Linkage & Joint Acceptance Programs

The Postbac Premed Program currently offers 3 linkage programs and 2 joint acceptance programs.

A linkage program establishes a connection with a specific school that allows a student, once enrolled in the Postbac Premed Program, to begin the application process earlier than usual and skip the "glide year" (the year of the application cycle after the MCAT). Students decide if they wish to be considered for a linkage program after they have begun their postbac premed studies. All course work and the MCAT have to be completed by the spring of the year they hope to begin medical school. Candidates are reviewed in the spring for possible acceptance and matriculation in the fall of that same year. Acceptance to medical school through a linkage program eliminates the traditional "glide year."

We offer linkage programs with the Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, and the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine in Biddeford, Maine.

A joint acceptance program is one in which the applicant applies to both the Postbac Premed Program and their chosen graduate health profession school simultaneously. Applications are initially reviewed by the Postbac Premed Admissions Committee. Those determined to be competitive "joint" applications are then forwarded to the appropriate graduate school for a second, separate review. Acceptance to the Postbac Premed Program is not affected by the "joint" decision.

We offer joint acceptance programs with the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine and the Boston School of Occupational Therapy at Tufts University.

For all the joint acceptance programs, students' acceptance is conditional, based on the successful completion of the prerequisite courses (which are part of the Postbac Premed curriculum) and satisfactory performance on the required admissions exam: DAT (dental) and GRE (OT). Applicants who wish to be considered for one of these joint acceptance programs should check the appropriate box on the application form and answer the additional questions required (these are listed on the application form).