Med School Admission Criteria

Class Location: The Internet.

Description: This course gives students an overview of the requirements for applying to medical school.

Objective: Learn what factors are taken into consideration by medical school admissions committees.

In order for a medical school in the United States to consider you for admission, you must meet three basic criteria. Meeting these criteria is essential for a medical school to even look at your application. How you measure up on these criteria compared to the other applicants, along with everything you’ve done to augment these basics, will determine whether you get accepted into the school.

• You must complete the six required pre-med courses—biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, statistics, and calculus. While all your grades are important, your GPA for these core classes will be the most significant grades an admissions committee will look at on your application.
• You must take the MCAT—Medical College Admission Test. Your MCAT score is an important part of your application, since it is a standardized test and med schools can compare applicants on even ground. It tests your critical thinking, problem solving, and writing skills—the same skills you’ll need to succeed in med school. While you can take the test more than once if you’re not satisfied with your score, doing well your first time will give your application an edge and free your time from having to study for it again. You can instead use that time to focus on your med school application, interviews, and classes.
• You need a four-year bachelor’s degree from an accredited college. The only exception to this requirement comes from the few accelerated medical school programs that accept high school seniors for a six-year program. Students spend the first three years of this program taking undergraduate pre-med courses and the final three years taking med school classes. Unless you’re a high school senior, you probably should not consider these programs.
• Most applicants try to get into med school straight out of college. But this doesn’t mean that if you’re older than 22, you should write off any hopes of becoming a doctor. Most medical schools will accept older applicants as long as they meet the required criteria. Even people into their 40s can consider a career change if they’re ready to take on the challenges of med school—and perhaps be the only student with gray hair in their med school classes. Nurses, chiropractors, school teachers, and people in many other careers have successfully applied to med school well into middle age. Just because you haven’t pursued the traditional pre-med track doesn’t mean it’s too late for you. You’ll likely have to go back to undergraduate school to complete the core science courses, but as long as you meet all the criteria, med schools will happily consider your application.

As competitive as the medical school application process is, excelling in the three basic application criteria is your first step in getting a leg up on the competition. These criteria form the most objective elements of your application. They allow the medical schools to compare you to the other applicants on a near level playing field. And, most importantly, they give you solid ground to stand on when making your case for admission.