Pre-Medicine Area of Emphasis  (3 or 4 years)

Overview of Medicine as a Career

An M.D. degree is the most highly sought after prize. Admission to medical school is prestigious and the eventual monetary benefits are great. Approximately one out of three qualified students who apply to West Virginia medical schools are admitted. The drawbacks are:

• it requires four or more years at the undergraduate level, four years in med school, and three to seven years in a certified residency program before you make much money;
• the admission process is highly competitive;
• an overall GPA of 3.0 and cumulative MCAT scores in the range of 21 to24 are competitive for the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine; and
• an overall GPA of 3.3 and cumulative scores on the MCAT of 24 to 27 are competitive at the West Virginia University School of Medicine.

See the Occupational Outlook Handbook: Medicine

Courses

Principles of Biology I and II (BSC 120 and 121)

Principles of Chemistry I and II and Labs (CHM 211, 212, 217, and 218)

Organic Chemistry I and II and Organic Lab (CHM 355, 356, and 361)

College Algebra (MTH 130 or 127) and Trigonometry (MTH 122) [Requirement may also be met by Pre-Calculus (MTH 132), Applied Calculus (MTH 140), or Calculus (MTH 229)]

General Physics I and II and labs (PHY 201, 202, 203 and 204)

English Composition I and II (ENG 101 and 102)

Social and Behavioral Science. General Psychology (PSY 201) and Introductory Sociology (SOC 200) are recommended.

Recommended Electives

Histology (BSC 300)

Principles of Microbiology and Lab (BSC 302 and BSC 304) or General Bacteriology (BSC 250) Note: BSC 250 does not count toward a Biological Science degree.

Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy (BSC 310) or Human Anatomy (BSC 227) Note: BSC 227 does not count toward a Biological Science degree.

Principles of Cell Biology (BSC 322)

Introductory Biochemistry (BSC 365 for Biology majors or CHM 365 for Chemistry majors)

Animal Physiology (BSC 422) or Human Physiology (BSC 228) Note: BSC 228 does not count toward a Biological Science degree.

Introductory Immunology (BSC 448)

Other Courses

Follow catalog for degree requirements B.S. or B.A.

Biology
Biomedical Sciences
Cellular/Molecular Biology
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Microbiology

Biochemistry
Chemistry
Forensic Chemistry

Physics

Professional Exam

Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), is taken preferably in the fall of your junior year of undergraduate school. However, in some cases the student, after discussions with the Pre-Professional advisor, may choose to take the MCAT during the spring semester of his/her sophomore year.

The MCAT is a five and one-half hour self-paced computerized exam. Optional breaks are including during the exam. The exam is divided into four parts: verbal reasoning (40 questions lasting 60 minutes), biological sciences (52 questions lasting 70 minutes), physical sciences (52 questions lasting approximately 70 minutes), and writing sample (approximately 2 questions lasting 60 minutes).

The approximate cost is $210.00. Additional fees such as late registration, change of testing site, or rescheduling fees can be included in the total cost.

There is no penalty for guessing; which means that if you are unsure of your answer, you should guess rather than leave the question unanswered. Unanswered items are incorrect, but there are no additional score reductions for answers that you guess incorrectly. The scores range from a low of 1 to a high of 15 for each of the three multiple-choice sections of the test. Writing Sample essays are rated by a group of trained readers. Your raw score on the Writing Sample is the sum of four individual raw scores ranging from 1 to 6.  Your total raw score is converted to an alphabetic scale ranging from J (lowest) to T (highest).

For the most current information on cost, review the MCAT web site.

Links to Professional Schools