What are medical schools looking for?  They want excellent students, with a demonstrated commitment to helping others and a proven ability to science.  They want students who have maximized their undergraduate education and who have made efforts to learn about themselves and about healthcare.

Non-Academic Preparation for Medical School

   Extracurricular Activities.  Personal development through participation in extracurricular activities is nearly as important as academic work when preparing for medical school.  Medical schools are looking for people who will make good physicians, and they are not enthused about students who have no interests outside of the classroom, the lab, and the library.  You should get involved with extracurricular activities that matter to you.  There are endless opportunities—the arts, athletics, service work, religious organizations, debating, singing groups, etc.  Try something you enjoy, and devote time and energy to it.  You will be a richer person for it, and you will come to your academic work refreshed.  Medical schools look at your extracurricular involvements to determine the level of your energy, commitment, leadership, and maturity, as well as your ability to work with others.
You may have to work on campus to contribute to your college expenses.  Your ability to keep up with coursework and handle a job speaks well about your discipline, motivation, and priorities. 

   Health-Related Experience.  It is essential for you to gain some real-world perspective on medicine and the healthcare delivery system.  There are many ways in which you can learn about medicine:  working or volunteering in a hospital is one way, doing an internship (through our International Internship Program or through the Office of Career Services) is another, reading and becoming knowledgeable about the field is yet another.  The Student Volunteers Council (SVC) is a great place to start; they offer a volunteer program at the University Medical Center, as well as many other opportunities for service.  In our office, we have assembled shadowing opportunities with local physicians.  We also have detailed listings online of summer and full-time (post-graduation) clinical opportunities.  And there are several health-related opportunities on campus—you may become a peer health educator through University Health Services, and the athletic medicine program also hires several student trainers each year.  Last but not least, you might take First Aid courses and CPR, and join a local rescue squad.

   If you don't have time for medically-related volunteer work during the school year, plan on it in the summer.  How, when, and through whose auspices is less important.  What does matter is that you gain some sense that medicine will be satisfying to you and that you will have something to give your patients and the profession.  This should be your first priority if you are considering the pursuit of a medical education – done before or during your time in the pre-med courses.  Also, please note:  you will want to develop and sustain your exposure to clinical practice, not reply on what you “did back in high school.”        

Choosing a major

   Many think you “should” major in science, and that you will be a less competitive candidate for medical school if you major in the humanities or social sciences.  This is not the case.  You should choose a major based on these questions:  What discipline is most interesting to you?  Most challenging?  Which field will best draw on your talents and abilities?  Where do you want to do your independent work? 
Some additional things to consider when choosing your concentration:

• Medical schools are interested in students who have challenged themselves in the sciences and have demonstrated strong ability in science
• Medical schools are also interested in students who have a broad view of the human condition, an understanding gained through the study of literature, history, the social and behavioral sciences
• If you demonstrate both the ability in science and that broader understanding through a strong academic record, you will be a successful medical school applicant.  We have had students majoring in English, history, the Woodrow Wilson School, engineering, psychology, art history, anthropology, sociology, foreign languages, religion, and philosophy, as well as the sciences.  In a typical year, about a third of our applicants are humanities/social science concentrators, and they are just as successful in gaining admission as our science majors.
• Your undergraduate years are your last opportunity to study the liberal arts in depth; there will be plenty of science in medical school, but little opportunity for Shakespeare, Mozart, classical mythology, or economics.

The Admissions Process

   Applying to medical school is a complex process starting in the spring of the year before you wish to matriculate (approx. 18 months prior).  Roughly 50% of Princeton applicants elect to take one year off prior to matriculation at a medical school, waiting until after senior year to apply (there are often many advantages to doing this).  You can hold off on knowing most of the details until the year you apply, but there are two exceptions—issues you may want to think about as early as possible:  timing the MCAT and gathering letters of recommendation.
 
   The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is required by all of the American medical schools.  It tests your knowledge of science from the required coursework and, therefore, should not be taken until those courses are virtually complete.  The period of months following your completion of the requirements is the best time to take the MCAT.  This may be the spring of junior year, or the summer after sophomore year, or anytime during senior year or beyond; it will depend on your individual timeline. The MCAT is a knowledge-based test for which you must study.  How you prepare is up to you.  Commercial test preparation outfits operate in the Princeton area and many students avail themselves of these services.  An MCAT score is good for three years at most medical schools, so taking the test in the spring of junior year does not necessarily mean that you must enter med school right after college graduation.

Will I Be Competitive?

   Some of you may worry about whether you will get into medical school.  It is important to remember that no one factor gets a student into medical school, or keeps a student out.  Medical schools evaluate an entire academic record; one “C” in science will not keep you out.  Try not to get too bogged down with GPA’s.  We will be happy to speak with you about your record and give you our assessment of how things look.  In general we can tell you that students with a B+ average (3.3) or better from Princeton are getting into medical school.  Our acceptance rate has always been excellent.

The Post-Baccalaureate Alternative

    We have just described the “traditional” routes to completing your coursework as a pre-medical student.  However, you should be aware of one more alternative.  Some students decide to defer their pre-med coursework until after they graduate from Princeton, enrolling in a post-baccalaureate pre-med program and spending an intensive year or two completing all the required courses.  Information about these post-baccalaureate programs is available in our office. 

Advice

    The Office of Health Professions Advising is available to you throughout your time at Princeton and beyond.  Feel free to come by during Drop-In Hours with a quick question or two, or schedule a longer appointment with Dr. Cummings or Ms. Deutsch.  Also, we urge you to get to know your Dean and Director of Studies in your residential college, as well as your academic advisers; these people are crucial to your progress at Princeton and can often answer pre-med questions.