Intent to Apply

Timelines

AMCAS

College Year 1

Fall Semester

  • Meet prehealth advisor and investigate prehealth advisory program
  • As applicable, ensure that prehealth advisor receives course directors' evaluations
  • Successfully complete first-semester required premedical coursework and other degree requirements

Spring Semester

  • Explore Considering a Medical Career
  • Identify summer paid/volunteer medically related opportunities
  • Successfully complete second-semester required premedical coursework and other degree requirements
  • Ensure that prehealth advisor receives course directors' evaluations

Summer

  • Complete summer paid/volunteer medically related experience
  • Attend summer school, if desired or necessary

College Year 2

Fall Semester

  • Check in with prehealth advisor and participate in prehealth activities
  • Investigate available volunteer/paid medically related clinical or research activities
  • Successfully complete first-semester required premedical coursework and other degree requirements
  • Ensure that prehealth advisor receives course directors' evaluations

Spring Semester

  • Check in with prehealth advisor and participate in prehealth activities
  • Participate in paid/volunteer medically related clinical or research activities
  • Identify summer paid/volunteer medically related opportunities
  • Successfully complete second-semester required premedical coursework and other degree requirements
  • Ensure that prehealth advisor receives course directors' evaluations

Summer

  • Complete summer paid/volunteer medically related experience
  • Participate in a summer health careers program, if available
  • Attend summer school, if desired or necessary

College Year 3

Fall Semester

  • Check in with prehealth advisor and participate in prehealth activities
  • Continue participation in paid/volunteer medically related activities
  • Investigate
    • Applying to Medical School
    • Medical schools in the U.S. and Canada
    • Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)
    • Fee Assistance Program (FAP)
    • Minorities in Medicine to get information for groups underrepresented in medicine
  • Begin preparation and register for desired MCAT administration; visit MCAT Web site for available test dates
  • Successfully complete first-semester required premedical coursework and other degree requirements
  • Ensure that prehealth advisor receives course directors' evaluations

Spring Semester

Summer

  • Participate in a summer health careers program, if available
  • Complete AMCAS application
  • Take desired MCAT administration
  • Attend summer school, if desired or necessary
  • Become familiar with:
    • Recommendations Concerning Medical School Acceptance Procedures for First-Year Entering Students
    • Applicant Responsibilities

College Year 4

Fall Semester

  • Complete supplementary application materials for schools to which you've applied
  • Consult regularly with prehealth advisor regarding:
    • Completion of school-specific requirements for advisor/committee premedical evaluation
    • Status of application/admission process for schools to which you've applied
  • Continue participation in paid/volunteer medically related activities
  • Interview at medical schools
  • Continue review of medical education options
  • Successfully complete first-semester elective science and non-science coursework and other degree requirements
  • Ensure that prehealth advisor receives course directors' evaluations

Spring Semester

  • Make interim and final decisions about medical school choice
  • Immediately notify medical schools that you will not be attending
  • Ensure that all IRS forms are submitted as early as possible
  • Successfully complete second-semester elective science and non-science coursework and other degree requirements
  • Graduate

Summer

  • Prepare for medical school enrollment: purchase books and equipment and make appropriate living arrangements
  • Relax and prepare for medical school
  • Attend orientation programs and matriculate in medical school

AACOMAS

Applying to Osteopathic Medical Colleges

This is a general timeline for preparing to apply to medical school. Please consult with your pre-health advisor to establish your own personalized schedule.

