Medical school requirements are essential to getting into any medical school. Even the easiest medical schools to get into have specific requirements that must be met by all applicants. From prerequisite courses and experiences to grades and MCAT scores, we've got you covered in this blog. With essential information and expert tips, we'll help you every step of the way so you can tick off all the requirements the medical school admissions process calls for. 


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Article Contents
29 min read

Medical School Requirements You Need to Know Medical School Requirements: Undergraduate Degree and Major Medical School Requirements: GPA Medical School Requirements: MCAT Medical School Requirements: Prerequisites Medical School Requirements: Personal Statement Medical School Requirements: Extracurriculars Medical School Requirements: Letters of Recommendation Medical School Requirements: Secondary Applications Medical School Requirements: Acuity Insights and CASPer Medical School Requirements: Interview FAQs

List of Medical School Requirements for Admission

Here’s a list of the medical school admission requirements (MSAR) you need to know!

Applying to DO and MD schools? Check out the DO school requirements.

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  1. Undergraduate degree
  2. Medical school GPA requirements
  3. Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT)
  4. Medical school prerequisites
  5. Medical school admissions essays
  6. Medical school extracurriculars and experiences
  7. Medical school recommendation letters
  8. Medical school secondary essays
  9. Acuity Insights assessment
  10. Medical school interviews

This list of medical school requirements make up the building blocks of your medical school applications and the checklist of what you need to prepare for as a premed. You’ll complete these requirements throughout your medical school application timeline but remember that each medical school you apply to may have different requirements or additional items on the checklist.

We’ll look at each of these 10 medical school requirements in more detail, including tips on how to meet them for your medical school applications.

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To calculate your chances of acceptance to medical school, try our Medical School Chance Predictor! 

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Medical School Requirement #1: Undergraduate Degree and Major

With the exception of some medical schools in Canada with special programs, there are no medical schools that don’t require a bachelor’s degree as the minimum requirement.

Medical schools rarely list a preference for premed undergraduate major or undergraduate institution. Your choice of college major or institution will have little influence on your chances of acceptance, compared to the other medical school requirements. Medical school acceptance rates by major reflect a strong representation of science majors, but this doesn’t mean you NEED to choose a science-related major to get in.

To best prepare yourself for medical school, it's important to complete your undergraduate degree in a field of study that you're interested in. Not in a field that you think will impress others or the admissions committee. A common misconception is that you must complete your undergraduate major in a science specialty or other medical major, but that is not the case. Even though majors in the biological sciences are the most common major of medical school matriculants, there are so many other majors represented such as humanities, math and statistics and physical sciences. You can get into medical school without a science background.

Dr. Neel Mistry, MD, one of our admissions experts and a graduate of the University of Ottawa medical school, says:

“[Take] courses you genuinely enjoy as opposed to doing them because they are ‘easy’ or to have a ‘relaxed’ schedule. Personally, my hardest courses were the ones I had little to no interest in, but I ended up enrolling because my friends said they would be ‘easy’. When you are doing something that you enjoy, you automatically end up going the extra mile, which shows in both the quality of your work as well as the results.” Dr. Neel Mistry, MD, University of Ottawa medical school

It's important to choose a major that will highlight your strengths and showcase your passion and motivation for pursuing medicine. Whether you choose a science or non-science major, be sure that you complete all the requirements of your program.

Medical School Requirement #2: GPA

There is no denying that your GPA is one of the more important aspects used to determine whether you'll be invited to an interview, and in turn, offered acceptance to any medical school. Trends in medical school acceptance rates continue to reflect that your GPA is an important factor in med school admissions, and it’s one of the first things any admissions officer will see when perusing your application. Plus, some medical schools may list a minimum GPA required for admission, while other schools base the GPA cut-off on the grades of the previous year’s matriculants.

“With a low resulting undergraduate GPA, I feel that I constantly have to grovel and prove myself in lieu of a higher grade average” Charley F., BeMo student.

In short, no matter how excellent the rest of your application is, if you don't meet medical school GPA requirements, your application won't receive further consideration. For this reason, you’ll want to keep your GPA as high as possible during your undergraduate courses, so you have the best chance of getting into as many medical schools as possible.

Dr. Jamie Cazes, one of our admissions experts and a graduate of the University of Toronto medical school, applied to both Canadian medical schools and US medical schools. He found that individual schools treat your academic scores—your GPA and MCAT—differently across the board, although a competitive score is always best.

