ABSTRACTBackground and objectives: A four-week interdisciplinary pre-matriculation program for Native American and rural medical students was created and its impact on students’ transition to medical school was assessed. The program extends the goals of many pre-matriculation programs by aiming to increase not only students’ understanding of basic science knowledge, but also to build student self-efficacy through practice with medical school curricular elements while developing their academic support networks.Design: A mixed method evaluation was used to determine whether the goals of the program were achieved (n = 22). Student knowledge gains and retention of the microbiology content were assessed using a microbiology concept inventory. Students participated in focus groups to identify the benefits of participating in the program as well as the key components of the program that benefitted the students.Results: Program participants showed retention of microbiology content and increased confidence about the overall medical school experience after participating in the summer program.Conclusions: By nurturing self-efficacy, participation in a pre-matriculation program supported medical students from Native American and rural backgrounds during their transition to medical school.Abbreviations: CAIMH: Center of American Indian and Minority Health; MCAT: Medical College Admission Test; PBL: Problem based learning; UM MSD: University of Minnesota Medical School Duluth