"EARLY ASSURANCE" PLAN
Each year the East Carolina University undergraduate Office of Admissions invites outstanding high school seniors to compete for Merit Scholarships. These students have high SAT scores (1800+) and have excelled in many academic and extracurricular activities. Typically, half of these nominees indicate a desire to attend medical school after college.

In an effort to attract more superb students to ECU, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and the Brody School of Medicine have developed an Early Assurance Program for The Brody School of Medicine. Under this program, approximately four of the 72 seats in the BSOM entering class will be reserved (four years in advance) for Merit Scholars entering ECU as freshmen. All Merit Scholar nominees will be sent an application form for the Early Assurance Program prior to campus visit in March, and a select group of interested nominees will then be interviewed by BSOM Admission Committee representatives as part of the Merit Scholar selection process. The BSOM contingent will rank all applicants after the interview and application review process is completed, and positions in the Early Assurance Program will be offered accordingly. An appropriate number of alternate candidates will also be named and encouraged to participate in program activities, so that they would be eligible to fill any vacancies that might occur over the ensuing four years. All alternates will be encouraged to apply to the BSOM as Early Decision candidates in their senior year of college, since they will have developed into outstanding candidates for medical school as a consequence of their participation in the Early Assurance Program.

Students who are awarded a position in the Early Assurance Program must maintain certain academic standards and participate in various activities to remain eligible for their seat in the entering class. These requirements include:

• earning a minimum GPA (both overall and science) of 3.5
• completing all medical school requirements by the end of the sophomore year
• maintaining "an acceptable level of personal deportment"
• participate in required group and enrichment activities (BSOM student buddy sessions, hands-on medical exposure, summer programs, service learning, AED participation, leadership roles, periodic advising at the BSOM, honors courses, etc.)
  

Students in the Early Assurance Program who remain eligible and interested will complete an application to the BSOM via the American Medical College Application Service early in their junior year, and will be exempt from both the secondary application fee and the Medical College Admission Test requirement. They will then receive a letter of acceptance with a one-year deferment, which will enable them to enter the BSOM at ECU after graduation.

Please contact the Scholarship Coordinator in the ECU Office of Undergraduate Admissions at 252-328-6528 for further information.

Download additional information and the Academic Merit Scholarship Application