“… it seems that competitive GPAs are only getting higher and higher each year. The thought here is that a GPA is a good assessment of your accomplishment over time ... That being said, it really does vary school to school and each school has their own rules when it comes to MCAT and GPA calculation.” – Dr. Jaime Cazes, MD, University of Toronto Temerty Faculty of Medicine

While some medical schools have relatively low accepted GPAs—for instance, the Meharry Medical College has an accepted GPA of 3.48—a lower GPA can limit the number of med schools that will review your application, decreasing your chances of acceptance. You don’t necessarily need a 3.9 GPA to get accepted, as there are medical schools that admit students with lower GPAs, but it does mean very competitive programs are likely to reject you if you don’t meet the high academic standards.

Also be wary of basing your required GPA on the minimum GPA requirements for individual medical schools. Just because a medical school has an acceptable GPA threshold of 2.5, this does not mean you will be a successful applicant with a GPA below 3.0. Here’s an example: the California Northstate University College of Medicine has a minimum required GPA of 2.8, which seems quite low. However, the average accepted GPA at this med school is 3.82!

What this tells you is that although some medical schools will have more relaxed admissions criteria and medical school requirements than others, don’t mistake this for an easy acceptance.

Here are our tips for how to get into medical school with a low GPA!

Science GPA vs Cumulative GPA

Different medical schools may evaluate your GPA, and your academic performance, based on different criteria. Some medical schools only look at your course grades in the core sciences, to assess whether you are prepared for medical school coursework.

For instance, AMCAS, the application service for most allopathic medical schools in the US, calculates two different GPAs:

  • Cumulative GPA: your grades in all courses you’ve taken, including core sciences
  • Science GPA: your grades in any Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Math (BCPM) courses you’ve taken

While both GPAs are important, admissions committees are especially interested in your science GPA, and whether there is consistency between the two. For example, if your overall GPA is 3.8 but your science GPA is a 3.2, it will act as a red flag to the admissions committee, telling them that you may not be able to handle the difficulty of medical school science and math courses. Medical schools will indicate on their admission requirements if they look at your science GPA, cumulative GPA, or both when making admissions decisions. Be sure to keep track of both!

When choosing courses in your undergrad, think carefully! In addition to taking the prerequisites for medical school, be sure to follow your passions and interests. Sometimes students attempt difficult courses that they are not good at and are not required, to try and impress the admissions committee. This tactic however often backfires because if you're not good at a course, you'll likely score poorer in it which will bring down your entire GPA. Take courses you know you enjoy and can excel in and that will keep your GPA high.

Medical School Requirement #3: MCAT

After your GPA, the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) is the biggest indicator of your academic ability and readiness for med school in the eyes of admissions committees. It is also one of the biggest and most common med school requirements.

The MCAT is one of the hardest tests you'll complete in your lifetime, requiring seven and a half hours of focus and mental resilience. Nearly 1 in 4 students choose to retake the MCAT to try and improve their score and make them a more competitive applicant. Along with your GPA, the MCAT is an essential factor in determining your chances of acceptance.

One of our BeMo students, Moriah, was a medical school reapplicant, and she knew the importance of scoring well on her MCAT if she wanted to increase her chances of success.

“Everyone has a great GPA and a good MCAT and has been getting experience … everyone obviously has been doing everything they can to bolster their resume and making sure that they're a competitive applicant so everyone's really competitive and knowing on some level it is a numbers game." – Moriah, BeMo student, current student at UMass Chan Medical School

As our successful medical school applicants have found, having a low MCAT score does not always mean you can’t get into medical school, but a strong score is also never a guarantee of acceptance, either.

“I got waitlisted the first time I applied as the program is very competitive to get into in Canada. I had good stats and MCAT score but my interview skills needed to be strengthened.” – Tanish, BeMo student.


“My MCAT score and GPA were not as competitive as I needed them to be, so the interview was really important for me to practice and get right! BeMo was a lot of help with that.” – Megana, BeMo student.

To score well, you'll have to put in some serious review and preparation time. Do not underestimate the difficulty of this test!

Preparing for the MCAT means understanding the test’s content and structure, including the MCAT subjects, how long the MCAT is and how the MCAT is scored. You should give serious thought to choosing your MCAT test date and your study schedule. Most students take up to 6 months to study for this test, but the preparation can take even longer before you start studying for the MCAT.

Here’s a quick checklist on how to start preparing for the MCAT:

  1. Firstly, take the MCAT diagnostic test to determine your baseline. Your results can help you determine when you should take the MCAT and how long to study for.
  2. Based on your results, you will be able to choose which disciplines you need to review. Next, you can create a thorough MCAT study schedule that will incorporate the content areas you need to cover and active study strategies.
  3. Decide whether you want study help, such as an MCAT tutor or MCAT prep course, or if you’ll stick to MCAT self-prep.
  4. Choose an MCAT test date and review what to expect on test day
  5. Set a study goal or an MCAT score you are aiming for. Make sure to review what the average accepted MCAT scores at your target medical schools!

