Admission requirements

1. To better align with the School of Medicine’s holistic review process, the Admissions Committee does not require specific coursework. Instead, the committee recommends that students complete this coursework:
   • Biochemistry with laboratory
   • Biology with laboratory (2 courses)
   • Chemistry with laboratory (2 courses)
   • Organic chemistry with laboratory (2 courses)
   • Physics with laboratory (2 courses)
   • Statistics

   Online coursework will not be accepted. (Courses taken online due to COVID-19 may be considered.)

2. The student must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the United States at time of application.


3. The student must have received their bachelor’s degree from an accredited U.S. or Canadian institution prior to matriculation.
   
   
4. Students must submit an MCAT score. For the 2025-2026 application cycle, the Committee will accept MCAT tests taken between June 2022 and September 2025.
   
   
5. The student must complete all required criminal background checks and drug screens. Once a student is accepted to Geisinger Commonwealth, Certiphi Screening Inc. will contact the student via email about the criminal background check process. The following checks are required by July 1 of the matriculating year: Criminal Background Check, Child Abuse History, Pennsylvania Access to Criminal History and FBI fingerprinting. Furthermore, applicants accepted to Geisinger Commonwealth must submit and satisfactorily complete a drug screening prior to matriculation and within the timeframe designated by the Office of Admissions. View Geisinger Commonwealth’s Policy on Criminal Background Check and Drug Screening.
   
   
6. Any legal or academic actions taken against the student from the time of application submission to AMCAS and matriculation at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine must be reported to the Admissions Office by the student.
   
   
7. Attendance at orientation is mandatory.
   
   
8. The student must meet Geisinger Commonwealth’s Technical Standards with or without a reasonable accommodation. Any student with a disability must provide medical documentation detailing the disability and the type of accommodation needed to meet Geisinger Commonwealth’s Technical Standards. Depending on the need for the accommodation, the Accessibilities Committee will review the information supplied by the student to determine their ability to meet Geisinger Commonwealth’s Technical Standards with reasonable accommodations.

It is the student’s responsibility to ensure they have met all the above requirements. Failure to do so may result in the rescinding of the admission offer.

COVID-19

We understand that many institutions moved courses online during the pandemic. Though we typically don’t accept courses taken remotely, the Admissions Committee has made an exception for COVID-19. We also accept pass/fail grades for semesters impacted by the pandemic.

Student travel statement