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Advising For Pre-Medical Students at UM-Flint Most of The Following Advice Also Applies To Pre-Dental Students
Advising For Pre-Medical Students at UM-Flint Most of The Following Advice Also Applies To Pre-Dental Students
; updated 04/27/12)
Most of the following advice also applies to pre-dental students. (e-mail: [email protected])
Visit the UM-Flint PreMed Website: http://www.umflint.edu/advising/premedical/academic_prep.htm for lots of info.
The advising information below was extracted from the UM-Flint Catalog with added annotations in italics:
There is keen competition for the limited number of places available in medical schools. Therefore,
prospective applicants are urged to plan an alternate career option as they pursue a bachelor's degree.
Students are also advised to obtain exact information from their prospective medical schools concerning
requirements for admission.
In general, medical schools stress scholastic achievement, especially in the sciences, as a major criterion for
admission. Premed students may major in any discipline so long as the requirements of the medical program
to which they are applying are fulfilled. Medical schools are looking for well-rounded students with a broad,
liberal arts background. Such a background can be demonstrated by pursuing a non-science major or minor, or
focused sequences of courses in multiple disciplines. Such factors as the quality of the undergraduate college
and the recommendations supplied by its faculty, results of the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), and
place of residence are also considered. Personal qualities such as integrity, motivation, leadership, and maturity
are often discernible through the applicant's record of nonacademic activities, an autobiographical statement,
and the personal interview at the medical school.
Each student who plans to apply for admission to medical school should seek the assistance and guidance
of an advisor from the Biology or Chemistry and Biochemistry Departments at the University of Michigan-Flint,
and consult the Biology website for more information at http://www.umflint.edu/biology/programs.htm
Each student who plans to apply for admission to medical school should seek the assistance and guidance of an advisor from the
Biology or Chemistry/Biochemistry Departments at the University of Michigan-Flint, or consult the Biology website for more information
at http://www.umflint.edu/departments/biology/undergrad_programs.htm. Most pre-medical student are either biology or chemistry
majors, but a more unusual major may make you stand out from the crowd. Consider dual majors. If possible, choose the major that
excites your interests the most. Also, keep optional career paths in mind in case you do not get into medical school or just change your
plans in the future. As a minimum, the following courses should be completed before applying to medical school:
BIO: 111, 113, 326, 328. Organismal Biology, Principles of Biology (intro to cell biology, genetics & ecology), Cell Biology, Genetics]
CHM: 260, 261, 262, 263 or 265, 330, 331, 332, 333. [Year of inorganic chemistry with labs; year of organic chemistry with labs]
ENG: One year (typically 111 and 112) [College Rhetoric, Critical Writing and Reading]
MTH: Wide variation; some require integral calculus. [Actually very few medical schools require calculus any more, although the
Uniformed Services University Medical School in Bethesda does. Check with the medical schools to which you plan to apply.]
PHY: 143 and 145; or 243 and 245. [When asked what undergraduate courses were most important preparation for first year of medical
school, some first-year medical students said physics! So, take heed! Also consider that if you take calculus, the PHY 243 & 245 courses
will give you experience using calculus. Learning calculus is a good mental exercise, but is even better if you can carry over the
mathematical abilities learned to subsequent courses. Using calculus in learning physics will increase the probability that you will be able
to apply calculus to aspects of medical physiology and pharmacology. Also, be aware that the 200-level physics courses cover fewer basic
physics topics(but in greater depth) than the 100-level courses; plan to study omitted topics prior to MCAT.]
Pre-medical advisors, in addition, highly recommend:
BIO: 418, 419, 432, 435. [Histology, Histology lab; Mammalian Physiology, Microbiology; pre-med students often remark that our
mammalian physiology course (BIO 432) was the single most important course in preparing them for the MCAT; this may be due to this
course drawing on general MCAT topic (e.g. general biology, chemistry and physics) or to increasing the student's reading comprehension
of the medical physiology language that shows up in MCAT questions; see http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/start.htm for more info.]
CHM: 450, 452. [Two semesters of biochemistry lecture. Some medical schools now require at least one semester of biochemistry. If you
cannot fit the two-semester sequence into your schedule, you can choose a one-semester survey course of biochemistry, CHM 350, that is
generally offered every winter semester. The feedback from several students during their first year of medical school is: “the more
biochemistry you can get, the better.”]
