Joint Admission Medical Program (JAMP)

Pre-Medical Program at UT Tyler

The Joint Admission Medical Program (JAMP) was created during the 77th Texas Legislature in order to encourage highly qualified but economically disadvantaged students enhanced access to medical training programs within the state.

The program is designed around the principle of getting people into medicine who, for one reason or another, never previously considered the possibility. Specifically targeted are those students who had never considered medical careers because they thought themselves inadequately prepared or who thought they could never acquire the financial resources necessary. The Legislature set aside 10% of each year's entering class in Texas medical schools for JAMP participants.

Benefits

$1,000 scholarship per semester, every semester beginning in the spring of the sophomore year of college.
$1,500 stipend per summer for attending summer intern programs at medical schools following the sophomore and junior years.
Supplemental tutoring, mentoring and computer support provided at no cost in support of all course work starting in the fall of the freshman year (even before final selection is made).
Admission into a Texas state medical school if minimal grades and testing standards are maintained.
A medical school scholarship for all four years of school.

Qualifications

In order to qualify for the JAMP program the high school student must:

Score at or greater than the state mean on the SAT and/or ACT. For the most current scores, see the JAMP website.
Graduate from high school or home schooled program.
Begin course work at The University of Texas at Tyler (or any other participating university) in the fall semester immediately following graduation from high school. (NOTE: This precludes students who graduated at another time, or who have delayed college entry.)
Be Pell Grant eligible or have an Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) of 8,000 or less by completing and submitting the FAFSA before the freshman year at UT Tyler.

Additionally, in order to qualify at the university level, the student must:

Complete 27 semester hours of credit during the freshman year (which can include a maximum of three advance placement (AP) hours).
Earn a minimum of a 3.25 GPA.

Application Procedure

Completion of the "Notice of Intent to Apply" form (by the student) during summer orientation, or during the first week of the fall semester, and submitting the form to Mr. Jason DiStefano, Assistant to UT Tyler JAMP Director, Department of Chemistry, UT Tyler, 3900 University Blvd. Tyler, Texas 75799.
Completion of the online JAMP application at texasjamp.org (by the student). The application is made available around May 1 and must be completed by October 1. The application takes about two hours to complete (when all the required information is at hand) and includes the following sections:

Biographic data.
Residency information.
Family history and data.
Financial data. High school and university extracurricular activities. Educational data.
Personal statement.
Completion of the JAMP application package (by the JAMP Director before May 1), which includes:

A minimum of two letters of evaluation (from university faculty). Dr. Rachel Mason, JAMP Faculty Director, will also submit a letter of support for the applicants.
A copy of the high school transcript which includes class rank.
ACT and/or SAT scores.
JAMP Director's Summary Report.
Documentation of Pell Grant eligibility (or EFC of 8000 or less) provided by the UT Tyler Office of Financial Aid.
Documentation of Texas residency status also provided by the financial aid office.

Selection Process

After evaluation of the completed application packages, students will be interviewed by representatives of the JAMP Council. Selection of all JAMP students is made by the JAMP Council in Austin during the months of February and March. The JAMP Council is composed of primary and alternate representatives from each of the state's medical schools.

Selection is made based on a number of factors and is very competitive. Factors weighted heavily include:

Grades. A 3.25 overall in the fall and spring semesters is minimal and 3.25 in the sciences required. Preference will be given to those with higher grades.
Course selection. Students following a traditional premedical freshman curriculum heavier in the sciences (math, biology, chemistry) may be given preference over those not stretching themselves with the more strenuous courses.
Personal factors. This includes integrity, ability to communicate, altruism, maturity, a history of service, and dedication to academics and medicine.

Requirements for Continuation as a JAMP Student

Continue at UT Tyler on a full time basis (minimum of 12 semester hours per semester).
Maintain a science and overall GPA of 3.25. Failure to maintain these minimal standards for any one year may be sufficient grounds for dismissal from the program.
All medical school prerequisites must be taken at UT Tyler. These prerequisites include: All of these courses must be passed with a minimum of "C".

Note: Texas Medical Schools will begin to require Biochemistry and Statistics as an addition to their prerequisites. Keep in mind that these are minimum requirements. It is highly suggested that students take additional courses in Biochemistry, Immunology, Microbiology, Genetics, and Cell/Molecular Biology and Humanities to strengthen their competitiveness.
Successfully complete two summer medical internships or shadowing experiences. These two internships take place during the summers following the sophomore, and junior years. A pre-matriculation internship following the senior year may also be required by the accepting medical school.
Progress towards completing a bachelor's degree within four years. Without summer school this requires a course load of 16-17 hours per semester. Please note that the summer medical internship programs (above) last approximately six weeks and may interfere with UT Tyler's summer school schedule. Exceptions to this eight semester maximum may be pre-approved by the JAMP Council.
Take the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) in the spring of the junior year.
Meet at least monthly with the UT Tyler JAMP Director. Meet at least weekly with both course tutors and pre-medical upperclassmen mentors.

Summer Internship Selection Process

Each year the UT Tyler JAMP participants are matched to a medical school summer program by the JAMP administration. All JAMP students must attend summer programs following their sophomore and junior years. These programs must be at two different medical schools.

Medical School Selection Process

Students that meet all the JAMP program benchmarks at the end of their undergraduate program should submit the medical school application through the TMDSAS website. Assuming all objective and subjective minimal criteria have been met, and that the interview process was satisfactory, the selection of the specific medical school is made following the normal matching process.

Two UT Tyler Pre-JAMP awards are anticipated for the fall at The University of Texas at Tyler. A maximum of two students from UT Tyler may be selected by the statewide JAMP Council.

Submitting an Application

The completed application, recommendation letters and personal essay must be received by Mr. Jason DiStefano (see address below) no later than two weeks after the start of the Fall semester.

Application Links

For more information, please contact us at:

Dr. Rachel Mason
Chief Health Professions Advisor & JAMP Faculty Director
Associate Professor of Chemistry & Assistant Chair
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
The University of Texas at Tyler
3900 University Blvd
Tyler, Texas 75799
Office: RBS 3002
Phone: 903.565.5641

Jason DiStefano
Laboratory/Technical Services Supervisor I & Lecturer
Assistant to JAMP Faculty Director
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
The University of Texas at Tyler
3900 University Blvd
Tyler, Texas 75799
Office: RBS 3033
Phone: 903.565.5525