Pre-Med Timeline for Undergrads

Pre-College

• Meet with your high school counselor to discuss pursuing a health professions career and create an academic plan.
• If your high school offers a pre-health track, work with your counselor to enroll in the courses.
• Take Advanced Placement (AP) math and science classes to prepare for more difficult college level coursework.
• Take elective classes that help develop a background in the health professions and strong communication skills.
• Maintain a competitive GPA.
• Develop strong time management and study skills.
• Volunteer with health-related organizations (hospitals, the American Red Cross, nursing homes, hospices, etc.).
• Request assistance from your high school counselor, family members, or family physicians to schedule job shadowing opportunities.
• Research health professions career opportunities through explorehealthcareers.org.
• Research and attend summer health programs offered by colleges.
• Join or develop a student organization that is geared toward a health professions career.
• Join or start a local chapter of HOSA.

Year One 

• Meet with your university’s health professions advisor to discuss overall pre-medical curriculum. If your college does not have a health professions advisor, view resources at the National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions.
• Start taking prerequisite coursework, which typically begins with the Biology and/or the Inorganic Chemistry sequence.
• Maintain a competitive GPA and reach out to on-campus academic resources, such as the tutoring center, for assistance. (See General Admissions Requirements for the average GPA for entering students.)
• Develop strong study skills by forming study groups and using on-campus academic resources.
• Learn more about the osteopathic medical profession and philosophy by reading books, researching online, etc. Sign up to receive The DO and other health related resources.
• Review AACOM’s Choose DO Explorer to assist with your medical school research.
• Begin researching medical schools online. Focus on admissions requirements and average entering student statistics (average GPA, MCAT, etc.).
• Attend recruitment events and visit medical school campuses.
• Join online mailing lists of programs of interest and start following them on social media.
• Get involved in pre-health organizations and extracurricular activities on campus. Keep records of your experiences.
• Join or start a Pre-Student Osteopathic Medical Association (Pre-SOMA) chapter at your college.
• Work to develop a relationship with your science faculty members by visiting during office hours, participating in extracurricular activities, etc.
• Begin to gain clinical experience in healthcare fields through shadowing, volunteering, employment (CNA, EMT, etc.), and internship opportunities. Keep records of your experiences.
• Look for opportunities to shadow physicians in clinical settings and keep records of your experiences. Request assistance through a health professions advisor. Find DOs specifically at doctorsthatdo.org.
• Talk with upperclassmen about how they gained experiences in the health professions or about their medical school application process.

Year Two

• Meet with your health professions advisor to discuss current coursework, activities, and to begin thinking about preparation for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT).
• Maintain a competitive GPA and reach out to on-campus academic resources, such as the tutoring center, for assistance. (See  General Admissions Requirements for the average GPA for entering students).
• Begin researching the cost of applying to medical school. Keep in mind that the average applicant to medical school applies to nine colleges.
• Attend  recruitment events and visit medical school campuses.
• Attend health professions fairs in your area to learn more about schools of interest.
• Stay involved in pre-health organizations and get involved in community service—look for leadership opportunities.
• Join or start a Pre-SOMA chapter at your college.
• Determine requirements of evaluations/letters of recommendations for each program of interest and build relationships with professors, advisors, and medical professionals. They are future resources for evaluations/letters of recommendation.
• Work on your communications skills through public speaking courses and leadership opportunities.
• Look for opportunities to shadow physicians in clinical settings.
• Investigate participating in undergraduate research. This can take several months to coordinate.
• Research summer healthcare opportunities (work, education abroad, internship, etc.).
• Continue prerequisite coursework.
• Continue researching medical schools online by reviewing admissions requirements and average entering student statistics (GPA, MCAT, etc.).
• Continue to gain clinical experiences through shadowing, volunteering, employment (CNA, EMT, etc.), and internship opportunities.
• Continue to keep records of extracurricular and clinical experiences.

Shadowing a DO

Colleges of osteopathic medicine encourage applicants to learn more about the profession by identifying an osteopathic physician to shadow.

Many of the colleges require applicants to get to know a DO and request a letter of recommendation as part of the application process. Applicants should meet and spend time shadowing the physician. This provides the applicant with exposure to the osteopathic profession and enhances awareness of osteopathic medical philosophy. Working with a physician will prepare the applicant for the application interview. Completing this crucial step also demonstrates the applicant’s commitment to the osteopathic profession.

