2009 Accepted Applicant Guide

Table of Contents

• Matriculation Calendar
• Matriculation Process
  • Office of Admissions
  • Financial Aid
  • University Requirements
  • International Students
  • Required to Complete in June and July
• Suggested Summer Biochemistry Readings
• Registration and Orientation
• Special Needs
• Computers, Books, and Equipment
• Housing Information and University Services
  • Housing
  • Parking and Transportation
  • Meal Plans
• Information for MD/PhD Students

 2009 Matriculation Calendar

Acceptance Form: Due by date on Acceptance Form

Multi-Acceptance Decision Times:
(For Georgetown ONLY – other Schools may have other timeframes)

Applicants may hold multiple accepts with Georgetown and other Medical Schools

 Important Dates:

Orientation – August 4-9
(Full Calendar will be available on the Orientation Website)

Matriculation Process

Office of Admissions Materials

Matriculation to the Class of 2013 is contingent upon receipt of official verification indicating your successful completion of the following:

1. All current academic studies as indicated on your AMCAS application;
2. All prerequisites for admission as listed in the Guide to Application; and/or
3. Any conditions listed in either our acceptance letter or letters approving amendments to these requirements.

Georgetown University School of Medicine reserves the right to pursue any questions regarding academic records and/or transcripts or issues of concern raised during application review.

Acceptance Form

The acknowledgement form indicating your acceptance of a position in the Class of 2013 is due in the Office of Admissions by the date designated in your acceptance letter from the Associate Dean for Admissions.

Change of Address, Phone, E-mail

Any changes in your address or telephone number must be promptly recorded to your online AMCAS application. All correspondence will be directed to the address on your AMCAS application.

$100 Deposit

A deposit of $100 is due by the date designated in your acceptance letter (prior to June 1st, $1,000 thereafter) and should be mailed to the Office of Admissions.

$900 Tuition Prepayment

By June 1, or by the date designated in your acceptance letter, a $900 tuition prepayment (or $1000 if a $100 deposit has not yet been sent) is due in the Office of Admissions. Accepted students may request, in writing, a refund of $900 if they withdraw their acceptance prior to July 1st. This payment will be forwarded to Student Accounts and must be credited to your account before registration. Make checks payable to Georgetown University School of Medicine and include your name and AAMC ID Number. It is recommended that you use a track-able mail service.

Final Official Transcripts

Official transcripts must be received from all colleges and universities you have attended, indicating degrees received where applicable. All transcripts should be mailed to the Office of Admissions as soon as they are available, but no later than July 24, 2009. An official transcript is one mailed directly from the Registrar to the Office of Admissions and contains the notation of the degree awarded (if applicable). Transcripts or transcript envelopes that are marked with “Issued to Student”, “Unofficial Transcript”, or other similar notation will not be accepted.

Please note that transcripts sent to AMCAS are not forwarded to Georgetown University School of Medicine. Please be advised that a failing grade or a grade point average below the average reported at the time of application may prevent a candidate from matriculating.

Special Note for SMP Students: Because the final SMP degree is not awarded until August or September, please submit a final transcript once that notation is the Georgetown Transcript (after matriculation). This is the only transcript exception. All other transcripts MUST be received by the July 24 deadline.

Criminal Background Check Policy

All accepted applicants are required to pass a criminal background check prior to registration. Please review our current policy linked to from the Accepted Applicants Website.

Accepted Applicant Contact Information Form

This information sheet is for several purposes including (1) invitations to events for parents, family, and significant others during Orientation including the White Coat Ceremony, (2) assisting in recruiting for the School of Medicine’s Parents’ Council, and (3) keeping parents advised of current events at the School of Medicine.

Please return this form as soon as possible.

Holding Multiple Acceptances

Accepted applicants may hold multiple accepts with Georgetown and other medical schools. Please note that these regulations apply to Georgetown only. Other medical schools may have different guidelines.

Applicants may hold as many accepts as they desire prior to May 15. After May 15, applicants who are holding an accept and receive a new one have either three (3) or two (2) weeks to decide which accept to keep and which to turn down, based on the schedule below. Accepts that are issued after July 8 are requested to make a decision as soon as possible (within days).

Please note that these are the maximum time limits. In order to be fair to applicants on waitlists at Georgetown and other medical schools, please let both schools know as soon as your decision has been made. This policy allows us to offer acceptances to other qualified candidates in a timely manner.

Financial Aid Materials

Financial aid information is available on the Internet under the School of Medicine homepage: http://som.georgetown.edu/studentservices/financialaid/home/. Please direct all questions to the Office of Student Financial Planning: 202-687-1693.

