Newman graduates are accepted into medical schools at impressive rate

Newman alumna Katie Grelinger had the academic training, excellent grades and high score on the Medical College Admission Test to be accepted into medical school last spring, and is now pursuing a long-held dream of becoming a physician.

She’s not the only one. Over the past 10 years, 96 percent of Newman graduates who successfully completed the university’s pre-med program and received a positive recommendation from Newman’s Pre-medical Committee have been accepted into medical schools.

Newman Professor of Chemistry and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences David Shubert, Ph.D. attributes the high success rate to several factors.

“The students come here very motivated to learn,” Shubert said. “Much of their success has to be attributed to their dedication and commitment. Complementing that is the faculty, who are very dedicated to student learning – with the mantra of: ‘We will do everything we can except lower the standards.’ There’s a synergy between our students and our fine faculty, who care about and work with their students both inside and outside of the classroom.”

Shubert added that the Newman Pre-medical Committee attends the conference of pre-medical advisors at the University of Kansas School of Medicine each year to stay abreast of current trends and developments in medical schools. The committee also invites KU’s assistant dean of admissions to Newman to meet with pre-med students. Shubert added that all Newman pre-med students “shadow” a physician or receive hands-on time with a physician or hospital to get an accurate look at what the profession entails.

Grelinger, who is one of four members of the 2009 class now attending the KU Medical School, and her classmate Betsy Simison recently contacted members of the Science Department to say how well Newman had prepared them for the rigors of medical school.

“I just wanted to thank you again for all your help in getting my friends and me here to medical school,” Grelinger wrote. “We are all enjoying ourselves here at KU. And yes, in case you’re wondering, truly all I do is study, but I’m amazed at how much I don’t mind that. Thank you all again for everything. We wouldn’t be here without you!”

“I want to express my gratitude for the good base of knowledge you taught me,” wrote Simison. “I have encountered concepts from Organic Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Biochemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Bioethics, Thermodynamics, and of course basic Biology. I feel extremely well prepared for the material. I did not think I would have to know how to prepare a sigma curve comparing binding affinities in protein-ligand interactions, but lo and behold, that was one of our first assignments! Please keep doing what you do, and if future pre-med students wonder why they have to learn such a broad range of concepts, assure them that every little bit of it is used in medical school!”