Additional assorted humanities/social science courses (economics, political science, etc.)
Courses marked with an asterisk are generally considered useful for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). The courses should be offered by their respective departments (e.g. Biology through the biology department, physics through the physics department). Courses like "biology for non-majors" or "chemistry for nursing majors" generally do not fulfill prerequisite requirements. For the vast majority of schools, these courses must be taken for a letter grade. Moreover, every medical school will have slightly different requirements for courses, but by taking all these classes an applicant should be fine at the vast majority of American medical schools.
What are the practical differences between MD and DO students? Doctors of osteopathic medicine (DO) and doctors of medicine (MD) are two types of accredited doctor that can practice medical care in the United States. An MD is a traditional medicine (Allopathic) degree, whereas a DO takes a holistic, mind-body-spirit approach to care. Allopathic medicine emphasizes using medications to treat illnesses that are usually diagnosed by tests or procedures, such as a complete blood count or X-ray. The main difference is D.O graduates are trained in osteopathic muscle manipulation (OMM). Examples of OMM during a physical exam include: stretching out a limb, such as unfolding an arm, applying gentle pressure or resistance to specific areas, feeling someone’s bones, joints, organs, or other structures through their skin. As such, the licensing exams are required to graduate an osteopathic program are different. Osteopathic students are required to take the COMLEX exams. They are analogous to the USMLE exams that allopathic students take. The difference between the exams, again, is the addition of OMM material on the COMLEX. As such, when students prepare for the COMLEX, they often use USMLE resources and supplement with an OMM review and COMBANK (similar to UWorld). Finally, during rotations, osteopathic students take COMAT shelf exams whereas allopathic students take NBME shelf exams. What are the medical school application services? For American MD schools: AMCAS - American Medical College Application System For American DO schools: AACOMAS - American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application System Most medical schools have a secondary application, similar to supplements to the CommonApp used in undergrad. These often require additional essays and further information. The Student Doctor Network (SDN, studentdoctor.net) has pretty much every secondary application essay topic from previous years in their forums. Secondary application topics don't usually change. To find them, go to the school-specific threads found here, search for your school, and find your prompts.
What should my application timeline be? Medical school application services allow you to prepare your application/enter information in the early summer for medical school entry in the following year. Application submission typically becomes available 1 month afterwards. Traditional applicants typically take the MCAT in the Fall or Spring semester of their Junior year and apply in the summer following their Junior year. For AMCAS schools, interviews are conducted from mid/late summer through early spring. Texas schools interview from mid/late summer through early January. DO schools have an offset cycle and typically interview from late summer through April. All medical schools conduct in-person and on-site interviews with applicants. The format is typically either traditional interviews or multiple mini interviews (MMI). More information can be found through Google. It is strongly encouraged to submit your application as early as possible. Interviews are conducted on a rolling basis, so a late submission severely limits opportunities for an interview. Remember, your application only gets sent to medical schools after it has been verified and sometimes it can take up to 4-6 weeks to be verified. Some students elect to take a gap year or two after graduating from college, and others decide to pursue medicine later in life. The average age of a first-year medical student is slowly rising. Many matriculants have had long and productive careers in other fields before switching, and some are married and/or have kids.
How much is it to apply to medical school/how do I get scholarships? The high cost of applying to medical school is often an unexpected hurdle for many applicants. SDN made a good tool that allows you to estimate you application and interview expenses here (https://schools.studentdoctor.net/cost_calculator/). Fee Assistance Program: So if you have been eligible for the Pell grant in undergrad, you may be eligible for the AMCAS Fee Assistance Program (FAP). FAP provides fee waivers for the MCAT, MCAT resources, MSAR, and secondaries. Most schools will waive secondary fees if you are eligible for FAP. Scholarships: If you have received an acceptance to a school you're not entirely sold on, it might be good to wait a little bit before rescinding. The financial aid process lags a little and sometimes you can receive a scholarship weeks after receiving an acceptance.
