Admissions Information

Click here for a message from our Director. Complete the downloadable MSTP Supplemental Application for the MSTP class entering in 2008 and click here to check on our receipt of your Supplemental Application and Letters of Recommendation.

Applicants to Northwestern University's Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) complete the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT), submit two applications for admission in 2008, and provide at least 3 letters of recommendation, one from each research supervisor or research mentor. Applicants who will take (or re-take) the MCAT in July-September, 2007, should indicate this on their MSTP Supplemental Application (question 6). Applicants to the Northwestern MSTP do not complete the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

A complete application file for the Northwestern MSTP consists of:

1. your certified AMCAS Application with your MCAT score

The (AMCAS) application is completed online and submitted to AMCAS any time between June 1 and October 15, 2007.

2. your MSTP Supplemental Application (with your signed Contact Information Sheet and passport-style photo sent via postal mail plus pages 2-8 sent via email)

Applicants to the Northwestern MSTP complete only one supplemental application - the MSTP Supplemental Application - and do NOT complete a supplemental application for the medical school. Click here to access the Northwestern MSTP Supplemental Application for the MSTP Class entering in 2008. Since this is a Word document, you can download it and complete it on any computer. Shortly after we receive your certified AMCAS Application, you will receive a letter (via postal mail and email) acknowledging our receipt of your AMCAS Application and inviting you to submit the Northwestern MSTP Supplemental Application. Please submit it in two parts - the "Contact Information and Checklist" page (with your passport-style photo and check/money order payable to Northwestern University for the $75.00 application fee) as a printed, signed hard copy by postal mail to the MSTP Office and pages 1-8 as an electronic Word file attached to your email to the MSTP Office.

3. at least 3 letters of recommendation (one from each of your research supervisors) accompanied by the MSTP Recommenders Form

Request at least three letters of recommendation specific for admission to the combined MD-PhD program (MSTP) be mailed to the MSTP Office to arrive by December 10, 2007. If your college/university prepares a "Premedical Advising Committee" letter, please ensure that both the committee letter and the individual letters of recommendation are sent to us. And if you are applying both MD and MD-PhD programs, you can submit the same letters for MD admission plus at least two additional letters specific for MD-PhD admission (plus the Recommender's Form), one from each of your research supervisors.

Applicants for the MSTP Class entering in 2008 can check on our receipt of their Supplemental Applications and Letters of Recommendation after September 1, 2007. Matriculating students will apply to Northwestern's Graduate School after acceptance into the MSTP, typically in the summer before matriculation.

Because completed application files are reviewed on a rolling basis beginning in August, 2007, we encourage applicants to complete their files as early as possible. Applicants will be invited to interview from October, 2007 through January, 2008 (one week per month) on October 17-19, November 14-16, December 5-7, 2007 and January 16-18, 2008. Applicants who are not invited for the MSTP interview will still be considered for admission to the M.D. program in the Feinberg School of Medicine (FSM). The MSTP Admissions Committee will begin meeting regularly from September through January to review applications for Fall 2008 and invite candidates to interview on a rolling basis.

Eligibility

Minimal requirements for application to the MSTP are:

• a bachelor's degree in the natural or physical sciences, mathematics or engineering or a bachelor's degree in other disciplines with significant advanced courses in the natural or physical sciences, mathematics or engineering
• significant research experience (at least one year or three summers)
• a strong record of academic achievement
• evidence of commitment to a dual career in biomedical investigation and medicine
• leadership activities and interests in and out of school

International students are eligilbe to apply to the MSTP if they have completed at least 3 years of full-time study (undergraduate, graduate, or post-baccalaureate) at an accredited college or university in the US or Canada. If admitted, international students will receive the same financial support as all other MSTP students.

Students already enrolled in certain programs at Northwestern University also are eligible to apply the MSTP at Northwestern University should contact the MSTP Associate Director (Dr. Sandra Lee) in MSTP Office for specific instructions.

Students in the Graduate School must complete the (MCAT), submit the AMCAS Application, the MSTP Supplemental Application, at least three letters of receommendation (one from each research supervisor) with the Recommender's Form, and provide an official transcript of their Fall quarter 2007 grades.

Students in the Feinberg School of Medicine must provide a copy of their AMCAS Application including their (MCAT) score, complete the MSTP Supplemental Application, request at least three letters of receommendation (one from each research supervisor) with the Recommender's Form, and provide a copy of their FSM exam scores and grades to date.

