Admissions Committee Bylaws

The following bylaws govern the organization and procedures of the Admissions Executive Committee and its subcommittees at the Yale School of Medicine (YSM).

The committees shall be known as the Admissions Executive Committee, the MD Interviewing subcommittees, the MD/PhD Interviewing subcommittee, and the Waitlist subcommittee. The Admissions Executive Committee will be referred to as the AEC.

Yale School of Medicine seeks to admit a diverse class of outstanding students who show great promise for becoming creative leaders in medicine and science. With their broad range of experiences, backgrounds, knowledge, and humanity, these students commit to improving the health and well-being of all people. The AEC strives to admit a class using these core principles:

1. A balanced review of applicant’s lived experiences and background, opportunities and obstacles, academic performance, leadership, initiative, and service
2. Individualized consideration of how each applicant can contribute to the YSM learning environment, the study and practice of medicine, and the advancement of medicine through scientific discovery

Holistic review is emphasized at each stage of admissions, including the reading of applications, invitation for interview, interview process, interviewing subcommittee review, AEC review, admissions decisions, offers of admissions, and the creation of the waitlist.

Oversight of the admissions process for the YSM MD and MD/PhD program been delegated to the AEC by the Dean of Yale School of Medicine and the YSM Board of Permanent Officers. The authority for admissions decisions, whether concerning individual applicants or policies and procedures for conducting the admissions process, resides with the AEC. The AEC is responsible, empowered, and has the final authority to make offers of admission to the MD and MD/PhD programs. The MD and MD/PhD Interviewing subcommittees and the Waitlist subcommittee are standing subcommittees of the AEC. The AEC delegates to the MD and MD/PhD Interviewing subcommittees the responsibility for interviewing applicants for these programs. The AEC delegates to the Waitlist subcommittee the responsibility to offer admission to selected applicants on the Waitlist to fill unfilled seats in the matriculating class.

The Admissions Executive Committee (AEC) is composed of 13 faculty members. It is chaired by the Associate Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid; in the chair’s absence, the meetings are chaired by the Assistant Dean of Admissions.

1. Voting membership will consist of:
   1. 13 faculty members who have primary appointments in the Yale School of Medicine
2. Non-voting membership will consist of:
   1. Associate Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid
   2. Assistant Dean for Admissions
   3. A representative from the Office of Diversity, Inclusion, Community Engagement, and Equity or Minority Organization for Retention and Expansion
   4. Director of the MD/PhD Program
   5. Director of Admissions
   6. Administrative support may be provided by the associate and assistant directors of admissions.
3. Qualifications for Members
   1. Members are selected senior faculty members who have served on the Interviewing subcommittees for a minimum of 3 years.
   2. The 13 voting members will include ten faculty members who have previously served on the MD interviewing subcommittees and three who have served on the MD/PhD interviewing subcommittee.
4. Terms of Service
   1. Faculty members on the Admissions Executive Subcommittee may serve three-year terms, limited to three consecutive terms.
5. Meetings
   1. Faculty members agree to attend orientation, training sessions, and weekly meetings starting in early September, and finishing in late February or early March.
   2. Voting will take place at meetings in which a quorum of the voting members is present. The quorum of the AEC is defined as seven members. Voting is confidential and may occur either virtually or in presence.
6. Scope of Activity
   1. The AEC has authority to:
      1. Holistically review applications, including the written material provided by the applicant, the interview reports, and application assessments.
      2. Extend offers of admission to YSM.
      3. Offer a position on the Waitlist or deny admission.

The MD Interviewing subcommittees (referred to as A, B, and C) are composed of at least 21 faculty and six student members on each of the three subcommittees. The MD Interviewing subcommittees are chaired by the Assistant Dean for Admissions; in the chair’s absence, the meetings are chaired by the Director of Admissions.

