Overview

Reality check: a Pre-Medical degree does not guarantee that you will be accepted into medical school. Pre-Medicine is a curriculum designed to best prepare you for the MCATs (the Medical College Admission Test) and for the rigors of medical school. Rich in biology and chemistry, this major dovetails neatly into several other related areas of study (such as chemistry, biology, and biochemistry). It also provides a solid background in physics and mathematics.


If you declare Pre-Medicine as your major, be prepared to forget about a social life from time to time. Colleges design Pre-Med programs to weed out prospective applicants to Medical School (read: organic chemistry). Med schools can only accept a certain number of students a year because a limited number of doctors may be licensed in the United States each year.


So, if the thought of hundreds of hours spent poring over organic chemistry notes appeals to you in a strange way, if you refer to ER as one of your “stories,” if you think that the unabridged Gray’s Anatomy makes for some interesting reading, or if you think you can really study harder than most of your friends for four years, then Pre-Medicine just might be the major for you.

SAMPLE CURRICULUM

  • Calculus I-II

  • General Anatomy and Physiology

  • General Biology I-II

  • General Chemistry I-II

  • Organic Chemistry I-II

  • Physics I-II


HIGH SCHOOl PREPARATION

A firm background in science will serve you well. Take as many courses in chemistry, biology, and physics as you can. If your school offers anatomy and physiology, sign up for those. Advanced math is usually a part of the Pre-Medical curriculum as well, so courses in calculus and trigonometry are also useful.