford facility that helps homeless adults rebuild their lives. He also joined Underserved Pathways, an extracurricular program that introduces students to best practices for meeting the needs of the medically underserved. This medical Good Samaritan’s penchant for service did not go unnoticed by his professors and peers, who chose him for induction into the Gold Humanism Honor Society, which recognizes outstanding humanistic activity among students. Lawrenz’s service was not limited to Rockford’s residents. Through his participation in the Underserved Pathways Program, he performed outreach and clinical work beyond the city’s boundaries in underserved rural Illinois communities. He even crossed oceans and international borders to complete an elective rotation in orthopaedic surgery at the Christian Medical College in southern India with other Urban Pathways participants. “You have to continue to perform community outreach to keep that flame of service alive inside of you,” notes Lawrenz, who continued on to a residency program in orthopaedic surgery after completing his medical studies. “College and medical school were good times to immerse myself in these service experiences so that, when I become even busier, I’ll already have the insight on how to serve those most in need.”
yodele Oke, a fourth-year medical student, spent the first six years of her life on a farm in Nigeria before moving to the Chicago area. Although rural Nigeria and the American Midwest were literally worlds apart, Oke was disturbed by a common theme: People in her life suffered because they couldn’t afford medical treatment or didn’t have the knowledge or resources to properly manage their health. Oke’s desire to address these inequities led her to medical school — and made her a natural fit for the College of Medicine’s postbaccalaureate admissions program and the Urban Medicine Program, both of which gives students the training they need to reduce health disparities in underserved urban communities. Oke chose to work in North Lawndale, running the Young Doctors Club (YDC) at Lawndale Community Church. The YDC is a community program developed to introduce students from medically underserved areas to health science curricula and careers. She worked with up to 20 students every Friday, encouraging them to graduate from high school and pursue their interests in health-related fields. She also provided health education. A day’s lesson might begin with the basic anatomy of the cardiovascular system, provide handson experience dissecting a cow’s heart and conclude with instruction about the role of diet, exercise and regular checkups in cardiovascular health. “These kids were not just a project,” says Oke. “Their success means so much to me. I want to be the mentor I wish I’d had.”
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elix Yong Tamariz, a fourth-year medical student, will never forget his formative years as the son of two physicians in Peru. Sometimes his parents would bring home an egg, a wedge of cheese or a chicken — the only payment that their impoverished patients could afford. It was his parents’ commitment to serving others that inspired Yong to pursue his own career in medicine years later. Even before he entered medical school, Yong volunteered his time to help organize international medical missions to provide life-saving surgeries for children in need. During his first year as a medical student at the Urbana-Champaign campus, he teamed up with a classmate to organize a health fair for underserved Hispanic Champaign county residents. Yong and his classmate then persuaded the entire first-year medical class to volunteer at the fair, which provided health information and screenings for more than 300 community members. The health fair is now in its third year. Yong now volunteers for two studentled groups that provide health education for underserved and minority youth and encourage them to consider careers in science and medicine. He is also a peer educator, a member of the Latino Medical Student Association and a member of an admissions committee that interviews prospective medical student candidates. “Community service is a big part of my life,” says Yong, who is currently applying for residency programs and — not surprisingly — preparing for a volunteer medical rotation in his native Peru.
“My medical education at the University of Illinois provided a solid foundation for all of my future endeavors.”
— Jeremy Lazarus, MD ’68, 167th president of the American Medical Association
From UIC to the AMA:
College of Medicine Alumnus Jeremy Lazarus, MD ’68 Jeremy Lazarus, MD ’68 — a distinguished psychiatrist, educator and national leader in the field of medicine — began his medical journey at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. After a mixed medical internship at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, he headed west to the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, where he served as a chief resident and teaching fellow. He remained in the Denver area for the next four decades, building a private practice in psychiatry while serving as a professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine and the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine. Along the way, he assumed many leadership roles. From 2007 to 2011, he served as speaker of the American Medical Association’s House of Delegates. A past president of the Colorado Medical Society, the Colorado Psychiatric Society and the Araphoe County Medical Society, he is also a distinguished fellow and past speaker of the American Psychiatric Association. In June 2012, he began a one-year appointment as the 167th president of the American Medical Association (AMA) and spent 200 days on the road, talking to physicians and policymakers about the AMA’s efforts to ensure sustainable physician practices that result in better health outcomes for patients. During a return visit to his medical school alma mater, Dr. Lazarus shared some wisdom gleaned from his formative years at the College of Medicine and a career spent easing patients’ troubled minds while advancing the field of medicine:
“Being a doctor is not just a profession, it is a passion. From us, it demands great things. Being a doctor is also a privilege. We are fortunate to be useful, every day, wherever we are and whatever kind of medicine we practice. Not everyone can say that. The goal, as William James wrote, is ‘To improve the golden moment of opportunity and catch the good that is within our reach. That is the great art of life.’ To me, no calling in the world creates and sustains this art of life better than being a physician… … if we remain faithful to our traditions of ethics, caring and science; … if we work with our patients and others to surmount the obstacles to quality medical care; … if we are active, united members of our profession; … if we give back what we receive—and then give some more; … if we never stop learning—from our colleagues and the world.”
Advice for young people entering the medical profession: “Choose a specialty and practice that you are passionate about, because you’ll be doing it for the next 30 years. Learn as much as you can about health policy, the organization of medical care and the business of medicine, so that you can understand it as a practitioner or, even better, play a leadership role in the emerging healthcare system, because we need more physician-leaders in this country.”
University of Illinois College of Medicine
Admissions Application Timeline May
AMCAS applications available
June
AMCAS applications may be submitted
July– December
Selection of applications with completed AMCAS application are invited to submit supplemental applications materials
August– March
Applicants invited for campus interviews
September
Last chance to take MCAT
September – March
Admissions offers sent to selected candidates
November 1 Deadline for AMCAS application December 1 Deadline for UICOM supplemental application and fee December 1
Letters of Recommendation due with AMCAS
January
Submit Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at fafsa.gov
April 30
AMCAS Rule – Candidate may hold only one medical school acceptance.
April 30 Deadline for tuition deposit (Deposit is 100 percent refundable if withdrawal notice is received by April 30. No refunds will be issued after this date.) August
Mandatory College of Medicine orientation
August
Classes begin
(add slits for business card here)
Our mission
is to enhance the health of the citizens of Illinois by educating physicians, biomedical scientists and innovators; advancing knowledge of health and disease; and providing health care in a setting of education and research. Education We are committed to our educational strategies and to the enhancement of student achievement and leadership. We provide an excellent active-learning educational environment for our diverse body of students, and we are implementing plans to achieve the convergence of engineering and medicine while modernizing the physical educational spaces in the historic College of Medicine building.
Research The College of Medicine will further focus research endeavors on fostering interdisciplinary collaborations in clinical and basic science departments, incorporating engineering-based medical research and translating this research into clinical applications, including those that address unmet medical needs.
Clinical Care We strive to provide value-based and personalized medical care to our community in coordination with the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System as we expand our academically distinct clinical and translational programs.
Inspired medicine. it happens here.