Medical Assisting Certificate Program Selective Admission Requirements

The Medical Assisting Technical Certificate program at UC Blue Ash College follows a selective admission process for taking new students. This process has minimum qualifications and other requirements that must be met in order to enroll.

The Medical Assisting Technical Certificate program admits students through a selective admission process each year. Incoming students who wish to pursue a certificate in Medical Assisting (28CRT-MA-C2) should apply through UC admissions to be admitted to UC Blue Ash College in the Pre-Health Professions, non-degree program. Current UC students in other majors may also apply. The application for the Medical Assisting Technical Certificate program selective admission for Fall semesters will open on the first business day of October (9:00 am) and close on the first business day of December (5:00 pm). All applications must be submitted by December 1, even if the minimum criteria will not be met until the end of the Fall semester.

The following are the minimum criteria and additional requirements that must be met in order to be considered for admission to the next cohort in the Medical Assisting Technical Certificate program. These criteria are similar to the other selective programs at UC Blue Ash, but there may be some differences and program specific requirements. Please make sure you are aware of all the requirements.

In preparation for the electronic application, students should have the following required documents and information available:

1. Is all of your demographic information (address, telephone numbers, etc.) up to date in the UC system? If your information is not up to date, please go to the Enrollment Services web page to update demographic information.
   
2. Information needed includes your UCID# (M#), last name, first name, middle name, UC email address, last year of high school, and names of previously attended colleges/universities.
   
3. A reflective essay as a Word doc regarding your career goals is required. See the detailed description below for preparation requirements.

These are the minimum criteria that must be met to be considered for the Medical Assisting Technical Certificate program. If you do not meet these requirements, you should not submit a selective program admission application. By enrolling in Pre-Health Professions, you are able to work towards these requirements at UC Blue Ash College and apply when they are met. The Pre-Health Professions advisor can assist with putting together a parallel plan.

Students who meet the minimum selective program admission criteria below by the first business day in December are encouraged to apply to the Medical Assisting Technical Certificate program via the electronic application available between the first business day of October and first business day of December. High school seniors may apply contingent upon meeting minimum biology and GPA requirements at graduation. All applications must be submitted by 5:00 pm on the first business day of December.

• Confirmed admission to the University of Cincinnati
• Content GPA 2.5 (MA1001, BIOL1015, ENGL1001, HLSC2012) for new and transfer students
• Placement Tests:
  • STAT1031 ready (or completion of MATH0029 with minimum grade of C-)
  • ENGL0099 Ready OR ACT ELA1 OR ENGL minimum score of 18 OR UC English placement test minimum score of 5

In addition to the minimum academic qualifications, you must submit a refective essay that fulfills the requirements below.

In addition to the minimum academic qualifications, each applicant is required to submit a reflective essay. The prompt for the reflective essay is, "Why are you interested in the Medical Assisting profession? Describe two characteristics you possess and how they will help you succeed as a student in the Medical Assisting Technical Certificate program and as a medical assistant in professional practice". 

Your document should be formatted as follows:

• Word document
• Name should appear at the top of the first page of the essay
• 500 words or less
• Times New Roman
• Size 12 font
• Double spaced
• One-inch margins on all sides
• Text aligned to the left only
• References cited in APA format
• The name of your Word file must begin with your UC Username (6+2 login used to access your UC email and accounts).

Essays that meet the following criteria will be awarded the highest score:

• Demonstrates knowledge of the profession of medical assisting
• Clearly-explains characteristics that would contribute to their success as a student and professional MA, with references cited in APA format
• Information is well organized, sequenced, and constructed
• No misspellings, punctuation, or grammatical errors
• All of the document formatting and length requirements are followed

The program admissions committee will review the academic records and reflective essay for all students who meet the minimum selective admission criteria and complete the application process. The highest rankings will be given to those students who are most successful in the following areas:

• High school biology OR college equivalent
• Most recent cumulative GPA (based on a 4.0 scale), either high school OR college with at least 12 credit hours completed
• Completion of college courses with a grade of C or better: College-Level Math, Intro to Anatomy & Physiology, Medical Terminology, English Composition, and one social science elective.

Application to the Medical Assisting Technical Certificate program does not guarantee admission. Students can apply to the Medical Assisting Technical Certificate program only twice. Students who meet minimum qualifications by the first business day of December will be considered for admission and will receive notification via their UC email account of acceptance by December 22. Students must confirm their acceptance to the Medical Assisting Technical Certificate program by responding (details included in acceptance email) within one week of notice to ensure a space in the class.

• Allied Health Department
• Medical Assisting Technical Certificate Program
• Selective Admissions Overview
  

Allied Health Department
Phone: 513-558-7928
Email: ucbaalhdept@uc.edu