August 2025
Dean's Message
One of the true pleasures of working at VTC is seeing my own pride in our school reflected in the careful attention, innovative thought and strong commitment of my colleagues. Thank you for all you do to make our school a destination for students with talent and compassion. As our reputation continues to be bolstered by our pioneering curriculum and outstanding graduates, you are more and more likely to have potential applicants approach you for advice about the application process.
Applications to medical school are made through a national database called the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS). All schools receive the same “primary application” submitted by the candidate, including demographic information, grades, up to fifteen experiences they feel prepared them for medical school, and a personal statement. Best candidates use the personal statement to communicate a sincere passion for medicine and enough about their character to give admissions committees a sense of who they are. Applicants often label this the most difficult hurdle in the written application. If you are asked to review someone’s personal statement, please ensure it truly describes the candidate, sounds like their own voice, and convinces you they are excited and prepared for a life of service to the health of others.
We believe well-rounded candidates for medical school will inspire confidence in their preparation and skill in each of the following:
Basic Science: Applicants should have evidence of ability to excel at graduate-level science. A strong application shows evidence of challenging coursework, exemplary grades, and reassuring MCAT scores. VTC is very proactive about sharing our minimum academic requirements for securing a secondary application: an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher and an MCAT score of 504 or higher. Applicants who have an MCAT score of 501-503 or an undergraduate GPA of slightly lower than 3.0 supported by an extremely competitive portfolio of experiences may qualify for a secondary application.
Clinical Science: Applicants should demonstrate exposure to patients and medical practice. There is no “best” experience. Applicants can secure volunteer or paid positions. Excellent experiences also allow candidates to discuss lessons learned about the human condition, health systems, personal interactions, and their commitment to the service of others.
Research: While research strengthens any application to medical school, applicants to VTCSOM must demonstrate acumen with the scientific process. There is no minimum number of hours required. Experiences can come from any type of research: clinical, basic science, epidemiologic, translational, etc. No publications or presentations are required; however, the applicant should communicate an understanding of his or her project, the role it played in contributing to scientific knowledge, and a respect for the role of scientific inquiry in supporting patient care.
Service: Applicants should communicate an understanding that medicine is a service practice. Strong applications show evidence of getting to know and contributing to their communities as evidenced in the volunteer activities, club membership, community outreach and employment they include among the “experiences” they share. Strong candidates convey a respect for personal responsibility and ministry to others.
Team Work and Leadership: Applicants should have experiences and letters of support that articulate an ability to collaborate, work effectively with others, and demonstrate the potential for leadership skills we seek to cultivate in physician thought leaders.
The application process is long. Candidates submit their primary applications as early as June 15 of the summer prior to the one in which they hope to matriculate. Applying early in the cycle increases their likelihood of securing a coveted interview spot. Most schools interview only 3-8% of their applicants. An important element of securing an invitation to interview at VTC is the secondary application. These three mission-driven questions are the only VTC-specific portion of the application. Using feedback from the Medical School Admissions Committee, we author and tailor our secondary application questions to assess for mental flexibility, open-minded approaches to conflict, and mature self-awareness.
Approximately 325 applicants are invited to our hybrid-style interviews which combine a traditional dialogue with multiple scenario stations designed to challenge the applicants and assess a variety of interpersonal skills. Our school is committed to in-person interviews. Our welcome receptions and faculty breakfasts allow candidates to interact directly with current students and staff, allowing us to highlight the caliber of the upperclassmen with whom they will learn, the collaborative learning environment, and the dedicated faculty. Candidates interview one-on-one with voting members of the Admissions Committee, allowing for verification of the application, assessment of the communication skills necessary for successful group learning, and appraisal of overall readiness for medical education. The Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) questions we devise are developed in response to real-world issues facing student doctors and assess problem solving skills, creative thinking, conflict resolution, and other non-academic proficiencies crucial to the practice of medicine.
We make every effort to accept and matriculate capable people who are nice and who are committed to the service of others. We would love to welcome the capable and compassionate people you know who approach you about the application process. If you want to refer someone to us, please have them use the VTCAdmissions@vt.edu email. Please understand that in order to maintain appropriate boundaries, we cannot advise a candidate as thoroughly once they are an official applicant (i.e. have submitted their AMCAS application). We see it as part of our mission to advise and help candidates successfully navigate the application process. However, once they are an official applicant, we can no longer give individualized advice about how to strengthen their application. We typically have extended all our invitations for interview by the beginning of January, so please send your letters of support early in the cycle to have the maximum possible effect.
We believe we have a good idea of what makes an applicant qualified and sets them up for success. Please let us know if you are finding such attributes in our matriculants. Please also reach out if you feel we are missing important criteria in our current students or if you feel we can improve our method of selection.
With esteem,
Melanie K. Prusakowski, MD
Associate Dean, Admissions
Social Media
- Orientation for the VTCSOM Class of 2029 has been a blast! 56. Amazing new students are now a part of ourVTCSOM and Virginia Tech family!
- We are looking for standardized patients to join us!
- We are thrilled to officially welcome the newest members of the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine family!
- Take VTCSOM out to the
game! - The VTCSOM class of 2029 had arrived!
Humanism Note
Aquafit Me
Heather B. Schickedanz, MD
I’m forty four.
In my Shrek accent, that’s farty far.
Smoldering burnout and aching joints,
battling gravity and anxiety,
swimming in charts,
meetings and messages.
But gliding into this 85 degree pool,
I am no longer an ogre.
I become a ballerina in a tankini.
Above the water float beats
from Beyoncé and Dolly, Khalid and Stevie,
as we dance with foam barbells and pool noodles,
bobbing sun hats, flutter kicking to the music.
Naomi, our Aquafit Amphitrite,
choreographs our moves from the deck,
her mirrored Ray-Bans reflecting
our glistening faces smeared in sunscreen.
A perfect silver pouf hairdo above her broad visor,
the woman next to me grins in bright red lipstick.
The sun warms my head and my body moves
with the surprising grace of a whale underwater,
in the embrace of this oasis.
And now I’m sweating in a pool.
Getting Aquafit before work with folks twice my age,
bathing in the beauty and humanity of it all.
I wish this for my patients.
Tears come suddenly, and are washed away
by a rogue wave of chlorinated water.
Hope is flowing.
Publishing
Nicholas Rider, professor in the Department of Health Systems and Implementation Science, worked with an international research team on "Navigating disruption in the PID landscape: embracing opportunities and anticipating threats in the next ten years," a review published in Frontiers in Immunology.
Robert Trestman, chair and professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, collaborated with colleagues on "The Future of the Psychiatrist" published in Psychiatric Research and Clinical Practice.
Arthur Ollendorff, associate dean of graduate medical education and professor of obstetrics & gynecology and health systems & implementation science, teamed with other investigators on "Obstetrics and Gynecology Trainee Insights Regarding the Effect of the Dobbs Supreme Court Decision" in the Journal of Women's Health.
Lana Wahid, assistant professor of medicine and medical director of inpatient clinical trials and vice chair for research in the Department of Medicine at Carilion Clinic, and research partners published "Extended Thromboprophylaxis in Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19 at Time of Discharge is Not Associated with Improvement in Quality of Life" in the American Journal of Medicine.
Haseeb Goheer, class of 2025, collaborated with mentor Jonathan Carmouche, vice chair and professor of orthopaedic surgery, and Garret Burks, assistant professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, along with other co-authors on "Racial disparities in pediatric spinal fusion surgery affect perioperative outcomes: a national multicenter study" in Spine Deformity.
Megan Knapp, class of 2024, worked with mentor Jacob Gillen, associate professor in the Department of Surgery and associate chief quality officer at Carilion Clinic, along with Jacob Smith, assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine, and Katie Bower, associate professor in the Department of Surgery, on "Modifying Trauma Team Activation Criteria to Increase Rates of Appropriate Triage: A Retrospective Study" in the Journal of Emergency Medicine.
Andrew Strohman, a member of the M.D./Ph.D. program, collaborated with Wynn Legon, assistant professor of neurosurgery and assistant professor in the School of Neuroscience and at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, on "Neuromodulation of the Cingulate Cortex for Pain" published in The Neuroscientist.
Saif Pasha, class of 2027, worked with mentor Ioannis Koutroulis, research director of emergency medicine at Children's National, and other colleagues on "Harnessing AI for Improved Diagnosis and Management of Pediatric Sepsis: Current Advances, Challenges, and Future Directions," a review in Pediatric Emergency Care.
Neel Patel, class of 2027, collaborated with Joseph Moskal, chair and professor, and Murillo Adrados, assistant professor, both from the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, along with other researchers on "Risk Factors for Dislocation After Direct Anterior Total Hip Arthroplasty" published in the Journal of Arthroplasty.
Stephanie Carpentier, class of 2024, teamed with faculty from the Department of Surgery including James Thompson, professor, Katie Bower, associate professor, and Bryan Collier, professor, along with other investigators on "Utility of Activity Measure for Postacute Care Scoring in Predicting Symptomatic Deep Venous Thromboembolism in Free Tissue Transfer" in the Annals of Plastic Surgery.
Carpentier collaborated with Mark Feldmann, associate professor in the Department of Surgery, and research partners on "A Comparison of Thermal Imaging to Doppler in Perforator Vessel Identification" published in the Annals of Plastic Surgery.
Spotlight on Giving
Terri McAlister Padgett Fund for Cancer Research and Education
Jim '78 and Sue McAlister have established the Terri McAlister Padgett Fund for Cancer Research and Education in loving memory of their daughter, Terri, who bravely fought pancreatic cancer. Through this fund, the McAlisters hope to advance critical research, particularly in the realm of earlier detection for pancreatic cancer, ultimately saving lives.
The fund is dedicated to providing financial support to a Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine student or faculty physician who is actively engaged in cancer research. While supporting a broad range of cancer research, the fund places a preference on projects focused on pancreatic cancer detection. Distributions can cover eligible expenses directly supporting the recipient’s research activities. This includes, but is not limited to, stipends for their time or research staff, costs for necessary equipment, supplies, and materials, and travel or publication fees directly related to the research, as approved by the Dean of VTCSOM or their designee.
Take Note
We are delighted to give recognition to trainees in fellowship programs with three (3) or more fellows per year.
We established the Dean’s Academic Excellence Award in 2022 to celebrate residents and fellows in the final year of training who are exemplary.
Award recipients are selected using criteria established by the Dean’s Office through a process specified by each residency/fellowship program. The 3 criteria are:
- Outstanding achievement in patient care, medical education and scholarship;
- Epitomizing system citizenship and the values of the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, which include collaboration and excellence; innovation and discovery; and humanism and compassion; and
- A track record of service to the medical school, through medical student teaching, mentoring, or service on medical school committees.
Last Note
class of 2029
We are thrilled to officially welcome the newest members of the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine family!
This group of passionate, driven, and knowledgeable future physicians is ready to make an impact, and we can’t wait to watch their journey unfold. From the very first day, you are part of a community committed to excellence, compassion, and innovation in medicine.
Let the adventure begin — welcome home, Class of 2029!