Radford University pre-medical students have a unique opportunity to engage in research, complete medical school course prerequisites, participate in student clubs and so much more; all while studying in a community-based educational environment. Radford’s small class sizes and demanding laboratory experiences allow students to connect with faculty and students in a way that prepares pre-medical students for the rigors of medical school.
While there is not a Pre-Medical degree, most students choose to major in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, or Psychology and often minor in programs that celebrate their individual interest. However, pre-medical students have the opportunity to select a major that reflects their primary interests, so long as the specific medical school’s prerequisite courses are complete. Medical school prerequisites often include biology, biochemistry, chemistry, physics, and mathematics, but all pre-medical students must investigate the specific requirements of all institutions where an application will be sent.
Freshman year
Sophomore year
Junior year
Summer between junior and senior years
Senior year
Optional gap year
Students often elect to take a gap year before going to medical school. There is no disadvantage to this strategy. It allows a student to delay taking the MCAT and submitting applications until after the senior year, which provides more time for preparation. It also allows the student to pursue other interests and broaden their experience before committing to medical school.
Stay in contact with pre-med advisor
The pre-med advisor is available to help throughout the application process and after graduation. If you get an interview at a medical school, you can request a mock interview with the pre-health committee for practice (this can be in person or by Zoom if you are no longer living in the Radford area). Please provide the pre-med advisor with a list of all the medical schools that you apply to, and then notify the advisor of any schools that accept you. This data will be kept anonymous but is needed to track acceptance rates.
|
Requirement |
Recommended courses |
Course number |
Credits |
|
Biology |
Cell Biology Genetics |
BIOL 230 BIOL 231 |
4 4 |
|
Chemistry Requirements vary, and different options are sometimes available to attain a specified number of credits |
General Chemistry I General Chemistry II Organic Chemistry I Organic Chemistry II Biochemistry I |
CHEM 111 CHEM 112 CHEM 310 CHEM 302 CHEM/BIOL 471 |
4 4 4 4 3 |
|
Physics |
General Physics General Physics II |
PHYS 111 PHYS 112 |
4 4 |
|
English |
College Composition Critical Reading and Writing |
ENG 111 ENG 112 |
3 3 |
|
Mathematics Some schools require calculus |
Precalculus II Statistics for Biology |
MATH 138 STAT 219 |
3 3 |
|
Psychology |
Introduction to Psychology |
PSYC 121 |
3 |
|
Sociology |
Introduction to Sociology |
SOCY 110 |
3 |
In addition to academic course requirements, medical school applicants are expected to participate in a variety of extracurricular activities during their time in college. Examples of activities are listed below. Medical schools are looking for:
Doctor shadowing
Shadowing means observing a healthcare professional perform their duties. Traditionally, it has provided a way for students to get a better understanding of the realities of medical practice and the healthcare system, so that they are better equipped to decide whether it is a suitable career path for them. Most medical schools no longer require doctor shadowing if students have sufficient experience in other healthcare settings.
Medical scribe
This is a paid position to assist healthcare providers in documenting patient encounters and managing medical records. It is a popular option because students can witness a wide range of medical conditions and treatments, and it does not require certification or an extensive training program.
Paid clinical employment that requires certification
Doctor shadowing and most medical scribe jobs are not clinical positions because they do not engage in direct patient contact. Paid employment such as an emergency medical technician (Radford EMT), certified medical assistant (CMA), certified nursing assistant (CNA), and certified phlebotomy technician (CPT) are clinical positions because they involve hands-on interactions in the care of patients. These positions provide excellent experience but require training and certification, and often involve a rigorous and demanding work schedule.
Clinical voluntary service
It is possible to get one-on-one experiences with patients in a variety of voluntary settings that include hospitals, free clinics (Bradley), remote area medical clinics (RAM), assisted living facilities, rehabilitation centers, home care programs, and volunteer abroad programs. These opportunities are unpaid, but students can easily get experiences involving patient interactions with fewer obligations and time constraints than certified positions.
Non-clinical voluntary service
Dedication to service is a fundamental attribute required for medical school and many career paths. The advantage of non-clinical voluntary activity is that most students will have a wide variety of choices available to them locally. This makes it easier to select opportunities that align with the interests of the student, and to invest time to accrue voluntary hours and have a meaningful impact on underserved communities or individuals. Well known examples of non-clinical voluntary service activities include mentoring kids (Big Brother/Big Sister), teaching ESL to adults at a community center, working in homeless shelters, crisis hotlines, Habitat for Humanity, United Way, AmeriCorps, American Red Cross, and the Special Olympics. Students will find many other examples that are more specific to their local communities.
