BA/BS+MD Early Assurance Program
Drexel offers a BA/BS+MD Early Assurance Program, a 4 + 4 combined program that allows students to gain early acceptance into both their undergraduate program and medical school at the same time.
The program is open to the following majors on the four-year, one-co-op track:
- Biological Sciences
- Chemistry (BA)
- Biomedical Engineering
Students interested in the BA/BS+MD Early Assurance Program cannot apply to the Neuroscience or Health Sciences majors or the Nursing BSN Co-op program.
For consideration to the BA/BS+MD Early Assurance Program, applicants must:
- Submit the Common Application or the Coalition Application and all required documents prior to November 1 (students may not apply Early Decision).
- Submit the College of Medicine Supplemental Application though the Discover Drexel portal by November 1. Please note that students will not have access to the Discover Drexel portal until approximately two days after submitting the Common or Coalition Application. Access to the portal will be emailed to you at that time. Students are encouraged to NOT use a school email during the application process. This can cause issues receiving emails related to your application and portal.
- Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident applying for first-year admission.
- Be on track to graduate from an American High School Accredited by a United States Agency.
- Have a minimum 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 weighted scale (subject to change).
- Have a combined SAT score of at least 1420 on the SAT (for Evidence-based Reading and Writing and Math sections) or a minimum ACT composite score of 32. Please note that official SAT or ACT scores are required to be reviewed for this combined program. Students who select to apply to the undergraduate program through the Test-Optional policy will not be eligible for consideration by Drexel's College of Medicine and will not have access to the College of Medicine Supplemental Application.
- The Admissions Committee is aware that the SAT II Subject Tests are no longer being offered by College Board; however, if you did take them, please request that they be submitted electronically by College Board.
- Be on track to graduate, having satisfactorily completed four years of laboratory science with one year each of biology, chemistry, and physics.
- Transfer students are not eligible.
A select number of students will be invited to attend an interview with the Medical School Admission Committee.
The following timeline refers to the BA/BS+MD Early Assurance Program application.
Please note that applicants will not have access to the Discover Drexel portal and the College of Medicine supplemental application until approximately two days after the Common Application or Coalition Application is submitted.
- November 1 – All application materials and College of Medicine Supplemental Application must be received. Refer to the Required Materials for the BA/BS+MD Early Assurance Program section below. Students will not have access to the Discover Drexel portal until approximately two days after submitting the Common or Coalition Application. Access to the portal will be e-mailed to the student at that time. Students who do not receive access to the portal after that time should contact the Office of Admissions at 215.895.2400 or enroll@drexel.edu.
- December – The Drexel University College of Medicine will review qualified applications.
- Late December – All qualified applicants will be emailed with details for paying the $115 medical school processing fee. This fee will be waived for students who have an undergraduate application fee waiver.
- January 15 – Deadline to pay the processing fee. Students who are asked to pay the fee but fail to do so by the deadline will be withdrawn from consideration for the BS/MD program.
- January 31 – Applicants will be notified by email regarding whether or not they will be invited for an interview. All interviews will be virtual.
- February 1 – Deadline to apply to the Pennoni Honors College via Discover Drexel (strongly encouraged).
- February 12 – Deadline for students who are invited for interviews to confirm their BA/BS+MD interview. Students who have conflicts with their interview date or time or are no longer interested in the BS/MD program should follow the instructions on the portal to contact the Drexel College of Medicine as soon as possible.
- February–March – Invitation-only interviews with Drexel University College of Medicine will be held. The virtual format of the interviews is not known at this time; however, dates and format will be communicated as soon as possible.
- March 1 – Only BA/BS+MD Early Assurance applicants who are invited for an interview should provide the Drexel College of Medicine with a CASPer test score. Applicants who have previously taken the test during this application cycle may have their scores sent to the College of Medicine by CASPer. Please contact CASPer directly to have the scores sent. Applicants who need to take a CASPer exam should visit the College of Medicine website for more information. The CASPer Snapshot scores are not used for review.
- April 1 – The College of Medicine will notify applicants of their BA/BS+MD Early Assurance Program decision via Discover Drexel.
- May 1 – Enrollment Form and tuition deposits due. The BA/BS+ MD Early Assurance Program Terms and Conditions form should be submitted electronically through your Discover Drexel portal under the "View Decision Letter" section.
Applicants to an undergraduate program at Drexel University and the BA/BS+MD Early Assurance Program at the Drexel University College of Medicine must submit the following materials. All application materials and College of Medicine Supplemental Application must be received by November 1.
All application materials should be sent to Drexel's Office of Undergraduate Admissions unless otherwise noted. We will only accept the following items:
- Drexel's Undergraduate Full-Time Admission Application
You must submit the Common Application or the Coalition Application and indicate that you are applying to the BA/BS+MD program. Apply via the Common Application or the Coalition Application, powered by Scoir. - The College of Medicine Supplemental Application
The College of Medicine Supplemental Application is available in the Discover Drexel portal. Discover Drexel is the University's portal for prospective students who have applied to Drexel. Applicants can access the portal and supplemental application approximately two days after the Common Application or Coalition Application is submitted. Access to the portal will be e-mailed to the student at that time. Students who do not receive access to the portal after that time should contact the Office of Admissions at 215.895.2400 or enroll@drexel.edu.
