The Widener Medical Scholars Program is designed to attract broadly-educated candidates who are interested in entering the practice of medicine.
Selected students participate in an immersive, hospital-affiliated, medical school-like experience that involves shadowing physicians at Crozer-Chester Medical Center (CCMC), located a few blocks from Widener University. The CCMC affords you the opportunity to explore the clinical areas of pediatrics, internal medicine, and family medicine in-depth while you are at Widener during the summer.
Following the shadowing rotations, Widener Medical Scholars remain on campus and complete a research project with a Widener faculty member and present their results at the Summer Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities (SURCA) Symposium. The Widener Medical Scholars Program prepares students to be competitive applicants to medical schools in the Philadelphia area and beyond.
Requirements
No more than eight (8) Widener Medical Scholars are admitted each year. To qualify for the program as a high school senior, you must satisfy Widener University admissions criteria, select an academic major in which to pursue your pre-medical preparation, and submit a Supplemental Widener Medical Scholars Application by January 15 of your senior year. The Supplemental Widener Medical Scholars Application includes a 750-word essay that summarizes the experiences, events, and thoughts that have led you to your interest in medicine and to your decision to seek admission to the Widener Medical Scholars Program. Selected applicants will be notified on or by April 15.
Widener Medical Scholars accepted as high school seniors will enroll in SCI 190: Introduction to Research during their first semester at Widener to prepare for research with a faculty member as early as their freshman year.
Preference is given to students from backgrounds historically underrepresented in medicine, including members of underrepresented racial and ethnic populations, socioeconomically disadvantaged or first-generation college students, or students from a medically-underserved area. Residents of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, or Maryland with an interest in practicing medicine in an under-resourced area like Chester are also encouraged to apply.
Ideal high school candidates will have a combined critical reading and mathematics SAT score of 1350 or greater with at least a 600 in the two sub-tests. Applicants should also have community service and medically-related volunteer experience.