Begin or continue to work either paid or as a volunteer in a medical office, hospital or other location.

Keep up the study groups and study every subject every day.

Read your Marshall email on myMU daily for announcements from  the College of Science.

Mandatory advising is required for sophomores. Be certain to stay on track to finish all the science block courses by no later than the first semester of the junior year.

Meet with the Dr. Wayne Elmore, Associate Dean of Science at least once as a sophomore, preferably in the fall.

Begin to prepare a resume that will be required when you open the file for your credentials for application during the junior year. This file and resume will contain letters of recommendation and resume which will be the basis for the cover letter written by the Associate Dean of Science when you apply. The letters will be forwarded by the College of Science to the institutions where you apply.

Review this web site for updates. Think seriously about your choices. Luckily the science block courses prepare you for all health care professional schools. It is the responsibility of the student to check the web sites of each school to which an application is planned in case there are specific requirements or recommendations.

Take a free online practice MCAT to get a baseline of your projected performance. If you score well you still need to prepare. If you find you make a low score in one part, you need to really work on it. If you have a low score on the Verbal portion and/or if you feel that you need to improve your reading speed and comprehension, visit the Learning Center in the Marshall Community & Technical College for information regarding reading improvement skills. Medical schools will not consider you if you cannot read and comprehend large amounts of information very quickly.

Be certain to take the last remaining science block courses because it is the content of these courses that is the basis for admission exams.

If you have not already taken the science block courses enroll in science electives that will help you on the admission test. Most medical schools recommend biochemistry and cell biology but do not require them. Students usually say these courses help them immensely on the exams. Microbiology, histology, animal physiology, comparative vertebrate anatomy, and embryology are also recommended.

Begin reviewing for MCAT, DAT, OAT, PCAT, or other health-care admission exam. Plan on spending at least three months and at least two hours a day studying for the exam, including weekends. Do not “try” the exam once to see how well you do. It costs money and although you can take the exam multiple times (only three attempts per calendar year), Admissions Committees do notice how many times you have taken the exam. There are study aids, some online and there are Princeton Review and Kaplan prep course that prepares you but they are expensive. However you choose to study begin right away to prepare for the exam. Do not take it “cold”. It is senseless to fail to prepare for this 5.5 hr, online exam. You will not be ready, it will cost you money, and the completion of your application will be delayed. This is a very common error that you should avoid at all costs.

Open the Green Jacket, a green manila folder, at the front desk in the Dean’s Office, S 270.

Think about which professors you plan to ask to write recommendation letters. You will need at least three. Try to think in terms of who will write an effective letter on your behalf. People who know you and your desire and commitment to becoming a physician are best. You will need to have these letters completed and sent to the Dean’s Office by spring of the junior year to be placed in your folder.

Begin writing your resume and thinking about your personal statement that you will submit to most professional schools. For example, Google medical school personal statement to learn about how they are written. You do not want to wait to the last minute so get started.

Prepare your resume and submit it to be included in your Green Jacket in the Dean’s Office.

Ask professors to write letters of recommendation. Give them the form you receive when you open the Green Jacket. They will submit them directly to the Dean’s Office. This is an absolute must before you leave at the end of the semester. Check at the front desk to be certain they are in place. Professors are forgetful.

Set up an appointment with Vicki Cole in the Dean’s Office for your Junior Evaluation to be certain you are on schedule to graduate.

Set up an appointment in February with your Associate Dean to discuss your application. A personalized, tailored letter of recommendation will be prepared to submit with your other credentials as a cover letter to the institutions where you plan to apply. Discuss an admission strategy based on your goals and grades. This may need to be modified when you receive your admission test scores. For example, if your records are marginal you may want to apply to both allopathic and osteopathic medical schools plus other professional schools, possibly chiropractic or podiatry.

Apply for the spring MCAT or other appropriate admission test. Apply early in order that you may have time to take it a second time for consideration of your application.

Continue to review for the admission exam.

Ask the Dean’s office if your letters are being submitted. Make final decisions on where to apply. Go to the web pages of the schools to which you intend to apply and double check all specific requirements for each school.

Submit your applications. It is imperative that you apply as early as possible because most medical schools place the applications in a queue and consider them according to date of their receipt. For MUSOM the earliest date you can apply is June 1 of the summer prior to the year you wish to matriculate. Even if you have not taken the MCAT by June 1 or if you plan to retake the MCAT later in the summer, submit your application anyway. Then take the MCAT ASAP.

Review and critique MCAT results and GPA status with your Associate Dean.

Obtain application for AMCAS, AACOMAS, or other admission service (check to see if you are eligible for a waiver of fees) and make first draft of AMCAS or another appropriate admission service essay. Google medical school personal statement again to give you some idea of what they are like. Do not copy and paste anything. This must be original.

Make sure recommendation letters are coming in to the Dean’s Office.

Finalize your essay. This should not be taken lightly. Give it some effort.

Ask the Dean’s Office to submit your letters to the institutions.

If you did not do well on the MCAT take the Princeton Review in the summer, usually in July. If you made below 8 on any section of the MCAT, retake the exam. The latest test date that will be considered by the Admissions Committee is in September, so don’t miss the opportunity to sit for the MCAT again that year. Plan ahead with the thought in mind that you may need to take it over by checking the exam dates several months after the date you initially take it. If you did not feel confident plan immediately to take it again. You will have your scores before you have to decide on whether to take it again.

If you have a low score on the Verbal portion, visit the Learning Center in the Marshall Community & Technical College for information regarding reading improvement skills.

Check with the admissions office of the schools to which you wish to apply to seek advice on anything that may not be clear to you. You do not want to fail to submit a complete application as soon as possible. It is best to apply on the earliest possible date, June 1, and to return your secondary applications as soon as possible when you are asked. Do not delay; your position in the queue is critically important.

Enroll in classes.

Although by the time the fall semester begins it will be very late in the application process, you can still apply to begin medical school in August after you graduate in May. However, the later you apply, the less likely you are to receive a position in the class.

Ask for a senior evaluation for graduation in the Dean’s Office.

If you wish to take advantage of the Combined College and Professional Degrees program you must be certain that in both your junior and senior evaluation you inform the advisor who checks the completion of your requirements.

Be patient.

Begin to think of alternatives (just in case).

Update your application to the schools as you accomplish more in your senior year.

Send thank you letters to interviewers and letter writers.

Interviews usually begin in early October. Schedule your interviews as soon as you are invited and take advantage of Health Care Admissions Workshops and mock interviews of which you will be made aware by the COS Pre-health Care LIST.

Schedule interviews for which you are invited. Double check with medical school admissions if there is any chance that all your credentials are not yet in place.

Complete FAFSA form for financial aid.

Apply for graduation in the College of Science Dean's Office, Room 270.

If you have no responses by mid February, speak immediately with your Associate Dean about alternatives. 

If you are wait-listed, send letter expressing continued interest. 

Graduate from Marshall University with a bachelor’s degree.

Acceptance letters may still be sent out, so stay calm.

Make sure medical schools can reach you or a family member by telephone at all times. Sometimes a call may be received as late as early August.

If you have heard nothing positive you might want to take some more undergraduate courses, enter graduate school, and/or retake the MCAT and reapply.

Enter allopathic medical, osteopathic medical, dental, pharmacy, veterinary medical, podiatry, physical therapy, optometry, or chiropractic school.