• FAFSA and GU SoM – Supplementary Form: http://som.georgetown.edu/studentservices/financialaid/applyingforfinancialaid/
• 2009 Tuition and Financial Aid Supplement (Will be linked from the Accepted Applicant Page in late March)
• Certification of Finances Form – if not applying for or eligible for Financial Aid: (Will be linked from the Accepted Applicant Page in late March)
• Credit History Report
• Return Financial Aid Offer Form

Accepted applicants are responsible for familiarizing yourself with its contents and for adhering to published financial aid deadlines. Students needing financial assistance are strongly advised to work closely with the Office of Student Financial Planning (OSFP) well in advance of matriculation, to ensure the timely availability of funds for medical school. Please be sure to sign and return any financial aid awards letters, to read and respond as necessary to any additional correspondence from that office or from your lender(s), and to follow up with the office prior to matriculation to ensure that your finances are in order. Please note dates and deadlines carefully. No exceptions can be made.

Financial aid recipients must sign and return any award letters to the Office of Student Financial Planning within thirty (30) days of the date of the award letter. Students must submit all necessary loan applications and a current official credit report as soon as possible. Those not filing for financial aid must submit the Certification of Finances Form

Students in need of student financial aid who fail to adhere to the published financial aid deadlines, and those not needing financial aid who fail to bring the necessary tuition payment to registration, will forfeit their places in the Class of 2013. Students not in need of financial assistance should submit the Certification of Finances form available at this site. Please contact OSFP at (202) 687-1693 with any questions.

First year tuition and fees for the 2009-2010 academic year will be determined by the University Board of Directors in March. Once this information becomes available it will
be posted on the Accepted Applicants Website as the 2009 Tuition and Financial Aid Supplement along with the Certification of Finances Form.

Please note that the full fall semester tuition and fees (less any tuition deposit already received) will be payable in full at registration on Tuesday, August 4, 2009. This amount will be announces in the 2009 Tuition and Financial Aid Supplement. In addition, an automatic charge for both health and disability insurance will also be due at that time. Students not having sufficient funds available at registration either in financial aid funds or other resources will forfeit their places in the Class of 2013.

In order to hold your place in the Class of 2013, a tuition prepayment of $900 (or $1000 if you have not paid the $100 deposit) is required by June 1, 2009. Students who withdraw their acceptance prior to July 1st may request in writing a refund of $900. Students receiving full tuition support (students supported by the military or National Health Service Corps) and students who have applied for tuition funding are also required to submit the $1000 deposit. Students receiving full tuition support may file for a deposit refund at registration. Deposits should be mailed to the Office of Admissions. Should you have a full tuition scholarship awarded or pending for 2009-2010, please send verification to the Office of Admissions and bring a copy of the verification with you to registration. Candidates accepted for the joint MD/MBA degrees should expect to attend Georgetown for five years, paying the medical school tuition for each year.

The federal government continues to hold institutions responsible for the behavior of their graduates with respect to the timely repayment of their education loans. To help address this issue, and to help prepare you to better manage your entire education loan portfolio, financial aid recipients are required to submit a current official credit report and participate in both loan entrance counseling and a loan exit interview (held in the spring prior to your graduation from medical school.) Should negative credit result in disqualification for certain education loans, the accepted applicant will be required to pay the uncovered portion of the first year’s tuition and fees before matriculation. You will also be encouraged to meet with the OSFP each year to review your education loan portfolio.

Please be reminded once again that your financial aid for the 2009-2010 academic year and upcoming years is always subject to change pending legislative action in Congress.

Other Georgetown University Requirements

Immunizations

District of Columbia law requires all medical students show proof of immunization before enrolling in a university. To comply with this law, please have your physician fill out and sign the Immunization & Tuberculosis Screening Certificate Form, located at http://shc.georgetown.edu, documenting your complete immunization history. Family records are not acceptable. A complete record must be returned to the Student Health
Center by July 1, 2009, or within two weeks of your acceptance letter if received after July 1. You will not be allowed to register or attend classes until you are in full compliance and your immunization record is on file with the Student Health Center. There will be a $100 penalty assessed if your immunization record is not completed and received by the first day of classes. Individual immunization deficiencies will be identified during orientation and/or registration. Any required vaccines including Hepatitis B will be available for a fee, and by appointment at the Student Health Center, or at one of the vaccination clinics the last week of August during Main Campus registration.

While no specific health form is required, it is prudent for students who have pre-existing health problems, or who are currently undergoing treatment, to make an appointment with a physician at the Student Health Center to establish care and address any health concerns before starting classes. Should you have any questions, please call the Student Health Center at (202) 687-2200.