Freshman Year

  • Meet with your campus pre-med advisor to learn the requirements
  • Think about a major and minor course of academic study
  • Develop study skills (form study groups or use resources on campus)
  • Maintain a competitive GPA
  • Begin extracurricular activities
  • Volunteer/work in a medical field or setting (clinic, ER, hospital)
  • Review medical school admission requirements
  • Order or review online AACOM's Osteopathic Medical College Information Book*, which includes descriptions of all of the osteopathic medical colleges, admissions criteria, minimum entrance requirements, etc.
  • Read books on and learn about Osteopathic Medicine
  • Talk to upperclassmen pre-med students
  • Get to know an Osteopathic Physician (DO)

Sophomore Year

  • Meet with pre-med advisor
  • Volunteer/work in a medical field or setting (clinic, ER, hospital)
  • Select major and minor courses of study (fine-tune schedule)
  • Maintain competitive GPA
  • Research medical school entrance requirements
  • Order or review online AACOM's Osteopathic Medical College Information Book*, which includes descriptions of all of the osteopathic medical colleges, admissions criteria, minimum entrance requirements, etc.
  • Consider participating in research (with a faculty member or outside campus)
  • Learn more about Osteopathic Medicine (shadowing, classmates, advisor, Internet research

Junior Year

  • Meet with pre-med advisor
  • Maintain competitive GPA
  • Volunteer/work in a medical field or setting (clinic, ER, hospital)
  • Study and register for MCAT
  • Take the MCAT
  • Visit schools in which you are interested and attend Open House, recruitment events
  • Order or review online AACOM's Osteopathic Medical College Information Book*, which includes descriptions of all of the osteopathic medical colleges, admissions criteria, minimum entrance requirements, etc.
  • Continue to be involved in pre-health organizations, research and community service activities. Look for leadership opportunities

Senior Year

  • Meet with pre-med advisor
  • Sign up for committee process or letter of evaluation service w/ advisor
  • Maintain competitive GPA
  • Make list of all medical schools to which you plan to apply
  • Order or review online AACOM's Osteopathic Medical College Information Book*, which includes descriptions of all of the osteopathic medical colleges, admissions criteria, minimum entrance requirements, etc.
  • Request official transcripts of all college work attempted
  • Request letters of recommendation/evaluation (begin the summer prior to Senior year)
  • Volunteer/work in a medical field or setting (clinic, ER, hospital)
  • Continue extracurricular activities and leadership roles on and off campus
  • Complete AACOMAS application (begin the summer prior to Senior year)
  • Confirm that schools have received your application
  • Complete secondary applications and submit letters in timely manner
  • Interview at medical schools (make a plan to ensure you do not miss classes, assignments, etc.)
  • Complete FAFSA financial aid application
  • Consider what you will do this summer (accepted or not accepted)
  • Accept offer
  • Write thank-you notes to references and medical school admission officers
  • Thank your pre-med advisor for their assistance

VMCAS

  • Advising Timeline for Pre-Vet Students

Freshman

  • Contact the Health Professions Office and set up an appointment with an advisor
  • Take introductory courses in chemistry and biology
  • Start to collect letters of recommendation from professors of freshman year courses
  • Join the Pre-Health Club and actively participate in meetings and community service initiatives
  • Start to build your application with a track record of involvement; look into summer internships, shadowing experiences, etc.

Sophomore

  • Continue to meet with the Health Professions Advisor
  • Continue to take courses in biology, chemistry and physics
  • Continue to collect letters of recommendation from professors
  • Continue to be actively involved in the Pre-Health Club
  • Look into test preparation and test review (programs require either the GRE, VCAT or MCAT)
  • Continue to build your application with community service, health-care related experiences and internships

Junior

  • Continue to meet with the Health Professions Advisor
  • Study for and take the GRE/VCAT/MCAT depending on which programs you are applying to
  • Meet with the Health Professions Committee
  • Start on 1st drafts of applications to veterinary schools
  • Continue activities with the Pre-Health Club
  • By spring semester of junior year students should at a minimum have completed the following courses:
  • 2 semesters of General Chemistry
  • 2 semesters of Biology
  • 2 semesters of Organic Chemistry and 2 semesters of Physics
  • 1 semester of Calculus

Summer between Junior and Senior year

  • Complete VMCAS application and any school-specific supplements
  • Retake the GRE/VCAT/MCAT if necessary

Senior

  • Veterinary school interviews
  • Finish up prerequisite courses
  • Meet with Pre-Health Advisor
  • Continue activities with Pre-Health Club

Please stop by the Health Professions Office for more information about specific veterinary programs. Please visit Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (www.aavmc.org) for more information.

