The key to medical school admissions success is planning
based on correct information. Research the schools in which you
are interested. What are their admissions requirements? And, keep
in close contact with your pre-med advisor. Are you taking the
proper classes now?
By knowing all of the information beforehand, you will avoid
the extra scrambling and aggravation upon finding out that you do
not meet all of the necessary prerequisites.
Par for the Courses
During your pre-medical education, you will be required to
fulfill certain coursework prerequisites. In addition, you should
think about taking some additional courses to supplement this
core curriculum, enhancing your education and your application to
medical school.
Specific Course
Requirements
Most schools agree on the basic elements for pre-medical
education. Minimum course requirements for most U.S. medical
schools include one year each of biology, general (inorganic)
chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, and related lab work for
each science course. In addition, about two-thirds require
English and about 25 percent require calculus. A small number of
schools have no specific course requirements.
Bear in mind that since the MCAT covers material from the
commonly required courses, you will need to include those courses
in your program of study whether they are required by medical
schools or not. Nevertheless, many students are surprised to
learn that the list of courses required by medical schools is so
small. The best sources for admissions requirements for specific
medical schools are the Medical School Admissions
Requirements (MSAR) and the College Information
Booklet.
Beyond the Requirements
According to the AAMC, medical school graduates who were asked to
rate the importance of undergraduate courses they had taken to
their medical school experiences ranked physiology as the most
important subject. Others named biochemistry, advanced biology,
genetics, comparative anatomy, and English composition. A number
of additional subjects ranging from advanced organic chemistry to
psychology were found to be of some value by those who had taken
them. Interestingly, calculus, taken by a very large majority,
was found by students to be not at all relevant to their medical
studies.
Selecting a Major
While science majors are certainly more common, medical schools
stress their interest in well-rounded students with broad-based
undergraduate backgrounds. In fact, regardless of your major,
your undergraduate transcript is a vital part of the admissions
decision.
If you are a science major, one approach is to broaden your
education by considering at least some social science and
humanities electives. If you are not majoring in a science, your
work in both science and non-science courses will be evaluated.
However, with fewer coures on which to judge your science
ability, your grades in the core science subjects will take on
greater importance. So consider taking at least some additional
science courses. Think about the subjects medical graduates found
to be helpful, but don't try to take all of them. Pick the ones
that interest you.
Bottom line? Don't choose a major because you think it will
get you accepted to medical school. Choose a major in a subject
in which you are really interested. You will do better and have a
more enjoyable time throughout college.
Health Care Experience
According to a recent survey of medical schools, knowledge of
health care issues and commitment to health care were among the
top five variables considered very important to student selection
(the other four were med school interview ratings, GPA, MCAT
scores, and letters of recommendation).
You should consider being active in health care activities as
much as possible as a premed student. If nothing else, these
experiences will help you articulate in your personal statements
and interviews why you want to pursue a career in medicine.