Finding a Doctor to Shadow

Students should contact a DO before applying for admission, beginning as early as possible while in undergraduate education. The best ways for finding DOs are:

• Osteopathic college admission and alumni offices. Admission and alumni officials at schools have many contacts in the osteopathic profession. Contact them, and let them know that you are looking to shadow and learn more about becoming a DO.
• The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) membership office. The AOA maintains an online national directory of practicing DOs. A locality search will give you contact information and in many cases will link you to the website of your state’s osteopathic association.
• State osteopathic associations. Many of the state associations compile lists of their members who have indicated an interest in having prospective osteopathic medical students shadow them.
• Your college’s health professions advisor.
• Your college’s Pre-Student Osteopathic Medical Association (Pre-SOMA) chapter.

Once you have found a doctor near you, call or send the doctor a letter. (Remember, most doctors are very busy, so please be understanding if you cannot speak directly to the DO.) If you explain your interest and share your enthusiasm for the profession, many DOs will be delighted to host you for a day or two. They will be able to show you what they do so that you can decide if you want to study osteopathic medicine.

Current osteopathic medical students are another good source of information about osteopathic medical education, as are the Pre-SOMA chapters on undergraduate campuses. The colleges have student ambassador programs, alumni, student government leaders and members of the Student Osteopathic Medicine Association, all of whom are eager to talk about their schools with prospective medical students. For further information, contact the admissions office at the schools in which you are interested.

Year Three - Fall Semester

• Meet with your health professions advisor to review the details of your application.
• Take the MCAT exam.
• Stay involved in pre-health extracurricular activities.
• Contact the individuals who will be writing evaluations/letters of recommendation for you. Give them plenty of time (at least four to six weeks) to write a quality evaluation/letter of recommendation.
• Research medical schools that interest you. Contact each school to inquire about their specific admissions criteria and schedule a time to visit their campus. (See a schedule of College Recruiting Events).
• Review AACOM’s Choose DO Explorer to assist with your medical school research.
• Make a list of the medical schools to which you plan to apply.
• Start the AACOMAS application process in May.
• Submit your application when you are ready, early is better but complete/accurate is best.
• Continue prerequisite coursework. If possible, enroll in upper-level sciences courses, such as Biochemistry and Gross Anatomy.
• Continue to gain clinical experiences by shadowing or volunteering, employment (EMT, scribe, etc.).

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Year Three - Summer

• Apply to AACOMAS. Apply early and read all application directions carefully to avoid delays. Application processing begins in June. Colleges of osteopathic medicine make admissions decisions on a rolling basis, so they review applications, conduct interviews, and make admissions decisions throughout the admissions cycle. Keep in mind that interview slots may be awarded and/or classes may be filled if you apply close to the deadlines. Submitting materials early and accurately will support timely processing and help avoid delays. In a typical cycle the average AACOMAS applicant applies to nine colleges.
• Work with evaluators to submit evaluations/letters of recommendation.
• Order all official transcripts and have them submitted to AACOMAS.
• Release MCAT scores to AACOMAS electronically using the AAMC’s MCAT Score Reporting System. (requires login)
• Submit secondary application materials upon receipt.
• Use the Check Status tab in AACOMAS to monitor your application. Periodically contact each school to verify your application status.
• Meet with your health professions advisor or career center to work on interview skills. If possible, complete a mock interview.

Year Four

• If invited, participate in interviews at medical schools.
• Complete prerequisite coursework. Continue to include upper-level science courses.
• Maintain a competitive GPA. (See  General Admissions Requirements for the average GPA for entering students.)
• Continue to gain additional clinical and/or research experience.
• Stay involved in pre-health organizations and volunteer activities.
• Use the Check Status tab in AACOMAS to monitor your application. Periodically contact each school to verify your application status.
• Share news of upcoming interviews and acceptances and thank those who helped along the way—health professions advisors, professors, physicians, family, and friends.
• Complete the AACOMAS Academic Update in early December to submit fall coursework.
• Consider post-application plans, whether you are accepted or not. Think about what you will do between the time you are accepted and begin school or the steps you will take should you need to reapply.
• Complete the FAFSA application for financial aid when it becomes available in the fall.
• If you are not accepted or invited to an interview, contact the schools where you applied to request formal feedback on how to be more competitive should you reapply.
• Explore next steps to increase your competitiveness. These steps may include gaining additional clinical experience, retaking the MCAT exam, enrolling in a master’s program or postbaccalaureate certificate program, taking additional upper-level science courses, and reapplying for admission.

Post College

(Gap Year or Non-Traditional Applicant)

• Speak with programs of interest for guidance on the best path to strengthen your application.
• Meet with a health professions advisor to gain insight into your competitiveness for medical school or on your career goals.
• Take additional courses if prerequisite courses are more than five years old or to strengthen your background in science.
• Gain additional clinical experience to strengthen your background in the health professions and to confirm your desire to go to medical school.
• Retake the MCAT exam if your scores are older than three years or older than allowed by programs of interest.