College of Medicine

The MSPE is a summary of your performance across the first, second, and third years of medical school.  Essentially, you are writing your MSPE as you complete each section of the curriculum.  There are six components to the MSPE –

1. Identifying Information section (student's legal name and name and location of the medical school)
2. Unique Characteristics section, for which students may submit an initial draft, highlights your background, experiences, strengths, and accomplishments prior to and during medical school.
3. Academic History section includes month and year when you matriculated into medical school and your expected graduation from medical school.
4. Academic Progress section includes information about your academic performance and professional attributes in preclinical/basic science coursework and core clinical and elective rotations.
5. The Summary section includes a summative assessment of your comparative performance in medical school, relative to your peers.
6.  The Appendices section includes graphic representations (histograms) of your performance relative to your peers in different areas, as well as information about UCF COM.

The MSPE is written by the Associate and/or Assistant Deans for Students.  Though the MSPE is a summary document rather than a letter of recommendation, we recognize that, on occasion, students may feel that the Associate and/or Assistant Deans for Students may have a conflict of interest in writing the MSPE (e.g., a student may feel that he/she has revealed extremely sensitive and personal information to the Associate/Assistant Dean for Students, and that this information may bias the MSPE).  If this is the case, then the student may submit a request in writing to the Associate Dean for Students to have an alternate letter writer (who will be the Associate Dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs).  There must be ample evidence to support the potential conflict of interest, and the Associate Dean for Students must approve the request.

When requesting a letter of recommendation, you will want to give your letter writer ample time to prepare your letter.  You should schedule a time to meet with the letter writer in person, and during the meeting, you should ask if the individual is able to write a strong letter of recommendation for you.  You should also have a copy of your CV and a draft of your personal statement available for the letter writer.  You will need to create a slot for each letter writer using ERAS.  Once you have created a slot, you will be able to print out the Letter of Recommendation form with instructions for your letter writers.  Please note that we strongly recommend that you waive your right to review the letter, as this is an important consideration for residency programs.  If you have any questions about the process, please contact Soraya Smith.

When requesting a letter of recommendation, you will want to give your letter writer ample time to prepare your letter.  You should schedule a time to meet with the letter writer in person, and during the meeting, you should ask if the individual is able to write a strong letter of recommendation for you.  You should have all of the information about the scholarship and/or summer program available for the letter writer – name of the program, eligibility requirements, deadline, who to address the letter to, etc.  Be clear about whether the letter is to be sent directly to the program by the faculty member or if it will be included with your application.  You should also provide a copy of your CV and any essays that you are required to submit (even if in draft form).  In all cases, you should make the request at least 2 weeks in advance, and preferably 4 weeks in advance.  When requesting a letter from the Office of Student Affairs, you must submit the Letter of Recommendation Request Form at the time of the request.

Your relationship with your advisor or mentor has the potential to be one of the most important relationships of your medical education or career.  So, what can you do to make effective use of your mentor’s time?

1. Schedule regular meetings.  You cannot receive effective mentoring by email.  This relationship is important enough for in-person, scheduled meetings.  By requesting meetings in advance, you are also letting your mentor know that you value their time, that the relationship is important to you, and that you are organized and thinking ahead.
2. Come to the meeting with an agenda (or at least a list of questions/topics to discuss).  Think ahead of time about what you would like to discuss.  Don’t expect your mentor to lead the entire meeting.  What would like to know?  In what areas do you need guidance?  For most people, these questions come up when you don’t have access to your mentor.  It is a good idea to keep a running list as you think of a question or topic so that the next time you have a meeting scheduled, you already have an agenda that is relevant and important to you.
3. Ask your mentor to tell you his/her story.  How did they choose their specialty?  How did they get into residency?  How did they get their first paper published?  You will not believe how much you can learn from someone by hearing about their career path and decisions. 
4. Most importantly, ask why.  When your mentor gives you advice or a recommendation, ask how they reached that decision or why they made that recommendation.  The why tells you more than the actual advice – it helps you to begin to think like your mentor and to mature in your professional development.

