Allopathic Medicine (MD)
Interested in pursuing an MD? Begin your planning early (first year!), starting with the information below.
There is no specific major that a student needs in order to continue on in a medical training program after graduation. The biochemistry major most closely tracks with the admission requirements for MD training programs; however, we routinely work with students that are majoring in other areas or double majoring.
In addition to completing a major, students interested in MD training need:
- Two semester-long courses in Biology with lab [BIOL 111, 121, 172, or 208; and BIOL 237, 256, 257, 260, or 289]
- Two semester-long courses in Chemistry with lab [CHEM 117 and 220]
- Two semester-long courses in Organic Chemistry with lab [CHEM 230 and 235]
- Two semester-long courses in Physics with lab [PHYS 101 and 102]
- Two semester-long courses in English with intensive writing
- One semester-long course in Biochemistry [BIOL/CHEM 260 or 300]
- One semester-long course in Math or Statistics
The following are suggestions to more fully prepare for the MCAT and a future career as a physician:
- One semester-long course in Psychology [PSYC 100]
- One semester-long course in Sociology [SOCI 100]
- As many chemistry and biology courses that fit into a schedule.
- Learn a language that helps you serve diverse people and communities.
The process for formally applying to MD training programs begins 18 months before you intend to start a training program. Your initial application should be completed in June of the year before you intend to start a training program.
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Request a committee letter from the Health Professions Advisory Committee by emailing the following materials to HPAC@beloit.edu by February 1.
- Unofficial transcript
- Biology/Chemistry/Physics/Math GPA
- Provide the names the individual evaluation letter writers from whom you have requested letters of rec. Internal letters (two science and one non-science faculty) should be sent to HPAC (hpac@beloit.edu) by March 15. See AMCAS Guidelines for Letter Writers.
- MCAT score or a list of practice exam scores and test date.
- Draft of your Personal Statement
- Resume
- Complete the MCAT exam no later than mid-April of your application year.
- The AMCAS application system opens at the beginning of May. Completed applications can and should be submitted at the beginning of June.
- The AMCAS processing fee is $170 for the first school and $43 for each additional school.
- Secondary applications begin in July with an additional cost of up to $200 each. These contain several essays to write and need to be submitted with two weeks of receipt.
- On-site interviews will occur in the late summer and fall of the application cycle. The applicant most cover all the travel costs for these interviews.
Important considerations:
- MD training programs will review your overall GPA, as well as, your Biology/Chemistry/Physics/Math GPA. To be a competitive applicant these two GPA values should be similar and above 3.7.
- MD training programs will look to your personal statement to understand how your experiences inside and outside the classroom have prepared you to be successful in medical school and as a future physician. Strive for sustained, high engagement patient care and research experiences.
- MD training programs require a competitive score on the MCAT which is around 515. Sitting for the MCAT costs $330.
- MD schools will conduct a criminal background check and sometimes a credit check.