Veterinary Medical College Application Service

The American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) coordinates all veterinary medical college applications in the US, 9 departments of veterinary science, 7 departments of comparative medicine, 3 other medical education institutions, and 7 international veterinary medical colleges.
The Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS) allows students to submit one application via the web to participating veterinary colleges throughout the United States. Currently, all veterinary colleges rely on VMCAS as a way of processing the high volume of applications.
VMCAS assembles the student's application file, verifies the information, and then forwards the application to the veterinary schools of the student's choice. It is the applicant's responsibility to contact veterinary schools that they've applied to through VMCAS to see if there are any supplements or additional materials needed.
Application deadlines are set by individual veterinary schools and not by VMCAS. Applicants should check the websites of the schools they applied to for application deadlines.

American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine

Admission RequirementsOpens in new window

To enter a school or college of podiatric medicine, one must first complete a minimum of three years or 90 semester hours of college credit at an accredited institution. Over 97% of the students who enter a college of podiatric medicine have a bachelor' s degree. Many have also completed some graduate study.

Actual minimum semester credit hour requirements for all of the schools and colleges of podiatric medicine include the following prerequisites: (all science courses require a lab)

  • Biology 8-12*
  • Chemistry (General or Inorganic) 8
  • Organic Chemistry 8
  • Physics 8
  • English 6-8*

*Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine requires 12 semester hours of Biological science. California School of Podiatric Medicine requires 8 semester hours of English/Communication studies.
The science courses you take should be those designed for health professional students (pre-medical students), and MUST include laboratory experience. Courses for non-science majors are not accepted.

OptomCAS

Freshman

  • Visit the Health Professions Website
  • Review the prerequisites you need for optometry school
  • Schedule the major and prerequisite classes you need to take using the Grad Plan Tool (note that you should review the course catalogue to ensure classes are available during the semester you have planned to take them)
  • Explore the optometry field and look for shadowing opportunities
  • Take the Health Professions Workshops

Sophomore

  • Explore the optometry field and shadow different areas of optometry
  • Plan when you will take the OAT
  • Research optometry schools (call them and ask questions)
  • Build good relationships with professors, supervisors, and optometrists for future letters of recommendation
  • Begin writing Personal Statement
  • Take the Health Professions Workshops

Junior

  • Start studying for the OAT
  • Start to fill out the OptomCAS application.
  • Continue to explore the optometry field
  • Participate in community service
  • Edit and review Personal Statement with your advisor
  • Take the OAT
  • Ask 3 or more people to write you a letter of recommendation
  • Research optometry schools you are applying to and review each school's admissions timetable
  • Submit your OptomCAS application
  • Know current optometry issues
  • Visit optometry schools if possible

Senior

  • Prepare for your interviews by visiting with career services and participating in mock interviews
  • Research Financial Aid options
  • Know current optometry issues

AADSAS

Getting into dental school is a competitive process. Use this timeline to plan your undergraduate years.

Freshman Year

Classes:

  • General chemistry 1 and 2
  • General chemistry lab 1 and 2
  • Pre-calculus and calculus
  • Biology 1 (possibly second semester)

Activities:

  • Join your school's predental club. If it doesn't exist, start one.
  • Meet with pre-health or predental advisor to identify future classes that will keep you on track with dental school requirements. It is important to build a good relationship with a pre-health advisor since many schools prefer committee letters in place of individual letters of recommendation. To find a pre-health advisor, go to www.naahp.org.
  • Participate in a summer enrichment program. For a full list of programs, go to www.explorehealthcareers.org.

