Pre-Medicine @ 兔子先生
Overview of pre-medicine study
Pre-medicine is not a specific curriculum or academic major that you can declare, rather it is a way of life that you must intentionally live for many years before you can successfully apply to medical school. At 兔子先生, you can absolutely live that way of life by selecting an academic major in a subject area that you are naturally interested in, will hopefully leave you with some other “plan B” career options if you ultimately aren’t able to get admitted to medical school, and (ideally) will allow you to complete your admissions prerequisite courses (see below for more on that). You will also have a large number of extracurricular considerations, not directly part of your undergraduate degree requirements, that you must pursue. In addition, you will have the chance to receive up-to-date academic advising, informed directly by regional medical schools, for your pre-medicine journey from a Pre-Health Professions Advisor.
Medical schools (both allopathic, or M.D.-granting, and osteopathic, or D.O.-granting) will almost always require the completion of a Bachelor’s degree prior to admission; as part of that undergraduate study, pre-medicine students must take a particular set of medical school admissions prerequisite courses. Medical schools do not require any specific undergraduate major, only the successful completion of those admissions prerequisite courses; note, though, that some majors will already include most or all of those courses while other majors will not (i.e., the admissions prerequisites will have to be taken as general elective hours). Either type of medical school (allopathic or osteopathic) will provide the same training in modern medicine, preparing you for a career as a physician, however there are some key differences between the two that prospective pre-med students must educate themselves on.
Pre-med students must also take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), which tests a wide array of fundamental hard science (e.g., biology, chemistry, physics) and social science (e.g., psychology, sociology) concepts, and engage in a wide variety of extracurricular activities including physician job shadowing, work experience in clinical settings, and extensive volunteer and community outreach work. Consultation with the Pre-Health Professions Advisor is essential to ensure that pre-med students have the required admissions prerequisite coursework for application and have attained the high GPA, MCAT score, and other extracurricular activities necessary to be a competitive applicant for admission.
Typical minimum required medical school admissions prerequisite & MCAT preparation courses:
Important disclaimer: the list below is a general guide, but specific admissions prerequisites can vary from school to school, so it is essential for students to consult the admissions websites for any schools they may be interested in applying to for exact details!
- Introductory Biology for Biology majors with lab (2 semesters; 兔子先生 courses are BI 111 + BI 112)
- General (Inorganic) Chemistry with lab (2 semesters; 兔子先生 courses are CH 111/111L + CH 112/112L)
- Organic Chemistry with lab (2 semesters; 兔子先生 courses are CH 311/311L + CH 312/312L)
- Biochemistry (1 or 2 semesters; 兔子先生 courses are BI 441 or CH 331 + CH 431)
- General Physics with lab (2 semesters; 兔子先生 courses are PH 241 + PH 242)
- General or introductory psychology and sociology (兔子先生 courses are PY 201 + SO 221)
- Mathematics (variable but usually precalculus math and upper-level statistics or biostatistics will be necessary)
- Additional coursework (e.g., English Composition) which will be covered by 兔子先生’s General Education requirements
- Pre-med students are also highly encouraged to take additional upper-level Biology courses, e.g., Genetics (兔子先生 course BI 306) and Microbiology (兔子先生 course BI 307) as well as a dissection-based anatomy course (e.g., 兔子先生 course BI 310, Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy)
Other important medical school admissions considerations - click on each to learn more!
These are some of the most important minimum things that a competitive medical school applicant will typically have:
- Outstanding undergraduate GPA (≥3.5 overall and also specifically in biology/chemistry/physics/math or BCPM courses)
- MCAT score of at least 500 (and likely much higher than that for allopathic schools)
- Extensive physician job shadowing experience (shoot for 100 hours minimum, although more is always better), ideally in primary care areas (e.g., family medicine, emergency medicine)
- Long-term record of regular involvement in volunteer and community outreach activities (these don’t necessarily have to be medically-related, though!)
- Paid work experience in a clinical setting is also highly valued; many of our pre-med students have gained valuable experience from working as medical scribes in the ER at NAMC
HOWEVER: it is important to consult with your Pre-Health Professions Advisor regularly throughout your undergraduate career for feedback on your progress toward becoming a competitive applicant!