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Try our MCAT Score Calculator to convert your raw MCAT score to a scaled and percentile score!

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What you need to know about MCAT requirements

Just like your GPA, your MCAT score should be as high as possible for the best chance of medical school acceptance. And while it is possible to get into medical school with a low MCAT, don’t rely on medical schools that accept low MCAT scores to accept you. For example, medical schools in Puerto Rico tend to have low minimum MCAT score requirements, but this doesn’t guarantee they will accept you, even with a low MCAT score.

Dr. Monica Taneja, MD, our admissions expert and a University of Maryland medical school graduate, explains that even a perfect MCAT score is not a golden ticket to med school acceptance.

“A high MCAT score shows schools that you can handle rigorous academics. However, the other pieces of your application are what differentiate you from a crowd and will ultimately be why a school chooses to accept you.” – Dr. Monica Taneja, MD, University of Maryland School of Medicine

Dr. Neel Mistry, MD, one of our admissions experts, says a well-rounded applicant is more likely to be successful, MCAT scores aside:

“Although there is no set formula or algorithm for what makes a successful medical school applicant, certain factors play a bigger role than others. In addition, each school is unique with respect to what they value and what they put more emphasis on … to optimize your chance of getting into medical school, you want to have a solid application. This means not just having a stellar GPA and MCAT, but also being thoroughly involved with research, extracurriculars, and leadership experiences.” – Dr. Neel Mistry, MD, University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine

A low MCAT requirement also doesn’t mean you shouldn’t aim higher. For example, the Howard University College of Medicine has a minimum MCAT score requirement of 494, but an average accepted MCAT score of 507—quite a difference.

Plus, medical schools evaluate your MCAT score in different ways, just like your GPA. Medical schools will be able to see all MCAT scores from all completed tests in your lifetime, through your application. However, some schools only consider your best score, others your most recent score and others the average of all your scores.

If you retake the test or want to present your best possible score to admissions committees, think about how your score is evaluated and how many times you can take the MCAT.

Are there medical schools that don’t require the MCAT? Yes! Here’s what you need to know:

Medical School Requirement #4: Prerequisites

Medical school prerequisites are the required undergraduate coursework you must complete before entering medical school. These courses are most closely associated with the study of medicine and show medical schools that you are equipped with the foundational knowledge you need to succeed in med school courses.

Most medical schools require the completion of several science courses with lab work along with a few humanities, social science, and language requirements. The science prerequisites, of course, will form the base of your medical knowledge, while an education in language and the humanities will serve to develop the cognitive and practical skills you’ll need as a future physician.

Those enrolled in science majors likely have many, if not all, required courses included in their curriculum. For those studying non-science majors, it's important to elect to complete these courses as they are probably not included in the curriculum.

One of the biggest reasons students take a gap year before medical school is because they failed to complete the required coursework in their undergraduate studies. Due to this gap, these students often fall into the non-traditional medical school applicant category. While some students enroll in postbacc premedical programs or special master's programs to complete these missed courses, it's a time-consuming and costly way to complete what could have been completed during your undergraduate studies.

Common Medical School Prerequisites

Recommended Courses for Medical School

What you need to know about medical school prerequisites

The specific requirements vary from school to school. For example, some schools require both Organic and Inorganic Chemistry coursework as part of the mandatory Chemistry course prerequisites. Others may allow you to substitute Biochemistry for one of the chemistry courses. Similarly, some schools may ask for specific Math courses such as Statistics or Calculus.

Some schools, such as UCLA medical school, do not require the completion of any specific prerequisite courses but do have recommended courses. It’s important to remember the difference between required and recommended coursework. If your application is missing the former, your file will not even be reviewed by the admissions committee, while if you do not take some recommended courses, your application will still be considered. However, we strongly encourage you take as many of recommended courses as possible. While they may not be required by your chosen school, you want to ensure that you fit the profile of a successful matriculant as much as possible. 

