There are 4 factors that are necessary to
be a successful applicant:
1) High GPA. This varies depending on the type
of professional school. For most medical schools, the mean GPA
is at least 3.6
2) High Scores on the standardized exams
(MCAT,
DAT, OAT, PCAT, GRE)
3) Volunteer/Work
Experience/Extracurricular Activities
4) Great Letters of
Recommendation. Most schools would prefer a recommendation
letter from a committee. FIU has a committee (
Premedical
Evaluation and Advisement Committee
)
which writes letters of recommendation for premedical, dental,
veterinary, optometry, podiatry, and pharmacy students). This
letter is partially based on evaluation
forms submitted by your
professors, so it is of great importance to get to know your
professors.
Common Requirements for
Pre-Dentistry, Medicine (Allopathic, Osteopathic,
Chiropractic), Veterinary Medicine, Optometry, Podiatry,
Pharmacy
BSC 1010, 1010L
(General Bio I & Lab)
BSC 1011, 1011L (General Bio II &
Lab)
CHM 1045, 1045L (Gen.
Chem. I & Lab)
CHM 1046, 1046L (Gen. Chem. II &
Lab)
CHM 2210, 2210L (Org. Chem. I & Lab)
CHM 2211, 2211L (Org. Chem. II
& Lab)
PHY 2053, 2048L (Gen.
Physics I without Calculus)
OR
PHY 2048,
2048L (Gen. Physics I with Calculus)
PHY 2054, 2049L (Gen.
Physics II without Calculus)
OR
PHY 2049,
2049L (Gen. Physics II with Calculus)
In
order to be able to take a minimum of 4 semesters of chemistry
(Biochemistry is also recommended or required by some schools,
students should begin with General Chemistry I (CHM 1045 +Lab)
in the freshman year.
Click
here
for a suggested order in which to
take the basic science prerequisites, as well as the Core and
requirements for whatever major you are
completing.
Some professional schools require specific Mathematics
courses, such as Calculus and Statistics. Some schools require
specific courses and hours in Humanities or Social Sciences.
Consult individual schools for information on requirements. In
particular, many pharmacy schools have very specific
requirements, which include courses in
economics.
Although most professional
schools will accept AP credit in lieu of these courses, not
all will. Contact the school(s) you are interested in, or look
online, to find out if they will accept AP credits. In the
case of some schools, if they accept AP credits they will want
to see additional courses taken in that subject area. For most
professional schools your GPA will be calculated as
Overall GPA as well as Science & Math
GPA. Courses taken for AP credit do not have a grade
averaged into your GPA.
Admission Tests Required for Professional
Schools
Almost all professional schools require
an admissions test which is taken after all science
prerequisites have been completed and about one year prior the
date you intend to start professional school. For most
students the appropriate test(s) should be taken the spring of
their junior year.
- DAT Required for Dental Schools
- GRE Required for P.A. andVeterinarySchools
- MCAT Required for M.D., D.O., and
PodiatrySchools
- OAT
Required for Schools of Optometry
- PCAT Required for most Pharmacy Schools
GPA Requirements
Professional schools calculate at least
two GPA's. They all will calculate an overall GPA. Many will
calculate a Math & Science GPA. They will calculate these
GPAs based on ALL the post-secondary classes that you have
ever taken. If you did Dual Enrollment with a college while in
high school, (many FIU students receive credits from MDC, BCC,
St. Thomas, Barry, or FIU for courses taken in high school)
all those courses will count in your overall GPA. If you have
repeated a course and used the "Forgiveness Policy" to replace
the grade in your GPA, many of the professional schools (such
as medical schools) will now use all the grades---there is no
such thing as "forgiveness." If you have re-taken a class and
not used "Forgiveness," then both of those grades will be
used. For those of you who have transferred to FIU, although
your FIU GPA does not include these courses, these transfer
courses will now be used when your new GPA is computed.
Therefore, it is very important that you realize that the
grade for every class you take, and have taken, will impact
your GPA.
Similarly, professional
schools will see if you have dropped or withdrawn from
classes. Many students have the habit of signing up for 15 or
18 credits with the intent of dropping one of the classes
prior to the drop date. However, the grade of DR is then
recorded on the transcript. Students should avoid excessive DR
grades. Professional schools also need to see that you are
capable of carrying a full-time load. Therefore, you should
avoid taking only 1-3 courses per
semester.
For
students who are working on a second degree, medical schools
will calculate your GPA's separately for undergraduate and
graduate degrees. All post-baccalaureate courses will appear
on a separate line on the application, but if they are
undergraduate courses, they will be included with the
undergraduate GPA. If they are post-baccalaureate graduate
courses in a graduate program, they will have their own
GPA.
Here is a
tool
that will help you to
calculate your current overall GPA, as well as to figure out
how many credits of the grade of 'A' you must earn in order to
bring up your GPA to the number you desire.
Gaining Experience and Exposure to Your Chosen
Profession
All professional schools require that you
demonstrate that you know what the profession is all about.
This experience may be obtained through volunteer or paid
positions, and must involve patient contact. It is not
sufficient to work in the billing office of a hospital, for
example. Many students shadow physicians, work in Emergency
Rooms, etc. This volunteer/work experience must be of long
duration--a minimum of 1 year prior to application. In the
case of Veterinary Medicine, experience with all types of
animals (small, large, and exotic) is expected. Many otherwise
well-qualified applicants do not get accepted because they do
not have sufficient experience in their chosen
profession.
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