Students at Missouri Western State University with an interest in pursuing a career in rural medicine are now eligible for a pre-admissions program at the University of Missouri School of Medicine. The Lester R. Bryant Scholars Pre-Admissions Program is Missouri Western’s fourth medical school priority application partnership. Under the program, eligible undergraduates are pre-admitted to medical school at MU.

“We’re excited that students interested in a medical career have another avenue to get a head start on the application process for medical school,” said Dr. Jason Baker, professor of biology, who said it will help Missouri Western continue to recruit quality students in the sciences. “I get calls every year about our early admission programs. As high school students learn more about these agreements, they make a choice to come to Missouri Western.”

The Bryant Scholars Program began in 1995 as part of the Rural Track Pipeline Program at the MU School of Medicine to address the declining level of health care in Missouri’s small towns and rural areas. The program aims to attract students who have both a rural background and an interest in practicing rural medicine for pre-admission to the MU School of Medicine.

“Students with rural backgrounds are more likely to practice in these underserved areas when compared to their classmates from urban areas,” said Dr. Kathleen Quinn, acting associate dean for rural health and director of the MU Area Health Education Center. “Our Rural Track Program is uniquely positioned to support MU’s rural mission and benefit interested students by helping train and prepare them for practice in rural communities.”

To be eligible for the Bryant Scholars Program, Missouri Western students must:

  • Be in the process of completing their sophomore year
  • Have a composite score on the ACT of 28 or 1260 (CR=M) on the SAT prior to entering college
  • Show evidence of high academic achievement in high school
  • Show high academic achievement during the first two years of college. Applicants must have a minimum 3.3 cumulative GPA and minimum 3.3 math/science GPA.
  • Have A or B grades in required lecture/lab courses already taken at time of application
  • Show evidence of leadership and interest in a variety of extracurricular activities
  • Be a Missouri resident
  • Have graduated from a rural Missouri high school as defined by the National Center for Education Statistics
  • Be enrolled full time

Students accepted into the program are offered acceptance into a particular matriculating class of the MU School of Medicine, conditional upon them achieving certain academic standards, demonstrating ongoing professional conduct and participating in required activities.

Representatives from the MU School of Medicine will be at Missouri Western Thursday, April 3 to talk with interested students about the program. For more information, contact Dr. Baker at jcbaker@missouriwestern.edu.

The program is named after Dr. Lester Bryant, who created it to address the shortage of physicians in Missouri and served as dean of the MU School of Medicine from 1989 to 1998. For more information about the Bryant Scholars Program, please visit www.muahec.missouri.edu.

In addition to the new partnership with the MU School of Medicine, Missouri Western has priority application partnerships with the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences and the A.T. Still University-Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine.