Frequently Asked Questions

No.  Your prerequisite courses do not all have to be completed at the time of application.  They do need to be completed by July 1 of the year of matriculation to JABSOM.

Yes.  Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) credits documented on a college official transcript and verified on the AMCAS application may satisfy a science prerequisite.

Yes.  Online lecture courses from an accredited US or Canadian school may be used to meet JABSOM’s prerequisite requirements.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, JABSOM will continue to accept online lab courses from 2020 – Spring 2023 until further notice.  Online lab courses may be used towards fulfilling prerequisite requirements for General Biology, General Physics, General Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry as outlined in the Admissions Requirements section.

If you have a question about whether the course meets the requirements, you can email us a copy of your course syllabus for review.

Yes.  Community college courses from an accredited US or Canadian school may be used to meet JABSOM’s prerequisite requirements.  If you have a question about whether the course meets the requirements, you can email us a copy of your course syllabus for review.

No.  Classes taken outside of the US or Canada will not be accepted.

JABSOM does not have an expiration policy regarding prerequisite courses, although it is highly recommended that students take refresher courses when needed to be prepared for entry to medical school.

Yes.  The MCAT is required and must be taken within three years of your expected date of entry to JABSOM.  For more information, please see the Admissions Requirements page.

Prospective and current applicants are encouraged to seek assistance from their health careers advisor on their campus before applying.  This also pertains to applicants that have been out of school.  The Admissions Office does not advise applicants as to the appropriate college courses that should be taken nor do they review transcripts prior to application.  For premed advising, please visit the Pre-health and Academic Advising (PAC) or Medical Student Mentorship Program (MSMP) websites for more information.

JABSOM Admissions will answer any questions regarding the admissions process for the MD program or clarification on science prerequisite courses.  Please visit the Admissions Requirements page for more information.

No.  JABSOM does not have a preference as to the major, degree or undergraduate college as long as the applicant fulfills the minimum admissions requirements and the science prerequisites for application.  The choice of major, degree, or college is left to the applicant.

No.  All applicants are considered without discrimination on the basis of race, sex, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or status as a disabled veteran.

Applicants alone are solely responsible for ensuring all required documents reach the appropriate offices by the specified deadlines.  Deadline extensions are not granted under any circumstances.

No.  JABSOM does not waive the secondary application fee or accept the AMCAS Fee Assistance Program (FAP) Free Waiver.

No.  JABSOM does not currently require a minimum GPA or MCAT score.

Please refer to the Admitted Class Profile page for more information.

We will consider the most recent MCAT scores for screening purposes.

All applicants that submit a $150 secondary application fee will receive a secondary application..

JABSOM will only accept letters of recommendation via the ‘AMCAS Letter of Evaluation/Recommendation’ service.  AMCAS will receive letters via postal mail, from users of VirtualEvals and Interfolio, and electronically.  You may visit the AAMC website or the Secondary Application section in the Admissions Process page for more information on submitting letters of recommendation.

JABSOM requires a composite recommendation from your school’s premedical committee or a packet containing a minimum of 2 individual letters from your school.  If your school does not have a premedical committee, a minimum of two individual letters is required.  If you are in graduate school, a letter from your thesis advisor is recommended as one of the two required letters.

Please submit all letters through AMCAS using one of their acceptable forms of receipt.  Most applicants submit between 4 and 6 letters of recommendation, however, AMCAS will allow you to submit up to 10 letters of recommendation.  For more information, please refer to the Secondary Application section in the Admissions Process page.

No.  JABSOM does not offer any dual and/or joint degree programs.  For more information about graduate programs, please visit the JABSOM Masters and PhD Programs page.

No.  Applicants will be notified if they have been selected for an interview after their AMCAS and JABSOM Secondary applications are evaluated.

Selected applicants will be invited for interviews.  The interview process begins from August through mid-February.

Applicants will go through three interviews:

1. Two assigned interviews with a clinical or basic science faculty, physician, JABSOM alumni, member of the medical community or fourth-year medical student
2. Final interview with the Director of Admissions

The Admissions Office does not provide tours/visits of the School of Medicine except for students selected to interview as part of the Admissions process.  For general tours of the campus, please contact Melia Young, Director of JABSOM Event Management Services.

To take a Virtual Tour, please visit the Campus Tours page.

No.  The majority of applicants reviewed by the Admissions Committee will be notified of their final admissions status at the completion of the review process at the end of March.  A few highly qualified applicants may be extended a notification of acceptance immediately after the Admissions Committee review.

Waitlisted applicants are kept in their rank order based upon the Admissions Committee’s composite score.  No additional materials or information will be requested from applicants on the waitlist.  A waitlisted applicant may submit a letter of intent or application updates by email to the JABSOM Office of Admissions.  Waitlisted applicants will be notified of an offer of acceptance as a slot becomes available.

Financial status is not a factor in considering applicants for acceptance.  Efforts are made to assist medical students in obtaining loans and scholarships, whenever possible.  Loan funds from Federal sources are available only to U.S. citizens and Permanent Residents.  Approximately 80% of JABSOM’s student body receives financial assistance.  Applicants are referred to the JABSOM Office of Student Affairs, Financial Aid and Scholarships and to the University of Hawaiʻi Financial Aid Services Office page.

To qualify for resident tuition, you must have been a bona fide resident of Hawaiʻi for at least one calendar year (365 days) prior to the semester for which you want resident tuition status.  This applies to adults 18 years of age or older.  If you are a minor (under 18 years of age), your parents or court-ordered guardians must have been bona fide residents for the calendar year in question.

In addition, whether you are an adult or minor, you must not have been claimed as a dependent for tax purposes by your parents or court-ordered guardians for the calendar year in question if they are not legal residents of Hawaiʻi.  For more information regarding Hawaiʻi residency requirements for tuition purposes, visit the UH Mānoa Hawaiʻi Residency page.

The John A. Burns School of Medicine’s first priority is to admit resident applicants with strong ties to the State of Hawai‘i.  All applicants go through a Residency screen to determine the applicant’s ties to Hawaiʻi.  Please visit the Residency Screening page for more information.

Yes, the University of Hawaiʻi recognizes several categories of nonresident students who are allowed to pay the in-state tuition.  For more information regarding Tuition Exemptions, visit the UH Mānoa Hawaiʻi Residency page.

Yes.  Applicants are considered for admission to JABSOM without regard to their country of origin.  Those who are undocumented and DACA status are eligible for resident tuition status. Please contact the admissions office for more information.

Yes.  JABSOM does accept nonresident (which may include out of state or international students).  Out of an entering class of 77, approximately 13% (10) may be nonresidents. International students are required to complete a minimum of 90 semester credits in an accredited school in the United States or Canada.

International applicants who completed courses at an international school should follow the instructions provided on the AMCAS website for entering coursework and requesting transcripts.

If any of the courses were taken at a foreign institution, but credit was accepted through an accredited U.S., U.S. Territorial, or Canadian post-secondary institution and the courses appear on that official transcript, then that U.S., U.S. Territorial, or Canadian post-secondary institution’s official transcript would be required.  AMCAS will verify and include those courses in the AMCAS GPA.  For instance, a course may have been taken through a study-abroad program sponsored by an American school, but hosted in a foreign country.

The Doctor of Medicine Early Acceptance Program (DMEAP) is no longer available and applications are not being accepted.  For other scholarship opportunities at UH Mānoa, please visit the New Warrior Scholarships page.