The following courses are also of special value and should be selected according to one's area of concentration in consultation with advisor:
BIO: 412, 425, 450. [Developmental Biology, Immunology, Parasitology; Additional courses to consider include: BIO 319, Human
Reproduction and Development, BIO 434, Human Anatomy (includes cadaver dissection; medical school admissions department generally
advise against such course and recommend something you won't get in medical school, like molecular biology; however, many physicians
and medical students who took the course before medical school recommend taking a cadaver anatomy course, because your first year in
medical school will be so much easier), BIO 482, Neuroscience (this basic neuroscience course includes clinical case studies and seeks to
make the broad topics of neurophysiology and neuroanatomy understandable); BIO 467, Molecular Biology of Prokaryotes, BIO 468,
Molecular Biology of Eukaryotes (the foundations of medical treatments are becoming increasingly based on molecular biology. Some
understanding of molecular biology is probably a good idea for any pre-med student. In fact many pre-med students at UM-Flint choose to
pursue the molecular biology and biotechnology program. This program requires most of the courses that a pre-med student would want to
take plus it offers excellent alternate career paths, even with just a Bachelor's degree)]
CHM: 340, 366, 367, 451, 453. [Physical Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry Laboratory, Biochemistry Lab I,
Biochemistry Lab II; Physical Chemistry will give the student a deeper mathematical understanding of thermodynamics, which should
enhance understanding of pharmacological and other physiological reactions in the body; Analytical Chemistry and Analytical Chemistry
Laboratory will give the student a deeper understanding of how biological and non-biological samples are analyzed for chemical content;
The biochemistry laboratory sequence is especially good for students wanting a research project approach to learning biochemistry]
Most pre-med biology majors choose the general program in biology; however, an increasing number of academically strong pre-med
students are choosing the molecular biology and biotechnology program. Molecular biology plays a major role in current medical
research such that some exposure to molecular biology is probably a good idea for any pre-med student. Individual interests and academic
talents of the student should be factored into the decision to take molecular biology coursework or to pursue the molecular biology and
biotechnology program. It is often very difficult to do well in a rigorous course, like molecular biology (BIO 467), if the student does not
have a strong interest in the subject area.
An alternative premed program to the B.S. programs mentioned above is the B.A. in human biology. This program was designed primarily
for pre-physician assistant, pre-physical therapy and pre-pathology assistant students. However, by substituting the premed chemistry
courses, the B.A. in human biology can serve as a premed program with more flexibility for completion of minors or a double major with
another Bachelor of Arts degree program (e.g. English, Philosophy, Music, History, Anthropology, etc.)
Requirements.
B. At least 44 credits* in biology including BIO 111, 113, 326, 327 and 328, and two writing courses; and no more than 16
credit hours of 100 or 200-level courses.
C. At least 25 credits in non-biological sciences, mathematics and computer science, including CHM 260, 261, 262, either
263 or 265, at least 6 additional credits of chemistry (CHM 330 and 332 recommended); MTH 120 (unless equivalency
is granted by the Biology Department), PHY 143, 145. Additional credits from any area of natural science or
mathematics or CSC 121, 122, 175, or 271, excluding CHM 131, 140; ENV 100; MTH 090; PHY 105, 110.
E. At least 33 credits taken in upper division courses (courses numbered 300 or above).
F. A cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or better in biology and in the total work at the University of Michigan-Flint.
For the student planning to enter a graduate or professional school, one year of organic chemistry and one year of calculus
are recommended.
*Students under the 2003-05 catalog or earlier edition are required to take 40 credits of biology. Also, under those catalogs, lower-
level courses (<300), other than BIO 111 and 113, only count ½ of their credits towards the 40 credits required for the BS in General
Biology Program. Students under the 2005-07 catalog may count fully towards their required 44 credits in biology three lower-level
BIO course (i.e. BIO 111, 113 plus any other lower-level BIO course such as BIO 104, 135 or 167).
For clinical experience with lots of patient contact, I recommend premed students obtain Emergency Medical
Technician (EMT) training through either McLaren Hospital or Genesys Hospital (Genesys EMT website:
http://www.genesys.org/GRMCWeb.nsf/0/45B7983AF9C04E6A8525719C00634D8F?open). These are seven-
month training programs (cost ~ $750) that involve two days per week for about four hours each day either
daytime or evening classes. Students who have done this report really enjoyed the training and work experience,
which included lots of opportunities to interact with emergency-room physicians and other medical personnel.
Alternatively, some students have completed an accelerated Certified Nurses Aid course through American
Medical Careers (cost ~ $1,200) that only takes two weeks (full time). American Medical Careers also offers less
expensive phlebotomy courses, but only two of the four students of whom I am aware were able to find a
phlebotomy job after the training.
I also highly recommend joining the premed club for additional peer advice on volunteer/clinical experiences.
The community service activities of the premed club are good on your resume. Medical school admission
committees like to see evidence of leadership qualities in their applicants. Taking the lead in developing and
overseeing a service activity is a one way to demonstrate initiative and leadership qualities.
Worthwhile Flint Area Community Volunteer Activities Recommended by Some Previous Pre-Med Students
Organization Position Contact Number*