Success in Pre-Medicine: Plan of Study

There are various pathways through the Sewanee curriculum to meet the academic requirements to apply to medical school. Many students want to matriculate directly from undergraduate to graduate studies, while others choose to take a longer route (see GAP/BRIDGE YEARS). There are also many things to consider besides the curricular requirement in order to be a successful pre-medical student. Some questions to ask as you begin this journey are:

What does it take to be a successful practitioner in the health care industry?What kind of experiences do you need to be able to answer this question for yourself? How will you use these experiences to reflect on your own path to medicine?

How are you going to show the medical school selection committee that you are an excellent applicant?What programs, activities, and service work are you going to engage in? What are your academic goals? How are you going to manage your time to be successful both inside and outside the classroom?

Should you be a doctor?Can you articulate why you want to be in this field and what characteristics you have that will be beneficial? Can you show sustained interest in this profession through your activities and service to others? 

DIRECT MATRICULATION (Sewanee to Medical School)
Students intending to matriculate directly from Sewanee are strongly encouraged to start their chemistry sequence (CHEM 120 or CHEM 150, CHEM 201, and CHEM 202) as early as possible, preferably in their freshman fall semester (if they had a strong chemistry and math background in high school). Biology (BIOL 133) should be taken no later than sophomore fall semester, but ideally should be taken during the freshman year, followed by BIOL 233 and then two additional biology courses with laboratory. Please see course requirements for more information about additional required courses and details about biology course offerings suitable for medical school and MCAT competencies. 

GAP/BRIDGE YEARS (Sewanee and 1+ yrs. then Medical School)
The Association of American Medical Colleges has recommendations about making the most out of your gap/bridge year. Medical school applicants' average age at matriculation is 24 years (AMCAS), thus the trend toward students taking bridge year(s) is becoming more common. These additional years allow students to gain valuable experiences, leadership skills, and potentially improved GPAs and test scores. More information can be found here. 

If you are interested in bridge year(s), you may extend your required courses into your senior year and beyond, if necessary. Students at Sewanee who begin the pre-medical path by their sophomore year generally complete all required courses by their senior year. If you choose to study abroad and/or decide after your sophomore year, you may need to take coursework in the summer, take more than 16 credit hours per semester, or seek courses after graduation.

The length of time you are bridging between Sewanee and medical school will determine when you need to take the MCAT and apply to medical school. It is recommended that you apply in June the year before you intend to matriculate to medical school.