Stay Informed and Updated About Current Health Care Issues

Pre-Med Checklist

This timeline is for students planning on entering medical school directly after graduation. The timeline may be shifted around for those who plan on being in college for different amounts of time or those taking time off after graduation. This checklist is meant as a guide. Make sure you meet with a career counselor consistently to go over your plans.

FRESHMAN YEAR  Stay informed and updated about current health care issues.  Make an appointment for a career check-up at the Career Services Center to go over your career plans.  Sign up for CAT Link at https://careerservices.ucmerced.edu and click on CAT Link to stay updated on upcoming opportunities, internships, jobs, and helpful workshops.  Make an appointment with the pre-health academic advisor in the School of Natural Sciences to go over your timeline for completing classes for your degree AND pre-requisites for applying to medical school. o Start taking courses covered in the MCATs prior to the exam: General Chemistry, General Biology, and Physics. Biochemistry is found by some students to be helpful.  Get involved and develop strong leadership and interpersonal skills. Here are some examples of involvement you can do while in school: o Find your community and get involved with organizations that you are interested in to develop your leadership and interest skills. For opportunities, check with the Office of Student Life. o Join a pre-medical or pre-health student club. o Find opportunities to volunteer in or work in a health care setting. Any type of volunteer work shows your interest to help others and being involved in a health care setting shows your interest in and developing knowledge of the health field. o Work or volunteer in a research lab as a research assistant to show your intellectual curiosity and lab experience. It’s also a great way to get to know a faculty or staff member as a potential source for recommendation letters.  Attend professor office hours and get to know your professors as you may want to ask them for recommendation letters for your applications in the future. It also helps you understand course material much better when you can ask for help on specific concepts. For more info, pick up a handout regarding recommendation letters from the Take One Section.  Start looking for something to be involved in for the summer.  Visit “Considering a Career in Medicine” at www.aamc.org/students/considering

SUMMER AFTER FRESHMAN YEAR  Take summer school courses if needed  Get involved o Volunteer or work to gain medically related experience o Find a summer internship to participate in by visiting the Career Services Center. These opportunities show your interest for developing specific skills and/or helping others.  Continue staying informed about issues regarding health care and careers in medicine.

SOPHOMORE YEAR  Continue/complete courses covered in the MCATs.  Make appropriate appointments o Another career check-up at the Career Services Center. o With your academic advisor to go over what courses you still need to take  Validate your interest in medicine – spend time with doctors or volunteer in a health care setting. Explore the field so you know about the career and can show that you are interested in it. These experiences should be from college in the years prior to your application, not from high school.  Be involved in something that shows you are an active learner. o Research is one of the best ways, although not required. Make sure you are interested, before you taking on such a commitment, because there are other options to show you are an active learner. o Other options include working in a lab, TAing, starting a student journal, researching in a non-science field.  Continue attending office hours and requesting recommendation letters.  Start planning and studying for MCATs. Some ways to prepare are o Test preparation programs. Speak with other students about test prep programs about the pros and cons before taking them. They may be right for some students, and not for others. o Small and reliable study groups. o Tutor. o Individual study.  Start researching medical schools of interest See handout on choosing medical schools. o Graduate School/Professional School fairs. o Online. o Career Services Center Library.  Find an internship, volunteer opportunity, or job for the summer.  Develop a backup plan (plan B) by exploring other careers. You may end up liking another career more or changing plans. At the least, it gives you more confidence and reasons about why you want to be a doctor. Meet with a career counselor to go over possible career plans.

SUMMER AFTER SOPHOMORE YEAR  Start studying for MCATs.  Continue researching schools.  Stay involved: gain medically related experience, volunteer, summer programs, intern, research, or take a class you’re interested in.  Take summer school courses to satisfy requirements.

JUNIOR YEAR Fall  Register to take the MCATs no later than the April prior to applying for medical school. If you are unable to pay for MCATs, you can apply for financial aid from the AAMC website.  Continue studying for MCATs or take MCATs.  Start narrowing down which schools you want to apply for.  Continue attending office hours and requesting recommendation letters.  Stay involved.  Consult regularly with the Career Services Center for information to help you with your application process.  Make an appointment with your academic advisor to go over courses you still need to take to complete your degree and meet medical school pre-requisites.

Spring  Take April MCATs if you haven’t already done so.  Start working on your AMCAS primary applications o Work on personal statement and give it to different readers for feedback. . Attend a Career Services Center workshop on writing personal statements. . Take advantage of resources in the Career Services Center library to write a strong personal statement. o Learn process for sending out transcripts from every college you’ve received course credit from o Narrow down list of medical schools you’re applying to.  Request college transcripts for primary applications, which are available May 1.  Start organizing recommendation letters for secondary applications.

SUMMER AFTER JUNIOR YEAR  Complete AMCAS application; applications are due as early as October 15  Take summer school classes if necessary.  Be involved in something to gain medically related experience.  Start looking at financial aid, especially applying for scholarships. http://aamc.org/md2 is a good website you can use for financial planning.  Read http://www.aamc.org/students/applying/policies/ to familiarize yourself with application process and acceptance procedures.

SENIOR YEAR  Complete and return secondary applications ASAP, some may require you to return them as early as 2 weeks after receipt.  Prepare for and attend interviews o Attend workshops on successful interviewing by the Career Services Center. o There’s a Take One handout on interviewing skills, but doing a mock interview at the Career Services Center is one of the best ways to prepare.  Send thank you cards or letters to interviewers.  Fill out appropriate financial aid forms. http://services.aamc.org/msar_reports/  GOOD LUCK!  If accepted, make final decisions about school of choice, notify medical schools if you will not be attending there, and turn in IRS forms ASAP.

SUMMER AFTER SENIOR YEAR  If you get into medical school, congratulations! o Prepare for enrollment by purchasing books and equipment and making appropriate living arrangements o Relax. o Attend orientation programs and matriculate.  If you did not get into medical school, don’t lose hope. Make an appointment with a career counselor to find out how you can strengthen your next application or go over any changes in your career plans. if you are still interested in becoming a physician, find more information about taking a year off from school and working/conducting research while you apply again. Still want to be in the healthcare field? Check out other healthcare professions with a career counselor. If you are feeling like medical school is now not the career path for you, see a career counselor and get a jumpstart on your future