MD Program

Acceptance

Wait List

By mid to late March, the Admissions Committee emails a confirmation form to all candidates placed on the waiting list that is comprised of three groups: 1) upper third; 2) middle third and 3) lower third. Each student is asked whether they wish to be retained or removed from the list. During orientation to the interviews, applicants are informed that normally most students on the alternate 1 list will likely gain acceptance prior to the early August matriculate date. Applicants on the alternate 2 list, particularly those at the top may have some potential of achieving entrance for the current year, where those students on alternate 3 list typically are not accepted for that year.

Deferment

Students can request an opportunity to defer in writing. Normally, deferrals are granted for unusual or mitigating circumstances that arise that create challenges for a student to enter medical school at that time. However, also some “once in a lifetime opportunities” may come up, such that a request to defer also seems reasonable. Some examples include difficult family circumstances, birth of a child, participate in the Olympics, a Fulbright Scholarship opportunity, Teach for America, etc. The medical school wants students to enter when they have achieved a high degree of readiness to engage fully in the medical school program. The decision to grant the deferral is that of the Associate Dean for Admissions.

If a student is a non-resident at the time of initial acceptance, it is not possible to move to Colorado and during the year of deferral become a Colorado resident. There are certain requirements regarding deferral that must be met:

Student must complete the majority of paperwork as if entering in the year for which they applied and pay the $200 deposit.
For the actual year in which you plan to enter, an AMCAS application must be completed, where you will be in a special category of “deferred/delayed admission.”
You may only apply to Colorado during the year in which you plan to enter. If you wish to apply to other schools, you must simply withdraw your application from Colorado.
As a deferred applicant, you will not have to complete the secondary application, pay the AMCAS fee, nor have to interview.
Normally, most deferrals are for one year only

Lower Alternate List and Non-Accepted Applicant Counseling

By April 1, students in both alternate and non-accepted groups are known and they can schedule admissions counseling group sessions on ways to improve their application. The Associate Dean reviews each applicant’s file and includes commentary in a note that is provided at the time of the counseling session.

Given the excellent applicant pool in Colorado, on a yearly basis, slightly over a 100 of the 560 applicants interviewed include those who had previously applied. In the counseling sessions, applicants are told that should they be interviewed in a subsequent year that they will likely be asked whether they came to a counseling session and whether they did what was requested of them before reapplying. Reconsideration of their candidacy at the admissions level is done without prejudice.

Class Composition

Class of 2012 – Entering Class Statistics:

3,500 students applied to Colorado for the 2008 entering class
700 applicants came from Colorado, [Montana and Wyoming – WICHE states], and 90% completed their applications
About 60% of the Colorado, Montana and Wyoming pool were invited for interviews
2,815 non-Colorado students applied and 1,278 completed applications, and 268 were invited for interviews
1,132 interviews were completed, providing 2 – 30 minute interviews for each student. Interviewers have basic AMCAS information - personal statement, extracurricular activities, honors and awards and Colorado essays
270 students were made offers of acceptance
156 students in the entering class, with a GPA of 3.72 and MCAT mean of 32.5 Q
Age range is 17-42, and the median age is 24.2 years
18% of students came directly from college
1 student had a PhD and 17 had master’s degrees
68 colleges and universities in the class, and 16 states and 1 country were members of the class