Pre-Medicine

Consult the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) guide for requirements and admission statistics for the 130+ medical schools.

Four-year plan prerequisite courses required for the MCAT and for regional MD programs:

Medicine: Four-Year Plan

Four-year plans for common majors of pre-med students at Gustavus:

• Biology: Four-Year Plan Medicine
• Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Biology track): Four-Year Plan Medicine
• Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Chemistry track): Four-Year Plan Medicine
• Chemistry: Four-Year Plan Medicine
• Undecided: Two-Year Plan Medicine (considering BIO, CHE, or BIOCHEM major)

Any undergraduate major is acceptable, as long as you fulfill the MD program's prerequisite requirements.

Yes, and we think it is a great idea. Being pre-med and studying abroad is possible and Gustavus pre-med students have been able to successfully fit a semester abroad into their undergraduate experience with careful planning.

In order to spend a semester abroad you need to plan your timeline for application and map out your four-year plan. Timeline for studying abroad matters. If you are planning to apply to medical school directly following graduation from Gustavus, the application process opens in May of your junior year and the interview window is typically from September to mid-March of your senior year.

Many of the science courses are sequenced at Gustavus and the first two years you most likely will be enrolled in sequenced biology and chemistry courses that are required for the MCAT and admission to medical schools. Students typically take physics and biochemistry during their junior year. Medical schools do not accept pre-requisite courses taken internationally.

Yes and no. This is a question that needs to be researched and directed at the specific medical school programs you are interested in applying to as policies vary. Talk with your health professions specialist for additional guidance about particular courses you have taken.  

Both MDs and DOs are physicians that practice medicine and choose a specialty. The main difference between a MD and DO is that DOs have additional training in osteopathic manipulative medicine, which is a unique type of manual therapy. Osteopathic physicians also work with the patients to help them have a high level of wellness by focusing on health education, disease prevention, and injury prevention.

Although there is a difference in the definitions of a MD and a DO, studies show that DOs are becoming more and more similar to MDs in their practices.

The application process to Osteopathic Medical Schools utilizes a different common application site and the GPA and MCAT requirements are slightly less competitive than that of medical schools.

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