Where can I find information about the course requirements/GPA/MCAT scores of School X? For MD schools, the Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR) is a $27.00/year service that contains information regarding GPA/MCAT distributions, coursework requirements, and many other immensely useful pieces of information. DO schools do not have an equivalent service. The cost of MSAR is 100% worth it as not applying to a single school that you shouldn't be will save you much more than the 27 dollars it costs. For DO schools, there is a FREE product available to download from aacom.org found here. Here is an interactive map with information about US MD and DO schools that gives both location and information about every medical school in the country. Moreover, here is a list of DO schools and average GPA and MCAT scores.
What is MSAR? The Medical School Admission Requirements™ (MSAR®) is an online database that enables you to browse, search, sort, and compare information about U.S. and Canadian medical schools and BS/MD programs, and more.
I took AP tests in high school. Do these count towards medical school prerequisites? Depends on the school. Check MSAR.
I took dual-enrollment courses in high school/community college classes. Do these count towards medical school prerequisites? Generally yes. Check the MSAR for specifics.
I took dual-enrollment courses in high school. Do these grades count towards my GPA when I apply? Yes, you have to report these grades when you apply. Failure to do so can result in delays in your application processing or even rejection/dismissal if it is determined that you deliberately hid this information.
I took courses at another institution. Do I have to report these grades? Yes. Failure to report can cause delays in your application processing or even rejection/dismissal if it is determined that you deliberately hid this information.
What should I major in? The admissions committee generally doesn't care about your major. Many premed students opt to major in biology or chemistry because of the significant overlap between medical school prerequisites and required classes for the major sequence. However, all majors have successfully matriculated to medical school. The vast majority of schools will not give you leeway for choosing a harder major.
Should I get a minor? Minors should be pursued if you are legitimately interested in the topic and/or plan to do something with the knowledge outside of a classroom. It will not help you in admissions.
Should I get a graduate degree? Special Masters Programs (SMPs) are 1-year graduate programs designed to put students through the equivalent of the first year of medical school. Doing well in one (~3.6+) can significantly increase one's odds of being accepted to medical school. However, these programs are very expensive (tuition is roughly $40K), and doing poorly spells the end of your medical school ambitions. Traditional graduate programs cannot be used to fix or blunt the impact of a weak undergraduate performance. Graduate GPA is calculated separately from undergraduate GPA. The same advice for minors holds here. However, if you have a strong undergraduate record and you get your masters out of your own accord, it can help you stand out in admissions. PhDs are especially valuable when applying.
I made a bad grade in X/had a bad semester/had a bad undergrad. What should I do? The plan depends on the extent of the damage. If you are still in undergrad, calculate theoretical GPA outcomes to figure out what you need to do. If your final projected GPA is... Less than 3.0: You will need a couple semesters' to a couple years' worth of GPA repair. For MD and DO, do well on the MCAT and do post-bacc work (DIY or formal) until your GPA > 3.0 and apply to an SMP or until your GPA is competitive enough. This can be a very long and expensive path; think hard before you commit. Between 3.0 and 3.2: Post-bacc work should be in your future unless you have a lot of other things going for you (e,g, very strong MCAT). Between 3.2 and 3.4: Might need post-bacc work. Depends on the MCAT. Some DO schools and (maybe) low-tier MD schools, probably. Between 3.4 and 3.7: Should be okay. Depends on the MCAT. DO schools and mid/low-tier MD, probably. Above 3.7: Depends on the MCAT.
My MCAT is low. What should I do? A retake should be in your future. Examine study habits. Seek tutoring options. Improve understanding. Visit r/mcat. You might have to delay your application by a cycle. Ideally your retake count should be 0. A large number of retakes (> 2 or 3) is costly and can hurt your application.
How do I interpret my MCAT score or practice scores and what I need to improve? Here's a rough guideline of what your total practice score AVERAGES mean:
Less than 20: You have severe content and test taking issues.
20-25: You have a lot of content issues and your test taking abilities need a lot of work.
26-30: You have a pretty good understanding of material and your test taking abilities are above average.
31-34: You have a good understanding of the material and your test taking abilities are very good.
35-37: You have an excellent understanding of the material and your test taking abilities are extremely good.
38+: You have an excellent understanding of the material (save for a few random topics every test-taker is expected to miss) and your test taking abilities are almost perfect for the MCAT.
