Application Process and Timeline for 2008-2009

IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR 2008-09 APPLICANTS

The Stanford deadline for all application materials including Supplemental Application and postmark for letters of recommendation is November 15, 2008 (11:59 Pacific Standard Time).

If you submit your AMCAS application by the October 15 deadline, you WILL be invited to submit the Supplemental Application and will be provided a deadline extension if we receive your AMCAS application after our Supplemental Application deadline of November 15, 2008.

Please be patient as the AMCAS verification process may take four to six weeks or longer. The Stanford School of Medicine will continue receiving new AMCAS applications through December at which point we will contact you about submitting the Supplemental Application and letters of recommendation.

This exception is ONLY applicable to students invited to submit the Supplemental Application after our November 15 deadline.

ON THIS PAGE:
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AMCAS Application
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Stanford Supplemental Application
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Interviews
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Acceptance
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Deferral of Matriculation
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Communication with the Office of MD Admissions
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MD Admissions Timeline

AMCAS Application

Application to Stanford University School of Medicine must be made through the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS, 2450 N Street, N.W., Suite 201, Washington, DC 20037-1131; telephone: 202-828-0600). See Association of American Medical Colleges publication Medical School Admission Requirements for further information, or visit the AAMC web site: www.aamc.org.

AMCAS DEADLINE: October 15, 2008

You must submit your AMCAS application, transcripts, and fees to AMCAS by the deadline. Extensions are not granted. Do not send transcripts to our office.

Once we receive your AMCAS application, you will receive an e-mail from the Admissions Office inviting you to submit a Stanford Supplemental Application.

Beginning in late July, the Stanford MD Application Web Site will be available for you to monitor our receipt of your AMCAS application, Stanford Supplemental Application, letters of evaluation, and fee. It is also the site to submit a Supplemental Application after you have received our invitation. If your information is not in our database, we have not received your application from AMCAS.

The web site does NOT reflect any admissions decisions. It includes information for you to monitor our receipt of your AMCAS application, Stanford Supplemental Application, letters of evaluation, and fee. Please refer to the timeline below for details regarding notification of different admissions decisions.

Evaluation and selection are based upon standards of merit, and no quotas of any kind play a role in the admission process. No preference is given to California residents. (See Statement of Non-Discriminatory Policy .)

MCAT

All applicants must take the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) no later than September 2008.  The MCAT must be taken within a three year period measured from the time you take the test to the point of intended matriculation. For example, the oldest acceptable score for a student applying for Fall 2009 admission would be August 2006. Your test scores are sent automatically to medical schools which you have designated. Please note: You must inform us through your AMCAS application if you are taking the MCAT at any time during the period of June-September 2008. Failure to do so will result in your application being processed and reviewed with the most recent MCAT scores available.

Stanford Supplemental Application and Recommendations

ALL applicants will be invited to submit a Stanford Supplemental Application once we receive your AMCAS application. Invitations will be sent via e-mail, and will be accompanied by directions for completing the Supplemental Application. We STRONGLY suggest that you complete it as soon as possible. All materials, including your letters of recommendation, must be postmarked by the deadline. We will communicate with all applicants primarily via email; it is therefore essential that you have a reliable email account that you check on a regular basis to verify receipt of the Stanford Supplemental Application invitation email.

STANFORD SUPPLEMENTAL APPLICATION DEADLINE: November 15, 2008 (11:59 p.m. PST)

We anticipate that the first invitations to submit the Stanford Supplemental Application will be sent in late July.

The Stanford Supplemental Application requests additional information including essay questions about your personal background and professional interests. We request at least three but no more than six complete letters of recommendation from persons who know you well enough to evaluate your scholarly potential and promise as a physician. These letters may be accompanied by an undergraduate school's premedical committee evaluation.

It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all materials arrive on time. When the Stanford MD Application Web Site opens in late July, applicants may go there to check if their materials have been received by the Office of Medical School Admissions.

An application fee must be paid (via credit card) at the time the Stanford Supplemental Application is submitted. Exceptions are made only for those applicants who apply for and receive a fee waiver by the AAMC Fee Assistance Program . Stanford honors the guidelines and final decision of AAMC in the issuance of application fee waivers. Application fees are required from all applicants who are not granted the waiver by the AAMC. Application fees for the Supplemental Application are non-refundable.