Research
There are many opportunities for undergraduate research in the Biology and Chemistry Departments and throughout Radford University. The core competencies for medical school listed by the AAMC include critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, and scientific inquiry. Research is a process that uses these competencies for experimental design, data analysis and interpretation, and problem solving, regardless of the subject area. Any undergraduate research project at Radford, or internship at another institution, will foster the development of these skills.
Leadership
Leadership means taking on the responsibility to guide and direct others. Traditional student leadership roles include starting a campus club, running a student organization, or working as a resident assistant, but leadership is a skill that can be demonstrated in community service, paid employment, sports, and many other types of activity.
Other activities
The AMCAS application form has 19 categories of “Work and Activities.” In addition to the activities listed above, these include tutoring, intercollegiate athletics, military service, and non-clinical paid employment.
Look up requirements of individual medical schools
Students should research target schools to determine if they have any specific preferences and requirements for extracurricular activities. A typical expectation is about 100 hours of health-related activities and 100 hours of community service, but different medical schools vary and there are often no clear guidelines.
Review the “Work and Activities” section of the AMCAS application form.
It will be easier to prepare as a pre-med at college if you know in advance what is needed on the medical school application form. The “Work and Activities” section on the AMCAS form (for allopathic MD schools) allows students to list fifteen different activities and assign most meaningful status to three. The AACOM form (for osteopathic DO schools) has fewer categories and no limit on the number of activities included. It is not necessary to fill out all fifteen boxes on the AMCAS form, but the overall portfolio should balance diversity of experience with long-term commitments. A single activity describing hundreds of hours working in clinical employment will not be sufficiently diverse. However, a random list of 15 short-term and more superficial activities will not have sufficient quality. A diverse set of experiences helps to build a well-rounded profile that demonstrates adaptability and wide-ranging interests and attributes. A sustained involvement in certain activities helps to build impactful and meaningful experiences that demonstrate dedication and consistency. The descriptions of activities that students write in the medical school application form should not be a dry summary of duties performed, they should tell the student’s story and paint a picture of their personal and professional qualities. These descriptions are as important as the personal statement in the application, and they will be an essential part of the admissions evaluation.
Keep a diary
It easy to forget useful details about your extracurricular experiences. Keep a diary to log hours and record lessons learned, skills and competencies acquired, and interesting anecdotes.
Use motivation as a guide
Genuine motivation is more likely to lead to success than thinking about extracurricular activities as chores needed to check boxes on an application. Seek out activities that provide an opportunity to learn something that you find interesting or relevant. Do things that give you satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment.
Required GPA and MCAT scores
Medical schools use science GPA, overall GPA, and MCAT scores to determine if an application is competitive, the relative weightings vary. Specific requirements differ considerably for individual allopathic schools (MD school data) and osteopathic schools (DO school data).
An approximate guideline is that students should have a GPA of at least 3.5 (3.7 is recommended for allopathic schools) and a minimum MCAT score of about 500 (accepted medical school students average about 508). Students might be accepted with lower scores in some circumstances, such as an exceptional background of extracurricular experience or evidence that an academic record has been trending upwards, but higher scores will greatly increase the chances of success.
MCAT
The Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) has four sections: a section with emphasis on biology and biochemistry; a section with emphasis on chemistry and physics; a section that covers behavioral sciences; and a critical reading section. It is over seven hours long. It requires considerable preparation, and many students make a study plan that extends over a period of six months or more prior to the exam. An essential part of the study plan is to take practice MCAT exams to become familiar with the style of questions and develop a time management strategy. Sources of practice MCAT exams include AAMC, Examkracker, Next Step, The Berkeley Review, Kaplan, Gold Standard, The Princeton Review, Altius, MedSchoolCoach, and Blueprint.
Improving academic record
Students can improve their academic record and competitiveness by taking a postbaccalaureate premedical program (Postbacs) or a master’s program after graduation. For example, Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) offers a master’s in biomedical sciences (MABS) as a pathway to the DO program. The MCAT can be retaken up to three times in a single testing year, up to four times in a two-year period, and up to seven times in total. If you retake the MCAT your previous scores will still be visible, and medical schools use this cumulative information in different ways.