Georgetown University School of Medicine policy does not require routine screening of students for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), or other bloodborne pathogens. In order to protect students with HIV or HBV seropositivity and those with whom they may come into contact, however, the policy provides that students with known seropositivity for HIV or HBV must report such conditions to the Dean. Incoming or in-place students with known Hepatitis C Virus (HVC) seropositivity or other bloodborne pathogens should also report these conditions to the Dean. In-coming or in-place students with known Hepatitis C Virus (HVC) seropositivity or other bloodborne pathogens should also report these conditions to the Dean. Each condition is then reviewed by a confidential committee in Student Health to determine the best approach to the educational plan for the health of the student.

Health Insurance

In the course of your medical studies you may be exposed to a number of communicable diseases and to a great deal of physical and emotional stress. Georgetown requires all students to be covered by a health insurance policy. Many medical students are uninsured because their ages disqualify them from their parents’ policies. Enrollment instructions and benefits details on the 2009-2010 health insurance policy offered to Georgetown University students will be published on the Student Health Insurance website in July. You are required to enroll in this plan if you do not have other insurance coverage in effect prior to September 15th. Detailed information about the 2009 – 2010 plan benefits and enrollment procedures will be available on the GU Student Insurance web site after July 1 at http://www12.georgetown.edu/student-affairs/insurance.

Disability Insurance

All students enrolled in a school of medicine in the United States must be covered by disability insurance. Your student account will be assessed a charge for such coverage.
The combined charge for health coverage and disability insurance for 2009-2010 is not expected to exceed $ 2500 (disability insurance, and health coverage.)

International Students (INCLUDING US Green Card Holders)

All international students and U.S. permanent residents, even those who do not require an immigration document (Form I-20 or Form DS-2019) must fill-out and return the International Student Immigration Questionnaire (IQ). The IQ and all supporting documentation must be on file in the Office of International Programs (OIP) before students will be permitted to enroll.

The IQ can be found on the web at http://oip.georgetown.edu/isss/vsq.htm. Please read all instructions carefully and submit the form and any supporting documentation to the Office of International Programs (OIP) as soon as possible.

If you have any questions regarding this form, please contact OIP at (202) 687-5867

Information/Forms to be completed in June and July

In June and July additional information and forms will be available. Please return these in a timely manner as these are required for matriculation.

University ID, GOCard, and NetID

All students are issued a Georgetown University ID for identification purposes (student records, etc.) and a NetID for e-mail, Student Accounts, and other university services. Your Georgetown ID and NetID will be mailed to you via US Mail in June or early July (NOTE: This will be mailed to your Preferred Mailing Address in the AMCAS System, so please keep it updated). Please follow the instructions to activate your NetID.

Once you have your Georgetown ID, you may obtain your GOCard. Please see the instructions under “Photo for GOCard.”

Current or previous Georgetown University students, staff, or faculty will keep their Georgetown ID and NetID.

Photo for GOCard

Once you have received your Georgetown ID and activated your NetID, please submit a picture for your Georgetown ID. This picture will be your professional identification for the next four years, so please submit an appropriate picture. If you do not submit one in advance, you will have a photo taken on August 4, 2009.

Current Georgetown Students or those with a GOCard may wish to have a new picture taken. You must receive a Medical Student GOCard (different from the undergraduate one). Please contact the GOCard Office for full information.

Information on the GOCard can be found at: http://gocard.georgetown.edu/.
Information on the NetID can be found at: http://netid.georgetown.edu/.

You must have a GOCard by the close of business, August 4. If you do not, please contact the Medical School Registrar.

White Coat Form

This form is to order the correct size and name embroidery for your White Coat. All matriculated students are required to participate in the White Coat Ceremony on Friday, August 7. Parents are invited to this ceremony. Full information will be available on the Orientation Website.

AMCAS – Matriculating Student Questionnaire

This is a national survey given to all matriculating medical students by the AAMC. This is an important survey. While only collated results are released to the medical schools, medical schools are able to track which matriculants have completed it.

Due to the heavy schedule during Orientation and then with classes, we strongly encourage accepted applicants to complete this survey prior to orientation.

Upon graduation, there will be another AMCAS survey.

Personality Survey

This survey is used to help place students in pre-clinical advising groups. Please e-mail the results to Dean Joy Williams: williamsj@georgetown.edu.

