Premedical Information for Harvard Students

[Pages:24]Premedical Information for Harvard Students

Timelines, Courses, and Resources 2014?2015

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table of contents

Starting Out 1

Medical School Application Timeline2

Medical School Requirements for Admissions3 I. Course Requirements II. Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT)

Harvard Courses That Satisfy Most Medical School Admissions Requirements 6

Considerations for Planning Your Program of Study 9 Course load, Pass/Fail, and GPA Chemistry, Biology, and Physics Placement Science General Education Courses Research Study Abroad Summer school and Taking Premed Courses at a Different Institution Post-Baccalaureate Options

Sample Course Sequences 12

Medical Career Resources for Harvard Students

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starting out

Dear Harvard Students, Premedical Information for Harvard Students: Timelines, Courses, & Resources 2014-2015 provides an overview of the application timelines and courses required for admission to U.S. medical schools. We hope it will serve as a planning guide to help you integrate this coursework into your academic plan at Harvard. We have also included a list of Harvard resources that will help you as you consider a career in medicine. As a first-year Harvard student, or someone who has recently decided to pursue premedical coursework, you will hear many opinions about what being premed means and what medical school admission committees expect to see in an applicant. Do not believe all that you hear (or that you read on the web). Misconceptions and misinformation can provoke unnecessary anxiety. This booklet is designed to help dispel some common premed and medical school admissions myths. While this publication describes the process for students applying to MD programs (allopathic medicine), many Harvard students choose to pursue other health professions, such as public health, dentistry, veterinary medicine, nursing, and osteopathic medicine. Please feel free to contact us in regard to meeting the requirements for these and other health professions fields. We urge you to take advantage of the range of premedical and pre-health advising resources available at Harvard. Concentration advisors, House premedical tutors, OCS career advisors, and practitioners in the field will offer a range of perspectives on how to enhance your experience at Harvard as you plan for medical studies. Oona Ceder and Sirinya Matchacheep

Premedical and Health Careers Advisors Office of Career Services Faculty of Arts and Sciences Harvard University

starting out 1

medical school application timeline

Over two-thirds of Harvard applicants to medical school in recent years have waited until their senior year and beyond to apply to medical school. This timeline allows students four years to fulfill their premedical requirements. Students can also take some or even all of their premedical requirements after they graduate from college. The national average age of entering medical school students is 24, and medical schools value the added experience and maturity brought by students who have taken one or more gap years.

Senior Applicants

Freshman

Begin Harvard

Sophomore Junior

March: Declare to House Premed intent to apply

March-April*: Receipt of LORs by House

Jan-June: MCAT May: AMCAS opens June: Submit AMCAS

June-Sep**: Secondary

Senior

Sep-April: Interviews

May 15

GradMuaetedical School

Student

Alumni Applicants***

Freshman

Begin Harvard

Sophomore Junior

Senior Graduate

March: Declare to House Premed intent to apply

March-April*: Receipt of LORs by House

Jan-June: MCAT May: AMCAS opens

June-Sep**: Secondary

Sep-April: Interviews

May 15

*Note: We advise that you request a letter of recommendation from any recommender (i.e., professor, employer, supervisor, etc.) at the time when you have completed your association with them.

Medical School Student

**Note: Recommended turnaround time for secondary applications is 10-14 days.

***Note: Timeline of alumni applicant who took one gap year. It is also common to apply a few years after graduation.

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medical school requirements for admission

(as of july 2014)

I. Course Requirements

? One year of general or inorganic chemistry with lab ? One year of organic chemistry with lab ? One year of general physics with lab ? One year of biology with lab ? One year of English

It is recommended that you complete these courses before taking the MCAT and before applying to medical school.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

? Over 50 medical schools require one or two semesters of mathematics (college math, calculus, and/or statistics).

? Currently the following 30 medical schools require one semester of biochemistry. We expect this number to increase over the next several years.

University of Arizona College of Medicine, Phoenix University of California, Irvine School of Medicine Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth Duke University School of Medicine Florida State University University of Florida College of Medicine Harvard Medical School (new requirements only) University of Hawaii at Manao, John A. Burns School of Medicine Indiana University School of Medicine (new requirements only) Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, School of Medicine in Shreveport University of Michigan Medical School Mayo Medical School University of Miami Miller School of Medicine University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine University of Nebraska College of Medicine University of Nevada School of Medicine University of New Mexico School of Medicine New York Medical College State University of New York-Upstate Medical University Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health Oregon Health and Science University Texas A&M Health Science Center, College of Medicine Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine University of Texas Medical School at San Antonio Medical College of Wisconsin University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Marshall University-Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine Yale University School of Medicine

medical school requirements for admission 3

? 24 medical schools require more than one year of biology. These include many of the Texas and California state medical schools. See the OCS resource Information About Requirements, Admissions, and Financial Aid Policies for 2015 Medical School Matriculation Prepared by Harvard College HPA (XLS) for more detail.

? A few medical schools have additional requirements such as psychology or sociology. IMPORTANT: Check the current edition of the Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR), the official guide of the Association of American Medical Colleges, for information on particular course requirements for the medical schools to which you may apply. Be sure to check the premedical requirements for your state medical school. MSAR is updated annually and can be ordered online on the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) website. Most medical schools list their specific requirements on their websites. For a list of all U.S. medical schools and links to their admissions policies pages, see the OCS resource Information About Requirements, Admissions, and Financial Aid Policies for 2015 Medical School Matriculation Prepared by Harvard College HPA (XLS). II. Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) The Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) currently assesses the applicant's understanding of basic concepts in biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and non-calculus based physics, as well as verbal reasoning competency. For more information about the MCAT, we recommend that you read the MCAT Student Manual (students/applying/mcat), which describes in detail the content of the physical sciences, biological sciences, and verbal reasoning sections. Beginning in 2015, the MCAT will also test applicants' understanding of concepts in biochemistry, statistics, psychology, and sociology. Please visit the AAMC website for more information and updates: mcat2015, where you will find links to helpful resources such as The Official Guide to the MCAT? Exam (MCAT 2015) and full-length sample practice tests (available in the fall of 2014).

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