Dr. Jamie Cazes, one of our admissions experts and a graduate from the University of Toronto medical school, advises choosing your undergrad courses carefully and always checking the prerequisites for every program you apply to:

“My number one piece of advice is to do your research. Check EACH school’s requirements and see if you have courses or prereqs that fill those. You should regularly touch base with admissions at each school to verify that a course you are completing actually fills a prereq before you do it–otherwise you may be stuck wasting time on a course that doesn’t even fill the [requirements]. You also need to think about which courses won’t hurt your GPA. If a school only requires you to have 1 credit in a life science or chemistry, there is no difference between a 1st-year course and a 4th-year course in their eyes–all they will see is a checkbox filling the requirement and your GPA.” – Dr. Jaime Cazes, MD, University of Toronto Temerty Faculty of Medicine

Make sure you learn how to use MSAR and check the official admissions websites to find the exact prerequisite courses for the schools you’re applying to so you can complete them on time. And, keep in mind your GPA and which courses will help you maintain high grades.

Check out why it’s important to complete medical school prerequisites:

Medical School Requirement #5: Personal Statement and Essays

Medical schools require a variety of admissions essays, including the medical school personal statement. Your personal statement and med school essays are not only used to gauge your writing and communication skills, two very important abilities for premeds, but to find out more about who you are as an applicant and why you want to go to medical school.

Your personal statement is the cornerstone of your medical school application, so it needs to be well-written and carefully crafted if you want your med school application to stand out.

“[I] really kind of started talking about like what is the theme basically going to be for my application and I think that was kind of really helpful in and of itself [it] was just like ‘hey what's your focus going to be? How are we going to write this? What's the style going to be to create an element of consistency throughout [my application]?” – Allison, BeMo student, current student at Dell Medical School


“All of the essay writing [was the most challenging part of the application]. [I was] more of a science-oriented undergrad. I definitely brought a lot of papers, but they’re scientific, they're dry, and then having to kind of turn it turn the lens back on yourself … writing about yourself is really hard.” – Moriah, BeMo student, current student at UMass Chan School of Medicine


“I think it is a lot stronger when you aren't trying to tell the reader that [you are] a certain way or this experience impacted me this way. Try to … tell the story and leave a little bit open to interpretation because if you tell the story the right way the reader will pick up on [your message].” – Rishi, BeMo student, current student at Carver College of Medicine

Depending on what schools you apply to, the required content, structure and intent of your essays will be different. The TMDSAS application, for example, has both the TMDSAS personal statement and the TMDSAS personal characteristics essay.

Similarly, the AMCAS personal statement will differ from an AACOMAS personal statement, since one is for allopathic applicants and the latter for osteopathic applicants.

Think carefully about the intent of your personal statement or additional essays, and start brainstorming, outlining and drafting early on in your application timeline. Follow application and school-specific instructions carefully and ask someone you trust to review your essays before you submit them.

Dr. Neel Mistry, one of our MD admissions experts, explains the intent behind the personal statement:

“The personal statement is an opportunity for you to shine and really impress the committee … In order to stand out, it is important to answer the main questions well: a bit about yourself and what led you to medicine, why you would make an ideal medical student and future physician, what attracts you to this particular institution, and what sets you apart from the other candidates. The key here is answering the last two questions well. Most candidates simply highlight what they have done, but do not reflect on it or mention how what they have done has prepared them for a future medical career. The personal statement is your chance to be reflective and go beyond what is stated on your CV and sketch. In addition to this, remember to use specific personal examples throughout your statement to make it more impactful and memorable for the readers.” – Dr. Neel Mistry, MD, University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine

If you’re struggling to draft a strong essay, think about it in terms of narrative, says Dr. Jamie Cazes, one of our MD admissions experts:

“Like any good novel, the stories first lines are meant to hook the reader. This can be about anything if you can bring it back and relate it to your application … It is important that the story be REAL.” – Dr. Jaime Cazes, MD, University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine

 

Medical School Requirement #6: Extracurriculars and Experiences

Extracurriculars for medical school are one of the best ways to set yourself apart from other candidates. It shows the admissions committee who you are a person, what steps you've taken to become knowledgeable about the profession, what motivates you to do what you do, and of course, why you want to be a doctor. Your extracurriculars will include both activities directly related to medical school and those that are not related to medicine but can speak to your diversity as an applicant. Your experiences also demonstrate your affinity for the AAMC core competencies, which medical schools use to assess applicants’ suitability.

“You should really be deliberate and intentional with picking [activities] and the advice I give you is it doesn't have to be necessarily, you know, your favorite activity, it doesn't have to be … the things that you just enjoyed the most … [choose activities] you know are going to be valuable to your application so they should typically I think illustrate different qualities or attributes or kind of important things about your application that you'd like to convey to the admissions committee.” – Rishi, BeMo student, current student at Carver College of Medicine

Your extracurriculars and experiences will be captured on your medical school application in the AMCAS work and activities section (for allopathic med school applicants), the AACOMAS activities section (for osteopathic med school applicants) and the TMDSAS activities section (for applicants to Texas medical schools). Depending on where you are applying, get to know how to craft these parts of your application and how to choose the experiences you want to highlight.