1. Voting membership of each MD interviewing subcommittee will consist of:
   1. At least 21 faculty members who have primary appointments in the Yale School of Medicine
   2. Six medical student members
2. Non-voting membership will consist of:
   1. Assistant Dean for Admissions
   2. Director of Admissions
3. Qualifications for Members
   1. Faculty members must have been a member of the YSM faculty for three or more years.
   2. The medical student members shall be in good academic standing and are: a) members of the cohort of MD students performing a fifth research year; or b) MD/PhD students during the research phase of their program.
4. Terms of Service
   1. The faculty member term on the MD Interviewing subcommittee is three years; subcommittee members are limited to three consecutive terms.
   2. A medical student member term is one year, renewable for a second term.
5. Meetings
   1. Faculty and medical student members agree to attend orientation, training sessions, and two thirds of their group meetings starting each year in early September and finishing in late February or early March.
   2. Voting will take place at meetings at which a quorum of the voting members is present. A quorum of the MD Interviewing subcommittees is defined as 14 members. Voting is confidential and may occur either virtually or in presence.
6. Scope of Activity
   1. Members of the MD Interviewing subcommittees have authority to:
      1. Holistically review the written material provided by the applicant, prior to the interview
      2. Perform interviews and present their findings to the subcommittee
      3. Vote to endorse applicants for consideration for admission by the AEC; the AEC determines final admissions decisions for YSM.

The MD/PhD Interviewing subcommittee is composed of at least 35 faculty members. The MD/PhD Interviewing subcommittee is chaired by the Director of the MD/PhD Program; in the chair’s absence, the meetings are chaired by the Deputy Director of the MD/PhD Program.

1. Voting membership will consist of MD, MD/PhD, and PhD faculty with primary or secondary appointments in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and/or experience in graduate training of MD/PhD or PhD students. Members must have been faculty at Yale University for three or more years.
2. Terms of Service: A MD/PhD Interviewing subcommittee member term is three years, limited to three consecutive terms.
3. Meetings
   1. Members agree to attend orientation and training sessions, interview candidates, and attend the corresponding group meeting during at least two of the four MD/PhD interview “weeks” scheduled each year between October and March.
   2. Voting will take place at meetings at which a quorum of the voting members is present. A quorum of the MD/PhD Interviewing subcommittees is defined as 18 members. Voting is confidential and may occur either virtually or in presence.
4. Scope of Activity
   1. Members of the MD/PhD Interviewing subcommittee have authority to:
      1. Holistically review the written material provided by the applicant prior to the interview
      2. Perform interviews and present their findings to the subcommittee
      3. Vote to endorse applicants for consideration for admission by the AEC; the AEC determines final admissions decisions for YSM.

The Waitlist subcommittee is composed of 7 faculty members. The Waitlist subcommittee is chaired by the Associate Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid; in the chair’s absence, the meetings are chaired by the Assistant Dean for Admissions.

1. Voting membership will consist of:
   1. Seven faculty members from the Interviewing subcommittees
2. Non-voting membership will consist of:
   1. Associate Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid
   2. Assistant Dean for Admissions
   3. Director of the MD/PhD Program
   4. Associate Dean for Diversity
   5. Director of Admissions
3. Qualifications for Members
   1. Members are selected faculty members who have served on the Interviewing subcommittee for a minimum of three years.
4. Terms of Service
   1. Faculty members on the Waitlist committee may serve three-year terms, renewable twice.
5. Meetings
   1. Voting will take place at meetings at which a quorum of the voting members is present. A quorum of the Waitlist subcommittee is defined as four members. Voting is confidential and may occur either virtually or in presence.
6. Scope of Activity
   1. The Waitlist committee has the authority to offer admission to selected applicants on the Waitlist.

Applications for admission to Yale School of Medicine are initially processed through the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) which supplies a standard application form to all US medical schools listed by the applicant. YSM accepts AMCAS applications until 15 October and secondary applications until 15 November of the admissions year.

Each applicant who selects YSM in AMCAS is supplied with a secondary application. The secondary application includes a fee unless otherwise specified by the AMCAS Fee Assistance Program or a verified request to YSM for a fee waiver.

After receipt and processing of the secondary application to YSM, each applicant’s AMCAS and secondary applications undergo a holistic review according to the criteria outlined in the YSM Admissions Guidance Policy to identify candidates for interview.

All applicants to the MD or MD/PhD program will undergo two interviews by the MD interviewing subcommittee. The interview provides another tool in the holistic review process. The interview 1) allows the interviewer to assess the applicant’s communication and interpersonal skills, and 2) acts as a catalyst to facilitate more insight into the applicant’s lived experience and background, opportunities and obstacles, academic performance, leadership, initiative, and service. The YSM Admissions Guidance Policy details the domains for assessment in which the MD Interviewing subcommittee will ask interview questions.

