School of Medicine

Overview

New York Medical College is located in Westchester County, an attractive suburb half an hour north of New York City. This large private university has three schools – a School of Medicine conferring the M.D. degree, and two graduate schools, the Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences and the School of Public Health offering M.S., M.P.H. and Ph.D. degrees in 37 advanced degree programs. The university’s network of 26 affiliated hospitals includes large urban medical centers, small suburban hospitals and high-tech regional tertiary care facilities. This extensive network affords excellent clinical training. The medical school is a national leader in educating primary care physicians; it was one of only 16 schools awarded major funding from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to support its primary care initiatives. As a health sciences university in the Catholic tradition, the school emphasizes service to underserved populations and recognition of the worth and dignity of each person.

Academics

Students have an opportunity to earn joint degrees, combining the M.D. with an M.P.H. which is in great demand in today’s managed care environment, or a Ph.D. in the basic medical sciences. Grading is Honors/High Pass/Pass/Fail. Passing Step 1 of the USMLE is a graduation requirement. In recent years, pass rate has been 100 percent.

Basic Sciences

The curriculum of the first two years, while focused on the basic sciences, maintains a consistent clinical orientation. The program has been revised to bring clinical relevance and small group teaching into all courses.

 The first two years focus on developing a thorough understanding of the sciences basic to clinical medicine. The core of the first-year curriculum – anatomy, histology, biochemistry, physiology, neural science, and behavioral science – is supplemented by clinical case correlations and courses in epidemiology and biostatistics. The redesigned second-year curriculum, with its strong focus on pathology/pathophysiology, emphasizes small group discussion, problem-based learning, and self-study, with only 25 percent of class time spent in large lectures. Clinical skills training, pharmacology, and medical microbiology prepare students for the clerkship experience of the next two years.

Clinical Training

While immersed in the basic science curriculum, all first-year students have ongoing direct patient contact, working in the office of a primary care physician. This one-on-one placement gives students clinical exposure and a personal mentor relationship. This preceptorship experience can be continued through the second year to fulfill the clinical skills requirement.

Third-year clinical clerkships are: Medicine (12 weeks), Surgery (8 weeks), Pediatrics (8 weeks), Ob/GYN (6 weeks), Psychiatry (6 weeks), Neurology (4 weeks), Generalist Clerkship (4 weeks), and Community and Preventive Medicine (2 weeks). The school’s great location and large hospital network afford clinical training opportunities in demographically and clinically diverse settings.

Fourth-year requirements are: Medicine or Pediatrics Subinternship (4 weeks), Ambulatory Surgical Subspecialties (4 weeks), Geriatrics or Chronic Care Pediatrics (4 weeks), and Anesthesiology/Rehabilitation Medicine (4 weeks). The 18 weeks of electives can be taken anywhere. About 15-20 students take international electives each year.

Students

The school’s student body is generally representative of the demographic diversity of the country. First-year class size is 190 students; 50 percent of the current class is female. In the current first-year class, one-third of the students are right out of undergraduate schools. About half come from public colleges and universities.

Student Life

About 500 first- and second-year students live on campus in attractive garden apartments.

The campus environment encourages a sense of community. Students participate in dozens of clubs and groups focused on professional, cultural, social and athletic interests. These include The Arrhythmias a cappella singing group, two chamber music groups, the Sign Language Club. There are numerous organized opportunities for tutoring and mentoring area high school students. The student newspaper, NYMC News, is among the first to be written and published entirely by medical students.

Graduates

The School of Medicine encourages students to aim high in applying for residency matches. While a growing number of students are choosing to match in primary care disciplines, there are equally impressive matches in highly competitive specialty programs. Matches for the current year can be viewed on the school’s website.

Some 9,500 alumni are supported by Alumni Association chapters in major cities. Alumni can track university announcements of upcoming events on the web and they keep current on their classmates’ activities via the university magazine, Chironian.

Admissions

Requirements:

All applicants must have taken the MCAT exam within the last three years and must have completed or have in progress the following prerequisites: two semesters of biology, chemistry, organic chemistry and physics. Each of these must have been completed with lab work. Two semesters of English are also required. The most recent MCAT scores are given greatest weight. While most students have majored in the sciences, the school encourages those with strong humanities backgrounds who have completed their science requirements to apply.

Suggestions

In addition to looking carefully at academic accomplishments, the Admissions Committee is really interested in each applicant’s motivation for medicine, interpersonal skills and personal qualities, like maturity, integrity and humor. They want to know what an applicant has actually done – be it medically related service, community service or research. Since interviews here are blind, or closed file, those invited for interview should come prepared to talk about their most meaningful experiences.

Process:

Please visit the Admissions web site for information regarding AMCAS applications, important dates, secondary applications, letters of recommendation, and interviews.

Cost:

Please visit the Student Financial Aid web site for information regarding tuition costs, campus housing, off-campus housing and other associated fees and living expenses.

Financial Aid:

Financial aid is need-based, with need determined by the FAFSA and other applications. Most assistance is in the form of loans. Some financial awards are available for students entering primary care specialties. In addition, the top 30 students in each class are awarded scholarships and low-interest loans. As mentioned above, participants in the Six-Year Program enjoy reduced costs.