Stanford requires complete letters of evaluation from three to six individuals who know you well and can evaluate your performance in those areas that are most relevant to your application. Professors, instructors, thesis advisors or supervisors of special projects, clinical, volunteer or employment activities usually provide the most informative evaluations.  Letters from teachers who do not know you beyond grades and class rank tell us little more than your AAMC academic record, and such letters are discouraged.  We prefer that letters of recommendation are NOT sent until AFTER we have received your AMCAS application and you have been invited to submit a Stanford Supplemental Application.

Applicant Updates

Our policy with regard to application updates, is that additional information may be accepted only AFTER an applicant has been invited to interview. Interview decisions are made based on information provided in the AMCAS application, Stanford Supplemental Application, and letters of recommendation. It is important that we maintain a consistent and equitable standard for all applications to be considered with the same basis of information. If applicable, additional information can then be submitted on the day of your interview. When submitting additional information, please indicate that you are an applicant invited to interview or we may not include updates with your file. Acceptable updates include any significant developments in scholarly endeavors or projects, or letters of recommendation. Please do not send additional coursework or transcripts unless we have specifically requested such information from you.

Interviews

All applications will be reviewed for consideration of an interview. The earliest notifications regarding an interview invitation will begin in mid October and continue through April. The Office of Medical School Admissions will inform each candidate whether or not an interview will be granted.

Each candidate who is invited to interview will be notified by e-mail and letter, and may use our online scheduling system to select a date that is mutually agreeable. Interviews will be held between October and April. Applicants will be scheduled for two interviews. Each interview is an opportunity for a two-way exchange in which you can learn more about the school in addition to responding to questions intended to help the Committee on Admissions reach a decision as to the appropriateness of Stanford's program for your particular needs and goals.

Acceptance

Acceptances are offered on a "rolling" basis between January and May. All admissions decisions are made by the Committee on Admissions and are final. Admitted candidates are required to submit an enrollment deposit of $100 by May 15 to reserve a place in the fall entering class. Candidates who are not offered immediate acceptance are placed on a wait list.

Deferral of Matriculation

Accepted applicants may petition, in writing, for deferral of matriculation. Deferrals may be approved for one year for reasons related to the personal and professional circumstances of the admitted applicant and the furtherance of her/his educational plans. The request for deferral should provide an appropriate degree of detail. The final decision is at the discretion of the Committee on Admissions.

Communication with the Office of MD Admissions

Please DO NOT call us for updates on the status of your application. A timeline of notifications is available below. Invitations to complete the Stanford Supplemental Application and to interview will be sent by e-mail and regular mail. All other official decisions will be communicated via regular mail only. Please update your address or contact information through the AMCAS web site, not through the office of MD Admissions.

Please address any mail correspondence to:

STANFORD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Office of Medical School Admissions
251 Campus Drive West , MSOB X3C01
Stanford, CA 94305-5404

MD Admissions Timeline 2008-2009

2008
 

JUNE:
Primary application is available via AMCAS

 

 

JUNE - AUGUST:
 Early Decision applications are submitted and completed (letters of evaluation and Supplemental Application received)

 

 

AUGUST 1:
Deadline for receipt of all application information for Early Decision applicants

 

 

OCTOBER 1:
Early Decision applicants are notified of their Committee status

 

 

JULY - NOVEMBER:
 AMCAS applications are received (electronic transmission of applicant's data from AMCAS to Stanford may take 4-6 weeks after online application is submitted)

 

 

OCTOBER 15:
 Deadline for submitting the AMCAS application

 

 

JULY - NOVEMBER:
 Stanford sends invitations and receives Supplemental Applications and letters of recommendation

 

 

NOVEMBER 15:
Deadline for receipt of all application information

 

 

AUGUST - MARCH:
 Applications are reviewed

 

 

OCTOBER - APRIL:
Invitations to interview are sent out

 

 

JANUARY - MAY:
Offers of admission are made on a “rolling” basis

 
2009
 

JANUARY - JULY :
Students submit Free Application for Federal Student Aid and other financial need applications

 

 

May:
 Admit Weekend at Stanford for accepted applicants

 

 

MAY 15:
 Deadline for applicants to accept offer of admission to Stanford

 

 

LATE AUGUST:
Orientation begins for entering class

 

 

EARLY SEPTEMBER:
 First week of classes

 

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