Application and matriculation data
Students can review the applicant statistics that display the number of pre-medical students versus the number of students that are accepted and matriculate per cycle: View recent application and matriculation data.
Application timeline
Application services open at the beginning of May for admission to medical school in August the following year. Therefore, students need to think one-year ahead: those who want to enter medical school after their senior year must apply after the spring semester of their junior year. Admissions committees review applications and make decisions on a rolling basis, so it becomes harder to get an interview as time passes. It is recommended that applications are submitted in early summer, or as soon as possible after the start of the admissions cycle.
There are two different primary application services. AMCAS is the service for allopathic schools where students will earn a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree. AACOM is the service for osteopathic schools where students will earn a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree. Students will list all the schools they want to apply to on the primary application and will then receive secondary applications from individual schools.
MCAT
A Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) score is needed for the application to be complete. Testing dates and locations must be booked in advance. A popular time to take the MCAT is May or early summer after the junior spring semester, and places will need to be booked several months before. The score takes about one month to be released. Allow sufficient time to study and prepare for the MCAT: a typical study plan extends over a period of six months or more prior to the exam.
Letters of recommendation
Each school has different requirements for the number of letters of recommendation they want, and from whom (science professors, non-science professors, health-care professionals). Students will need to create a request for each of their individual letter writers on the primary application, and to include enough letter writers to meet the requirements of all the schools they have listed. Contact individuals who will be writing the letters in advance and give them plenty of time, at least four to six weeks, to write the letter. Pre-health committee letters of reference are no longer required.
Stay in contact with pre-med advisor
The pre-med advisor is available to help throughout the application process and after graduation. If you get an interview at a medical school, you can request a mock interview with the pre-health committee for practice (this can be in person or by Zoom if you are no longer living in the Radford area). Please provide the pre-med advisor with a list of all the medical schools that you apply to, and then notify the advisor of any schools that accept you. This data will be kept anonymous but is needed to track acceptance rates.
VCOM articulation agreement
Radford students receive an interview guarantee with Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) if they have a good academic record (competitive GPA and MCAT score), sufficient health-related and community service hours, and meet certain other requirements. Contact the Pre-Health Committee Chair for more information.
Anne Ferren Scholarship
An annual scholarship of $1000 is awarded to one Radford pre-med student to help with the costs of preparing for and taking the MCAT and applying to medical school. Requests for applications are usually announced at the end of the fall semester with a deadline of February 1 the following spring semester.
Application fee assistance
Application fee assistance programs are available for allopathic schools (MD fee assistance) and osteopathic schools (DO waiver).
Military scholarships
Students can apply for a Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) to pay for medical education through the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
A traditional four-year medical school curriculum involves two years of preclinical science training followed by two years of clinical training. Clinical rotations provide the opportunity to experience different specialties so that medical students can choose a specialty and apply for residency. Different medical schools are making a variety of changes to this traditional curriculum including a more integrated approach that begins clinical training in the first year. Each medical school has its own specific mission statement, course format, teaching methods, research opportunities, and academic schedule. Getting a license to practice medicine requires taking the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), which has several parts. The first step covers science fundamentals in the second year of medical school. The second step tests clinical knowledge and skills and usually occurs during the third or fourth year. The final exam occurs during the first or second year of residency training, after completion of medical school.
After medical school, students apply for residency specialties that align with their interests. These residency programs range from 3 years for Internal Medicine to 7 years for Neurosurgery, with multiple specialty types falling within this time spectrum. As of 2020, the DO and MD residency programs merged, creating more opportunity as well as more competition for all medical students applying to residency specialty programs. More details are available at AAMC Careers in Medicine. The physician career path involves a large educational time commitment with demanding and likely unpredictable hours throughout the career. Physicians must be lifelong learners that recognize the sacrifices required of this challenging profession.
A physician's salary depends on the specialty and employment type of the individual and ranges well above $100,000+ as a yearly salary. It is important to note that salary is subject to change based on residency program, fellowship opportunities, hospital or individual affiliation, and area of practice. Demand also increases salary and AAMC data suggests there will be a substantial shortage of physicians across specialty types by the year 2034 (AAMC Report).