Pre-Medical

Medical doctors maintain and restore human health through diagnostic, study and treatment of injuries and diseases.

From the time you begin college, you are assembling a complete dossier with which to apply to these professional schools. To apply to medical schools usually requires 5 achievements:

• Complete a bachelor’s degree in any major.
• Achieve excellent grades; most recently admitted students had overall and science GPAs of 3.7 for allopathic schools and 3.5-3.6 for osteopathic schools.
• Earn a good score on the MCAT. Average scores for recently admitted allopathic and osteopathic students were approximately 510 and 505, respectively.
• Obtain letters of recommendation. 
• Involve yourself in sincere, sustained health related shadowing, volunteer and research experience.

Early Assurance programs, of which there are a limited number, are special admissions opportunities for sophomores. Acceptance is determined during the sophomore year and matriculation begins after the student has completed their bachelor’s degree. Interested students should seek the help of prehealth advisors during the first year of undergrad. 

The Early Opportunity Program in Medicine (EOPIM) is an early assurance program that if successfully completed will lead to entry into medical school at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo. 

Allopathic medicine (MD degree) entails four years of medical school followed by 3 to 7 years or more of residency depending on the specialty. There are now 154 medical schools in the US all of which belong to the Association of American Medical Colleges and most participate in the centralized American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS).

Information on individual schools may be obtained from the Medical School Admissions Requirements (MSAR), published annually by the AAMC. New York State has 14 schools: five are public—SUNY at Buffalo, Downstate, Upstate, and Stony Brook, and CUNY School of Medicine.

Four years of medical training in osteopathic programs is similar to allopathic medicine with additional training in osteopathic philosophy and manipulative techniques of osteopathy. There are 35 schools (56 with branch campuses) that belong to the American Association of Osteopathic Colleges (AACOM) and subscribe to the American Association of Osteopathic Colleges Application Service (AACOMAS).

There are three schools in New York State: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine’s (LECOM) campus in Elmira, the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) in Old Westbury, and Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine (TouroCOM-NY) with locations in Harlem and Middletown. Information on individual schools may be obtained from the Choose DO Explorer.

There are many myths that surround medical school admission. 

Start planning as a freshman to meet the following course requirements listed. Below are the UB courses we recommended to meet these requirements:

*Consult with a prehealth advisor regarding additional lab requirements if taking a Physics sequence which includes only one lab.

• ONLINE prerequisite courses are STRONGLY DISCOURAGED as many professional schools will not accept them.
• Some medical schools may have additional courses required or recommended. Review the Medical School Admissions Requirements (MSAR) for MD schools. For DO schools, you may consult the Choose DO Explorer.
• All required courses must be taken for a grade. Each school has its own policy about AP credit. Usually, AP credit in these areas should be followed with additional upper level work in the discipline including labs. AP credit in math is the only subject in which more advanced work is not necessarily required.
• Let your major advisor know of your professional goals so they can help you, along with Prehealth, plan your courses accordingly. There are sometimes cases for course substitutions that are allowed (for example, engineering majors) and always a need for careful planning. 

To further strengthen your application, here are some additional UB courses you could take:

• APY 345/346 – Comparative Primate Anatomy
• APY 448 – Human Genetics/Legal and Ethical Issues
• BIO 303 – General Physiology
• BIO 319 – Genetics or BCH 410 – Biomedical Genetics
• BIO 367 – Developmental Biology
• MIC 401 – Biomedical Microbiology
• PAS 313 – Human Anatomy
• PAS 427 – Premedical Gross Anatomy
• PHI 237 - Medical Ethics
• PMY 302 - Introduction to Pharmacology
• PMY 405 - Essentials of Pharmacology I
• PMY 406 - Essentials of Pharmacology II
• Public Health (PUB) courses

Please review the link below for a listing of resources to keep current with MCAT information.

The time required for the actual exam is approximately six and a half hours with additional time needed for administrative tasks. Current information on the structure and content of the revised exam is available on the MCAT page.

The MCAT exam includes four sections:

1. Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems – 65 Items (95 Minutes)
2. Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems – 65 Items (95 Minutes)
3. Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior – 65 Items (95 Minutes)
4. Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills – 60 Items  (90 Minutes)

For the Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems and Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems sections of the MCAT, you will need to complete core coursework in biology, general/inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, physics and biochemistry.

For the Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior section of the exam, you will need to complete coursework in psychology and sociology. A statistics course may also be beneficial, but not necessarily required for all students.

For the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills section of the exam, there is no standard coursework required, but generally taking advanced coursework in the humanities and social sciences will help you build the kind of broad analytical and reasoning skills that will be required for performance in this section of the exam. Passages from this section may be drawn from a variety of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, including readings in philosophy, ethics, cross-cultural studies and population health. For this section of the MCAT, the best way to prepare may be to be wide-ranging in your choice of courses outside of the natural sciences. Reading diverse literature and material that you normally may not be inclined to read is also advisable to expand your understanding of varying topics. Reading the Wall Street Journal and The Economist are frequently recommended.