Health Professions Advising Office
University of Missouri | Honors College | School of Medicine | Contact Us

Pre-admission Programs

Bryant Scholars Program

The Bryant Scholars Pre-admission Program is designed to encourage talented, highachieving premed students from rural areas to obtain their medical education at the University of Missouri School of Medicine. Students accepted into the program will not be required to take the MCAT or participate in the regular admissions process at the MU School of Medicine.

With a limited number of scholars chosen each year, selection to the Bryant Scholars Program is competitive. Students applying for the program must:

  • Be a Missouri resident committed to returning to practice medicine in rural Missouri,
  • Be from a rural community of 18,000 or less,
  • Have a composite score of 30 on the ACT (or 1300 on the SAT) prior to entering college
  • Have a 3.3 cumulative GPA and science GPA (to include math and science)
  • Have no less than a straight B grade in all pre-med requisite science courses

Selection is based upon evaluation of full academic credentials and personal qualities as determined through personal interviews and letters of recommendation. Successful applicants will also provide evidence of leadership and involvement in extracurricular and community service activities as well as in the healthcare field.

To apply, you will need:

Application Form. Available from the Honors College in April. Applications will be due in July.

Evaluation Form. One of the two required evaluations must come from a high school science teacher, counselor, or administrator. The second evaluation must come from a professor from whom you have taken a class and received a grade. You may submit a third optional evaluation. Ideas for 3rd evaluation include: a physician you have shadowed, employer, volunteer coordinator.

College Transcript. Ask the Transcript Office to forward a Dean's copy of your transcript to the Honors College, with the current fall semester grades included. When winter grades are posted, please forward a copy to the Honors College.

High School Transcript. Ask the high school from which you graduated to forward an official copy of your final transcript to the Honors College.

ACT/SAT Scores. If your ACT/SAT scores are NOT on your high school transcript, please provide the Honors College a photocopy of the official score report you received from ACT/SAT.

In late August, once your file is complete, the Honors College will interview you and forward your file to the MU School of Medicine, Office of Medical Education. A screening committee will review completed files. Members of the Pre-professional Scholars Programs Committee of the MU School of Medicine will conduct interviews in early September and select the Bryant Scholars. The number of Bryant Scholar positions available varies from year to year.

What the committee is looking for

  • Involvement and leadership in extracurricular activities
  • Healthcare experience – (duration and variety and are important)
  • Volunteer experiences
  • Rigor of high school and college schedule
  • Knowledge of contemporary healthcare policy issues/concerns:
    • Issues confronting rural health care
    • Healthcare delivery (access, cost, insurance)
    • Medical ethics

For more information on the Bryant Scholar Program, see http://som.missouri.edu/bryantscholars.shtml.

 

Honors College Discovery Fellowship Program

First-semester freshmen with an ACT composite score of 33 or better are eligible for the Honors College Discovery Fellows Program.

The Discovery Fellows Program gives students the opportunity to work with a faculty member on a research project or other scholarly activity appropriate to their major. Students are identified from application data and selected by the dean of their respective college or school. Students work eight hours per week during the academic year. They are paid a stipend of $1,700 for the year. (This stipend should not affect a student’s financial aid package.) Students submit monthly progress reports to the Discovery Fellows Coordinator, and participate in a year-end seminar at which they re-cap their experiences.

In the past, participating students have been selected from the following schools and colleges: Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources; Arts and Science; Business; Engineering; and Journalism.

Contacts: Kristina Wright (214 Lowry Hall; 573-882-4112; WrightKr@missouri.edu) or Dr. Stuart Palonsky (211 Lowry Hall; 573-882-3893; palonskys@missouri.edu).