WVSOM sets record for number of students from West Virginia

With its new first-year medical students, the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) welcomed a class that includes the largest number of West Virginia residents in the school’s history. 

WVSOM, the state’s largest medical school, achieved an admissions goal this year, with its 210-member Class of 2030 including 79 students who call the Mountain State their home.

WVSOM officials attribute the upsurge to intentional admissions strategies to attract more West Virginians, including pipeline programs, tuition waivers for in-state students who meet select criteria and the introduction of a master’s degree program to prepare students for the rigorous study required to pursue a medical degree.

James W. Nemitz, Ph.D., WVSOM’s president, said a higher number of in-state students can result in a larger pool of health professionals to care for West Virginia communities.

“The WVSOM Board of Governors and I are pleased that the school has enrolled the largest number of in-state students in its history,” Nemitz said. “The success of our biomedical sciences master’s degree program and the pipeline programs we have established with West Virginia undergraduate institutions bodes well for the future production of physicians who will serve the state.”

Mark Hinson, the school’s interim director of admissions, said admissions staff implemented changes in recent years to strengthen in-state enrollment.

“We made shifts in our program structure for recruitment and promotion to solidify WVSOM’s West Virginia enrollment and set it up for success going forward,” he said.

One of WVSOM’s key pipeline programs is the Pre-Osteopathic Medicine Program (POMP). Through POMP, the school partners with 12 higher education institutions in West Virginia to offer early acceptance to WVSOM upon completion of program requirements.

The other major contributor to the rise in in-state students is the school’s Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences (MSBS) degree, first offered in the 2024-25 academic year. The nine-month program prepares students for success in medical school or other health professions and was designed, in part, to attract more in-state students to WVSOM’s D.O. program.

Hinson explained that POMP and the MSBS program, together with increased participation by WVSOM admissions staff in recruitment events at West Virginia’s colleges, have helped the school achieve its goal of boosting in-state enrollment.

“We knew the numbers would be high, but I don’t think anyone anticipated we’d have this many. It has been very successful,” he said.

Brian Griffith, Ph.D., a member of WVSOM’s biomedical sciences faculty who has taken a lead role in POMP since its establishment in 2013, said the program has been especially effective in recruiting West Virginia students in the past two years.

“The program is designed to encourage talented students from rural West Virginia to choose WVSOM for their medical education by providing opportunities that support their path to becoming osteopathic physicians,” he said. “We’ve had some great POMP students who have done amazing things.”

Eight members of the school’s D.O. Class of 2029 and 17 members of the D.O. Class of 2030 were enrolled in POMP during their undergraduate years. Emily Shupe, of the Class of 2029, said the program gives students like her a clear roadmap to help them achieve their dream of becoming a physician.

“Many students spend a large portion of their undergraduate education trying to maintain a certain GPA while studying for the MCAT and also trying to expand their resumes for medical school applications,” Shupe said. “This can be daunting, but the POMP program provided direct access to WVSOM’s admissions team, offered guidance with any questions I had and reduced the uncertainties and stress associated with the medical school application process.”

Nine members of the school’s D.O. Class of 2029 and 26 members of the D.O. Class of 2030 are graduates of the MSBS program. The program has grown quickly, expanding from 24 students in its first year to approximately doubling that in its second year. There are 72 students entering the MSBS program in the current academic year.

Ultimately, 70% of West Virginia students who completed the MSBS program in 2025 matriculated to WVSOM’s D.O. program. In 2026, 84% of West Virginia students who earned an MSBS degree matriculated to the D.O. program.