Pre-med students eligible for MSU College of Human Medicine’s Early Assurance ‘pipeline’
TRAVERSE CITY — Michigan State University (MSU), MSU College of Human Medicine and Northwestern Michigan College (NMC) have agreed to establish a cooperative program of premedical education by which NMC students who transfer as undergraduate premedical students to Michigan State University will have the opportunity to be granted an enhanced opportunity for admission to MSU College of Human Medicine.
MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon and NMC President Timothy J. Nelson signed the Early Assurance Program (EAP) agreement Wednesday, August 5.
“Michigan State is committed to bringing well-qualified premedical students from Northwestern Michigan College to our university and the College of Human Medicine,” Simon said. “This is a long-term vision for enhancing health care in this community and beyond. Local students may wish to return home for MSU clinical education at Munson Medical Center, and possibly one day to practice in Traverse City.”
“Northwestern Michigan College is dedicated to providing our learners with pathways to success throughout their lives while also working to find new ways to meet the needs of the industries in our community, like Munson Medical Center,” said Nelson. “This agreement with Michigan State University achieves both of those goals while solidifying NMC as a choice partner in the changing landscape of higher education.”
Preference for EAP admission will be given to those former Northwestern Michigan College students who have applied to Michigan State University and meet one or more of the following criteria:
- First generation college student
- Graduate of a low-income high school as defined by the U.S. Department of Education
- Eligible for, or a recipient of, an undergraduate PELL or institutional need-based grant
- Graduate from an underserved (health professional shortage) urban or rural area
- Demonstrates interest in a high-need medical specialty or practicing in a medically underserved community
Candidates for the Early Assurance Program will receive academic advising directed toward admission to MSU and the College of Human Medicine. During their junior year at MSU, students who fit the mission of the Early Assurance Program and the admissions criteria of the college may apply to the College of Human Medicine. Selected students will be assured of admission and begin a relationship with MSU College of Human Medicine during their senior year of college.
Nationally, admission to medical school is highly competitive. MSU’s Early Assurance Program has helped build a pipeline between the state’s colleges and universities and MSU College of Human Medicine. This year, MSU College of Human Medicine received 6,845 applicants for 190 seats available for first-year students starting this fall, including 18 students entering through EAP.
MSU College Of Human Medicine
Since 1964, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine has drawn upon MSU’s land grant values to educate exemplary physicians, discover and disseminate new knowledge and respond to the needs of the medically underserved in communities throughout Michigan. The medical school’s statewide footprint includes seven community campuses: Flint, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Midland Regional, Southeast Michigan, and the Upper Peninsula Region. The college is home to centers of excellence in Parkinson’s disease research and women’s health research. For more information, visit the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine Web site at humanmedicine.msu.edu.
Northwestern Michigan College
Northwestern Michigan College is a publicly funded community college that serves more than 50,000 learners annually throughout the Grand Traverse region and beyond. NMC offers associate degrees, professional certificates and bachelor’s degrees. The college is home to the Great Lakes Water Studies Institute, the Great Lakes Maritime Academy, the Great Lakes Culinary Institute as well as nationally recognized aviation and unmanned systems programs. For more information, visit Northwestern Michigan College at NMC.edu.
Release date: August 5, 2015
For more information:
Diana Fairbanks
Executive Director of Public Relations, Marketing & Communications
dfairbanks@nmc.edu
(231) 995-1019