Students may change their core specialty advisor at any time.  In fact, it is common to change specialty advisors as you progress through your M3 year and choose your desired specialty.  To change your core specialty advisor, you should first contact the preferred faculty member to schedule a meeting.  During the meeting, you will want to discuss your specialty choice and career plans to make certain that the advisor-advisee match is a good one.  Then, submit a new Core Specialty Advisor Approval Form, with the faculty member’s signature, to Soraya Smith, who will record your new core specialty advisor.  For a list of core specialty advisors, please log on to MEDS.

All M3 students are required to choose a core specialty advisor (or core advisor) by the end of their __ rotation.  The core advisor is one of our core clinical faculty members whose primary responsibility is to review and approve your 4^th year schedule, discuss your competitiveness for your desired specialty, and discuss your plans for applying to residency programs.  Your core advisor may or may not be in your desired specialty.  In addition, you may opt to select another specialty advisor from among our volunteer and affiliated faculty.  Typically, this individual (or individuals) would be in your desired specialty and can provide specialty-specific guidance on applying to residency – including suggesting programs to which you should apply, writing letters of recommendation, and discussing your competitiveness for the specialty and/or programs.  For example, if you are planning to apply to dermatology, you might choose a core advisor in internal medicine (since dermatology programs typically require a preliminary year of internal medicine) and a specialty advisor in dermatology.  A list of our core advisors can be found here.  For a list of specialty advisors, please see MEDS.

UCF COM has a comprehensive career counseling program.  Beginning in the M1 year, all students receive access to the AAMC’s Careers in Medicine (CiM) program.  This is a four-year, four phase program that guides students through the process of choosing a specialty and ultimately applying to residency.  In addition, we offer additional career counseling throughout all four years.  In the M1 and M2 years, the focus of the career counseling program is on identifying your interests, exploring options, succeeding in your academic program, and preparing for the USMLE Step 1 examination.  In the M3 year, the focus is on choosing a specialty and developing your M4 schedule.  In the M4 year, the focus is on applying to residency, preparing for the USMLE Step 2 CK and CS examinations, and succeeding in the match.  A timeline of career counseling sessions is listed below.  In addition to these resources, all students have a faculty advisor in the M1 and M2 year and a core specialty advisor in the M3 and M4 year.  The Associate and/or Assistant Deans for Students are also available to meet with students at any time throughout the 4 year program to discuss issues related to career choice and career planning.  All students have an individual meeting prior to the M4 year with the Associate or Assistant Dean for Students to discuss specialty choice, plans for residency applications, letters of recommendation, competitiveness, and the Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE, formerly known as the “Dean’s Letter”).

There are many resources available to you.  First, check out our list of specialty interest groups (here) – these groups are excellent resources for students interested in a particular specialty.  Second, look at our list of specialty advisors (which can be found on MEDS).  You may want to contact one of these individuals to schedule a meeting to talk about the specialty more.  Third, consider joining one of the specialty societies as a medical student member (lists of these organizations are available on the Careers in Medicine website in the Specialty Pages).  Dues are usually very affordable for students, and you will gain access to incredible resources for that particular specialty.  Finally, sign up for a Specialty Speed-Dating Session to get exposure to a variety of specialties and specialty advisors.

Most students change their minds about their specialty many times throughout medical school.  Typically, students come to a decision about their preferred specialty near the end of their M3 year.  Other students use the early part of their M4 year to explore specialties that they have not yet been exposed to or to confirm their specialty choice.  There is not an official “deadline” for choosing your specialty, though most students will need to have made some sort of decision by the time that residency applications are submitted on September 15.  For students who remain undecided, options include doing a transitional year after graduation (which gives you exposure to many specialties again, this time as an intern) or a preliminary year in internal medicine or general surgery.

Students may request a change in their faculty advisor at any time and for any reason.  Contact Soraya Smith to indicate that you would like to change your faculty advisor.  Soraya will identify an alternate faculty advisor that will hopefully be a better fit for your advising needs.   

Applicants who are currently accepted to a Ph.D. or other professional-level degrees are required to complete all degree requirements prior to matriculation to the M.D. Program. We highly encourage those accepted to a Master's degree program to complete that program prior to matriculation into the M.D. Program.

Neither UCF nor the College of Medicine plan to provide on-campus housing to M.D. Program students at the Health Sciences campus at Lake Nona. Dean German is working with community leadership to ensure that adequate housing at a fair price is available to the medical students in the Lake Nona vicinity. There are several new apartment buildings that currently exist within a very easy drive from Lake Nona. We are also excited to see that houses are now being built within the confines of the Lake Nona Medical City. Information about housing options will be provided to students at the time of their admission.