“Make sure you include if you have any personal or quirky hobbies, even if it's not health-related or medical-related, include those in your application and make sure you explain why those are important to you because they still contribute to you as a person and as a well-balanced individual. And I think that's something that helped me because I was able to [include] some of my sport activities … While those aren't typical research or volunteering activities, that is really important to me and makes me who I am.” – Sherry, BeMo student.

Many medical schools are seeking premeds with the right type of experiences, too, that have prepared them for becoming a doctor and demonstrate passion for the field of medicine. The most common experiences found in medical school requirements are:

  • Clinical experience
  • Shadowing hours for medical school
  • Volunteering activities
  • Research experience

As a med school applicant, balance the requirements of the schools you’re applying to with activities you genuinely enjoy and are interested in. Dr. Neel Mistry, one of our MD admissions experts, says passion is a strength on your application:

“… The admissions committee is able to tell when you have done an extracurricular activity just to embellish your CV versus doing it because you were truly passionate about it. Ideally, the more relevant they are, the better. For instance, volunteering at the hospital, long-term care centre, or leading a medical student club at your school are all great options that allow you to be exposed to the healthcare setting. This will add creditability to your statements when it is time to apply to medical school because the committee knows that you have good insight into what you are signing up for based on your prior experiences.” – Dr. Neel Mistry, MD, University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine

Next, let’s take a look at some of the different types of experiences required or recommended for entry into a medical school program.

1. Clinical Experience and Shadowing

Clinical experience includes hands-on experiences in a clinical medical setting and one of the most valuable experiences to add to your application. Admissions committees want to see that you have real-life experience in the field of medicine which can be completed in a variety of facilities such as clinics, hospitals, and medical offices. Having a variety of different experiences is highly valuable, just be sure that you devote time to each experience, and don't just try to stack up multiple experiences to impress the admissions committees.

Premeds can gain medical experience before they even apply to med school in many ways. One of the best being applying to premed jobs that don’t require prior experience or have fewer certifying criteria. Medical schools may have set limits for how many clinical hours they require for medical school admission, so be sure to check that you’ve met the minimum for individual schools you apply to. In general, you’ll need 100-150 hours of clinical experience for medical school. As an example, Harvard Medical School recommends applicants have at least some clinical experience, and around 38% of applicants to this school do.

Some medical schools also require shadowing experience. There is no better way to test drive your career as a physician than by tagging along as a physician completes all their normal daily tasks. You'll understand how each hour of the day is spent as you silently observe a physician interact with patients, complete reports, order tests and even perform surgeries. Remember that shadowing is not considered clinical experience, and these are often two separate requirements!

“I did a lot of shadowing in different fields. I shadowed some of the attendings that I was working with in the ICU but I also shadowed other fields that I didn't know if I would be interested in and that's kind of how I found surgery.” – Allison, BeMo student, current student at Dell Medical School

Once you know how to ask to shadow a doctor and how many hours of shadowing are required for medical school, you can seek out opportunities for shadowing. Pursuing these opportunities can also help you decide whether medical school is right for you.

“During my undergrad career, pretty early on I was considering medicine … I'd had a couple shadowing experiences and then I was interning at a medical facility and so … the actual day-to-day [experiences] kind of solidified that yeah I could see myself doing this.” – Moriah, BeMo student, current student at UMass Chan School of Medicine

Keep these tips in mind when looking for clinical experience as a premed!

2. Research Experience

How important is research for medical school? It’s an experience that can help you stand out, absolutely, but it’s sometimes a must. Clinical research as a premed not only helps you develop critical skills, but it can also give you access to potential premed mentors and reference letter writers, too, which strengthens your application.

Some med schools, like Stanford medical school, are heavily focused on research, requiring students to possess this experience to be considered for admission. Normally, schools that are research-based have this incorporated in their mission statement and core values. To be considered competitive at these institutions, you need to demonstrate your desire and motivation for medical research.

Dr. Monica Taneja says research can be more than just fulfilling a medical school requirement, it can demonstrate your passion for medicine:

“During undergrad … I liked public health research, so that’s what I involved myself with. I was passionate about working with low-income patients, so I sought an opportunity to do that … Research is also becoming more important to schools, so I would prioritize inclusion/participation in a research activity.” – Dr. Monica Taneja, MD, University of Maryland School of Medicine

There are so many ways to find premed research opportunities. You could work as a lab assistant or technician in a clinical setting, research facility or even in the field. There are also ways to gain research experience as an undergrad, including applying to summer undergraduate research fellowships. If you’re short on options, you can even find virtual research experiences!

