Meliora letters spelled out in front of Rush Rhees Library

Rochester Early Medical Scholars (REMS)

About REMS

Medical school is one of the most challenging paths you can pursue. Typically, you would complete a four-year bachelor’s degree, study for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), wait anxiously to find out how you scored, apply to medical schools, wait to find out where you get accepted, and then complete at least four more years of schooling to earn your medical degree.

The Rochester Early Medical Scholars (REMS) program helps expedite this process. REMS is an eight-year BA/BS + MD program for outstanding undergraduates who are committed to pursuing a medical career. Established in 1991, it’s the most competitive combined degree program at Rochester. As a REMS student, you’re admitted to the University’s School of Medicine and Dentistry once you successfully complete your bachelor’s degree and pre-med core courses.

REMS students work closely with highly respected faculty members, attend special events, and gain hands-on experience in clinics and labs.

Four medical students looking at a computer screen

University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry

No medical school is better poised than Rochester to deliver a balanced, integrated, and flexible curriculum to meet the needs of students and society. The School of Medicine and Dentistry’s innovative approaches to medical education prepare you to integrate the healing power of the doctor-patient relationship with rapidly expanding developments in scientific knowledge, technology, clinical practice, and health care delivery systems.

The Double Helix Curriculum combines basic science and clinical work throughout all four years of medical school. Rochester is committed to medical education, medical science, and medical practice for the benefit of humanity.

Applying to REMS

You can apply through the Common Application or the Coalition for College Application by indicating your interest in REMS on your application. You must apply by November 15 in order to be considered.

If you believe that your standardized test results help reinforce the strength of your overall application to REMS, you should submit them.  Learn more about our Testing Policy.

REMS Finalist Interviews

You will be notified of your finalist/non-finalist status in January. Finalists must interview with the School of Medicine and Dentistry. Interviews take place in February. Your final REMS decision will be sent by April.

If you are not offered a finalist interview, you may still have your application reviewed for general admission to the College without REMS.

If you are admitted to the College through early decision, you will receive your admit letter in mid-December, but your REMS application will follow the regular decision process described here.

Accepting our early decision offer cannot be contingent upon your admission to REMS.

Program Perks

Students in the REMS program receive the following perks:

  • A conditional guarantee of admission to the University’s MD program as an entering undergraduate
  • Exemption from the MCAT
  • Mentoring by renowned faculty
  • Seminars and social events
  • Hands-on experience in clinics and labs

Is REMS For You?

You might be a good fit for REMS if you:

  • Are passionate about a career in medicine
  • Take challenging classes (honors, AP, IB, college-level classes, etc.)
  • Take an exceptionally rigorous high school math and science curriculum, including calculus, Biology, and chemistry
  • Do well academically (strong REMS applicants typically have a 3.95 unweighted GPA and rank in the top three percent of their graduating class)
  • Have medical experience (e.g., shadowing Physicians, volunteering at a hospital, working for an ambulance corps/EMT program, participating in premedical summer programs, conducting research)
  • Are also involved in non-medical activities (e.g., leadership, service in your community, music, athletics, etc.)

Student Profiles

“The REMS program has become a much larger part of my life than I truthfully would have ever expected it to. Obviously avoiding the MCAT is a plus to getting into medical school, but the big things I have taken away from this program have been the opportunities I’ve made, the freedoms away from medicine I have been afforded, and the friends I have made along the way. These friends are likely to be lifelong and have been great resources and sources of strength when I haven’t possessed it myself.

Throughout my undergraduate experience on the River Campus, I chose to participate in activities and classes that genuinely interested me. I chose to be a chemistry major (I know, not everyone’s first choice, but to each their own) with a history minor and to study abroad for a semester in Stockholm, Sweden. I chose to get involved with the Judicial Branch of student government, the Quidditch Team, Greek Life, the on-campus EMS organization: RC MERT, and genuinely explored as many different interests as I could.

In some ways, the REMS Program allowed me to explore every other option outside of medicine I could have possibly wanted to pursue and through that process I know medicine is the only thing I can see myself doing. It’s a wonderful program that allows you the freedom to become the best version of yourself and enjoy your college experience. At the end of it all, I think that freedom enables you to become a better doctor if you choose to, and for that I am eternally grateful.”

Ian Brodka ’19, ‘23M (MD)

Hometown: Buffalo, NY
Major: Chemistry

Minor: History
Cluster: Bioethics