Undergraduate Preparation

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Academic Preparation

Selecting a  Major

There is no “pre-med” major.  Medical schools are interested in broadly educated students who have developed excellent writing and speaking skills, possess analytic and synthetic thinking ability, and are enthusiastic, life-long learners.  Understanding of the social aspects of medicine is just as important as understanding the science.  Your major will not determine your success in applying to medical school.  Your interests should determine your choice of major.   Majoring in an area that you enjoy is more likely to lead to academic success, than pursuing a field for which you have little enthusiasm.  Regardless of your major, it is necessary to demonstrate science ability; proficiency in other areas will not compensate for lack of science ability.

Pre-requisite Courses

Academic preparation for medical school will be discussed below; however, this information is also pertinent to preparation for other health professions.  Links for admissions information for the other health careers can be found at the end of this section.  Each medical school determines its specific requirements for admissions.  These requirements can be found in the Medical School Admissions Requirements (MSAR), an official guide published by the Association of American Medical Colleges.  The chair of the College's Health Professions Committee has a copy of the MSAR and other professional school guides.  The minimum science course work necessary for preparing for medical school and the MCAT is two semesters each of general biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics.  These courses should be completed no later than the end of your junior year so that you will be prepared for the MCAT exam in April.  The courses at the College of Charleston that fulfill these requirements are:

General Biology
Biol 111 + Biol 111 Lab
Biol 112 + Biol 112 Lab
General Chemistry
Chem 111 + Chem 111 Lab
Chem 112 + Chem 112 Lab
Organic Chemistry
Chem 231 + Chem 231 Lab
Chem 232 + Chem 232 Lab
Physics
Phys 101 + Phys 101 Lab
Phys 102 + Phys 102 Lab    or
Phys 201 + Phys 201 Lab
Phys 202 + Phys 202 Lab

There are two medical schools in South Carolina, The Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine and the University of South Carolina School of Medicine.  Admissions requirements for each school can be found by clicking on their names.

Admission Requirements for Other Professions

Dental School: Dental school requires additional courses in advanced biology.  The only dental school in South Carolina is at the Medical University of South Carolina.  Specific admissions requirements can be found at the MUSC College of Dental Medicine website.

Pharmacy School:  Matriculation into pharmacy school requires completion of approximately 67 hours of prerequisites that may include microbiology, statistics, economics, psychology, and communications in addition to the science courses listed above.  Information for the specific requirements for the NEW South Carolina pharmacy program (starting with the Fall2006 class) can be found at the South Carolina College of Pharmacy.

Veterinary School:  The admissions requirements for veterinary schools are quite variable and specific for each school and can be found in the Veterinary Medical School Admission Requirements guide published by the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges.  The chair of the College's Health Professions Committee has a copy of this and other professional school guides.  South Carolina does not have a veterinary school but does have contractual arrangements with the veterinary schools at University of Georgia to accept 17 ,  Mississippi State University to accept 5, and  Tuskegee University to accept 4 South Carolina residents.

Optometry School:  There are 17 schools of optometry in the United States and Puerto Rico.  In addition to the science courses listed above, most require calculus, statistics, microbiology and psychology.  Some schools also require anatomy and physiology.  There is no school of optometry in South Carolina.  A list of schools and their pre-requisite courses can be found at Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry.

Personal Preparation

Good grades and test scores are essential factors in determining admissions, but are not the only determinants of success.  Students must demonstrate that they have a true interest in their chosen professions and the personal attributes that are highly desirable in a health professional.  The applicant will need to articulate to an admissions committee why this career choice is right for them.  Health professions schools expect applicants to have sought opportunities in the career in which they are interested.   Students should shadow a doctor and work or volunteer in health-related environments.  Since the health careers are service-related professions, students should also explore activities in people-oriented environments. Steady, long term involvement is preferable to short bursts of unrelated activities.  This type of experience not only demonstrates social responsibility, but also helps to builds communication skills and teaches how to deal with a diversity of people.  The insight and experiences gained through these activities will help a student compose an application essay that will convince an admissions committee of the worthiness of the applicant.  In addition, these activities provide opportunities to acquire meaningful letters of evaluation from non-academic sources that will strengthen the student's application.

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