To provide you with the best possible application experience, we ask that you gather all of the following information before beginning the supplemental application:- High School Information:
- Cumulative GPA (Note: If you need assistance calculating your GPA, please refer to the Provost Office's Grades page or the CollegeBoard's How to Convert Your GPA to a 4.0 page)
- AP or IB Coursework (please include AP or IB coursework that you are currently enrolled in, as well as coursework that does not have an exam score; you may list a subject that you are currently enrolled in without a score for a future test date):
- Test Date
- Subject
- Score
- Honors Coursework (please include honors coursework that you are currently enrolled in):
- Years completed or in progress
- Subject
- Grade received
- Coursework taken for credit through a college or university (please include the name of the college or university, month and year completed or in progress, subject, and grade received)
- Extracurricular and Employment Information (provide the organization name, your position/title, approximate hours per week, dates of involvement, and whether you held this position only during school breaks):
- Medically related volunteer activities
- Extracurricular, research, other volunteer or community service activities
- Employment experience
- If your education has not been continuous (other than vacations), describe what you have done while out of school.
- Essay: Tell the Admission Committee why you are applying to the joint program with the Drexel University College of Medicine. Be sure to explain why you want to be a physician and, more specifically, why you want to obtain your medical education at the Drexel University College of Medicine. The essay should be approximately 500 words long.
- High School Information:
- Undergraduate Admission Application Fee, $65
Drexel applicants pay a nonrefundable application fee of $65.00 U.S., which should be paid online when you submit the Common Application or Coalition Application. Students who feel the application fee would be a financial hardship can request a fee waiver on the Common Application or Coalition Application. - College of Medicine Supplemental Application Fee, $115
If your application is forwarded to the College of Medicine Admissions Office, you may be required to submit an additional processing and activation fee of $115 by January 15. This fee will be waived for students who have an undergraduate application fee waiver. If your completed application is forwarded to the College of Medicine, you will be notified via email — notifications are usually sent in late December. Please do not send the processing fee with application materials to Undergraduate Admissions. - Transcripts
Official transcripts must be sent directly from your high school to Undergraduate Admissions. You are required to submit transcripts from each high school attended. Please include a list of your senior year coursework. - Letters of Recommendation
Two letters of recommendation are required. Recommendation letters must be from a high school counselor and a science teacher. You should request recommendations through the Common Application or the Coalition Application, powered by Scoir. - Standardized Test Scores
You must take either the SAT or ACT and request that the official results be forwarded to Undergraduate Admissions. All students should use the following codes to send score reports to Drexel: SAT 2194 or ACT 3556. Drexel does not accept self-reported scores from the Common Application or Coalition Application.
You can monitor the progress of your application using Discover Drexel. By logging in to Discover Drexel, you can receive important status updates about your admission application.
While in the undergraduate portion of the program, students must:
- Maintain at least a 3.6 GPA in all coursework, including all BCPM classes (all biological sciences, chemistry, physics, and math), without repeating a course and with no grade less than a C.
- Complete at least 100 hours of service that is documented and approved by the advisor.
- Complete one six-month co-op in research, clinical, or health informatics; health law; or bioengineering. A co-op of 20 or 40 hours a week is possible.
- Complete 12 quarters of study, including no classes during the summer between their first and second years and a full course load in the fall, winter, and spring of their fourth year. One quarter of a Drexel-approved study abroad program may be considered on a case-by-case basis. Based on AP and/or transfer credit and completion of all degree requirements, graduation can occur after the winter quarter of the fourth year, but not sooner.
- Complete a rigorous plan of study which includes at least 14 credits and two STEM courses each quarter.
- BS/BA+MD Early Assurance Program follows a full four-year with one six-month co-op plan with the following schedule of classes and co-op terms. Students must follow this layout of full-time terms in class and co-op (see below).
Fall | Winter | Spring | Summer | |
---|---|---|---|---|
First Year | Class | Class | Class | Vacation |
Second Year | Class | Class | Class | Class |
Third Year | Class | Class | Co-op | Co-op |
Fourth (Senior) Year | Class | Class | Class | Graduation |
- The MCAT is required prior to matriculation into the College of Medicine. Students must receive minimum MCAT scores of 127 in three sections: Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems; Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems; and Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations of Behavior; and a score of 126 in Critical Analysis and Reasoning for a total score of 511 or a total of 513 with no section score less than 126. MCAT scores are determined by the College of Medicine for each entering cohort.
Please note that acceptance into the College of Medicine is not guaranteed.
For fall 2024, the applicant pool for the BS/BA+MD Early Assurance Program comprised the following:
- 2,257 total applicants.
- 821 applicants met the minimum GPA, SAT/ACT and deadline requirements to be reviewed by the Drexel University College of Medicine.
- 120 applicants were selected for an interview.
- 60 students were admitted to the program and 33 enrolled.
First-year students admitted to the BA/BS+MD Early Assurance Program for fall 2024 had an average GPA of 4.23 and an average combined SAT (Evidence-based Reading and Writing and Math) of 1516 or ACT 34 composite.