‘Great Year for GrizMed’: UM Sees 74% Medical School Acceptance Rate

University of Montana students were accepted to accredited medical schools this year with an acceptance rate of 74%. The Association of American Medical Colleges reports about a 40% average medical school acceptance rate. It was the second-highest medical school acceptance rate on record, according to Mark Pershouse, UM’s pre-medical sciences director who works in the Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences in the College of Health. UM photo

MISSOULA – The Association of American Medical Colleges reports about a 40% average medical school acceptance rate.  

But if you’re a University of Montana student, the chances of getting accepted to medical school climb 20% to 30% higher than the national average.

That’s especially true if you’re enrolled in the GrizMed program at UM.

This year the medical school acceptance rate for Grizzlies climbed to 74%, with the possibility of that number being even higher as acceptance notifications come rolling in this spring. It was the second-highest medical school acceptance rate on record, according to Mark Pershouse, UM’s pre-medical sciences director who works in the Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences in the College of Health.

Over the past 15 years, Pershouse said, UM students have averaged a 64% acceptance rate to medical school.

“It was a great year for GrizMed,” he said. “We continue to be one of the best choices in the Montana University System for those interested in obtaining a professional medical education. What’s more is that we have the advising structure, mentoring capacity and professional experience that proves our student support methods are working.”

Pershouse said UM’s focus on wide and deep preparation for medical school is unique. At UM students studying pre-medical sciences participate in an advising program that helps them become well informed and aware of the diversity of health care occupations, with access to professionals, mentorship and support at every turn.

This year’s acceptance rate is even more impressive, Pershouse said, considering that most medical schools accept only about 2% of applicants, and those come from a highly qualified pool of applicants with high GPAs, test scores, volunteering, extensive work in medicine and participation in research.

The impressive statistics reflected in this year’s class include:  

  • UM students were accepted into a host of the nation’s top medical schools. Among them: Duke University, Cornell University, the University of Washington, Oregon Health and Science University, the University of Arizona, the University of Colorado School of Medicine and many more.  
  • Two UM students were accepted into at least five medical schools.  
  • Two students who were accepted into medical school are tribally affiliated students who trained in Montana: Dillon Demontiney of the Rocky Boy Reservation (Chippewa and Cree tribes) and Jacob Horton of the Cherokee Nation. Less than 0.5% of the current physician workforce identifies as American Indian and Alaska Native. Both students were assisted by a Health Careers Opportunity Program grant to UM’s College of Health, which centered on helping disadvantaged students get into health care schools in medicine, dentistry, osteopathic and many others.  
  • Iaong Vang, a UM alumna attending the University of Wisconsin Medical School, matched an ophthalmology residency – probably the single most difficult residency to achieve in medicine, Pershouse said.

UM’s pre-med program is complemented by eight faculty mentors, four clinical mentors and two staff members who bring a wealth of expertise, passion and a dedicated team, Pershouse said. The GrizMed group consists of faculty and professional advisers throughout campus who work with pre-med, pre-dental, pre-PA, and pre-veterinary medicine students at various stages of a student’s pre-health profession career.

The pre-med coursework includes the prerequisite courses for application to medical school in addition to a class, HMED 140, taught by Pershouse, on the logistics, timeline and formula of medical school applications. The class also invites diverse practitioners in health care to share details about their work and have candid conversations regarding the investment in time, patient care and challenges of the field.

Pershouse said it’s necessary for undergraduates to combine UM’s pre-med path with another major. Most pre-med students pursue majors in the College of Humanities and Science, but applicants in the last five years have come from 20 different majors in several colleges on campus.

Additionally, this year – in a full-circle impact on Montana healthcare – six UM pre-med alumni who completed residencies, fellowships and are practicing medicine have migrated back to the Missoula area.

“This means one very important thing: They have chosen to come home and serve the communities where they grew up or trained,” Pershouse said.

For more information on UM’s pre-health professions advising program, visit www.umt.edu/undergrad-advising-center/pre-health-professions-advising.

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Contact: Mark Pershouse, pre-medical sciences director, UM Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 406-243-4769, mark.pershouse@mso.umt.edu.