College of Medicine and Life Sciences - MD Admissions

MedStart Program

MedStart is an early assurance program designed to accept exceptional students during their junior year of their undergraduate degree program at an accredited U.S. college or university. The program allows students to matriculate into the MD program at the College of Medicine and Life Sciences (COMLS) at The University of Toledo (UToledo) for the academic year following completion of their four-year baccalaureate degree.

Students accepted into the MedStart program participate in a mandatory program on the Health Science Campus during the summer between their junior and senior years of undergraduate school. This program provides participants with an opportunity to learn more about the MD program, the campus, and the Greater Toledo community. Additionally, participants get to know each other better, as well as engage with current students, faculty, and staff who give them a "sneak peak" into life as a UToledo medical student!

We are looking for applicants who demonstrate superior motivation and enthusiasm for medicine as indicated through community service, healthcare-related activities, leadership skills, and research experiences. Further, we are looking for applicants with the highest levels of maturity, professionalism, collaboration, and cultural competence in alignment with our COMLS mission to "improve health in the communities and region we serve." 

MedStart Webinar

Hear from students who have participated in the program:

Watch the video on YouTube


Sections: Process | Eligibility | Acceptances | Apply


Application Process

*Note: Please watch this space for details coming soon regarding the opening of the application.

  1. The MedStart Admissions subcommittee reviews all complete applications submitted by the application deadline.
    Please ensure that you meet the requirements for the MedStart program detailed here prior to applying. Note: We do not require the MCAT  for acceptance into the program. However, we strongly encourage applicants to take the examination during their senior year in order to prepare for the rigorous medical school curriculum as well as to be eligible for several merit-based scholarships that require competitive MCAT scores.
  2. The subcommittee invites applicants for interviews.
    All interviews are conducted using the Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) format. Interview days will be via a synchronous web-based platform. If we invite you for an interview, we'll send interview day details to you by email and through the application portal.
  3. Interviewed applicants are reviewed by the MD Program Admissions Committee and candidates are notified of the admissions decision: accept or reject.
    Acceptances to the MD program through the MedStart pathway, as is the case as acceptances through the regular application process, are conditional on completion of all matriculation requirements and a continued record free of negative criminal and institutional code of conduct violations.
    Please see the table below for information about MedStart applications, interviews, and acceptances for the last several admissions cycles. Admissions decisions are generally complete and notifications communicated to MedStart applicants by March 1.
  4. Accepted candidates sign a Letter of Intent to enroll in the MD program at the College of Medicine and Life Sciences at The University of Toledo the following year.
    We hold positions in the medical school class for the following Fall matriculation for students accepted through the MedStart program. We will consider submission of an AMCAS application to another medical school as a withdrawal from our UToledo MD program and the applicant's place in medical school will no longer be held. In addition, the applicant will not be reimbursed for his/her program fees and the applicant will have to apply as a regular applicant in order to be considered for a position in the medical school class.
    Students accepted to the MD program through MedStart must be available to start medical school no earlier or later than one complete academic year after being accepted.  Failure to enroll in medical school the following year regardless of reason makes the student ineligible for the MedStart program and will result in a withdrawal of the admission offer. We will send further information to accepted students about submitting paperwork and meeting other pre-matriculation requirements.
  5. For MedStart applicants not invited for an interview or not accepted through the program, we welcome applications to our MD program through the regular application process in a subsequent application cycle.
    We do not penalize re-applicants, and former MedStart applicants--particularly ones who made it to the interview stage--are often competitive applicants during their senior year of undergraduate school.

Who is eligible to apply to the MedStart Program?

  1. You must apply to the program in the beginning of your junior year of your undergraduate studies degree program at an accredited U.S. college or university. 
    In this case, ‘junior’ means you have 2 years of undergraduate school ahead of you. If you are in a 4 year degree this is your 3rd year.  If you are in a 5 year degree it is your 4th year. Students starting their final year of undergraduate who are eligible to apply through AMCAS are not eligible to apply to MedStart and should apply as regular applicants. 
  2. You must be a citizen of the United States of America or have permanent resident status (permanent residency "green" card).   If applying as a permanent resident, you must be a permanent resident at the time of application to the MedStart program and will be required to submit a photocopy of the front and back of your permanent resident card.
  3. You must be able to meet the Minimal Technical Standards for admission to the MD program at the time of application to MedStart.
  4. You must have completed a significant portion of our undergraduate course prerequisites.
    We highly recommend that at the time of application to the MedStart program you have completed a minimum of (a) one semester of general chemistry with labs, (b) one semester of organic chemistry with labs, and (c) either one year of biological sciences or one year of physics. *Note: All minimum prerequisite courses (as indicated below) obtained at an accredited institution of higher education must be completed by the time of matriculation to the MD program.

****PLEASE REVIEW CHANGES TO REQUIREMENTS DUE TO COVID-19****

Minimum Prerequisite Courses
  • REQUIRED COURSES:
  • One year of Biological Sciences 
  • One year of General Chemistry with labs
  • One year of Organic Chemistry with labs
  • One year of Physics
  • One semester of Biochemistry
  • Highly Recommended Courses:
  • Anatomy
  • Biostatistics
  • English
  • Genetics
  • Medical Terminology
  • Microbiology
  • Physiology
  • Psychology
  • We encourage applicants to acquire a broad undergraduate education including Humanities and Social Sciences.

 

 

 

;

  1. Undergraduate Grade Point Average
    We recommend that you have a cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.7 (on a 4.0 scale) or higher with a science GPA of 3.5 or higher at the time of application to MedStart.
  2. College Entrance Examinations
    You are required to have either an ACT or SAT score. If you have taken the exam(s) more than once, you should submit all of your test scores. An ACT/SAT score taken after matriculation into college will not be accepted. An ACT score of 30 or higher or an SAT score of 1350 or higher is strongly recommended. (Please see table below.)

Acceptances

 

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Applied*

66

113

161

55

62

70

76

111

Accepted

29

16

18

14

18

17

16

15

Average GPA

3.6

3.87

3.79

3.85

3.87

3.91

3.92

3.91

Average SAT

 

 

714

696

724

1383

1449

1493

Average ACT

30

33

33

31

33

32

32

32


How to Apply to the MedStart Program

  1. Applicants applying to the MedStart program must be citizens of the United States or have permanent resident status (permanent residency "green" card). If applying as a permanent resident, an applicant must be a permanent resident at the time of application and will be required to submit a photocopy of the front and back of their permanent resident card.

  2. To apply to the MedStart program, please create an EA applicant account on the application website. Please note, that you will not be able to create an account within the site until the application open date of August 1. 

  3. At least three recommendation letters, test scores and updates must be uploaded into the application.

 4.The application period opens August 1. The deadline for the application is October 1.  All supplemental materials, including recommendation letters, ACT or SAT score reports, and current academic transcripts, must be received by October 15.

If you have any questions, contact The University of Toledo Medical School Admissions Office at 419.383.3680 or MedAdmissions@utoledo.edu.

Last Updated: 12/1/23