Feinberg Decision Process

31 Questions I Wish I Had Asked (American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) resource)  Applicants are advised to actively pursue answers to their questions about a medical school to facilitate their personal decision process. Use this Admissions Web site as well as the full resources of the Feinberg site to answer your questions about us.  

Getting into Medical School (American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) resource)

Feinberg Selection Factors

Receipt of AMCAS Applications

The Feinberg School receives weekly electronic transmissions of AMCAS applications from July through late November. As receipt of AMCAS applications begins in mid July, all applicants are invited to Feinberg's secure applicant web site to begin the process of submitting a supplemental application.

Submission of the Feinberg Supplemental Application

Applicants are encouraged to continue the application process with the Feinberg School by submitting an electronic supplemental application, the application fee, and 3 letters of recommendation. The process is described at: http://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/admissions/md/process/applying.html 

 A profile of Feinberg's most recently matriculated students is available to applicants at http://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/admissions/md/students/statistics.html   Applications from liberally educated men and women who have studied in some depth subjects beyond the conventional premedical sciences are encouraged.

Application File Review

The Committee on Admissions evaluates applicant files. The Committee reviews the academic record, test scores, essays, activities and achievements, and letters of recommendation of each applicant. The Committee looks for evidence of emotional maturity, well-roundedness, positive motivation toward medicine, intellectual curiosity, and proven leadership and team skills. To that end, a premium is placed upon the breadth and rigor of the academic program and the life experiences of the individual. The Admissions Committee appreciates candidates who major in such subjects as history, English, or sociology yet desire to be physicians.

Interview Decisions

As application file reviews are completed by the Committee on Admissions, interview decisions are made. Applicants whose file review results in serious consideration for admission are invited for an interview. Interviews are held from September through February, on selected Tuesdays and Fridays, at the Feinberg School of Medicine on the Chicago campus of Northwestern University. If an interview decision is not positive, the applicant is informed by email of the Committee’s decision.  Final decisions cannot be appealed.

The Admissions Review

For those invited for interview, participation in an individual and a panel interview is required for a final admissions decision to be reached. The candidate receives interview evaluations from 3–4 separate interviewers. Each evaluation form is added to the applicant’s admissions file.

Final Admissions Decisions

After an applicant has participated in an interview day at the Feinberg School, the application file is returned to the Committee on Admissions. At that time, each member of the Committee fully reviews the file, including the interview evaluations. Final admissions decisions are reached and released twice during the application year: in late November and late February. Interviewed applicants receive a final admissions decision no later than March 1 of each year.