Medicine.001

Academic Preparation

Academic preparation for medical school requires a Bachelor’s degree and completion of a set of prerequisite classes, usually

science, which vary from school to school. Common classes are listed on the last page of this summary. For your degree, any major

is appropriate. There is no preference in this regard, so study something you love! Competitive applicants have very high grades so

pace yourself in order to succeed, and remember that all grades apply (even if you repeat classes) will count when you.

Patient Exposure

Interacting well with patients is

one of the key indicators of a

successful future provider. Your

experience can be either paid or

unpaid. It may or may not require

certification. Examples include ER

volunteer, nursing home, hospice

and more. Many applicants

complete 1-2 different

experiences each lasting at least 6

months to a year, total of 100+

hrs.

Leadership Experience

As a physician, you will be a leader and a team member with

your patients, your staff, your colleagues, and in your

community. Examples of leadership includes offices in

organizations, leadership in church activities, coordinating a

project, serving on a committee, managing or training or

supervising at work, teaching experience of any kind, coaching,

peer counseling, mentoring, etc. Many applicants complete

100+ hours in 3 different experiences each lasting 3 months or

longer in the 4 years before applying to medical school.

Research Experience

Physicians depend on medical literature to remain current in

their field throughout their careers. Most medical schools

required or highly recommend participation in research that tests

a hypothesis. Your research experience can be from many

different areas. It does not have to be medically related or in a

lab. Many applicants complete at least 1 experience under a

supervision of a faculty member or other researcher lasting 6

months to a year.

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program can be

found here: https://www.umsl.edu/studentresearch/

PREMED (M.D. and D.O.) INFORMATION SUMMARY

Complimentary Activities?

Things to Remember

• What you do outside of class is important so don’t neglect activities. However, remember that activities complement your

coursework, but they will not compensate for low grades.

• Make sure you have contact information for supervisors and physicians in case you need a recommendation letter. Try to

keep an open relationship with them after you discontinue activities.

• Keep a record of all hours of service and experiences.

• Writing reflections on each activity in a journal will be helpful when you complete your application and write your personal

statement.

Physician Shadowing This

should be one of your first experiences as a

premedical student. Observing a physician

in action will help you gather the

information you need to fully commit to

the profession and to learn about a variety

of medical specialties. Many students find

physicians to shadow through volunteer

experiences at medical facilities. Consider

shadowing doctors from a variety of

backgrounds and with both MD and DO

educations. Many applicants shadow 3-5

different physicians, spending at least 8-10

hours with each, and have a good balance

between primary care and non-primary

care.

Service to the Community

Because you are preparing for a

humanitarian profession, it is

important to have volunteer

experiences that demonstrate a

commitment to serving others in your

community. Ideally, this would be

ongoing throughout your college years

prior to application for admission.

Many applicants complete 3 different

experiences each lasting 6 months to

a year with at least 200 hours, in the 4

years before they apply to medical

school.

Want to find activities? Check out:

▪ https://www.umsl.edu/studentinvolve

ment/service/index.html

*this pre-med document was adapted with permission of the Pre-Professional Advising Office at the University of Utah.

APPLICATION TIMELINE

TIMELINE

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

July

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

MCAT

Take exam

LORs

Request letters & get contact info from letter writers

Application

Prep

- Write draft of Personal

Statement

- Research Schools

- Applications open online to fill

out profile/info 1

week of May

- Submit applications the first

week of June at the earliest

Application deadlines

Oct.-Nov. for MD

Dec.-March. for DO

If no interviews, begin

assessing reapplication

Secondary Applications

update

LORs

Interviews

Acceptance Notifications for August start dates

Financial Aid

Priority filing for federal financial aid

❖

THE MCAT

• The MCAT is administered in January, and March through September. It’s best to have all of your premedical courses completed before taking

the MCAT.

• Taking the exam by spring will enable you to apply earlier. September is the last MCAT accepted by many schools for the following Fall

entering class.