Students in the combined bachelor-MD degree program (Honors Program in Medical Education, HPME), and in the Northwestern Undergraduate Premedical Scholars Program (NUPSP) must complete the (MCAT), provide a copy of their AMCAS Application, complete the MSTP Supplemental Application, request at least three letters of recommendation (one from each research supervisor) with the Recommender's Form, and provide an official transcript of their Fall quarter 2007 grades.

MSTP Admissions Timeline

June 1 - October 15

• On your AMCAS online application, please select "Northwestern University MD/PhD Program", please answer the two questions for applicants to MD/PhD programs and submit the AMCAS Application, plus official transcripts of all your college courses, to AMCAS by October 15, 2007.
• After AMCAS certifies and sends your AMCAS Application to the Northwestern University MSTP Office, we will notify you by letter of our decision to invite you to submit the Northwestern University MSTP Supplemental Application, available as a downloadable Word document from this web site. Complete the"Contact Information and Checklist ", print it, attach a passport-size photo, and mail it with your check or money order for the $75 application fee (payable to Northwestern University) by November 30, 2007 to: MSTP Office, Feinberg School of Medicine, Ward Building, Room 12-363, Northwestern University, 303 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611-3008. (Please note that if AMCAS granted you a fee waiver, your application fee to the MSTP also will be waived.)
• Please complete the MSTP Supplemental Application and return it to us by November 30, 2007 in electronic form as a Word attachment to your email to mstp@northwestern.edu.
• Request at least three letters of recommendation for admission to the combined MD-PhD program (MSTP) be mailed to the MSTP Office to arrive by December 10, 2007. If your college/university prepares a composite "committee" letter, with excerpts from individual letters, please ensure that both the committee letter and the individual letters of recommendation are sent to us. And if you are applying both MD and MD-PhD programs, you can submit the same letters for MD admission plus at least two additional letters specific for MD-PhD admission (plus the Recommender's Form) from faculty who were your research mentors.
• Download the MSTP Recommender's Form, complete it, and forward it as an electronic Word file to each person who will write a letter of recommendation in support of your MSTP application. This form was designed to help your recommenders write letters that address those factors considered most important by the MSTP Admissions Committee. If your college/university uses a comparable form, you may omit the MSTP Recommenders' Form.
• Completed applications (AMCAS Application, MSTP Supplemental Application, 3 letters of recommendation) will be reviewed on a rolling basis beginning in September, 2007.

October - January: MSTP Interview Visits

Selected candidates will be invited by letter (sent both by postal mail and by email) for a 2-day interview visit (Wednesday afternoon through Friday afternoon) with members of the MSTP Admissions Committee and of the Feinberg School of Medicine Admissions Committee, plus research faculty and MSTP students during four interview weeks. Each interview week includes an orientation by the MSTP Director, interviews with graduate research faculty at both campuses, an interview with an MSTP student, and an exit interview with the MSTP Director and Associate Director and the Chair of the the MSTP Admissions Committee. The interview dates will be October 17-19, November 14-16, December 5-7, 2007 and January 16-18, 2008. All on-site expenses directly related to the interview visit (hotel and meals) will be paid by the MSTP and these arrangements will be made by the MSTP Office. Interviewing candidates are responsible for their travel expenses for the interview visit and for personal expenses. Candidates offered admission will be invited for a second visit in April 2008 and all re-visit-related expenses will be paid by the MSTP.

December - May: Offers of Admission Extended (Rolling Process)

A few offers of admission will be extended to candidates in a rolling process soon after each interview week. The majority of admission offers will be made after all candidates have interviewed, i.e., after the last interview week in January, 2008.

May 15: Deadline for Acceptance of Admission Offers

AMCAS requires that all MSTP candidates finalize their admission decisions by May 15, 2008.

Questions

Questions about application to the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) should be directed to the MSTP Office, which coordinates the Medical School's and the Graduate School's respective requirements. Applicants are invited to explore the curricula of the medical school and the six life sciences, engineering, and chemistry graduate programs before applying to the MSTP.

Northwestern University
Medical Scientist Training Program
Ward Building, Room 12-363
303 East Chicago Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611-3008
877-NWU-MSTP (toll-free)
312-503-5232
mstp@northwestern.edu