“Practicing medicine is a team sport, not solely an individual effort,” said Dr. Elliot Brown, founder of the Dr. Elliot Brown MCAT Scholarship fund, an emblem of what WCU is all about in many ways. “It is the culture of the WCU graduates to go out into the world and not so much ask, “What do I need?” but to ask, “For what am I needed?”.

Some WCU students must rely heavily on achieving high scores on the MCAT for admission. Some WCU students don’t have the financial means to take an MCAT prep course. “MCAT preparation courses typically cost between $1000 – $3000, and that is a price tag that is daunting for many of our students,” said Emily McMahill, Center for Rural Mountain Allied Health Director. “By removing the burden of paying for these courses, students can select test prep materials that suit their needs and will help them succeed.”

“Having had the privilege of teaching a course at WCU, I got to know the student body firsthand and tried to determine what I could do to help more students achieve their dream as physicians and how I could help WCU increase their medical school acceptances.” Dr. Brown shared. Feeling strongly that it wasn’t the GPA getting in the way for premedical students, it was the MCAT preparation and performance, Dr. Brown realized that a scholarship fund for deserving students to excel on this imperative entrance exam could make a real impact for WCU students pursuing healthcare. Dr. Brown extended the efforts beyond his gifts to the scholarship fund, inviting his colleagues and peers to dinner to witness the student impact of the scholarship and calling them to action to “help send a student to medical school!”.

“The recipients of this award have virtually all gotten into medical school or osteopathic school since its inception,” Dr. Elliot shared. “It has proven to be a very successful initiative that I am very proud of.