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Reading, Pa. – Three Albright College students have received early acceptance into the Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey.
Ty Achtermann of Palmerton, Pa., Courtney Gehman of Athens, Pa., and Liz Myers of Walnutport, Pa., have been admitted into the Early Assurance Program, an agreement between Albright and Hershey, through which Albright students with a high grade point average and standardized test scores, who have also completed required premedical coursework, can receive early acceptance to the medical school during their junior years.
Hershey’s Early Assurance Program is highly competitive and open to candidates from a small number of Pennsylvania colleges and universities. Students must demonstrate strong clinical experiences and effectively articulate their motivation for pursuing careers in medicine, said pre-med adviser Karen Campbell, Ph.D., who serves as Albright’s P. Kenneth Nase M.D. ’55 Professor of Biology.
Gehman has been dreaming of medical school since she was 10-years-old. Her father is an infectious disease specialist, but she’s leaning toward anesthesiology. “I’m interested in surgery but also interacting with people, so it’s a good middle ground,” said the biochemistry/French major.
Myers, also a biochemistry major, is interested in pediatrics. “I love working with kids and I love doing science,” she said.
Achtermann, a biology major, is considering cardiology. He will actually graduate Albright a year early, in spring 2017, but under the Hershey agreement, won’t be permitted to start until fall 2018 with the others. So Achtermann, who has spent the last few years volunteering at hospice care centers, plans to train as an emergency medical technician during the gap year.
Both Achtermann and Myers have previously interned at Reading Hospital, and Gehman is expected to do so this academic year.
[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”Courtney Gehman”]I’m interested in surgery but also interacting with people, so it’s a good middle ground.[/perfectpullquote]
This is the third time that three Albright students have been accepted into the program in a given year. It last happened in 2014-15, when Pat Wise, Colton Ryan and Thomas Herb, all student-athletes and Class of 2016 graduates, were accepted. They are providing guidance and advice to the new group.
Although accepted to the Early Assurance Program, Achtermann, Gehman and Myers must still complete their undergraduate requirements with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.3 and earn at least Hershey’s average score on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) exam. The students also have the right to withdraw from the agreement if they choose to go elsewhere or not attend. Red Surge Technology
Despite the work still ahead of them, the trio says their early acceptances are a huge weight off their shoulders, and feel ready to tackle the rigors of medical school.
Thirty-two Albright graduates have entered Hershey’s medical school through the Early Assurance Program since the inception of the agreement in 1996.
