Pre-Medicine

Pre-Medicine

Essential Courses

*Required for MCAT 2015. Strongly recommend BI 316, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology II as additional preparation. Students will also need to be familiar with statistics and be adept at critical thinking, skills that are fostered by participation in research as part of course work or over the summer. For more information on MCAT 2015, see https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/mcat2015/faqs/ You can also gain ongoing practice through the MCAT Question of the Day website.

Make every effort to take the MCAT NO LATER than the end of May of the summer you plan to apply. This will require DILIGENT PREPARATION DURING BOTH SEMESTERS OF THE SCHOOL YEAR.

Important Notes

• Some schools require two semesters of Biochemistry (check websites) and some require up to one year of math (ex. Penn State Hershey, which accepts ANY course with a Math designation); a general recommendation for a year of math is Calculus I and Statistics (some schools may accept a statistics course offered outside the math department; check websites of the schools). Also recommend genetics, comparative anatomy, developmental biology, ecology, microbiology, physiology, foreign language (especially Spanish), economics, social sciences, business courses, communication courses and ethics.
• These courses reflect program requirements for our affiliations with the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and Temple University School of Medicine/Geisinger Health System only. Although this course list will be sufficient for most other programs, make sure to check requirements of other schools in which you are interested no later than your sophomore year.
• This course list does NOT represent a POE, nor does it cover College requirements. Design a POE, preferably in an academic area, in consultation with your advisor.
• Make sure to have an advisor on the Health Professions Committee who advises premedical students. See http://www.juniata.edu/departments/healthprofessions/committee.html
• In addition to your course work you are urged to gain some experience in medicine either during the school year or over the summer.

Requirements

Temple University School of Medicine/Geisinger Health System** --- 4 + 4 Early Assurance B.S./M.D. Program

MCAT scores must be no more than 3 years old

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine* --- 4 + 4 B.S./D.O. Early Assurance Program

MCAT no longer required

Competitive Credentials

LECOM: Students who wish to be in the pipeline for 4 + 4 Early Acceptance Programs must have a combined Math and Verbal SAT score of at least 1170 OR an ACT of at least 26 AND a high school grade point average of at least 3.5. Juniata overall GPA must be 3.4 or better, science GPA must be 3.2 or better.

Students will not be required to take the MCAT exam. A letter from a D.O. or M.D. is no longer required.  Only one Physics course with a lab is now required.  LECOM will evaluate students based on Academic Index Score (AIS). This score will use the SAT/ACT scores in conjunction with College GPA. If AIS does not meet the required standards by start of fourth year at Juniata, the student will have the option of taking the MCAT exam.

4 + 4 LECOM students must first have a successful pre Juniata interview at LECOM and then enroll in the LECOM phase no later than the start of their junior year at Juniata. Transfer students must complete at least 2 consecutive years at Juniata. Applicants are not required to have a letter from a D.O. but recommended. In addition to the Committee letter sent to LECOM and must apply to LECOM through AACOMAS by November 15th of the year of application. Supplemental application is due by January 1. Note: Students applying to the Early Acceptance Programs at LECOM may apply ONLY to LECOM. LECOM accepts ONLY U.S. citizens and permanent residents. LECOM does NOT accept AP (advanced placement) credit for any prerequisites. Summer courses will be accepted. (LECOM permission required: consult with Dr. Amanda Siglin). LECOM also requires a state and/or federal criminal background check on all matriculants.

Temple: Science and overall GPA of 3.5 or better and an MCAT of 30 or better with no less than a 9 in any category.

The Early Assurance Program with Temple/Geisinger Health System involves clinical training in years 3 and 4 at the Geisinger Health System Clinical Campus in Danville, PA. This affiliation is not open to transfer students.

Juniata also offers a 4 year Lawrence Johnson Scholarship for a medical student at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry as long as the student remains in good academic standing. Only one student can hold the scholarship at any one time. The scholarship is open to current students and Juniata alumni applying during an eligible year and the recipient will be chosen by the Admissions Committee from the successful applicants that cycle. No special application process is required. Minimum credentials for scholarship recipients are science and overall GPAs of 3.5 and 30 on the MCAT.

Helpful websites:

American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine - http://www.aacom.org/

Association of American Medical Colleges - http://www.aamc.org/

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine - http://lecom.edu/

Temple University School of Medicine - http://www.temple.edu/medicine/

University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry - https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/education/md.aspx

Minority information resource for MD applicants- http://www.aspiringdocs.org

MD/Ph.D. information-https://www.aamc.org/students/research/mdphd/

Resource List for Medical Career Information

Family Medicine fmignet.aafp.org

Information on all aspects of pre-medicine https://www.aamc.org/students/aspiring/

Ventures Scholars Program www.venturescholar.org

National Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Organization www.nationalahec.org

Post-baccalaureate programs https://services.aamc.org/postbac/

Student Medical Associate Websites

American Medical Student Association www.amsa.org

American Medical Women's Association www.amwa-doc.org

Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum www.apiahf.org

Association of American Indian Physics www.aaip.org

National Hispanic Medical Association www.nhmamd.org

Student National Medical Association www.snma.org

Student Osteopathic Medical Association www.studentdo.com

General Information: http://explorehealthcareers.org/en/home

Suggested Core Progression for Pre-Medicine

Juniata prerequisites. Non-bolded courses are either offered in both semesters or represent open-ended choices, making them more flexible in when they can be taken. Course progressions after the freshman year are not carved in stone. Your particular course sequence may be different, depending on your situation. Consult with your advisor.

*Both semesters of the year that you plan to take the exam.

If you study abroad the SAFEST strategy is to take ALL prerequisite courses for professional school in the U.S., which may require you to take courses in the U.S. over the summer, preferably at a 4 year institution. However, if this is extremely difficult for your situation, check with the professional schools you wish to attend to see if they will accept courses taken abroad and if so, get their response in writing. Also if you have a Biology POE and will not have BI 207 by the time you go abroad, check with the Biology Department to see if there is a Cell and Molecular course you can take abroad that will enable you to take upper level biology offerings at Juniata your senior year that require BI 207 (ex. Physiology, Immunology, and Microbiology)

Be mindful of your POE courses, which are NOT indicated here. For example, if you have a Biology POE, you will need to take Freshman seminar the spring of your freshman year, Frontiers of Biology the fall of your sophomore year, and Biology 207 at your earliest opportunity after completing Introduction to Inorganic Chemistry.