The information on this webpage is based upon a discussion with Professor Robert Mitchell in Fall 2004.  Dr. Mitchell is the Director of the Premedicine Office at University Park that oversees the Premedicine Major.  If you are interested in going to medical school, it is a good idea to roam around the Premedicine Major website to answer a number of questions.  Below will give you a summary of what would be generally required for medical school admissions.

                One point that has to be made clear is that you DO NOT need to be a Premed or Science major to get into medical school.  Any major is fine as long as you maintain a GPA of 3.6 or higher in the required and  desirablescience courses listed below.  Most medical schools require the completion of 1 year of English composition 1 year of freshman chemistry with lab, 1 year of freshmen biology with lab, 1 year of physics with lab, 1 year of organic chemistry with lab (8 credits), and 1/2-1 year of math (calculus looks best) to be completed before you apply.  Below you will find the PSU courses that will fulfill these requirements as well as other desirable courses that will enhance your application to medical school.

Required Courses

• BIOL: 110, 230
• CHEM: 110, 111, 112, 113, 210, 212, 213
• ENGL 15 or 30, 202
  
• MATH: Most medical schools no longer require calculus but some still do and it is looked upon favorably.
• PHYS: 250, 251 or PHYS 211, 212, 213, 214

Desirable Courses

• BIOL: 240
• BIOL: 472
• B M B: 400, 401, 402 (or B M B 211, 212)
• MICRB: 201

Other Helpful Courses

• Foreign Language (especially Spanish)
• Health Policy Administration
  
• Psychology
  
• Religious Studies
• Statistics
  

Other Important Factors

• Leadership in an extracurricular activity. (leadership in one activity is better then just membership in several)
• Experience in the health care industry. (paid or volunteer)
• MCAT scores of ≥ 9 or 10. (be in the top 50%)
• Minor.

                Experience in the health care industry can take a number of forms and typically there are alot of options that students are not aware of.  The options are too numerous to list here.  You should get ideas and explore your options by utilizing any resource available such as; friends, family, word-of-mouth, community, postings around campus, advisors, faculty, campus offices, or explore the internet on your own to find what is out there.  The following list is only meant to give you some ideas on where you can start your search.

Science Internships and Undergraduate Research Programs - My site which provides a long list of
potential resources to help you find opportunities.  What follows below are some selected sites.

• Academic Internships at Penn State Altoona
• Career Services Office - Check out their Job Shadowing Program
• Biomaterials & Bionanotechnology Summer Institute - Penn State University
• Undergraduate Research - Office of Science Diversity Initiatives, Eberly College of Science
• Research Opportunities for Undergraduates - Penn State University
• Pre-Health Summer Enrichment Programs - Penn State University Premedine Major
  
• Research and Training Opportunities at the National Institute of Health - The NIH has a number of student programs available.  One such program is The Summer Internship Program (SIP) which "provides an opportunity to spend the summer working side-by-side with some of the leading scientists in the world in an environment devoted exclusively to biomedical reseach. Students sixteen years of age or older who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents and are currently enrolled at least half-time in high school or an accredited U.S. college or unicersity are eligible to apply.  Students who have been accepted into a college or unersity may also apply."  Also has a site for FAQs.
• Summer Enrichment Programs - Bakersfield College Pre-Med Club
  
• Summer Medical and Dental Education Program - web stie for summer medical and dental education programs.  "SMDEP is a free (full tuition, housing, and meals) six-week summer medical and dental school preparatory program that offers eligible students intensive and personalized medical and dental school preparation."
• Health Related Summer Opportunities - List prepared by the Health Sciences Office of Swarthmore College, click on Summer Opportunities link.
• Health Professions Advisory Program - Syracuse University
• Undergraduate Research Support Office - Duke University
• AAMC - GREAT Group Summer Undergraduate Research Programs (by school)
  
• Summer Internships in Biology - Columbia University
• Search for Science Opportunities - Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)
• Summer Research Opportunities - Career Services Center University of California San Deigo
• Biology & Biotechnology PAID Co-ops/Internships - Rochester Institute of Technology site that contains long listing in all of the related fields you could think of including Pre-Veterinary, First-Year Undergraduates, High School Students, as well as a list that may NOT require US Citizenship or PR status.
  

             
                At the beginning of the junior year, students should be getting their materials put together for application to medical schools.  Below are links to material provide by the Premedicine Major office/website at University Park.  

• Medical School Application Process
• Brief Guide to Medical School Application - MCAT Infomation
• Timetable for Medical School Application
• Letters of Evaluation - Compiled by the Health Sciences Preprofessional Evaluation Committee
• FAQ
• Statistics
  
• Health Professions News
• Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Program
• Early Assurance/Early Admit Program to PSU's College of Medicine at Hershey
  

                When planning your future medical training, you must count the 4 years for the formal medical school and the additional 3-8 years that would be required by the residency programs for the different specialty training you may be interested in pursuing.  The following is a list of the different areas of medicine and years of training:

Allergy and Immunology - 5	Orthopaedic Surgery - 7
Anesthesiology - 4	Otolaryngology - 5
Colon and Rectal Surgery - 6	Pathology - 4
Dermatology - 4	Pediatrics - 3
Emergency Medicine - 3	Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation -  5
Family Practice - 3	Plastic Surgery - 7
Internal Medicine - 3	Preventative Medicine - 4
Neurological Surgery - 8	Psychiatry - 4
Neurology - 4	Radiology - 4
Nuclear Medicine - 4	Surgery - 5
Obstetrics and Gynecology - 6	Thoracic Surgery - 7
Ophthalmology - 4	Urology - 6-7

               Below is a grid to help first-year students start planning for other health professions.  It is not complete and is meant only to help students get started.  Students should discuss with their advisors how their future plans fit into their majors and use this grid as a point to start those discussions.  It is always best to check with the schools that you may be considering for their actual entrance requirements.  Even if courses are not marked as required below, the schools you apply to may still look favorably upon you for taking them.  And pay close attention to the number of credits required in some science areas.  For example, some may specify that you need 8 credits of Organic Chemistry which would mean you would have to take the CHEM 38, 39, 36 sequence to fulfill the entrance requirements.  The key point is to make sure you do your research as to what will be required by the specific schools you wish to apply to.  The Premedicine Major website at University Park provides a nice summary for the Application to Allied Health Care Professional Schools including entrance exam information.