• The MCAT is divided into four multiple choice sections: Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems; Chemical and

Physical Foundations of Living Systems; Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations of Behavior; and Critical Analysis and

Reasoning Skills. You can obtain the most updated information from https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/mcat2015/.

❖

THE AAMC SJT OR ALTUIS SUITE

There are two common instruments designed to assess characteristics necessary to succeed as a physician

• AAMC Standardized Judgement Test (SJT)—This is the most common assessment used by medical schools. It was developed to

measure the pre-professional competencies outlined in the AAMC .

It has 95 – 105 minutes total session time (75 minutes exam time). It is scored from 1 (low) – 9 (high). Students will receive a test

score for AAMC SJT. For more information and preparation resources, visit AAMC Standardized Judgement Test (SJT) website.

• Altius Suite—is a 3 part assessment adopted by some medical schools. Casper is a newer situational judgement test that assesses

for 10 characteristics: Collaboration, Communication, Empathy, Equity, Ethics, Motivation, Problem Solving, Professionalism,

Resilience, and Self Awareness. Snapshot is a short one way virtual interview that highlights communication skills and motivation

for your chose profession. Duet is a value-alignment assessment that compares your values to the mission of the school. For more

information go to the Altius website https://takealtus.com/suite/.

❖

THE APPLICATION PROCESS

• Most US medical schools admit students once a year to start late Summer/early Fall.

• Applications are submitted 12-15 months before your desired medical school enrollment date. This means the application process can

begin as early as the spring after your Junior year. However, the timing depends on when you will complete your degree and the necessary

premedical coursework, and successfully take the MCAT. All degrees must be posted to your transcript prior to starting medical school, and

the timing is sensitive.

• While applying early in the cycle has advantages, the best time for you to apply is when your application is the best it can be. Many students

choose to take a gap year to strengthen their application with attention to the MCAT, time to do research, or additional shadowing opportunities.

• You can apply to both M.D. and D.O. schools, and we encourage students to consider doing so.

• Requirements vary from school to school. Research schools early for specific information about requirements.

• Before submitting applications, have people (Career Services) with an unbiased eye go over each entire application to catch any errors.

• To help us advise other students, we would appreciate it if you would release your statistical information from your applications to the

Health Professions Advisor when prompted. This information will always be kept confidential.

• There are three centralized application services processing primary applications for US medical schools: AMCAS for MD schools,

AACOMAS for DO schools, and TMDSAS for schools in the University of Texas system. These services are very similar, but not identical.

They open online in early May each year to allow applicants to start building applications and begin accepting submissions on or around

June 1st. Refer to the chart on page 3 for additional information.

• There are a handful of private schools not affiliated with any of these centralized services and require other applications. Information

is available on each school’s website.

*this pre-med document was adapted with permission of the Pre-Professional Advising Office at the University of Utah.

Application Comparison

TMDSAS—U of TX

AMCAS—

AACOMAS—

Primary Application Fee: # of

schools included

Flat fee includes all schools, but

no fee waivers

1 school included in fee,

Extra fee for each additional

1 school included in fee,

Extra fee for each additional

Add additional schools after

submission?

Yes—No additional charge

Yes—Additional charge

Personal statement length

1 required, 5000 char limit

2 optional, 2500 char each

1 required, 5300 char limit

Extracurricular experience

listings

Chronological list of all info

since HS graduation

(academic, extracurricular,

employment, etc.)

May list up to 15 activities

700 character limit each

Designate 3 ‘significant’

May list all activities

600 character limit each

Official MCAT Score Report

required

Official transcripts

TMDSAS form required

AMCAS form required

AACOMAS form required

GPA calculations*

Unique calculation with no

decimals

Total, BCPM, and AO

Total, BCP, and AO

Early application advantage?

Yes

Deadlines?

