There are two paths to becoming a doctor: allopathic medicine, which leads to an M.D. (medical doctor), or osteopathic medicine, which leads to a D.O. (doctor of osteopathic medicine).
Today's physicians play a vital role in improving patient care through the medicine and information they provide.
The "traditional" pre-med student will apply to medical school after the third year of study; it takes a minimum of two years to complete the pre-requisite coursework.
Pre-requisites for applying to medical school:
- BIOL 211/211L & BIOL 213/213L for Biology majors entering Fall 2010 and later, or all non-Biology majors (non-BIOL majors will need special permission to enroll in these courses; Procedure for non-BIOL majors to register for BIOL courses);
- Biology majors entering prior to Fall 2010 must take BIOL 151/151L & BIOL 201/201L
- CHEM 121/121L - 122/122/L (this course should be completed as soon as possible)
- CHEM 321/321L - 322/322L
- PHYS 151/151L - 152/152L
The following courses are recommended, but not required:
- BIOL 314/314/L - 315/315/L
- BIOL 301/301L
- BIOL 414
- BIOL 495 (Immunology)
Applications are submitted one year or more before intended matriculation.
Most Medical Schools use the centralized application service (CAS) - AMCAS.
For more information about applying, go to Aspiring Docs.
Here are a few things to keep in mind while preparing for Pre-Med while in high school:
- If you can, enroll in science AP courses in high school.
- Consider taking college level science courses at your local university.
- Practice for the Preliminary SAT (PSAT). Not only is this a good practice for the SAT, but the PSAT also qualifies high school students for the National Merit Scholarship.
- Prepare for the SAT.* Kaplan is a good place to start.
* In order to enroll as a freshman into the Pre-Med Scholars Program, any entering freshman at CNU is required to have SAT (math & crit. read.) scores higher than or equal to 1250 or ACT scores higher than or equal to 28.