One of our students, Rishi, participated in undergraduate research at the University of Iowa, where he was later accepted into medical school:

“If you're interested in certain types of research it is helpful for kind of the interdisciplinary nature of certain research to be fostered at some of these bigger academic institutions. So for example I did … a summer research program here in the University of Iowa with a neuroimaging study looking at aneurysms in the brain and a lot of the work done with that would involve doctors in the [university] hospital collaborating with people in bioengineering at the university.” – Rishi, BeMo student, current student at Carver College of Medicine

Meaningful research is a valuable experience to include in your med applications. Ensure that you understand the ins and outs of any research you participate in. Regardless of your level of contribution, if you're invited to an interview, the interviewers will expect you to have a strong grasp on the research, its significance, and major findings.

Why should you pursue clinical opportunities as a premed?

3. Volunteer Experience

What is one of the many important qualities a physician should possess? The selfless dedication for helping others, which is why service orientation is one of the core competencies demonstrated by successful medical school students. Therefore, when proving to the admissions committee that you're suitable for a lifelong career as a medical doctor, you must be able to demonstrate your commitment to serving others and this is where your volunteer experience becomes relevant.

Volunteer experience does not have to be completed in a specific field or setting. They do not have to be directly related to medicine. Try to look for volunteer activities that are well aligned with what you're passionate about. For example, if you're passionate about changing the lives of communities that don't have proper access to medical care, seek out experiences that place you in that setting, where you can make a difference. If you want to improve the lives of the aging population, look for experiences in retirement and respite centers.

Don’t know where to start looking for volunteer opportunities? Check out this infographic:

Be sure that your experiences are true to what you're trying to accomplish. Think about what you stand for and where you want to make a difference and go from there. How many volunteer hours for medical school you will need will differ from program to program. However, remember to make a long-term commitment and show genuine interest in whatever activity you choose to participate in.

Medical School Requirement #7: Letters of Recommendation

Medical school letters of recommendation give the admissions committee insight how others view your suitability for medical school and your applicant strengths.

Here’s an example. Your lab supervisor that overlooks your daily projects or the physician that accompanies you in the back of an ambulance has first-hand knowledge as to who you are as a person, how you function in your designated role, and if you will be suitable as a medical doctor. Are you constantly trying to better yourself? Are you curious about the unknown? Do you follow instructions to a T? Do you panic in stressful situations? Do you take feedback willingly?

The individuals behind letters of recommendation have the answers to all of these questions, and because members of the admissions committees can't follow you around on your experiences, they take the word of these individuals highly.

On average, schools require three medical school recommendation letters to accompany your application, but you should also note there will be requirements and specific instructions from medical schools on:

  • Who should write your letters of recommendation
  • What type of recommendation letters are required
  • The maximum number you can submit
  • How your referees should submit your letters

It’s very important to choose wisely when selecting where your letters of recommendation will come from. If you're unsure what an individual may say about you in a letter to medical schools, this is not the right individual to ask. Similarly, don't ask a professor to be your referee simply because you scored highly in their class.

You want to form strong relationships with your mentors and supervisors and it's important to develop these connections early on in your time spent with them. Focus on putting in the effort to form these connections right away and tell your mentors about your plan to apply to medical school from the start. This will give your bond a chance to develop and grow stronger over time into a lasting, supportive relationship that results in fantastic recommendation letters. Lastly, don't wait until the last minute to ask your referees for a letter, it's best to give them at least a month's notice to fit crafting an excellent letter into their busy schedule.

Dr. Neel Mistry, one of our MD admissions experts, says this about being approached by premeds for a recommendation letter:

“[I] like to be approached in a polite and friendly manner [and the] student should highlight why I would make a good referee and provide tangible examples where they went above and beyond in a patient’s care that would warrant a LOR … An approach that would sour me is if a student asks for a LOR despite putting in an average or below-average performance … and if the student asks for a LOR after having worked only a few shifts with them.” – Dr. Neel Mistry, MD, University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine

Dr. Monica Taneja, MD, one of our admissions experts and a graduate from the University of Maryland medical school, adds:

“Most professors are aware that students need LORs. I would be more willing to provide a letter for a student I had a few [one-on-one] interactions with, so it is always good to try and go to office hours for classes you may want a letter from. I’d also ask professors if they can write the letter soon after your taking the class ideally at the end of the semester or within the next semester.” – Dr. Monica Taneja, MD, University of Maryland School of Medicine

If you’re asked to write your own letter of recommendation, don’t shy away from the task. Take the time to craft a stellar recommendation and submit it to your referee for approval.

