Preparing for a Career in Medicine

If you are interested in pursuing a career in medicine, you need to build a strong foundation in the sciences and intellectual skills in a number of other areas as an undergraduate student. You should plan your college education with the goal of building a diverse set of skills, and select a major that challenges and interests you.

Indiana University does not offer a "premed" major. Medical schools do not generally have a preference for admitting students who have completed a "premed" major, or any other particular major. Rather, their priority is in admitting students from all majors who have developed a strong foundation in the sciences, as well as other intellectual abilities and skills.

Therefore, premed students do not have to complete any particular major, but they do have to complete a rigorous set of coursework in biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics. (For a listing of courses that meet the admission requirements for medical school please read the premedical coursework page). In addition, premed students need to develop strong reasoning, analytical, and communication skills.

Premed students can select any major to combine with the premed courses. As a premed student, you can major in a non-science field, like philosophy or history, or a science field, if that's what really appeals to you.

Premed students should select a major that interests them, allows them to build strong intellectual skills, and one that could provide opportunities for graduate work or employment if they choose not to pursue a career in medicine.

What matters to medical schools is that you have excelled in completing the premed requirements and have built good analytical and communication skills. Medicine is a field firmly grounded in the sciences, but is also centered on the human condition and our vulnerability to illness. Good preparation for the field of medicine can come out of a liberal arts education that gives students a strong foundation in the sciences, and also helps them build a broader understanding of the social and cultural dimensions of the world around them.

A good physician must be adept at using language. Just stop and imagine the thousands of interactions that take place every day between doctors and patients, in which patients describe their symptoms and doctors must listen skillfully, ask the right questions, and then make sure they communicate about the proper course of treatment to their patients and other healthcare providers. The process of diagnosis and treatment is highly dependent on language use. If you want to become a good physician one day you will need to pursue an education that will help you build strong communication skills. Advanced coursework in the humanities and social sciences can deepen your abilities to communicate with patients in a variety of ways.

The MCAT, or Medical College Admissions Test, covers not only biology, chemistry, and physics, but also verbal reasoning, because medical schools recognize that to be a successful physician you need good communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills in addition to a strong science background. Advanced coursework in the humanities and social sciences will help you prepare for the verbal reasoning component of the MCAT exam.

Students majoring in the sciences should include in their course plans some advanced-level coursework in the humanities and the social sciences, in order to stretch their verbal reasoning and analytical skills.

By the same token, you can be a very appealing candidate for admission to medical school if you majored in a humanities or social science field and mastered the premed requirements, but students pursuing non-science majors should consider taking a few additional upper-level biology or chemistry courses to make sure they are fully prepared for a demanding medical school curriculum.

You should pay attention to one very important fact. There are approximately twice as many applicants desiring spaces in medical schools as seats available. This means that only about one out of two applicants to medical schools is admitted. In fact, over the past few years, the number of applicants to medical schools has steadily increased, resulting in greater competition for admission. Freshman students should anticipate that by the time they prepare to apply as college juniors they may need to meet higher admission standards than were in effect when they started college.

You will need to prepare systematically and plan carefully to gain admission to medical school. You should meet periodically with a premedical advisor at the Health Professions and Prelaw Center, and make sure to attend HPPLC events and workshops to help you prepare for the admission process.

Gaining admission to medical school requires the development of a sharp scientific mind, good interpersonal sensibilities, and extraordinary dedication. Many students start college with an initial attraction to the idea of becoming a doctor, but once in college taking demanding science coursework some find that it may not be the best fit for them. There are many degree programs leading to fulfilling careers in the health professions that have less competitive admission requirements, require less rigorous coursework, and can be completed in a shorter period of time and at less expense than a medical school program. Please explore all areas of this website for information on the many possible careers you could pursue.

To learn more about premedical preparation, please read the document Preparing for Medical School: A Guide for Freshmen and Sophomores.

For information on the Indiana University School of Medicine please consult their website.

Are you a student who has already completed a bachelor's degree but now you're thinking about going to medical school?

You can complete the courses required for admission to medical school on the Indiana University Bloomington campus. For information on the courses recommended to fulfill the requirements for admission to medical school, please read the premedical coursework page. As an alternative, you may wish to consider enrolling in a post-baccalaureate program designed to help "career changers" complete the requirements for admission to medical school. For more information on post-baccalaureate programs, the AAMC website provides a search engine allowing users to obtain information on individual programs.

HPPLC services are available to IU alumni or any current student on the Indiana University Bloomington campus. If you would like to set up an appointment to meet with a HPPLC premed advisor please call 855-1873 or visit Maxwell Hall room 010.