Education
All applicants are required to have earned a degree at the bachelor’s level or higher from a U.S. or Canadian accredited college or university prior to matriculation in the MD program. No single major is preferred.
Academic Requirements: MCAT and GPA
Applicants must complete the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) prior to application consideration.
Both MCAT and GPA will be used as components in our holistic evaluation. We require a minimum MCAT score of 498 out of a possible 528. MCAT scores cannot be more than 3 years old in January of the year of expected enrollment. The best eligible score will be used for the admission process. We do not have a minimum GPA requirement.
Required Competency Areas
At Carle Illinois we do not have strict pre-requisite classes. We recognize there are alternatives to undergraduate coursework that may prepare you for our curriculum. These may include, but are not limited to, research publications, professional experiences, or certificates.
We ask all applicants to complete our competency checklist. Competency most likely will be met through courses taken during undergraduate education, however the checklist will also provide the opportunity to upload documentation of alternative experiences proposed as demonstration of competence. The Competency section of Admissions FAQ may answer questions that you have concerning the competency checklist.
Applicants must demonstrate competency in at least 9 of the 11 competency areas listed below to receive a secondary application.
| Competency Areas | Could be demonstrated by: |
| Chemistry | 3 semesters or equivalent of general and/or organic chemistry with lab |
| Biochemistry | 1 semester or equivalent |
| Biology | 2 semesters or equivalent with lab |
| Advanced Biology | 1 semester or equivalent of physiology, systems biology, or other advanced biology course |
| Physics | 2 semesters or equivalent with lab |
| Humanities / Social Science | 2 semesters or equivalent |
| Statistics | 1 semester or equivalent |
| Calculus | 2 semesters or equivalent; content of higher-level class should be comparable to UIUC MATH 231 (Calculus II) |
| Multivariate Calculus | Content of class should be comparable to UIUC MATH 241 (Calculus III); see FAQs for more information |
| Differential Equations | Content of class should be comparable to UIUC MATH 285 (Intro to Differential Equations); see FAQs for more information |
| Linear Algebra | Content of class should be comparable to UIUC MATH 415 (Applied Linear Algebra); see FAQs for more information |
Community college credit is accepted if transferred as equivalent at a four-year institution. Advanced Placement credit is accepted when succeeded by a higher-level course in the same subject at an undergraduate institution. To see how the University of Illinois interprets your prior coursework, please refer to Transferology or speak to the pre-health advisor from your college/university. Regretfully, due to a high volume of requests, we are unable to provide individual pre-application assessments.
Suggested Experience
Carle Illinois College of Medicine is committed to the use of holistic admissions to identify applicants who are best suited to our institutional mission and educational design. In addition to strong interpersonal skills, demonstrated altruism, leadership skills, experience in healthcare settings, and strong preparation in pre-med plus quantitative areas, an applicant may be more likely to succeed in our curriculum if they have experience in computer programming.
Questions? Talk to us.
Letters of Recommendation
All applicants are required to submit letters of evaluation and recommendation through the AMCAS letter service; no outside letters or information will be accepted by the Office of Admissions. Prospective students may submit a maximum of four letters of evaluation. The following are acceptable:
- A premedical committee report or other composite letter of recommendation from the applicant’s primary college or university.
OR
- If the primary college or university does not have a premedical committee, at least three individual letters of recommendation on official letterhead: two from individual professors with whom the applicant has taken classes or participated in research (it is strongly recommended that at least one recommendation be from someone in STEM-science, technology, engineering or mathematics) and one letter from a non-academic individual (e.g. an advisor, a supervisor from a work or volunteer experience).
Citizenship
Currently, only U.S. citizens or permanent residents will be considered.
Nondiscrimination Notice
The commitment of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Illinois) to the most fundamental principles of academic freedom, equality of opportunity, and human dignity requires that decisions involving students and employees be based on merit and be free from invidious discrimination in all its forms. The University does not engage in discrimination or harassment against any person because of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, disability, national origin, citizenship status, ancestry, age, order of protection status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, arrest record status, unfavorable discharge from the military, or status as a protected veteran and complies with all federal and state nondiscrimination, equal opportunity, and affirmative action laws, orders, and regulations.
The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies:
Director of the Office for Access & Equity
616 East Green Street, Suite 214
Champaign, IL 61820
accessandequity@illinois.edu
(217) 333-0885
Please refer to the University of Illinois System website for the most up-to-date statement on Sex Discrimination, Sexual Harassment and Other Sexual Misconduct.
