General Biology	1 year
General Chemistry	1 year
Organic Chemistry	1 year
Physics	1 year
English	1 year of English Composition or Literature
Mathematics	Most schools require at least one semester of college level mathematics (Calculus or Statistics). Some schools require 1 year.
Foreign Language	Highly recommended. Some schools, such as Stanford University strogly suggest proficiency in Spanish or Japanese.

 

Allopathic Medical Schools (M.D.)

Osteopathic Medical Schools (D.O.)

Foreign Medical Schools (M.D.)

Nearly all US medical schools require a common application. Theoretically, this service gives applicants the luxury of completing a single form when applying to multiple schools. The common application asks for basic information such as grades, test scores, work experience, and extracurricular activities. It also requires applicants to submit a personal statement, which is about one page in length.

The majority of schools require applicants to fill out additional forms that are unque to each school. Some of these forms are as lengthy while other require little more than a signature. See the tab below for a full discussion of these "secondaries" applications.

Allopathic medical schools utilize the AMCAS common application while osteopathic schools utilize the AACOMAS. Foreign medical schools do not use a common application, and those wishing to apply to these schools must submit a separate form to each institution.

 

These applications are unique to each medical school and are provided to applicants by invitation only. The decision whether or not to provide an applicant with a secondary is the "first step" in the admissions process. This decision is made based on information contained in the common application (see above). The secondary from school X will likely differ dramatically from the secondary from school Y. Unfortunately, this variation creates a lot of additonal work for applicants. Many secondaries are lengthy, requiring essays written about very specific topics. The more specific the secondaries, the more difficult it is for applicants to recycle information such as essays when filling out multiple forms. However, many secondaries are extremely short requiring only a signature and answers to a few simple questions.

Schools typically require 2 -3 letters of recommendation. Often 2 letters must be from professors in your area of concentration, and the 3rd letter may be from an employer or a professor in a field of your choosing. We will advise you on which individuals to approach for letters of recommendation. In addition, we'll guide you on when and how to ask for these letters and how to ensure that they are recieved promptly by each medical school.

Volunteering and working in a clinical setting are important components of your application. It is possible to be admitted to medical school without such experience. However, volunteerwork demonstrates to the admission committee that you are altruistic, and clinical exposure shows that you are comfortable around illness, death, and other things that doctors encounter on a daily basis. We will advise you on which volunteer and clinical opportunities may best suit your interests and how these activities are likely to be percieved by an admissions committee.

Like volunteerwork and clinical exposure, research experience is an important but non-essential component of your application. Having completed research establishes that you are motivated, hard-working, intellectually curious, and perhaps most importantly, willing and able to function at the bottom of the medical hierarchy. These are the essential qualities of the successful medical student. Moreover, they are traits that are cherished by every admissions committee. Your counselor will advise you one which research opportunities to pursue and how to present them in the most favorable light.

Extracurriculars are the least important component of your application, but they should not be neglected. Your hobbies and casual pursuits should show the committee that you have qualities such as passion, talent, energy, motivation, and perseverance. They should also demonstrate that you have healthy ways to relax. Medical school can be extremely stressful, and the committe needs to be assured that you will have healthy ways of coping with this stress.