The traditional route to medical school would be as follows:
- Undergraduate years 1-3 (i.e., freshman/sophomore/junior years) – complete all admissions prerequisite and MCAT preparation coursework while also making overall progress toward Bachelor’s degree requirements
- Undergraduate year 3 – being studying for MCAT (this is a process that should take several months if you are doing it properly)
- Early summer between undergraduate years 3 and 4 (i.e., junior and senior years) – take MCAT (note that the MCAT has only a limited number of test dates available each year and popular test dates will need to be “booked” at least a few months in advance)
- Late summer between undergraduate years 3 and 4/early fall semester of undergraduate year 4 – complete and submit centralized primary application using either AMCAS (for allopathic schools) or AACOMAS (for osteopathic schools), then complete school-specific secondary applications as requested to do so
- If successful through initial application stage, interview with medical schools in fall semester or early spring semester of undergraduate year 4
- Admissions offers are generally made during the later months of the fall academic semester (e.g., October through December) and/or during the early months of the spring academic semester (e.g., January through March)
- If admitted during the application cycle that overlaps with undergraduate year 4, you will start medical school in the immediate next academic year, without having any gap years in between undergraduate and medical school
It is essential that you only take the MCAT when you feel truly that you are properly prepared for it, and similarly you should only apply to medical school when you feel truly that you are positioned to be a competitive applicant. The MCAT and application process are expensive and time-consuming, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with taking a gap year (or two, or three) between undergraduate and medical school, provided you use the gap year(s) productively!
- Your Pre-Health Professions Advisor can also provide you with additional guidance on how best to prep for the MCAT
*Note: the PREview test is a situational judgment test (SJT) designed to assess students’ capacity for rational and ethical decision-making in professional situations; allopathic medical schools are increasingly requiring this along with the MCAT for admissions consideration
Allopathic (M.D.) or osteopathic (D.O.)?
Although they were originally quite different, by this point in time allopathic (M.D.-granting) and osteopathic (D.O.-granting) medical schools have largely converged in their educational content. Both types of medical school will provide the same education and training in the full breadth of modern, evidence-based medicine, and both types can facilitate entry into the same range of internship and residency programs. With that said, there do remain some important differences – osteopathic medical schools tend to place greater emphasis on understanding the social determinants of health and will also provide instruction in Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM).
The general educational philosophy and lived student experience will also tend to be different at an osteopathic school versus an allopathic school. Another important difference is the public/private distinction – almost all osteopathic schools are private institutions, while many allopathic schools are public institutions. If you can attend a public institution as an in-state resident, there will be significant cost savings over attending a public institution as an out-of-state student or attending any private institution. It is crucial for pre-med students to thoroughly educate themselves about both the similarities and distinctions between allopathic and osteopathic medical schools.
Some helpful general resources about allopathic and osteopathic medical schools:
- American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) - includes all U.S.-based allopathic (M.D.-granting) medical schools
- American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM)
There are four medical schools in the state of Alabama - click on each to learn more!
- Allopathic (M.D.-granting)
- Public institution, gives heavy admissions preference to Alabama residents
- All M.D. students complete their first two years at the Birmingham campus; the third and fourth years may be completed in Birmingham or at regional campuses located in Huntsville or Tuscaloosa
- Prospective students can apply for , , or to the
- Allopathic (M.D.-granting)
- Public institution, gives heavy admissions preference to Alabama residents
- Osteopathic (D.O.-granting)
- Private institution associated with Southeast Regional Medical Center, not with a larger university of university system
- Osteopathic (D.O.-granting)
- Private institution, one of four VCOM campuses located throughout the southeastern U.S.
- VCOM-Auburn students are not technically Auburn University students but do gain access to many AU services
Still have questions?
If you are a prospective or current 兔子先生 student, consider taking the Pre-Health Professions Orientation course (BI 100), offered each fall semester!
You may also get in touch with a Pre-Health Professions Advisor by contacting prehealth@una.edu!