“Ponce School of Medicine is an American post-graduate medical school located in Ponce, Puerto Rico, USA. It is fully accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), thus classified as a United States Medical School.”

About Ponce SOM acceptance rate:

Ponce School of Medicine has an acceptance rate of 3 out of every 10 applicants, and strong emphasis is given to the fully bilingual applicant. In addition, special interest in community service and research is highly regarded.

Increasing your chances of being accepted:

Most medical schools often weight 2 main factors: GPA and MCAT. If you are applying to Ponce, then add Bilingualism to that formula. Although interviews are conducted in the language of your choice, being proficient in Spanish is important. Sometimes students feel that the most important aspect is having a genuine interest in the language and that any apparent weakness is often resolved by interacting in Spanish during your first 2 years of medical school, since it is only in 3^rd year were you will be on your own with patients. In other words, students should not be discouraged by not being a native Spanish speaker.

That being said, other factors that will add to your resume are Community Service and Research. More important than having hundreds of hours of research and community service is the passion with which you describe the hours of work and research during the interview process. It is important to mention that Ponce School of Medicine does not requires a secondary application, and what this means is that stronger emphasis is placed on your interview process.

What about the Personal Statement?

When writing your personal statement be sure that it portrays the characteristics of a compassionate and goal-oriented individual. As medical students, we know both of these traits are of great importance to the admissions committee.

Advantages of Ponce SOM over other medical schools:

Ponce School of Medicine has been for over 30 years recognized as a world-class bilingual institution focused on preparing young doctors for a multicultural and global society. Ponce SOM students are highly-sought & recruited by institutions, and organizations that are looking to expand their leadership and competitiveness in our multicultural society.

How is life in Puerto Rico? 

Knowing about the political situation of Puerto Rico is the best way to understand how is life on the island. Puerto Rico is considered to be a commonwealth of the United States and for all practical purposes it functions very similar to any state. (ie. Hawaii). The main difference with mainland USA is that most of the population is bilingual and that both English & Spanish are considered the official languages.

How is life in Ponce?

Regarding the city of Ponce, it is important to say that it is considered the second capital of Puerto Rico. Ponce, the second largest city in Puerto Rico outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, it is named after Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the grandson of Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León. It is located a few miles from the Caribbean coastline of the island. Ponce is often referred to as La Perla del Sur (The Pearl of the South) and La Ciudad Señorial de Puerto Rico (Majestic city of Puerto Rico).

A good resource for more information is www.letsgotoPonce.com

*This document was created by students, as a resource for prospective students. It is not an official communication from Ponce School of Medicine.