Suggested Summer Biochemistry Readings

The first year in medical school is an intense one. Each student faces different challenges in the transition from undergraduate to professional medical education. Biochemical topics are presented with the assumption that students have knowledge of specific topics. In order to help you prepare for this course, the faculty of the Department of Biochemistry has compiled a list of topics in chemistry that will be helpful to you. Unfortunately, there is not sufficient time during the beginning of the year to fully restudy these topics, so we strongly recommend that you review this material over the summer.

• Acid-base chemistry
• Definitions, reactions of water, Henderson-Hasselbach equations relationship between pK, pH and protonation status of a given acid base.
• Hydrogen bonds, Van Der Walls interactions, ionic bonds
• Basic recognition and understanditng of functional groups seen in biochemistry: amines, hydroxyls, amide, carboxyl, aldehyde, ketone, ester
• Basic redox chemistry: definitions, protons and hydride, one electron additions to oxygen, forming water
• Law of mass action
• Equilibrium and basic energetics
• Properties of functional groups
• Equilibrium
• Reaction orders and rate constants
• Nucleophilic additions/eliminations
• Hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity
• Double helical structure of DNA
• Basic concepts of RNA (mRNA, tRNA, rRNA)
• Basic concepts of DNA replication, RNA transcription, and protein translation.
• Basic structure of sugars, amino acids, and lipid

Registration and Orientation

The mandatory registration and orientation program will begin the morning of Tuesday, August 4, 2009 and will continue until the beginning of classes. All students are required to register and must register in person. The program covers many important functions. Students who do not comply risk losing their places in the class.

If you are unable to attend, you must request written permission in writing to register late. Requests submitted to the Associate Dean for Admissions must be received prior to July 24. It is your responsibility to contact the Office of Admissions in case of any last minute emergency.

Please review the Orientation Website (linked to from the Accepted Applicants Website) for the schedule once it becomes available.

Special Needs and Accommodation

If you require accommodation for a physical disability, learning disability, or for Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD/ADHD), please contact Dean Williams prior to June 15, 2009.

Mrs. Joy Williams, Associate Dean for Students and Special Programs
(202) 687-1645
williamj@georgetown.edu

Computers, Books, and Equipment

Computers

All medical students must have access to a computer. A laptop with wireless internet access is very strongly encouraged. Students are expected to be able to access Blackboard, on-line calendars, on-line resources through the library, and other materials. Some course materials may be distributed on-line or via CD/DVD-ROM.

Books and Equipment

Books and equipment should not be purchased until you receive specific instructions from your professors.

Housing Information and University Services

Housing

As a service to incoming students, the Office of Admissions compiles a bi-weekly listing of available housing in the area. Many of the listings are from landlords who prefer medical students as tenants and only advertise through our office. The school assumes no responsibility for certifying that lodgings listed are uniformly acceptable. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the landlord and to make all rental arrangements. The Office of Admissions will not act as an agent for the landlord, or for the student. The University also maintains off-campus housing listings and information at the web site, http://och.georgetown.edu.

The District of Columbia requires that landlords obtain Basic Business Licenses (BBL) for rental property from the DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA). A condition of obtaining a BBL is the property's satisfactory inspection by DCRA for basic life safety requirements, such as egress,
electrical systems, smoke detectors, etc.

Between April and July, the Office of Admissions maintains a database of incoming students who are looking for roommates. To have your name added to the database, or to receive a copy of the Admissions listing of vacancies, fill out and return the Housing/Roomate Form.

Parking and Transportation

There is no on-campus parking available for first or second year students at the School of Medicine. Street parking in the immediate area is controlled by zone permits and parking meters. Please plan accordingly when considering housing and transportation options. There is some housing available within a 10-20 minute walk from campus. Public transportation (Metrobus and Metrorail) and Georgetown University Transportation Shuttle (GUTS) bus service are both convenient to campus. The D6 Metrobus stops directly in front of the Medical School Building. Free GUTS bus service runs between the campus and the Rosslyn or Dupont Circle Metrorail stations, as well as other locations, on a regular basis. GUTS also has a route that runs during rush hours through some of the close-in neighborhoods of Arlington, Virginia. A current student I.D. is required to ride the Georgetown bus. GUTS schedules are available at http://otm.georgetown.edu/guts.

Meal Plans

Students at the School of Medicine may participate in the University Meal Plan Program. Information on the various plans is available at: http://www3.georgetown.edu/admin/auxiliarysrv/dining/plans/

Information for MD/PhD Students

M.D./Ph.D. students who wish to do a summer research rotation at Georgetown University Medical Center prior to registration should contact the M.D./Ph.D. Administrative Director, W. Taylor Johnson, as soon as possible to make appropriate arrangements.