Skip Navigation

Department of Biology

Joint Admission Medical Program

GENERAL INFORMATION

(see the official JAMP website for the most up-to-date info.)

What is JAMP? (Joint Admission Medical Program)

A program created by the Senate Bill 940 of the 77th Texas Legislature to:

How does a student become part of the JAMP Program?

As a freshman in college the student must:

What do students in ASU's Program receive? How do I get involved?

ASU has been allocated three slots for the Joint Admission Medical Program; however, anyone who have receives a Pell grant (no matter the size), carries 15 hours their first semester, and enrolls in biology and chemistry is eligible to participate in ASU's program. In short EVERY student who applies for these three slots will receive free of charge for the entire year:

We require you to meet with your tutors 2 hours a week in each discipline and 1-2 hours with your mentor. Your tutors will assist you with study tips, homework, and other course related material. Your tutors are juniors and seniors who are majoring in either biology and chemistry and are often also pre-med. Your personal mentor is charged with helping you complete your application to the JAMP office in Austin and other necessary tasks related to JAMP and health professions advice in general. All of our mentors are senior pre-med students who have already applied and in most cases have been accepted into medical school. All tutors and mentors are hand selected by Drs. Bloebaum and Wilke. In addition we have monthly meetings you are required to attend to update us (your advisors) on your progress. We also take field trips to various locations of scientific interest. For example, we regularly attend the Texas Academy of Science meetings to expose you to the investigative side of medicine...all free of charge of course! In addition to these benefits, we help you develop study and interview skills necessary for a successful application to medical school. Of course there are very specific guidelines you must follow for academics, participation, and attendance, but we will outline these for you at our JAMP organizational meeting at the beginning of the fall semester. The time and date of the meeting will be announced in your biology class and lab. (You must attend the meeting in order to enroll in the progam). Our goal is to make each an every one who applies the best applicant they can be. Drs. Bloebaum and Wilke can provide you with much more information about our program if you simply contact us.

What does a student accepted to JAMP receive?

Since ASU has been allocated three slots by the legislature, every student who completes an application and follows the rules and regulations outline in our organizational meeting is eligible. A JAMP selection committee composed of physicians and admissions counselors from the various participating medical schools interviews and selects candidates. If you are selected for one of the slots you will receive:

How successful is ASU's JAMP Program?

It turns out ASU has one of the most successful JAMP programs in the state. It has benefitted more than just those students who were selected for the program. Students who participated and were not selected had the benefit of a full year of tutoring and mentoring as well as the opportunity to develop important interview and communication skills necessary for a successful entrance into medical school. Below is a news article written about our program. We invite you to contact us about our program.

ASU Excels at New Program Preparing Disadvantaged Students for Med School

When Dr. Alan Bloebaum and Dr. Dr. R. Russell Wilke became faculty co-directors of the Joint Admission Medical Program (JAMP) at Angelo State University, they agreed that any job worth doing was worth doing right and they proceeded to develop a model program that is drawing attention statewide. In fact, of the 43 participating public and private universities statewide, ASU had more JAMP applicants than all other universities except the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University, both substantially larger than ASU. JAMP was established by the 77th Texas Legislature to encourage and help highly qualified but economically disadvantaged students pursue a medical education.

Successful applicants not only receive an undergraduate scholarship at a participating university, but also guaranteed admission and a scholarship to a participating Texas medical school. Bloebaum and Wilke, both of the ASU biology faculty, saw JAMP as an exceptional opportunity for ASU pre-med students and began promoting the program with presentations at Preview ASU and College Days. When school began last fall, the two visited all of the freshman biology classes and conducted special informational sessions in the evenings. "We thought the program was a wonderful opportunity for our students," Bloebaum said, "and we wanted to make sure they knew about it." When they were finished promoting the program, they had 13 applicants for the three positions that JAMP had allocated for ASU. Only UT with 39 applications for nine openings and A&M with 15 applications for nine openings had higher numbers of applicants.Among ASU's 13 applicants, the statewide JAMP selection committee chose Melissa Cantu of Early, Jeremy Makovicka of San Angelo and Audrey Sato of Amarillo. In addition to their scholarships and guaranteed admission to a Texas medical school, the trio will also receive a stipend to spend the first summer semester after their undergraduate freshman, sophomore and junior years at a different medical school of their choice. As JAMP interns, they will attend medical school classes, receive study skills instruction, undergo training for the Medical College Admission Test and accompany physicians on their rounds to see patients.To be considered as an applicant during the fall semester, students had to complete 15 semester credit hours, including freshman biology and chemistry with a 3.25 or higher grade point average. Applicants also had to be certified by the Financial Aid Office as eligible for a federal Pell Grant.

During the course of the academic year, Bloebaum and Wilke used the $35,000 in startup funds and $25,000 in annual operating funds from the state to augment the educational experience and resources available to the applicants. The goal was to prepare the applicants for their interviews with state JAMP officials who would determine which of the 13 applicants would be selected for ASU's three allocated spots. With few specific guidelines on how to allocate the money, the two ASU biology faculty members established both mentoring and tutoring programs to assist the JAMP participants. "We used senior pre-med students as mentors to acclimate them to college and to prepare for the JAMP application process and interviews before the final selection," Wilke said. "We set up the tutoring program to assist them in their studies." In addition to pairing the JAMP students with seniors and giving them support both in the academic and practical aspects of medical school preparation, Bloebaum and Wilke used funds to set up a study room for the participants in the program. Open only to JAMP students, their mentors, tutors and faculty directors, the room includes two computer stations as well as study areas. The fund also provides monies that enable the JAMP students to attend state scientific meetings. JAMP applicants who are awarded scholarships by the statewide selection board will be able to us the room the remainder of their career at ASU.

Word of the ASU's success with JAMP spread and now faculty members from other institutions are calling from around the state for pointers on how to organize their local programs, especially since 23 of the 43 participating universities did not fill all their available slots. Slots were allocated to universities based upon enrollment. Of the 140 spots available statewide, 47 spots went unfilled. While only three of ASU's 13 applicants were ultimately awarded scholarships and guaranteed admission to a Texas medical school, Bloebaum and Wilke believe the program increased the possibilities of the others going on to and succeeding in medical school." Even for the students who were not actually selected for the program,". Bloebaum said, "the tutoring and mentoring will be of inestimable value to them as they progress as pre-med students at ASU. These services should help them all become better applicants when they apply to medical school in two-plus years."