Types of medical school letters of recommendation:

Medical School Requirement #8: Secondary Applications

While your primary medical school application includes your GPA, MCAT scores, personal statement, recommendation letters and extracurriculars, medical schools often use secondary applications, or secondaries, to further assess you.

Secondaries are sent to students to collect more information from them, usually information that was not already provided in the primary application. They often contain a handful of questions, known as medical school secondary essay prompts, that students must answer in essay form, and return to the admissions committees.

“When it came to the secondary applications, I had a lot of questions about how to strategize specifically with the diversity essay … the review that I got [from BeMo] was impactful it helped me it really made it easier for me to sell myself and create a more impactful message for medical schools.” – Brian, BeMo student.

Some medical schools send out secondaries to every student that applies to their school, while others use primary applications to screen which applicants should receive secondaries. There are only a few medical schools without secondary essays, so it’s wise to prepare for them ahead of time!

The amount of time you'll have to complete your secondary essays will vary between schools, but 2-4 weeks is standard. As most students apply to 15-16 medical schools, it's easy to become overwhelmed with an influx of secondaries to fill out, all at the same time, without much time to complete one, let alone a collection of them.

“[Secondaries] started rolling in and I realized that schools could have anywhere from two to six extra essays that I was going to have to write for every single one. That's when I started to get a little nervous; I was working full time still at the time [as a] pediatric ICU nurse so it was a lot of late nights, a lot of days off spent writing these essays. So I’d say it was manageable and doable but maybe not recommended [to apply to more schools].” – Allison, BeMo student, current student at Dell Medical School

The number of prompts and requirements vary by school. The prompts are freely available on each school’s website. Some common prompts include “why this medical school?”, the diversity secondary essay or the gap year secondary essay. Check out medical school secondary essay examples to see the most common type of prompts so you can work on answering them confidently and effectively.

Dr. Monica Taneja, MD, one of our admissions consultants, says pre-writing is an effective way to cut down on the workload of secondaries:

“Secondaries were a lot of work especially after completing all of the primary application materials. I tried to pre-write secondaries starting in mid-June as there aren’t many changes year to year in prompts which are easily found online. For each school I read their mission statement and tailored my answers to their priorities. Since many essays also overlap between schools I was able to morph different essays based on length to reduce overall writing.” – Dr. Monica Taneja, MD, University of Maryland School of Medicine

Medical School Requirement #9: Acuity Insights Assessment and CASPer

Acuity Insights is a multi-component assessment that is a part of the application selection process for many professional programs, including medical schools. It includes both the CASPer test and the Duet assessment, although not all medical schools will require the completion of both. Some medical schools require CASPer only, and there are some medical schools that don’t require CASPer or Duet at all. 

Many schools use Acuity Insights to screen applicants and decide who gets an in-person interview invitation, which is why it's important for you to know how to prepare for CASPer and other components effectively and perform well at each stage.

Allison, another of our successful students who was accepted to Dell Medical School, had also never heard of CASPer before applying to medical school.

“I had no idea what CASPer was … they have like a practice test that you can take and that's pretty much the only preparation I did for it, but in retrospect if I could go back some [I would do more prep] … having a little bit of not necessarily studying but preparation you can not only know what you're doing but also make yourself kind of stand out as an applicant.” – Allison, BeMo student, current student at Dell Medical School

While CASPer may be a completely new concept for most premeds, it can be prepared for! Before completing CASPer, be sure to try out some practice CASPer questions, learn the strategies and how the CASPer test is scored!

Medical School Requirement #10: Medical School Interviews

Lastly, medical school interviews are a common part of the medical school application process, although they are not always required, and not every applicant will be invited to interview.

“You're going to be thrown with these different scenarios that try to just intertwine if you have any personal experience or if you can add any personal touch to the different interview questions that adds a lot because they're the interviewers are going to be hearing a lot of those cookie cutter responses especially just some of those ethical scenarios there's a general way of answering them but they're going to hear over and over but what you can do is just add a personal experience or a story or anything that you can really think of because that really helps you not only stand out but relate to the interviewer.” – Sherry, BeMo student.

Preparing for medical school interviews? Here’s how a mock med school interview can help:

If you are invited to an interview at a medical school, think of it as mandatory, even if this is not expressly stated. Your medical school interview is your chance to speak to the admissions officers directly, make a strong impression and secure your acceptance letter. Most medical schools use interviews to evaluate strong applicants they are considering accepting, and to make final decisions on who gets an acceptance letter. You want to show them you should be one of those candidates getting an offer!