Aside from GPA and MCAT, what else do I need? Clinical experience - working as a scribe, shadowing a physician, and volunteering in a clinical setting (e.g. hospital, hospice care, free clinic) provides valuable insight into what it means to take care of a patient. Medical schools want to make sure that you know what you're getting into. You should have enough clinical experience to write meaningfully about it in your application personal statement and speak intelligently in an interview. General volunteering and other extracurricular activities - these show that you have an altruistic spark and are a human being that exists beyond the boundaries of the classroom. Research - This shows that you have a mind for critical thinking. Successfully designing and conducting an experiment is further proof that you have a very good brain. Leadership - Physicians are considered leaders in their field and showing it in undergrad and beyond is immensely helpful.
Is Research necessary for admissions? Most medical schools require some sort of research experience, and most admitted students have experience as well.
What should I do for letters of recommendation? Letters of recommendation are an important part of the application - establishing a rapport with professors with whom you've taken a class is a good way to get strong letters. Typically you need 2 professors who taught a science course (biology, chemistry, physics, math, (maybe) engineering), and one professor who taught a humanities course. Some schools have additional requirements, such as letters from a healthcare professional. Notably, some DO schools require a letter from a DO. If you have extensive research experience, a letter from your principal investigator (PI) is often expected.
Where can I store my letters? Interfolio.com is the best option as it is a letter service used by all 3 application systems. You can upload a letter to interfolio once from a letter writer and send it off to each service yourself.
Can I attend medical school outside of the United States and come back to practice? This can be quite tricky. International/Foreign medical graduates (IMG/FMG) have a hard time getting into a residency program in the United States, much less a competitive one. The residency match rate for IMGs hovers around 50%, and those who do match tend to be in less preferable locations or programs. The most common place for American students to go is the Caribbean. There are several for-profit medical schools in the area, and they charge exorbitant prices, and amenities taken for granted in the continental United States don't come cheap on an island. Moreover, these schools are more than willing to cull low-performing students. Several of these schools require you to take a practice board exam before you take them for real. At face value, that might be okay; many schools in the United States do the same. However, if you fail that exam too many times, you're cut from the program to inflate the school's pass rate. Among those who do pass, 50% get into residency in any given year. For other countries, like those in Europe, students take different board exams. In order to practice in the United States, you will have to take the American version. This is not a trivial series of tests. It's a raw deal, and it's only getting worse as more American medical schools open with stagnant residency occupancy.
But why was I rejected in the first place? Every year, thousands of medical school applicants are rejected for a variety of reasons (over 60% of applicants are rejected, to be exact). But according to medical school admissions officers, there are the main reasons why medical schools will reject an applicant. They are:
Poor grades and/or MCAT scores. Many schools screen applicants based on minimum GPA and MCAT scores, and will automatically reject an applicant that falls below a certain threshold. The general rule of thumb is that you have an overall GPA of 3.5 with a strong performance in the sciences and at least 10 on each section of the old MCAT or an overall score above 500 on the new MCAT. If your MCAT scores are lower (not much lower) but your GPA is outstanding, especially if your undergraduate school was rigorous and competitive, your chances are better. A few notes about this: it is known that a 9 on any single subsection is the lowest acceptable score with an otherwise good application. Moreover, a 3.5 is likely the beginning of a good application with strong applicants starting at 3.7. A 500 is considered the lowest score to be considered at any level of competitive, but applicants with below a 505 should not hope for an MD acceptance.
Unbalanced grades and MCAT: Some students will have a problem that arises when they have a low GPA but high MCAT or a high GPA but low MCAT. The way each is considered is thiS: High GPA and low MCAT: Did the students GPA reflect how easy the school is? Can they handle the stress of medical school/ boards/ clinical life if they can't perform on one day? Low GPA and high MCAT: We question this students work ethic since they are obviously very intelligent and scored high on their MCAT but have a low GPA. Unfortunately students generally are not given the benefit of the doubt as they are competing with thousands of other applicants who may not have these red flags.