This program will not accept transfer applicants for the initial few years as we gradually increase our entering class to a maximum of 120 students. Once a transfer student policy is implemented, it would probably mirror typical programs in that transfer students would only be accepted into the 3rd year of the medical curriculum.

We prefer course work based on in-residence classroom participation. In certain circumstances we may honor a limited amount of online course work usually not major related and not M.D. Program required.

We highly value classroom interaction and therefore will not honor fully online degree programs for admission into the M.D. Program.

While CLEP may help you to receive your bachelor's degree, we will not substitute CLEP for required course work when considering an application for an interview. We may substitute AP course work for required course work, but we will expect to see additional in-residence course work in college in that discipline to indicate that you have, in fact, mastered that subject. For example if you had AP credit for Chem I, we would expect to see a solid grade in Chem II while in college; or, if you had AP credit for both Chem I and Chem II, we would expect to see you take an upper-level chemistry course in college and do well in that subject.

The UCF M.D. Program will not require any specific bachelor's degree major. We suggest that you major in an area that is of interest to you. If it is not a science related major, we strongly suggest that you use your non-major electives to take as many science-related courses as possible. This will help to show an admissions committee that you do have an aptitude for the sciences, and may help to prepare you for academic success in the M.D. Program.

Yes, the UCF M.D. Program will require specific course work as requirements to enter the program. While not yet finalized, we anticipate that we will be consistent with course work required by other M.D. Programs which are normally:

• Biology with lab - 2 semesters/3 quarters
• Chemistry with lab - 2 semesters/3 quarters
• Physics with lab- 2 semesters/3 quarters
• Organic Chemistry with lab - 2 semesters/3 quarters
• College English - 2 semesters/3 quarters
• College Math - 2 semesters/3 quarters

Unfortunately, no. All applicants for this program are required to take the MCAT exam within 3 years prior to acceptance into the program. For example, an applicant would have to take the MCAT in 2010, 2011, or 2012, to be eligible for consideration for the class beginning in August 2013.

No. However, in rare situations where an applicant has completed a very high-level degree at a foreign institution, and shows extraordinary proficiency in the sciences, we may design a special academic program for that applicant to demonstrate appropriate levels of knowledge for success in the M.D. Program.

To begin the UCF M.D. Program, all applicants will have completed at least a bachelor's-level degree from an accredited U.S. institution.

The UCF M.D. Program is a state of Florida program and will not give preference to applicants from UCF or any other academic institution.

Before its doors opened for the Charter Class, the University of Central Florida College of Medicine is already among the most sought-after and selective medical schools in the country. Nearly 11 percent of those applying to medical schools nationwide have applied to UCF, based on data reported through the Association of American Medical Colleges.

No. Because this is a state-supported program, we will accept only U.S. Citizens, Permanent Resident Aliens with a "green card" in their possession, or Asylees as designated by the INS. We will not be allowed to process any application that does not meet these requirements.

This really begins during your freshman year of college, and sometimes earlier. It is important to work closely with your undergraduate advisors and Premed Advising Office. These resources will help you to understand academic requirements and also provide suggestions for constructing your academic program. Taking the proper courses in the proper sequence should allow you to be prepared to take the MCAT at the earliest possible time. Optimally, students will prepare to take the MCAT during the spring of their junior year in college.

Most M.D. Programs which are accredited by the LCME use AMCAS as the initial application to the M.D. Program. AMCAS provides applicants with a single-source application for all participating M.D. Programs. The AMCAS application is usually available in May each year for completion and submission by the end of that calendar year. The AMCAS application must be submitted in the calendar year prior to the year that an applicant desires to attend an M.D. Program. For example, an applicant that desires to begin medical school in August 2013 may begin their AMCAS application as early as May 2012. Applications must be submitted by December 1, 2012, at the very latest for a Fall 2013 enrollment.

The primary application is via the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) at www.aamc.org. Completing the AMCAS application will be the first step toward being considered as an applicant to the UCF M.D. Program.

By the time of enrollment all applicants must have a bachelor's degree. To be competitive for an interview applicants should have an MCAT of at least 24 and both overall and science (BPCM) GPA's of 3.00 or higher.