What are the eligibility requirements for Wyoming WWAMI?
Generally speaking, an applicant or their parent must have been a resident of the State of Wyoming for five years before matriculation to medical school.
To determine whether you qualify for State of Wyoming residency requirements for WWAMI, please read the information on the webpage of the Certifying Office and contact that office if you have questions.
Please note that you should only submit the application for certification of Wyoming WWAMI residency eligibility in the same timeframe as you apply to medical school. To understand the timing of when you would finally be ready to apply to medical school, please contact the pre-health advising office at your undergraduate institution. If your undergraduate institution does not have a pre-health advising office or you have already graduated with an undergraduate degree, the Pre-Health Advising Office at the University of Wyoming can provide pre-med career advising for any Wyoming resident.
What can I do in high school or community college to prepare me well for medical school?
If you’re still a Wyoming high school student:
If you’re a Wyoming resident who is attending community college:
People keep telling me that I have to major in biology to get into medical school. Is that correct?
No! All admitted medical students must have completed a bachelor's degree (typically a BS or a BA) from any accredited institution by the time they enter the program, but no specific major is advised.
In addition to specific STEM-based academic prerequisites for medical school, a broad background in the humanities and liberal arts is encouraged. In fact, some WWAMI students have degrees in fields such as history, Spanish, business, or philosophy, while also completing their heavily-science-and-math academic prerequisites for medical school.
If you have questions about academic prerequisites and experiential recommendations before applying to medical school or about what major might be best for you personally, please contact the pre-health advising office at your undergraduate institution. If your undergraduate institution does not have a pre-health advising office or you have already graduated with an undergraduate degree, the Pre-Health Advising Office at the University of Wyoming can provide pre-med career advising for any Wyoming resident.
Additional note: Many students coming out of high school already think they know what medical specialty they want to pursue as a career. Please be aware that you do not need to know your specialty your freshman year of college; rather, you have until the end of your third year of medical school to explore such possibilities. We recommend that you allow yourself room to explore your horizons, rather than narrowing yourself down so early.
How do I assess my chances of being accepted as a Wyoming WWAMI student?
Similar to most U.S. medical schools, our application process is competitive. You can see recent data on University of Washington School of Medicine applicants at this webpage. The admissions decision is based on the entire application, and the interview is also a very important part of the process.
Since the application process for medical school is a holistic review, this means that the metrics above are not the only things that matter. In addition, you will need to prepare experientially. This would include things such as shadowing physicians, conducting research, getting involved in community service, and pursuing other things about which you are passionate. To get a clear sense of the best ways to prepare to apply to medical school, please contact the pre-health advising office at your undergraduate institution. If your undergraduate institution does not have a pre-health advising office or you have already graduated with an undergraduate degree, the Pre-Health Advising Office at the University of Wyoming can provide pre-med career advising for any Wyoming resident.
See the University of Washington School of Medicine website for additional information about the application process.
What if I took a gap year after high school or after my undergraduate degree? Does that hurt my chances at getting into medical school?
No! Gap years can be great times of learning through useful experiences that can make you a more well-rounded applicant. Many of our students have gained useful life experiences for one to five years (or more) after completing their undergraduate degrees before they begin medical school.
If I don’t get in the first time I apply to medical school, does that hurt my chances of getting in when I apply another time?
Not at all. While you only have three opportunities to apply and be reviewed by the University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOM) admissions committee, there is no advantage or disadvantage applied as part of a second or third application. If you are planning to reapply, be sure that you have completed additional activities (academic or experiential) to improve your application packet from the previous attempt. If you would like insight on what types of activities may best improve your application, it would be advisable to contact the pre-health advising office at your undergraduate institution. If your undergraduate institution does not have a pre-health advising office or you have already graduated with an undergraduate degree, the Pre-Health Advising Office at the University of Wyoming can provide pre-med career advising for any Wyoming resident.
Additionally, applicants can reach out to the UWSOM admissions office one time for feedback on an unsuccessful application. The details on who to contact and when for this feedback is communicated by the UWSOM admission office in the communication notifying applicants that their application was not successful on this cycle.
Please do not be discouraged by an unsuccessful application. We have plenty of students in our entering class each year who were second- or third-time applicants, for whom that year was clearly the right time for them to flourish in the curriculum, rather than survive it. Flourishing in the curriculum is the goal for all of our students and something the admissions committee clearly seeks out in applicants.
Where do I receive my medical education?
Wyoming WWAMI students receive an excellent medical education from the University of Washington School of Medicine, which consistently ranks among the top U.S. medical schools.
Academic Year 1 of medical school is spent in Laramie, WY, at the University of Wyoming. The Foundations curriculum consists of two terms of basic science courses and clinical medicine courses in a small class setting (20:1 student/faculty ratio) in addition to one-on-one clinical experience with a local, primary care physician.
The first part of Academic Year 2 is spent in Laramie, completing the third term of the Foundations curriculum. Students will then take the USMLE Step 1 exam and transition to their first couple clinical clerkships in the Patient Care Phase, which will take place anywhere in the 5-state WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho) region.
Students spend Academic Years 3 and 4 completing required and elective clinical rotations in communities within the 5 WWAMI states, as part of the Patient Care Phase and the Explore and Focus Phase.
See UWSOM’s Curriculum page to learn more!
After graduating from UWSOM, Wyoming WWAMI students attend residency programs in their chosen field of medicine anywhere in the United States. Residency programs take anywhere from 3 to 6 years to complete, depending on the program and level of specialty. Some people then go on to an additional fellowship in another U.S. location.
Are Wyoming WWAMI graduates required to specialize in a particular area of medicine?
No. We have no expectation that students must specialize in a particular area of medicine, so each student can take the time to explore their options and determine which specialization would be best for them. Medical students have until the end of their third year of medical school to determine the best direction from them, so there is plenty of time to explore. Our past graduates have gone into a large variety of specialties.
Residency programs allow graduates to receive additional training in the specific area of medical practice of their choice. Wyoming WWAMI graduates can pursue any specialty in any residency program around the country. The State of Wyoming has two family medicine residency programs located in Casper and Cheyenne.
Where in Wyoming do WWAMI students come from? And where in Wyoming do WWAMI alumni practice medicine?
Check out our interactive map, where you can find answers to these two questions.
For more information regarding the University of Washington School of Medicine frequently asked questions click here.
