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Health Professions Advising at Mason |
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University ResourcesMedical Sciences Advisory CommitteeGeneral InformationThe Medical Sciences Advisory Committee (MSAC) consists of faculty members and administrators who evaluate Mason students and alumni applying for graduate programs in the health professions. If requested by a centralized application service or specific schools in that profession, the Committee produces an aggregate evaluation that is transmitted as a composite reference letter addressed to the admissions officers. Advisors RosterNew transfer students, freshmen, and sophomores who have not completed at least two semesters at George Mason should turn to these advisors after consulting this website. In addition, any students applying to programs that do not require a composite or committee letter of reference as written by Dr. Chuck (such as the allied health programs, chiropractic medicine, or naturopathic medicine) should also feel free to contact the appropriate person below.
Interviewers Roster (2007 for 2008 applicants)Additional ad hoc interviewers may be solicited as deemed necessary by Dr. Chuck, who will administer the interviewing process and acts as a final arbiter should any problems occur during the interviews. Students will be interviewed by members of this panel from whom they have not solicited letters of reference.
Do you need an MSAC interview?Although there may be specific variability depending on the school one applies for, the following professions generally require or prefer an institutional "composite" letter of reference.
Admissions committees recognize that exemplary, well-qualified Mason applicants will have a corresponding composite letter of evaluation from the MSAC. Applying to programs in these health professions programs without an MSAC composite letter of evaluation will be considered as a "red flag" and jeopardize your chances in gaining admission. Thus, applicants for admission to the aforementioned professions programs must go through the MSAC pre-application process. Minimum expectationsBased on data on the applicant pools for all of the health professions, the Health Professions Advisor strongly recommends that students meet the following qualifying standards when they apply for a graduate program:
Consider these standards before you decide to prepare for the application process, noting that these standards are slightly below the average GPA's for the applicant pool for a specific professional program. There is a small window of flexibility in these standards due to circumstances (not all the science prerequisites had been completed when the pre-application was submitted), but in general these are the minimum standards that Mason students should aspire to achieve. Students with records that do not meet these expectations will be wasting a lot of time and money in the 18-month-long application process unless they have formed a different set of professional goals. The MSAC concedes that Mason has a diverse group of applicants who for various reasons may not meet all of the standards, but applicants must also be made aware that their chances for acceptance increase dramatically if they exceed these standards. That said, acceptance is never guaranteed even if one exceeds these standards. Students who meet these grade and test score standards should be aware they will also be evaluated on their concurrent experiential preparation for a health professional education. The quality of their volunteering/part-time clinical experience and/or of their research is a significant factor in the process, as is in-depth knowledge and understanding of the profession of the applicant's choice. The MSAC wants to be sure that each applicant is positioning himself/herself in the best possible position during the process and using his/her time and resources to address those deficiencies wholeheartedly. It is better to save one's efforts for one excellent attempt than to make multiple poor impressions upon the admissions committees. The majority of the students we review have applied to allopathic medical programs (MD). If you are an allopathic medical school applicant, you should review past data about Mason baccalaureates who were accepted into medical school and assess your chances for acceptance. While GPA and test scores are not the only factors in this process, if your profile is significantly lower than the average for admitted applicants, you should review your career options and meet with the Health Professions Advisor before going forward. Eligibility Appeals PolicyA student who does not meet the above stated requirements may petition to be included in the interviewing process. A written explanation is required. In addition, the intended applicant must schedule an individual meeting in private with the Health Professions Advisor to evaluate the strength of the candidate's possible application. After that meeting, the decision by the Health Professions Advisor to include or exclude a student from that year's application cycle is final and cannot be appealed further. Any actions taken by the individual or any representatives on his/her behalf to overturn the final decision can be recorded as a possible violation of the Honor System that can be placed in the student's academic record.
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University Resources |
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