Drexel medical school co-op program with Muhlenberg ends

While students were enjoying their summer vacation, Drexel University College of Medicine informed Muhlenberg College’s Office of Admission that the 4-4 Early Assurance Program would end.

The program connected Muhlenberg, Lehigh Valley Hospital, and Drexel and guaranteed its members admission to Drexel’s College of Medicine, provided the academic requirements were met. According to Muhlenberg’s website, the program has several academic requirements for the guaranteed matriculation to Drexel. These include both a cumulative and science GPA of 3.5, and a minimum score on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), respectively. After four years of undergraduate education at Muhlenberg, students spent four more at Drexel, hence the “4-4” portion of name.

In late July, Chris Hooker-Haring, Dean of Admission and Financial Aid, received a letter from Drexel University informing the College of the change. According to Dean Hooker-Haring, all sixteen of Drexel’s early assurance programs with a variety of undergraduate institutions are ending. However, the eleven current Muhlenberg students in the program will not be affected.

“Any of our students who are currently in the program will be grandfathered, but we will not be able to continue the program for the future,” said Dean Hooker-Haring.

For pre-health students, Muhlenberg College offers a great opportunity—a strong undergraduate preparation with the small classes that the college prides itself on with similarly strong pre-professional advising. This is reflected in high medical school acceptance rates after graduation (92 percent of medical school applicants from 2009-14 were accepted). However, the impact that the absence of a 4-4 program will have is unknown.

Professor Chrysan Cronin, Director of the Public Health Program and Faculty Advisor of the 4-4 Program, believes the impact will be measurable.

“It is extremely competitive and has been a great way for us to recruit students,” said Professor Cronin. “Many times, the students who apply to the program and are accepted to Muhlenberg will only come if they are selected to fill one of those coveted spots.”

Dean Hooker-Haring also feels that the 4-4 program has aided pre-health admissions.

“I believe this has been an important drawing card for Muhlenberg,” said Dean Hooker-Haring. “[It] has reinforced our strength in science and pre-health in the minds of prospective students and parents.”

Some students agree with Professor Cronin and Dean Hooker-Haring.

Melissa Edgar ’18, for one, knows that the 4-4 program is part of the reason why she found out about and eventually applied to Muhlenberg.

“If I hadn’t seen it on a list of schools with Drexel co-ops, I wouldn’t have even thought to apply in the first place,” said Edgar. “It was special that a school like Muhlenberg had such a competitive program like this that would give me the opportunity to solidify my path to medical school.”

Taj Singh ’19 had committed to the University of Michigan before learning that he was accepted to the 4-4 program.

“I chose to come to Muhlenberg because it is much more appealing to me knowing where I will be going to medical school,” said Singh. “The lack of a cooperative medical school program at Muhlenberg wouldn’t affect my decision drastically, but it would certainly be a downside.”

Other students, however, expressed that the program had little to no effect on their decision to come to Muhlenberg.

Dana Kneisley ’19 is a neuroscience major with minors in Italian and Spanish who committed to Muhlenberg prior to learning that she had been accepted to the program. She was attracted to Muhlenberg for several reasons, including her financial aid package, the connection she felt with the College, but also the 4-4 program.

“Passing through the first phase [of the program’s admissions process, where Muhlenberg sends applications to Drexel] was important because it let me know the school valued me enough to represent Muhlenberg as a candidate for Drexel,” said Kneisley. Ultimately, Kneisley believes she still would have enrolled at Muhlenberg, regardless of whether it had the 4-4 program with Drexel.

Justin Eigen ’18, a chemistry major who recently took the MCAT, agrees. Eigen knew he wanted to attend Muhlenberg prior to learning about the 4-4 program. “I do not think the lack of the 4-4 program will change anyone’s opinion of the school,” said Eigen. “The school draws people in because of its prowess in the sciences and its success rate in getting students into medical schools.”

Seth Krivchenia ’18 did not even hear about the 4-4 program until his second semester on campus. That said, while he is certain that he would have seriously considered Muhlenberg as a prospective student regardless of the program’s existence, knowing about it before enrolling “definitely would have made [his] decision to come to Muhlenberg easier.” All five students expressed that the 4-4 program has helped them better prepare for medical school. Because the students know what grades and MCAT scores are necessary to fulfill the program’s requirements, they all expressed some level of relief about the application process. Additionally, they feel less pressured to over-extend themselves in many extracurricular activities. Above all, the students agreed that Muhlenberg was preparing them well for medical school.

For the College, the efforts to develop a new 4-4 program with a different medical school have begun.

“My hope is that we can find a new partner for a 4-4 assured admission medical program,” said Dean Hooker-Haring.