Admissions Requirements and Selection

Admissions Committee

Responsibility for selection of entering students is delegated by the faculty to the Committee on Admissions. The Committee will select from among the applicants those considered to possess in highest degree those intellectual and personal attributes necessary for success in the study and practice of medicine.

The School of Medicine participates in the program designated as the American Medical College Application Service, referred to as AMCAS. All applications for admission to the first-year class must be submitted through this service.

Factors Weighed in Evaluation of Applicants

High grades and/or MCAT scores are not the only elements taken into consideration for admission. Other factors weighed in the selection process include letters of reference, the personal statement, difficulty of academic courses and course loads taken, trends in grades, extracurricular activities, evidence of leadership and the ability to work in a team, volunteer work, care-giving and healthcare-related experience, research, hardship, evidence of dedication to a career in medicine, life experiences, and other non-cognitive attributes. Impressions from the personal interview are especially important.

Early Decision Program (EDP)

Applicants for Early Decision are bound by rules established by AAMC.

Applicants can submit applications as early as June 1. Applicants will be considered for an interview only when all required information has been received and their file is complete.

Components of a completed file are:

• Verified AMCAS application
• Letters of Recommendation - uploaded via AMCAS Letters
• Submitted Secondary Application, including a non-refundable application fee of $50 or a fee waiver from AMCAS
• Uploaded photo (requested, but not required)

Files for Early Decision Program (EDP) must be complete no later than August 1. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that all requirements are met in the allotted timeframe. Selected applicants will be interviewed, and all applicants will be notified by October 1. Successful EDP applicants must accept the school’s offer and cannot apply to any other schools. Non-admission through EDP does not prejudice applicants’ outcome in the regular process.

Transfer Students

The Admissions Committee will consider transfers on a case-by-case basis.   

Provisions Governing Acceptance of Applicant

All offers of acceptance are provisional. Conditions of acceptance are described in the Letters of Acceptance.

Accepted applicants are required to fulfill all requests from the Office of the Registrar for additional information and documentation. Prior to registration, students must submit to the Office of the Registrar official transcripts from each college or university attended, regardless of whether credit was earned. Failure to submit transcripts in a timely manner will prevent registration and forfeit the student’s position in the entering class.

As part of the school’s commitment to providing a safe and healthy environment, along with all new faculty and employees, incoming students are required to pass a drug screen and criminal background check prior to matriculation. Offers of acceptance are contingent on passing both.

It is expected that an applicant who has accepted a place with LSU Health Sciences Center at Shreveport School of Medicine and subsequently decides to attend another school, notify the Office of Admissions. These and other rights and responsibilities are found on the AAMC website.

Criminal Background Check Policy

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) recommends that all U.S. medical schools procure a national background check on applicants upon their initial, conditional acceptance to medical school. The rationale for performing criminal background checks on accepted medical school applicants is based on the need to enhance the safety and well-being of patients and to ascertain the ability of accepted applicants to eventually become licensed physicians.

In support of this recommendation, the AAMC has initiated an AMCAS-facilitated national background check service, through which Certiphi Screening, Inc. (a Vertical Screen® Company) will procure a national background report on applicants at the point of acceptance. (There is no additional fee associated with a background check.)

The criminal background check will not encompass offenses committed as a juvenile, with the exception of those offenses for which the juvenile was deemed an adult.

All conditionally accepted applicants and alternate-listed applicants must consent to, submit to, and successfully complete a criminal background check. Failure to do so will constitute failure to meet the pre-matriculation requirements established by the School of Medicine and will result in the withdrawal of a conditionally accepted offer.

Enrollment at the LSU Health School of Medicine in Shreveport is conditional upon the results of the criminal background check. The School of Medicine reserves the right to revoke an offer of admission based upon information received through the criminal background check.

Initial admissions decisions are made prior to and without regard to the background check. However, students’ responses on the application for admission with respect to criminal misdemeanors and convictions will be compared to the criminal background check report, to ensure consistency and full disclosure on the part of the applicant.

An applicant with criminal convictions shall typically be barred from matriculating at the School of Medicine. However, for all criminal convictions, consideration will be given to the nature and seriousness of the offense; the age of the person when the offense was committed; whether the offense was an isolated incident or part of a habitual, repetitive pattern; and the length of time that has elapsed since the offense was committed. Serious deliberation will be conducted as to whether the offense(s) may indicate a future jeopardy to patient care and well-being.

All criminal background check information will be held confidential and will be viewed only by Admissions Committee members and by Legal Counsel. The criminal background check report and supporting documentation will be held separately and independently from the student’s academic file and will be under the care and custody of the Office of Admissions. Records will not be forwarded by the Office of Admissions to future employers or residency programs; students should retain their own copies of the report for these purposes.

Technical Standards