7/1/2015

Getting into Medical School - The Timeline

Choosing Premed Colleges and Majors

Applications and Interviews
Premed Extracurriculars
The MCAT
Caribbean medical schools
Nontraditional Premed Student
Medical Student
Non-clinical Years
Clinical Years
USMLE and COMLEX Boards
Specialties
About
Contact

Getting into Medical School The Timeline

Freshman/Sophomore years
1. Ensure all pre-med requirements will be met in your schedule. Remember, each medical school will have slightly different requirements. If
there are certain med schools you are thinking about attending, please review their requirements. Here are the basic pre-med requirements
that most medical schools require:
Physics (1 year)
General Chemistry (1 year)
Organic Chemistry (1 year)
Biology (1 year)
English (D.O. schools require. Most M.D. schools recommend)
Psychology (1 semester) In Preparation of the 2015 MCAT
Sociology (1 semester) In Preparation of the 2015 MCAT
2. Meet with a pre-med advisor. This is not necessarily for advice right at that moment, but more for an introduction. College advisors advise
many students. You need to stand out so the advisor knows YOU.

Summer Suggestions:
1. Volunteer in a health care setting. This experience will not only strengthen your medical school application and CV, but it may guide you in
selecting a specific medical specialty.
2. Get involved with research (clinical or basic science). Again, this will strengthen your med school application and help separate you from
other applicants. You might also consider a research career if you find something you love. If this is the case, you may want to think about a
combined MD/PhD program.

Junior year
Fall semester
1. Meet again with your pre-med advisor. You should be keeping in contact with him/her periodically, especially after each semester, to ensure
he/she is receiving evaluations from your professors. These evaluations will help the advisor make better recommendations for you.
2. Start formulating a list of professors for your letters of recommendations. This is a very important step. Similar to meeting with your pre-med
advisor early on, you need to introduce yourself to your professors early in the semester. Let them know you are excited to take their classes.
Be very open that you are applying to medical school. This may help them to keep track of you during the semester, helping write you a better
letter of recommendation.
3. Register for the MCAT; study/enroll in a prep course. The MCAT can open all the doors to medical school, or close them all. Be VERY prepared
for this test.

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Getting into Medical School - The Timeline

Spring semester
1. Take the MCAT.
2. Use the knowledge acquired during your volunteering and other experiences to decide which type of program you want to apply to
MD, DO, MD/PhD, MD/MPH or any of the other combinations there may be.
1. Request letters of recommendation from your professors. Hopefully you followed the advice for the Fall Semester and introduced yourself to
your professors earlier. DO NOT show up to their office and request a letter of recommendation without that professor knowing who YOU
are. And definitely do not rush the professor for the letter of rec. Plan ahead and give them plenty of time. Remember, you are probably one
of several students who the professor must write letters for. Get there first, and get their attention!
2. Meet again with your pre-med advisor to start a Deans letter and begin gathering the necessary materials for your application.

Summer
1. Complete the AMCAS application.

Senior year
Fall semester
1. Complete the secondary application for each medical school that sends you one. Most schools have a secondary application and will send one
to you after they receive your AMCAS application. As noted in the article How Many Medical Schools Should I Apply To?, medical schools
charge a good amount of money for each application, so be sure to have the necessary funds available.
2. Meet one more time with your pre-advisor, who at this point might just be your best friend. You should now be finalizing letters and going
over other application requirements.
3. Interview at medical schools who offer you an interview. Another very important step that is often overlooked is sending thank you notes to
each and every person you interviewed with. A nice touch would also be sending a thank you letter to the secretary in charge of scheduling
your interview. These people keep the process moving!
4. Start researching how you will be pay for medical school. There are numerous financial aid options, including the Health Professions
Scholarship Program through the Military. Do your research and prepare the required forms.

Spring semester
1. Select the school where you will matriculate. Hopefully you will have a good list to choose from.
2. Call the schools you will not go to and thank them for their offer and time. Do this as soon as you know you will not be going there. This will
help fellow applicants receive a slot.
3. Enjoy the rest of college and celebrate with your classmates at graduation.

Summer
1. Pack and Move
2. Start Medical School!

Do you have any good tips or events that should be included into the timeline? Comment below and let us
know. Well update the timeline as needed!
Resources
1. This timeline is a modified and enhanced version of the timeline from AAMC that can be found here.

Free - Crush the MCAT with our MCAT Secrets eBook

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