The Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV only accepts primary applications via AMCAS. The application and its materials must be submitted by October 1. There is a fee to complete the primary application and students who need financial assistance can apply for the AAMC Fee Assistance Program.

Applicant access to AMCAS typically begins in May each year with the ability to submit to schools starting in June. Campuses then receive applications in July for review and processing. For more information on the timeline to application and live dates, please visit the AAMC Pre-Med Calendar.

There are eight required primary application components to apply to the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV:

* A degree may be in progress during application but must be conferred prior to starting enrollment at the medical school.

Degree

A conferred bachelor's degree from a U.S. regionally accredited institution is required for admission to the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV.

If you hold an international bachelor’s degree and don’t intend to get a U.S. bachelor’s degree, then you must instead have a graduate degree from U.S. regionally accredited institution (master’s or higher) along with the pre-requisite courses from a U.S. school. Please note that citizenship is also required.

MCAT

An MCAT score of 499 or higher is required and applicants must have taken the MCAT no later than the final application deadline of October 1.

The most recent MCAT score will be used for the admissions screening process, and MCAT scores cannot be more than three years old at the time of application.

It is not recommended to take the MCAT more than three times.

GPA

An undergraduate (cumulative) GPA of 3.2 or higher is required.

A BCPM (biology, chemistry, physics, math) GPA of 3.2 or higher is also required.

These GPAs are calculated by AMCAS and reported to the school in cumulative form and by year of study (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior).

For applicants whose undergraduate GPAs do not meet our minimums for BCPM or cumulative, your application may be considered with post-baccalaureate work. This can include: formal post-bacc programs designed for those seeking medical school admissions; self-directed coursework, primarily in BCPM studies; or other graduate degrees that include BCPM studies.

It is required to have at least 30 credit hours of BCPM post-bacc course work with a strong GPA performance in BCPM to be considered. It is better to have 50 to 60 credit hours and also a strong MCAT score.

All post-bacc credits have to come from a U.S. regionally accredited institution.

Only post-bacc work can be considered in lieu of the undergraduate GPAs. Junior and Senior year GPA bands from undergraduate studies do not count as a qualifier when the undergraduate GPAs are below the 3.2 minimum requirement.

Please also note that AMCAS takes into account all courses and all grades completed during your studies, which includes original courses and any course retakes.

Prerequisites

Prerequisite courses must have been completed less than 10 years prior to the time of application and need to be graded from a regionally accredited U.S. college or university with a grade of "C-" or higher. Students cannot use advanced placement (AP) credits, audited classes, or courses with pass/fail grading for pre-requisites (with the exception of the listed COVID semesters where a passing or satisfactory grade can be considered).

Required prerequisites include the following:

  • Biology: three courses; one course must have laboratory experience
  • Biochemistry: one course
  • Social & Behavioral Science (Psychology or Sociology): one course
    • Social and behavioral science classes in economics and communication will not be accepted to satisfy the behavioral sciences requirement. Although these courses deal with human behavior, the scope of information is narrowly confined. Students in medical school require a broader theoretical and scientific foundation as physicians in training and for MCAT preparation.

If you are not sure about your pre-requisites, you are welcome to email an unofficial transcript to the office of admissions for review and/or provide a catalog course description for specific classes in question.

Prerequisites can be in-progress at the time of application but must show enrollment for summer or fall only in the application cycle. By the end of the fall term, the applicant must submit an unofficial transcript by email to relay the grade to the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine.

Medical school prerequisites are not selected for MCAT preparation and applicants may need additional coursework as part of their MCAT studies. Other recommended courses to help applicants in medical school include: genetics, immunology, molecular biology, physiology, anatomy, statistics, organic chemistry, and physics.

Applicants are not commonly required to submit additional transcripts. If transcripts are requested, applicants will be given a deadline from the office of admissions to do so. Generally, applicants who report prerequisite courses in progress when submitting the AMCAS application will be required to provide unofficial transcripts, electronically, to the office of admissions. Official, hard-copy transcripts are only required for applicants who are accepted to the school of medicine and plan to matriculate.

Letters Of Recommendation

Applicants must submit a minimum of three letters of recommendation and up to a maximum of five letters. These can be individually submitted by letter writers or in packet form from your educational institution.

Letters must be received no later than the application deadline of October 1. Letters received after the application deadline will not be considered. More than five letters may also not be considered by the committee. Applications that do not have at least three letters of recommendation by the application deadline will be considered incomplete and will not receive further consideration for admissions.

Letters of recommendation must be on letterhead and signed and must include contact information for the letter writer.

Applicants should select letter writers who will reflect on their major activities and who know them well. The admissions committee prefers letters that address the applicant’s suitability for a career in medicine and as a medical student. Letters of recommendation should provide new information in the application; not restate activities the applicant has already provided.

Letters only will be accepted through the AMCAS Letter Service. Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV will not accept letters of recommendation by any other process.

Personal Statement

Applicants will need to submit a personal statement. The Kerkorian School recommends writing authentically with highlights about how you decided you wanted to go into medicine, supportive experiences that have reinforced that decision and continued your passion for the field, and insight as to your vision of who you will be as a medical student and/or future physician.

For more information on writing personal statements for medical school, please visit the AAMC Choosing a Medical Career website.

Experiences

Applicants need to list experiences and have up to 15 lines available on the AMCAS application to do so. Three of these experiences need to be identified as your most meaningful with supporting narration. All experiences require a description as well and this is a great time to give the admissions committee insight into your experiences.

Required experiences for UNLV include: community service and clinical experiences that are longitudinal in nature. Community service does not have to be medical in nature. Clinical experiences can be done through things like physician shadowing, hospital or clinic scribing, EMT work, LPN/RN, medical assistance, etc. Some hospital volunteering or clinic volunteering may qualify but needs to include being in a setting that provides experiences with physicians/healthcare teams and patients/patient families.

Additional experiences on the application can include employment, college clubs/organizations, research and publications, awards, and other extracurricular activities. Research experience is not required for the Kerkorian School of Medicine but is welcome if you have it.

Hobbies are not recommended unless they are structured, such as with a community group or organization.

For more information on completing this portion of the AMCAS application please visit the AAMC Application Guide.

Other Information or Policies

The Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine has the right to cease communications, reject event participation, stop application acceptance and/or any other component of the admissions process due to inappropriate behavior that is disruptive, harassing, or dangerous towards members of the school or others in the process. Similarly, inappropriate behaviors that have resulted in legal action prior to or during application may also be considered and can bring interactions, and the right to apply, to a close.