Medical School - Freshmen Getting Started

As a new student interested in a career in medicine, you are concerned with two goals:

• Earning your degree at Cal; see your department or college academic advisors to check in on your progress and get the best information.
• Taking pre-requisite courses in preparation for taking the MCAT and applying to medical or health professional school.

These goals may be quite separate from one another; some students complete an economics major, complete with independent research and take the science courses required along the way. Others major in a science such as Integrative Biology and many of the pre-med pre-requisite courses also contribute to earning the degree in IB at Cal. This decision is completely up to you, the medical schools do not prefer one type of major over another.

Pre-Requisite Courses required by most medical schools:

• Chemistry (two years) - Most students take Chem 1A, 3A, 3B and MCB 102 or 100 and classify 1A / 3A as General Chemistry and 3B / MCB 102 or 100 as Organic Chemistry.
• Physics with Lab (1 year) - Most students take Physics 8A and 8B.
• Biology with Lab (1 year) - Nearly all take Biology 1A/1AL and 1B.
• Math (requirements vary) - Need to have calculus to take physics at Cal, 16A and 16B are acceptable to most medical schools. Only a few medical schools require Statistics.
• English (requirements vary) - Many courses that satisfy the L&S Reading and Composition requirement are acceptable; keep class syllabi.
• Non-Sciences - Some schools specify a certain number of units in the humanities and social sciences. A Letters and Science degree should meet these requirements.
• Foreign Language - Knowledge of a modern foreign language is helpful.

These pre-requisite courses should be taken for a letter grade (not pass/fail). See the Pre-Med FAQs for a great deal of detailed information regarding course choices.

See also Pre-Med Academic Path.

AP Credit

It is usually best to take upper level courses if hoping to use AP to satisfy a requirement. Generally, medical schools do not accept AP credit.

Each school is the final judge of its requirements and should be consulted as needed. See the latest MSAR (Medical School Admissions Requirements) in the Career Center Information Lab. Check the Career Center’s calendar for upcoming events hosted by Medical School Admissions Representatives to ask specific questions of the decision-makers.

Majors

While most pre-med students choose to major in a biological science, particularly Molecular and Cell Biology (MCB) at Berkeley, as Table 4-B in the MSAR shows, Any major is acceptable to the schools. They do not prefer one over another; the choice is up to you. A Berkeley student who does well in the basic sciences will be well prepared for medical school. Also, remember that your undergraduate years may be the last convenient time to take courses in the humanities and social sciences. Take what is interesting for you and engage yourself in learning; you will be more likely to excel, and such accomplishments will strengthen your medical school application. If you know what to declare as your major, you should not wait to declare. Please meet with an Undergraduate Major Adviser (UMA) and complete a "Major Declaration" form. You should do your best to declare a major by the end of your sophomore year or by the first semester of your junior year (especially if you are in the College of Letters and Science).

Get Connected

Berkeley offers great choices for student involvement through its many Student Clubs and Organizations. Check out bulletin boards around your academic department and popular campus locations for announcements, events and meeting times. Email majordomo@berkeley.edu and request a list of current academic and student run newsgroups to subscribe to (example pre-meds, mcb infoline, etc.) Sign up to learn about what is available and note what is of interest to you.

Find Your Community

Your first year you may want to act on your interest in one or two activities; learn more about organizations in your student community from the Office of Student Life. Check if you have what it takes to be a helping professional providing direct service by helping in another community. Use Campus Resources. Check out CalCorps, and the Tang Center, for opportunities to work in health care settings. Stiles Hall, located on Bancroft Way between the Career Center and the Tang Center helps connect Cal students with community service opportunities.

Act on your Intellectual Curiosity

While not required, research can be a plus in the application itself, not to mention a fine learning experience for you and a potential source of a letter of recommendation. Many successful Berkeley applicants have done research on campus or in a research facility in the Bay Area or another part of the state or nation. Departments often have information about research opportunities with faculty members. Undergraduate Research @ Berkeley is a resource for finding opportunities on campus. As early as your first year, use the Internship Resources to gain information about summer research and internship programs.

Right now you need to focus on finding your place on campus and learning to be confident as a scholar in the Berkeley environment. Begin by taking one or two pre-requisite courses, and explore your interests in and out of the classroom. But what should you be ready for so you stay on track?

Start Work on the Pre-Requisite Courses

The longest sequence of pre-med pre-requisite coursework is the Chemistry series, so you may want to take Chem 1A one semester of your freshman year. If you have not taken Calculus, you will need to complete coursework in Calculus to take Physics at Cal.

Find Your Place at Berkeley

As you make your way at Cal, you will be presented with a great many opportunities and have decisions to make about how your spend your time. What is most important is that you take time to realize your own interests and priorities and act on them. Medical schools are interested in mature, well-rounded confident individuals who have learned from their recent experiences, both in and out of the classroom.

Get Answers to your Questions

Plan to check in with the Career Center every semester of your first year at Cal by attending:

• Fall Freshman Pre Med Information session (Fall semester)
• Preparing for Medical School workshop (Spring semester)

Pre-Med FAQs and Ask the Counselor

Mini-Appointments are staffed by career counselors ready to help you find answers to your questions.

Remember to develop a plan that works for you. What follows is one option. This guide is for the person who hopes to enter medical school a few months after graduation from Cal. Many opt to enter medical school one, two or more years after receiving a Bachelor’s degree. This is acceptable and, for some of you, the best route.

• Freshman and Sophomore years: Complete most of the Pre-Requisite Course Requirements
• Spring of Junior year: MCAT
• June after Junior year: Application
• Senior year: Secondary Application and Interviews

Next Major Step, the MCAT

The next major step in the pathway to medical school for you is the MCAT. You now have a few more options as to when you may take the test since the MCAT is now computerized. You may consider taking the MCAT this summer bwefore your junior year or as late as the spring of your junior year. Taking the MCAT during the summer between your junior and senior year may now be a disadvantage.

• Chem 1A, 3A, 3B
• Bio 1A/1B
• Physics 8A/8B

Some students feel that completing biochemistry (MCB 100 or 102) helped them to prepare for this test; national statistics show no significant difference in scores of those students who have taken biochemistry compared to those who have not taken a biochemistry course.