CSU announces new competitive premedical studies program | News

COLUMBUS, GA (WTVM)- Columbus
State University will launch in fall 2013 a new Competitive Premedical Studies
program designed to make the process of preparing for and getting into medical
school much less daunting for students.

"From
the moment they step on campus, we're going to start providing them with tools
that will help them become successful medical school applicants," said program
director Katey Hughes, an associate professor of biology.

That
includes free participation in a course that prepares students for the
standardized Medical College Admission Test, better known as the MCAT.

The
program will initially accept up to 15 freshmen for the fall 2013 launch, but
Hughes anticipates more CSU freshmen will be allowed to join by spring 2014.
Jan. 15, 2013 is the deadline to apply for entry to the program's inaugural
semester next fall. Application details and more are available at http://ColumbusState.edu/premed.

Other
resources that Columbus State will offer academically talented selected for the
program include:

·      Shadowing opportunities through physician mentors.

·      Medical school visitation experiences.

·      Peer mentors.

·      Contact with CSU graduates currently in medical school.

·      Medical school application preparation, including the MCAT
prep course normally costing $1,800.

·      Medical school interview strategies.

Columbus State has, for
decades, offered a premedical track for students interested in attending
medical school, but Hughes said the new program will go far beyond a lineup of
recommended coursework.

"We have students who go to medical students, and they're definitely
prepared," she said. "But here's what I see: The process of getting to medical
school can be overwhelming and, too often what I see is students who start out,
definitely capable of going academically, but because of their course rigor,
because of MCAT prep, because of all these external factors, they become
overwhelmed and end up not submitting applications to medical school. This will
hopefully provide resources from the time they come to help gear them up in
that process."

Hughes expects Columbus
State's Competitive Premedical Studies program
to stand out in comparison to similar programs elsewhere in Georgia.

"Most
of them offer what we currently do — we have pre-med advisors, we have a
pre-professional committee, we have AMSA (American Medical Student Association
chapter) — which are all very good resources," Hughes said. "But what this will
do is foster a small group community. So from the time they get here, we are
giving them resources they wouldn't have gotten otherwise." 

As
students in CSU's new program progress, they will get increasingly more help
with their medical school application preparation.

"Along
the way, we're going to have regular discussions and meetings about relevant
medical issues, so that about the time they leave here, they are current and
they're prepared to go to medical school," she said.

Georgia
ranks 41st in physicians per capita — a shortage that's expected to worsen in
the next two decades. In response, Georgia's medical schools are increasing
enrollment capacity, setting the stage for new opportunities at the
undergraduate level.

"CSU's
aim is to be the preferred premedical studies university in Georgia," Hughes
said.

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