Lack of clinical experience. One of the questions an admissions committee member will ask is, “How can this applicant possibly know that he wants to be a doctor if he’s never spent time in a clinical setting?” If you’re applying to medical school, you better demonstrate your interest through clinical experiences. It’s difficult to convince someone looking at your application or interviewing you that you’re serious about medicine if you’ve not done anything to prove it. The most favorable applicants have shadowed doctors, volunteered at clinics or hospitals, or participated in premed programs that included time spent with physicians.
Lack of ECs: Moreover, if you have good stats but nothing else to your application, why would a school choose you? It's a seller's market, meaning schools CAN and WILL have their pick of the litter. For every 3.8/516, there is another 3.8/516 with amazing ECs. Make yourself competitive.
Narrow choice of schools. Unless a student has outstanding grades, very high MCAT scores, exceptional extracurricular activities, and excellent interview skills, he or she must apply to a wide range of medical schools. Competition is fierce. Some national schools receive more than 14,000 applications and are very selective in who they accept. You may think that a 3.5 GPA and a score of 510 on the MCAT will get you into Harvard or Duke, but it most likely won’t. So cover all your bases and include both your dream medical schools and less selective schools that would more likely accept you, given your academic record. Applying is expensive. Re-applying is even more expensive. Cast a wide net.
Poorly written essay. Sometimes the difference between getting an interview and an outright rejection comes down to the essay. In borderline cases, an essay will convince an admissions committee member that you’re someone who deserves further consideration. A poorly written essay, on the other hand, will make the rest of your application seem less desirable. If it doesn’t answer the questions of why you want to be a doctor, what led you to this decision, and what you’ve done to cultivate your interest in medicine, your application will simply be one of the thousands that are rejected. If your "why this school?" secondary essay can be used for any other school, it is garbage. Make it specific and substantial.
Terminology
M(S)1/2/3/4: Denotes in which year of medical school a student is.
Step 1: A national exam taken at the end of M2 year which tests on all the basic sciences and many clinical applications learned during the first two years of medical school. Both the USMLE and COMLEX offer a Step 1 (as well as Steps 2 and 3).
UFAP: UWorld, First Aid, Pathoma. One of the most commonly used study methods for Step 1.
USMLE: United States Medical Licensure Examination. Provides licensure exams for MD students. It can also be taken by DO students, but it is not required for their licensure.
COMLEX: College of Osteopathic Medicine Licensure Examination. Provides licensure exams for DO students.
High Yield: This material is tested often and/or heavily on boards.
Goljian: Dr. Edward Goljian is the other of many rapid review books, and has created an audio lecture series many students have found helpful.
Shelf Exams: Exams on one specific subject (e.g. Physiology, Surgery, Anatomy), written by the NBME (or NBOME). They are often used by schools to provide an absolute grade for a student, or to compare its students to national averages.
Anki: A computer-based program for making flash cards. Features include image use, sound use, image occlusion and others. Flashcards can be categorized by how well you performed, so the program will automatically remind you which cards you need to study again.
Firecracker: Paid service of flashcards, multiple choice questions, and summaries of material made to be used during MS1/2 for class studying and board prep.
First Aid (FA): Arguably the most important book for any M1 or M2 student. It is used by almost every student in preparing for the Step 1 board exam. It provides a review of the most high yield topics for Step 1 and can be useful if used during the M1 and M2 curriculum.
Step-Up Books: Another set of review books meant to provide a high-yield review for topics such as Step 1, Medicine, Pediatrics, etc.
Pathoma: A book and video series on Pathology, written by Dr. Sattar. It is one of the most commonly used Pathology resources for M1 and M2 students, especially for studying for Step 1.
Rapid Review: A book and lecture series on Pathology, written by Dr. Goljan. It is another commonly used Pathology resource for M1 and M2 students, especially for studying for Step 1.
Made Ridiculously Simple (MRS): A series of review books that break down difficult topics into more digestible pieces by including simpler explanations, memorable graphics and mnemonics.
SketchyMicro/SketchyMedical: A series of premium animated videos meant to help teach microbiology. A pharmacology section is in the works.
Savarese (“Green Book”): A review book written for studying OMM in preparation for the COMLEX.
QBank: Collections of questions written for various topics and exams. The best QBank is UWorld. Others include USMLERx and Kaplan (considered the least helpful)