Sophomore Year

Classes:

  • Biology 1 and 2
  • Organic chemistry 1 and 2
  • Organic chemistry lab 1 and 2
  • English 1 year requirement if not complete
  • Possibly biochemistry (not on DAT but some schools require biochemistry)
  • Possibly an anatomy and physiology class

Activities:

  • If taking the DAT sophomore year:
    • Participate in a test preparation class or self-study during the spring of your sophomore year. Consider taking Kaplan's DAT preparatory classes and get 10 percent off as an ASDA member.
    • Schedule the test near the end of year when required classes (chemistry, biology and organic chemistry) are fresh on your mind.
    • Shadow a general dentist.

Junior Year

Classes:

  • Physics (not on DAT but required for dental school)
  • Other upper level biology electives

Activities:

  • Make an appointment with pre-health or predental advisor to ensure you are on track.
  • Take the DAT.
  • Start asking professors to write your recommendations. If your college does not write committee letters from the pre-professional committee, most dental schools will request letters from science faculty and/or a dentist you've shadowed.
  • Fill out AADSAS application online at www.adea.org. (Some schools do not accept AADSAS so be aware of this when applying.)
    • Required materials:
      • Copy of all college transcripts from all institutions attended
      • DAT scores and SAT/ACT scores
      • AADSAS Letter of Evaluation Matching Form
      • Personal statement
      • Apply to dental school early. Many schools start to interview candidates in August and September and begin to extend offers of admission around Dec. 1.
      • The AADSAS application generally opens on June 1. The sooner you complete the application, the better your chances of being seriously considered for interviews.

Senior Year

Classes:

  • Complete major classes and dental school requirements if you have not already. Continuing to take upper lever science courses will look favorably and may better prepare you for the first year of dental school.
  • Some schools also look favorably on business and psychology classes. Others actually require them as a prerequisite to dental school.

Activities:

  • Complete dental school applications
  • Interview at your top choice dental school

Ongoing Activities:

  • Shadow practicing dentists and record hours.
  • Participate in campus activities (quality is more important than quantity).
  • Maintain your ASDA membership — try to attend chapter events to learn about dentistry and meet dental students nationwide.
  • Build relationships with professors and pre-health advisors.
  • Draft your personal statement about why you want to be a dentist.
  • Think of dental schools you want to attend and visit their websites often. Schedule site visits (some even offer predental student tours).
  • Practice mock interviews with professors, pre-health advisors, dentists and dental students before your dental school admission interviews.

PharmCAS

Admission to pharmacy schools is highly competitive; one should have at least a 3.3 grade point average, have spent considerable time shadowing a pharmacist, have significant volunteer hours, positive letters of reference, and satisfactory to excellent scores on the PCAT admission test. The average profile for students matriculating to pharmacy schools in 2005 is as follows:

GPA:

  • Science courses: 3.37
  • Non-science courses: 3.61
  • Math: 3.31
  • Cumulative: 3.47

PCAT:

  • 78 % composite

Undergraduate Preparation: Undergraduate students can major in any academic discipline, but most pharmacy school suggest that the following courses be completed for admission:

  • 2 semesters of general biology (with lab)
  • 2 semesters of general chemistry (with lab)
  • 2 semesters of organic chemistry (with lab)
  • 2 semesters of physics (with lab)
  • 2 semesters of English
  • 3 semesters of mathematics
  • 1 semester of public speaking

Additional recommended coursework:

  • Microbiology
  • Development biology
  • Physiology
  • Histology
  • Genetics
  • Immunology
  • Behavioral Sciences
  • Cell biology

As early as possible, students should contact schools that interest them or AACP to request information about each specific program and admission requirements. Most schools recommend that students apply as early as possible for placement the pharmacy school class following graduation from an undergraduate program. Additionally, most schools require applicants to take the Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT).

Many Pharm.D. programs do not require students to have earned a Bachelor's degree before enrolling in Pharmacy school. However, HPAG recommends that students complete a BS or BA program as a fallback, should pharmacy school not work out. Most schools recommend that students apply as early as possible for placement in the pharmacy school class following graduation from an undergraduate program. The PharmCas web site has a calendar for applicants to use as they prepare their dossiers for pharmacy school admissions.