What’s Needed to Apply to NSU MD

You must have earned a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in the United States by July 15 of the year you will begin medical school. Your degree may be in the discipline of your choice, as long as you have completed the prerequisite coursework. Academic requirements for admission to NSU MD include adequate preparation in physics, biology, chemistry, biochemistry, and mathematics. The following premedical courses are required:

• Biology: 2 semesters (or equivalent) with lab
• Biochemistry: With or without lab
• General Chemistry: 2 semesters (or equivalent) with lab
• Organic Chemistry: 2 semesters (or equivalent) with lab
• Physics: 2 semesters (or equivalent)
• Mathematics (college level): 1 semester (or equivalent). Calculus is not required. Statistics is acceptable.

Advanced Placement (AP) courses will fulfill the prerequisite requirements if the individual courses and credits awarded are detailed on the applicant’s college/university transcript. Other suggested courses can include, but are not limited to, Immunology, Anatomy, Physiology, and Genetics.

The list of personal attributes that are considered during the admissions process are:

• Intrinsic motivation to pursue the M.D. degree
• Social skills
• Cultural competence
• Teamwork
• Verbal communication skills
• Written communication skills
• Ethical responsibility to self and others
• Reliability and dependability
• Resilience and adaptability
• Altruism
• Critical thinking and ability to succeed academically

All applicants are selected for admission on the basis of their academic, personal, and extracurricular attributes, as well as the intellectual, physical, and emotional capabilities to meet the requirements of our curriculum and of a successful medical career.

Applicants are required to attest at time of acceptance and annually thereafter that they meet these Technical Standards. However, they are not intended to deter any student who might be able to complete the requirements of the curriculum with reasonable accommodations.

Requests from applicants for reasonable accommodations in meeting the Technical Standards will be reviewed and considered by the NSU Office of Student Disability Services.

NSU MD does not set a minimum GPA or MCAT for consideration. However, while there are no absolute minimum cut-off scores for either the GPA or MCAT, the MCAT score (highest) and GPA will be used as part of the initial review for screening purposes only.

Applicants are required to submit at least three, but no more than four, letters of recommendation.

• At least one of your letters should be from a professor who has taught you in a science course and who can adequately speak to both your academic readiness and personal suitability for the pursuit and practice of medicine.
• Your remaining letters can come from professors, advisers, clinical research coordinators or preceptors, supervisors, coaches, mentors, and personal and professional colleagues.
• Although applicants are granted wide-ranging discretion in selecting evaluators, we strongly advise that you choose writers who know you well and can speak honestly and knowledgeably as to your character and fitness for entering the field of medicine. (It’s best to avoid recommendation letters from close relatives and/or family friends.)
• If your premedical advising office provides a committee letter compiling feedback from multiple sources, this letter will suffice to satisfy your letters requirement. All evaluations must be submitted via AMCAS.
• These letters of evaluation must be received before you will be invited to complete the secondary application. Once your secondary application is returned to us, your application is considered complete and ready for review.

M.D. Program Policy on Immunizations

The immunizations required for NSU MD medical students are based on the current Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations for Health Care Personnel. Before matriculating, every NSU MD student is required to have an immunization for, or show evidence of immunity to, the following diseases as described below. The following immunizations are mandatory for NSU MD medical students:

1. MMR—this requirement is only satisfied by submitting either:
   1. Measles IgG, mumps IgG, and rubella IgG titer showing immunity OR
   2. Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine (NSU MD) 2021–2022 documentation of two separate MMR vaccinations.
2. Varicella—this requirement is only satisfied by submitting:
   1. Varicella IgG titer showing immunity.
   2. Documentation of complete varicella series NOTE: Having a history of chicken pox DOES NOT satisfy the requirement.
3. Hepatitis A—documentation of complete series (not required for M.B.S. students).
4. Hepatitis B—documentation of complete series NOTE: Combination HAV/HBV vaccination series DO satisfy the requirement.
5. TdaP—documentation of initial series, as well as appropriate booster vaccination; booster shot is valid for 10 years.
6. Influenza vaccination annually, if in clinical setting.
7. Clinical settings where a great part of the curriculum takes place may require students to provide evidence of having completed the primary series or being up to date in the COVID-19 vaccines. NSU MD strongly recommends that students complete the COVID-19 immunization schedule recommended for their age and medical group: Clinical Guidance for COVID-19 Vaccination | CDC

 

Health Screening

1. TB screening—documentation of FDA-approved (quantiferon-TB Gold IN-tube test or T-SPOT TB test) Interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) result OR 2 step PPD. Please note if student has had BCG vaccination previously, IGRA is the preferred test. If assay is positive, or student has a history of active TB, a chest X-ray must be obtained and documented on an annual basis.

2. Physical examination—documentation of physician showing a routine physical has been performed in the past 12 months prior to matriculation.

References:

1. cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/imz/adult.html

2. cdc.gov/tb-healthcare-settings/hcp/screening-testing/frequency.html

 

NSU MD students must complete a mandatory immunization form, which must be signed by a licensed health care provider. The form is available at nova.edu/smc/forms/hpd-immunization-physical. NSU MD students may be required to upload proof of immunizations to multiple online portals to satisfy the requirements of the affiliated hospital where they rotate. Failure to comply with this policy may result in a student’s inability to satisfy the graduation requirements in his or her program.

NSU MD does not consider or accept transfer or visiting students at this time. There is no timeline for when or if this policy will be modified.

NSU MD does not presently consider or accept international or DACA applicants. We are only accepting applications from U.S. citizens and those with valid U.S. permanent resident cards.

NSU MD, a college within NSU Health Professions Division (HPD), requires students to submit to background checks. Accepted applicants and students in such programs are required to authorize the NSU Health Professions Division to obtain background check(s) as per adopted policy of March 2011. If the background check(s) reveal information of concern, which the NSU Health Professions Division may deem unfavorable, HPD will request that the individual provide a detailed written explanation of the information contained in this report along with appropriate documentation (e.g., police reports).

Students may also be required to authorize clinical training facilities that they are assigned to by the Health Professions Division to obtain a background check, with the results reported to the clinical training facility. Students with questions concerning background checks should contact their respective college and/or academic program for more information.

For programs that require students to submit to background checks, offers of admission will not be considered final until the completion of the background check(s), with results deemed favorable by the NSU Health Professions Division, and where appropriate, by the clinical training facilities. If information received in connection with a background check indicates that the student has provided false or misleading statements, has omitted required information, or in any way is unable to meet the requirements for completion of the program, then the student’s admission may be denied or rescinded, the student may be disciplined or dismissed, or his or her enrollment may be terminated.

Acceptance to an NSU Health Professions Division program does not guarantee that students with information of a concern will be accepted by clinical training facilities to which they may be assigned.

Students enrolled in the NSU Health Professions Division have a continuing duty to disclose any arrest, conviction, guilty or no contest plea, or participation in a pretrial diversion program, or its equivalent, for any criminal offense. Students are required to notify their dean’s office within 10 days of any arrest or subsequent conviction, guilty, or no contest plea, or participation in a pretrial diversion program, or its equivalent, for any criminal offense.

Health Professions Division

While enrolled at NSU, students have a continuing duty to disclose all of the above, along with any arrests or pending criminal charges within 10 days of any arrest or charges are filed. Students, other than those enrolled in programs within the Health Professions Division, must notify the assistant dean for Student Affairs—or designee—of any arrests or pending criminal charges. A failure to timely disclose any arrests or pending criminal charges may result in disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal from NSU.