All applicants to the MD/PhD program will undergo two additional interviews by the MD/PhD interviewing subcommittee. The interview allows the interviewer to assess the applicant’s communication, reasoning, and interpersonal skills, and provides additional insight into the applicant’s background, motivation for physician-scientist training, research experience, leadership, resilience, and service. The YSM Admissions Guidance Policy 9-21-18 details the domains for assessment in which the MD/PhD interviewing subcommittee will ask interview questions.

1. Following completion of the interview process, each applicant will be presented by their interviewers at their respective/assigned MD or MD/PhD Interviewing subcommittee meeting for discussion and vote. Members will vote to recommend (“yes” or no”) the applicant for consideration for admission by the AEC. The tally will be recorded, and a summary of the results will be forwarded to the AEC.
2. AEC Review
   1. AEC members will review applications and accompanying materials, deliberate, and vote “admit,” “waitlist,” or “deny” for each applicant using a secure voting system. The decision is determined by the majority, with waitlist tallies including the “admit” tallies for any given student not voted by majority to “admit”.
3. Applicant Notification of Committee Decision
   1. All applicants will be electronically notified of the outcome of their YSM applications on the same day. This includes: 1) applicants who have been offered admission, 2) applicants who have been offered a place on the waitlist, and 3) applicants who have been denied admission.

1. Following the determination by the Associate Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid that a waitlist offer is required, members of the Waitlist subcommittee review those applicants with the status of “Waitlist.” Criteria for an offer of acceptance to YSM by the Waitlist subcommittee will include consideration of the vote of the AEC on the waitlist applicants, a holistic review of their applications, including any updates that the waitlisted applicants may have submitted since the time of the initial YSM offer of admissions decisions, and the goal to achieve a balanced class based on the mission of YSM.
2. Individuals on the waitlist may be moved to the accepted list based on majority vote by the Waitlist subcommittee.
3. Voting will take place at meetings at which a quorum of the voting members is present. A quorum of the Waitlist subcommittee is defined as four members. Voting is confidential and may occur either virtually or in presence.

The following summarizes methods for managing acceptance from the waitlist:

1. A YSM admissions staff member will contact the waitlisted applicant to confirm continued interest in YSM.
2. The Director of Admissions (or MD/PhD Director, for MD/PhD applicants) will call applicants selected by the Waitlist Subcommittee to make an offer of admission to YSM. Applicants admitted from the waitlist in May of the given admissions year will have five business days to make a decision about this offer. Applicants admitted from the waitlist in June and July will have three business days to accept or reject the offer of admission.

1. The admissions committee shall have a policy and accompanying procedures to prevent conflicts of interest in the admissions process. The policy and procedures will be reviewed at least once every three years to ensure that they are effective at preserving the integrity of the admissions process at YSM.
2. All faculty, staff, and students participating in the admissions process are expected to disclose any perceived or actual conflicts of interest (see YSM MD Program Admissions Conflict of Interest Policy and Procedures for guidelines and procedures).
3. All faculty, staff, and students participating in the admissions process will be asked to agree to and sign an annual confidentiality agreement attesting that they will maintain the confidentiality of the applicants, the content of their applications, committee deliberations, and decisions.

Following the admissions cycle, an annual review of the bylaws is recommended to discuss any updates to the admissions process that may be deemed necessary due to changes in the admissions process.

1. Any member of the MD Interviewing subcommittee, MD/PhD Interviewing subcommittee, and AEC may submit a formal proposal for bylaw amendment or revision to the Associate Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid.

1. Proposed amendments will be sent to the AEC members at least one week prior to the discussion and voting. Amendments shall be presented to the AEC at a meeting for discussion. Following discussion of the proposed amendments, the AEC may choose to amend or not amend the bylaws.
2. Voting will take place at meetings at which a quorum of the voting members is present. The quorum of the AEC is defined as seven members. Voting is confidential and may occur either virtually or in presence. The decision will be determined by majority vote.
3. Approved amendments shall be incorporated into the bylaws.