Health Professions
Preparing for Admission to Medical School
| When to go |
Selecting
Courses & Major | Grades & Competition
Preparing For Admission To Medical School
For most students interested in medicine -- osteopathic, chiropractic, veterinary, dental or allopathic* -- exploring and preparing are simultaneous activities. While you are searching for insight and experience, it is important to keep in mind what medical school admissions committees are looking for as they read through applications for admission. Since other graduate programs in the health professions are similar to, or less structured than, those of allopathic medical schools, describing the specifics of application to allopathic medical school will be used as our example. Please seek more specific advice from the
Health Professions Advisor if you are interested in other types of health professions since the application process is slightly different in each case.
*Note: Allopathic schools are those commonly thought of when referring to "medical schools."
When To Go To Medical School
In order to go immediately to medical school after graduation, you must complete the admission requirements by spring semester of your junior year. You will then have the course background necessary for the Medical College Admission Test
(MCAT), which you should plan to take no later than April junior year. Going to medical school immediately after Wesleyan is not necessarily the best choice for most people. (In fact, many people who now have very successful and personally rewarding careers practicing medicine began medical school in their 30s or 40s). Having all four undergraduate years and then taking more time to explore and prepare -- which will then lead to a year or more between college and medical school -- offers many advantages. One advantage is that you can take the required courses at a pace that will allow you to make the most of Wesleyan's liberal arts curriculum. In addition, you are likely to be a stronger candidate because of your additional volunteer, employment, or academic experience. The most important advantage is that you will be more sure of your choice for medicine.
Selecting Courses, Choosing a Major
Medical schools do not require a specific major.
They prefer to attract students from many disciplines. They do require
that applicants take specific courses (mostly in the sciences, as
mentioned earlier) in order to apply. Your choice of major should be based
on a variety of factors -- ideally on what you prefer to study, and what
you do well in, rather than what you think medical schools want to see. As
a physician, you may want to work in a Spanish-speaking community; if so,
a Spanish major would be a great advantage. Perhaps you will want to
prepare yourself for some of the tougher ethical questions that physicians
face, and therefore choose a philosophy or religion major. An economics
major can help you when you confront the variety of market forces that
affect health care practice and research. You should choose some of your
courses with these types of considerations in mind, as well as giving
yourself the opportunity to develop as a whole person. You will always
need to work at balancing the "personal" and the
"professional" aspects of your life. Many health professionals
find pursuits in the arts especially rewarding. It is fine to take courses
for no other reason than that they have intrinsic appeal to you.
While you are at Wesleyan, it's a good idea to
schedule your courses so that you have an opportunity (1) to explore
health care as a classroom topic, (2) to take courses that are required by
medical schools at a comfortable pace, (3) to make the most of what
Wesleyan offers by meeting Wesleyan's educational expectations, and (4) to
maximize your chances for doing well academically each semester. Since
there is really no set age by which you must begin medical school, there
is no set time for taking the courses required to apply. First year
students, in particular, need to be careful and not take on more than they
can handle. Talking over your course selections with your academic advisor
and the Health Professions Advisor can help you to pace yourself well.
Grades And Competition
Competition for admission is keen at all US medical schools. Nearly all of the schools quote an average GPA that falls somewhere between A- and B+ -- roughly 3.5/4.0 or 90.00 on the Wesleyan scale -- as representative of successful applicants. Academic achievement is weighed heavily by the admissions committee. Unless you have no choice, we recommend that you choose grades over pass/fail in all courses. Pass/fail courses make it more difficult for admissions committees to evaluate your performance. Keep in mind, though, that grades by themselves don't tell the full story. Faculty recommendations are also very important in helping admissions committee members to appreciate and assess your abilities. Admissions committees also pay attention to the difficulty of courses you select and where you took them.
As the application picture stands at present, two out of three candidates to allopathic medical schools will not be admitted, even though they may be very qualified applicants. While most Wesleyan graduates are highly competitive applicants, you should apply only when you are personally ready and a strong candidate. An excellent senior year can greatly improve chances for admission and a glowing recommendation from a thesis advisor is very helpful. For individuals whose overall GPA is below a B+ at the end of senior year, we suggest you consider taking additional courses after graduation and/or work in a laboratory or clinical research setting; these experiences will enable you to develop greater understanding of medicine, acquire valuable new skills, and further strengthen your medical school application.
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