Non-Discrimination policy:
Xavier University School of medicine follows consistent criteria for the admission of students to the school of medicine, without discrimination in age, gender, religion, disability or any other factors.
Introduction:
Xavier University School of Medicine, Aruba (XUSOM) employs a holistic approach to selection of Medical students. Defined by the AAMC, holistic review is a flexible, individualized way for medical schools to consider an applicant’s capabilities, providing balanced consideration to experiences, attributes, and academic metrics. These factors are considered in combination with how the individual might contribute value as a medical student and physician.
General Criteria for Selection
Following AAMC’s holistic guide to admissions, XUSOM uses the following general criteria for selection of medical students. These criteria balance both academic accomplishments and personal factors in applicants designed to achieve mission-related goals, with evidence of how (and why).
- Academic background (e.g., major, grade point average and grade trend, MCAT scores, science background, other academic interests, enthusiasm of recommenders, quality of undergraduate institution, quality of essay, area and difficulty of undergraduate course selection, and coursework loads).
- Personal attributes (e.g., culture, socioeconomic status, geography, rural/inner city, race/ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, faith, family status, national origin, individual interests, values and beliefs, maturity, leadership, being multilingual, etc.)
- Personal experiences (e.g., overcoming hardship, work history, community service, health care experience, research experience, success in prior career[s], and life experiences).
Key Elements of Admission committee criteria:
- Admission criteria are aligned with school’s mission and goals
- Are approved by the faculty
- Balance both academic accomplishments and personal factors in applicants designed to achieve mission-related goals,
- Evaluation of enrollment decisions: the enrollment process should be periodically evaluated for the desired outcomes (Program completion, attrition rate, professionalism issues, performance on standardized exams, specialty selection and career plans (clinical practice, research, academic medicine)
AAMC’s 4 principles for holistic admission:
The following principles published by AAMC have been adopted by XUSOM.
The AAMC’s Definition and Core Principles of Holistic Review:
A flexible, individualized way of assessing an applicant’s capabilities by which balanced consideration is given to experiences, attributes, and academic metrics and, when considered in combination, to how the individual might contribute value as a medical student and physician.
Four Core Principles of a Holistic Admissions Process:
- In a holistic admissions process, selection criteria are broad-based, are clearly linked to school mission and goals, and promote diversity as an essential element to achieving institutional excellence.
- A balance of experiences, attributes, and academic metrics (E-A-M) is
a. used to assess applicants with the intent of creating a richly diverse interview and selection pool and student body;
b. Applied equitably across the entire candidate pool; and
c. Grounded in data that provide evidence supporting the use of selection criteria beyond grades and test scores. - Admissions staff and committee members give individualized consideration to how each applicant may contribute to the medical school learning environment and the practice of medicine, weighing and balancing the range of criteria needed in a class to achieve the outcomes desired by the school.
- Race and ethnicity may be considered as factors when making admission-related decisions only when such consideration is narrowly tailored to achieve mission-related educational interests and goals associated with student diversity, and when considered as part of a broader mix of factors, which may include personal attributes, experiential factors, demographics, or other considerations.
XUSOM will consider for admission any applicant who meets its academic and nonacademic criteria and who demonstrates the ability to perform the skills listed in technical standards, with or without reasonable accommodations, consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. This policy conforms as well to the AAMC guidelines for medical schools, “The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Disabled Student in Medical School,” approved for distribution by the AAMC Executive Council in June, 1993.
The Admission Committee has continued to reaffirm that all students must possess the intellectual, physical and emotional capabilities necessary to undertake the required curriculum in a reasonably independent manner, without having to rely on intermediaries, and that all students must be able to achieve the levels of competence required by the faculty. All candidates for admission, both those with and without disabilities, are expected to be competitive with others in the applicant pool in academic, personal, and extracurricular dimensions and to meet these technical standards.
XUSOM believes that medical schools should educate a diverse group of medical students recognizing that in such diversity lies excellence. Included in this group are qualified students who have impairments, functional limitations and/or disabilities. The medical school’s obligation is to produce effective and competent physicians and to seek candidates who will be best able to serve the needs of society. Therefore, applicants with disabilities should be held to the same admission standards, with accommodation if needed, as their nondisabled peers.
It is the students’ responsibility to disclose any disabilities during the admissions process and before classes begin. XUSOM has the right to deny admissions or withdraw a student form the program and will not be liable for such action.
Technical Standards for the Student of Medicine:
Technical Standards for the MD Program
Medical Applicants Procedure:
Students apply using a standard application form available from the XUSOM Office of Admissions or Web Site. This provides standard demographic and career preparation information.
All applicants applying for 4 year MD Program are required to finish at least 2 academic years with a minimum of 90 credit hours of undergraduate studies including the following subjects:
- (8 hours) of Inorganic or General Chemistry (with labs)
- (8 hours) of Organic Chemistry (with labs)
- (8 hours) of General Biology (with labs)
- (8 hours) of Physics (with labs)
- (3 hours) of English
- (3 hours) of Pre-Calculus/Calculus or statistics
- (3 hours) of behavioral or social science
Applicants are encouraged to take the MCAT examination, but it is not required. Applicants are encouraged to have a strong volunteer background in healthcare in order to allow them to understand the specific demands of practicing medicine, as well as to provide them exposure to healthcare as a career field.
Once the application is complete, it is referred to the Admissions Committee. Committee evaluation includes overall academic performance measured by cumulative GPA, science GPA, shadowing or volunteer experience in a medical facility, results of an in-person or telephone interview, and an overall assessment of readiness and ability to undertake a medical education. The Committee makes a recommendation for admission.
Xavier University has a program for providing exceptions to its usual admissions requirements. Highly motivated students who do not meet the traditional admissions criteria are interviewed in-depth by the admissions committee. If chosen for admission, they are monitored beginning from the start of the first semester, and may be given assistance in terms of tutoring, or a decreased course load. This is done to ensure an adequate education with slightly decreased stress, optimizing the chance of completing the basic science curriculum and passing the USMLE step 1.
Pre-Medical Applicants Procedure
Xavier University also provides for an accelerated 5.5 year MD degree, for motivated High School students.
These students must have:
High School Diploma
GPA: 3.0
SAT: 1200 (old system) 1800 (new system) or ACT 26
TOEFL: 231 (for other than USA, UK, or Canadian students)
IELTS: 6.0 (for other than USA, UK, or Canadian students)
Students apply using a standard application form available from the XUSOM Office of Admissions or Web Site. This provides standard demographic and career preparation information.
Once the Pre-Med application is complete, it is referred to the Admissions Committee. Committee evaluation includes overall academic performance, shadowing or volunteer experience in a medical facility, results of an in-person or telephone interview and an overall assessment of readiness and ability to undertake an accelerated medical education. The Committee makes a recommendation for admission.
All students successfully completing the Pre-Med Program will automatically gain advancement into the Basic Science Component of our MD program.
Publication:
The Admission policy and procedures along with technical standards is included in the Admissions Bulletin distributed to all applicants and appears on the school web site www.xusom.com