October 1

By school, mostly Oct or Nov

By school, mostly Dec-Apr

Website

utsystem.edu/tmdsas/

www.aamc.org.

www.aacom.org

*Total = Total GPA, BCPM = Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math (Science) GPA, AO = All Other (Non-Science) GPA

❖ LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

• Once a medical school receives your primary application through the application service, the school will request supplementary

materials, including program specific secondary applications and Letters of Recommendation (LORs).

• Application services do not share letters: Be sure to plan ahead regarding where to have your letters sent.

o Applicants who plan to apply only to AMCAS, AACOMAS, or TDMSAS affiliated medical schools most often take advantage of

the Letter Service provided by those systems.

o If applying to both MD and DO schools, or including TMDSAS schools, unaffiliated schools, or an international program, it is

easiest to subscribe to a service like Interfolio (interfolio.com/) which allows you to collect all your letters in one place and have

them sent to each application service.

• Do not delay submitting your primary application while waiting for letters to arrive. Letters are part of the secondary process.

• Requirements for letters vary between schools, so research schools early and know what you need. The following are

recommendations, and generally covers the types of letters you will need. Plan ahead! Get to know people from these

categories so you will have a variety of people who can write excellent letters for you.

1. Science Professor (BCPM)

2. Non-Science Professor OR 2

Science Professor (Requirements vary by school)

3. Mentor letter—Usually a Supervisor for Research, Patient Exposure, Community Service, or Employment

❖ PREMED GENERAL POLICIES REGARDING COURSEWORK

CLEP Credit &

Correspondence Study

Not acceptable as part of the premed curriculum

AP Credits

Students must take coursework beyond introductory classes waived by AP

“Online” Courses

Online sections of semester-based university classes, or online/in person hybrid sections of

semester based classes will usually be accepted. Online courses which are not university

semester based (independent study) will generally not be accepted.

Repeat Policy

All grades for repeated courses will be counted towards your GPA on your medical school

application through AMCAS, AACOMAS, and/or TMDSAS

Withdrawals

W’s or EX’s should be used only for emergencies, although W’s or Ex’s will not affect your GPA and

is better than a low grade. If you are considering withdrawals, consult your professor and advisor

first.

GPA

Generally, the minimum GPA for Total, Science, and all other is 3.75, but may be higher or lower

depending on the school. The average GPA for accepted applicants is usually in the 3.6 range for

MD schools and 3.5 range for DO schools https://www.princetonreview.com/med-school-

advice/gpa-for-medical-school.

Premedical Course Guide

This guide is designed for applying to a range of medical schools. It is not a comprehensive list. Requirements may vary by school.

[Some classes may be taken at a Community College. However, not all medical schools accept prerequisites from 2-year schools]

*Most medical schools require that you have at least 90 hours of college coursework completed. Included in the 90 hours

should be the following classes. These classes are the most common required classes for medical schools:

• English 1100: First-Year Writing

• English 3100 or 3160: Junior-Level Writing or Writing in the Sciences

• Biol 1821: Introductory Biology: Organisms and the Environment

• Biol 1831: Introductory Biology: From Molecules to Organisms

• Biol 4672: Principles of Biochemistry or Chem 4712: Biochemistry

• Chem 1111: Introductory Chemistry I

• Chem 1121: Introductory Chemistry II

• Chem 2612: Organic Chemistry I

• Chem 2622: Organic Chemistry II

• Chem 2633: Organic Chemistry Laboratory

• Physics 1011&L: Basic Physics I and Lab

• Physics 1012&L: Basic Physics II and Lab

The following aren't usually required, but are highly recommended for the MCAT:

• Psych 1003: General Psychology

• Soc 1010: Introduction to Sociology

The following may be required by some medical schools:

• Biol 2012: Genetics

• Biol 2482: Microbiology

• Biol 3622: Cell Biology

• Math 1100 or 1800: Basic Calculus or Analytic Geometry and Calculus I

• Math 1105: Basic Probability and Statistics or Math 1320: Introduction to Probability and Statistics