updated 7 March 2008

NOTE: For 2008, May 10 is the last day to take the MCAT and be considered eligible for a linkage nomination!

In brief: If you are a postbacc’ student at Stony Brook who will take an early MCAT and apply to medical school, contact us about linkage. You have nothing to lose and might "save a year." Read on for more details.

LINKAGE: ADVICE FOR POSTBACCALAUREATE STUDENTS

What is the linkage program at Stony Brook? You could think of it as a fast track to entry at Stony Brook's School of Medicine. Normally, a student takes the MCAT in the year prior to their anticipated start of medical school. With linkage, a post-baccalaureate student taking an early MCAT could get into Stony Brook's School of Medicine in same year. That sounds good: saving a year. How does a student get into the linkage program?

It is very important to keep in mind that the linkage program is only for postbaccalaureate students. This is not an opportunity that is open to your "typical" undergraduate premedical student.

Postbaccalaureate students do not apply to Stony Brook's linkage program. To start the process, there is no formal application that you have to complete. Postbaccalaureate students must be nominated for the linkage program by the Faculty Committee on Health Professions (FCHP). The only way to get into Stony Brook's School of Medicine as a linkage applicant is to be nominated.

If you are a postbaccalaureate premedical student at Stony Brook, and you are going for a Committee Letter of Evaluation, your materials (autobiographical packet, letters of recommendation, transcripts, and personal statement) will be reviewed by the FCHP. This review by the FCHP could result in your being nominated for linkage. Postbaccalaureate students need to do several things to ensure that the Committee reviews their materials:
1) Register for and take the MCAT by the date specified for your application year . Stony Brook's School of Medicine requires the MCAT from all applicants.
2) Fill out an Intent to Apply Form, and start work on your Autobiographical Packet as soon as you can. Turn in the completed Autobiographical Packet and your personal statement when you have finished them.
3) Get your (minimum) three letters of recommendation in as soon as you can.
4) Turn in copies of your transcripts from all other colleges and universities that you have attended as soon as possible.
5) Once 2), 3), and 4) have been completed, contact us to schedule yourself for an interview in April or early May.

It is a very good idea to stop by the Prehealth Advising Office to talk to James Montren or Joanie Maniaci about the linkage program in more detail.

In general, the post-baccalaureate students who tend to be good contenders for a linkage nomination tend to have the following characteristics:
a) They are taking postbaccalaureate premedical courses the first time around. They are not students who are retaking premedical courses or taking additional science courses to build up an academic record that is less than strong.
b) Often, students who are nominated for linkage will have taken science courses above and beyond the minimum coursework required by medical schools.
c) Students who are nominated for linkage, overwhelmingly, have excellent health-related experience, and work experience in line with their first degree. (For example, a student who has an undergraduate degree in accounting would have work experience in that field).
d) Without exception, students who are strong candidates for a linkage nomination will have EXCELLENT grades in their premedical courses and in any additional science courses that they take.

Could a student be nominated for linkage by Stony Brook's Faculty Committee on Health Professions and be rejected for the entering class by Stony Brook's medical school?  YES!  Keep in mind that once a post-baccalaureate student is nominated for linkage, the nominee will have to fill out an AMCAS application and apply to Stony Brook's School of Medicine for that entering class.  A linkage acceptance to medical school is a two stage process: first, nomination; second, a successful application to Stony Brook's School of Medicine.

Does the opportunity of linkage hold any hidden dangers for the post-baccalaureate premedical student? Yes, one problem lurks beneath the promise, stemming from the early MCAT. Sometimes, the preparation and work required to take an early MCAT places an additional burden on students that might weaken their grades to the point that they are weaker applicants to medical school--both as linkage nominees and as regular applicants.

A linkage nomination is the outgrowth of strength. Trying to rush things along and overloading yourself in the hopes of getting a linkage nomination is counterproductive and harmful.