Welcome, Second M.D. Class
The UCF College of Medicine welcomes its second stellar class of medical students at 10 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 2.
The 60 students will join the college’s historic charter class and the medical profession when they receive their white lab coats in the college’s new education building. Dean Deborah German will present students with their coats during the “White Coat Ceremony,” a meaningful tradition in which a medical school welcomes first-year students as colleagues dedicated to patient care.
For a second consecutive year, UCF drew more applications to its medical school than any other public university in Florida. The admitted students were selected from a pool of 3,764 applicants based on their academic excellence and passion for medicine. They are among the best, scoring an average MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) score of 31 – three points above the national average and earning an average grade point average of 3.7 out of 4.0.
“I am proud that this second class is comprised of bright, community-minded young people who are eager to make a positive impact in the lives of their patients and become leaders in health care,” Dr. German said.
The students include 35 women and 25 men and include graduates from a variety of prestigious institutions including Vanderbilt, Yale, Cornell and UCLA. Twelve of the incoming students have Masters degrees; one has a Ph.D. and two have previous military service.
The college was able to provide some scholarship funds to each of the new students. During the White Coat Ceremony, donors will join Dean German in placing white coats on the students as symbol of the community’s commitment to their success as well as the students’ commitment to medicine. Last year, UCF became the first medical school in U.S. history to provide full scholarships to its entire charter class of 41.
With the new class, the College of Medicine’s enrollment is now at 101. The medical school will enroll 80 new medical students in 2011, 100 new students in 2012, and 120 new students in 2013 and each year after that.