Medical school interviews are usually conducted in a traditional panel format or the multiple mini interview (MMI) format. Be sure to check which one to expect and start preparing with mock medical school interviews! Review the different types of MMI questions you’ll encounter, and how to answer common medical school interview questions.

FAQs

1. What are the requirements for medical school?

In general, to get into any medical school you will need to meet the minimum GPA requirements, the minimum MCAT score requirement, complete all prerequisite courses and lab work, submit recommendation letters and have strong extracurriculars. Some medical schools may also require you to complete the CASPer test, secondary application essays and attend an admissions interview. 

2. Do MD and DO schools have the same medical school requirements?

Yes, most osteopathic and allopathic medical schools have the same requirements in general, although requirements can still vary from school to school. However, DO school rankings show that GPA and MCAT score requirements of DO matriculants are slightly lower than those of MDs.

3. If I meet all these requirements, will I get an interview invite?

Meeting all the medical school requirements does not guarantee an interview invite. If you do get invited to interview, you must know how to prepare for your med school interview. You should find out which interview format your school uses. Today, many medical schools in Canada and the US use the MMI format. Review how to prepare for your MMI and go over MMI questions. Make sure to go over common medical school interview questions that can be incorporated into any interview format.

4. Are there any extracurriculars that will give me a competitive edge?

My number one advice regarding extracurriculars would be to research your schools of choice to find out what kind of experiences previous year’s matriculants had. For example, some schools greatly value research. Matriculants of most Ivy League medical schools have in-depth research and lab experiences.

On the other hand, there are schools that really value experiences in the rural or northern communities, like UBC medical school or Northern Ontario School of Medicine. Make sure to read the schools’ descriptions and mission to find out more about what kind of applicants they are looking for.

5. Does prestige of my undergraduate school matter when it comes to medical school acceptance rates?

No, it does not. Whether you go to an Ivy League college, one of the top non-Ivy League schools, a public or private university, it has little influence on your med school admissions chances. Admissions committees pay much more attention to the quality of your application components, scores, experiences, letters of recommendation, and essays.

6. Who should I ask to be my referees for medical school?

Make sure to ask someone who will give you outstanding recommendations. If you see that a person is hesitant to write you a strong letter, it’s better to ask someone else. Most medical schools will ask for a letter from one science referee, one from a non-science referee, and one referee of your choice. If you are applying to medical schools in Ontario, you should know that most schools participating in OMSAS will ask for a character reference, too.

7. How many medical schools should I apply to?

You should apply to 15 to 20 medical schools. Do not apply to over 20 schools. Why? Because once you submit your primary application, you will most likely receive secondary essays – it will be difficult to complete a large number of secondaries on time. Additionally, apply to schools where you know your GPA and MCAT scores meet the expected averages.

8. Should I still apply to schools that have higher GPA and MCAT cut-offs than my averages?

You can apply to a couple of schools that have higher averages but try not to have too many “reach schools”. There are schools that weed out applicants in the initial stages of the application review process based on grades and scores. This means that they won’t even look at other application components if your GPA and MCAT do not meet their standards. 

9. What are the most common medical school course requirements?

Most medical schools ask for 2 semesters each of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, with lab, along with 1 semester of Math and 2 semesters of English. In addition to these mandatory requirements, they may ask for additional recommended courses such as a relevant humanities or social sciences course, Statistics, Calculus, etc.

To your success,

Your friends at BeMo

BeMo Academic Consulting


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3 Comments

Matteo Coscia

What extracirriculars can I do during Covid?

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BeMo Academic Consulting

Hello Matteo! Thank you very much for your question. It has been a challenge for many students to find extracurriculars during COVID, but they do exist! For example, you can find volunteer opportunities online. These can be as simple as interacting with a resident of a care home via Zoom or Skype, or tutoring a younger student online. There are dozens of online colloquia where you can give a presentation on your research. And you can of course shadow physicians virtually!

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Med Applications

I just wanted to say that this REALLY helped me get into the habit of thinking ahead for my educational future!

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BeMo Academic Consulting

Hello Med Applications! Thanks for your comment. Glad this helped you plan ahead!

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Brianna Lewelling

Hello, I'm about to begin my 2nd semester of college. I was curious when would be an appropriate time to begin shadowing Physicians in a clinical setting? Would now be considered too soon? Also, my Aunt is a Pharmacist and I have the opportunity to shadow her at her Pharmacy; would this be considered applicable to someone reviewing my med-school application? Thank you for this website, it is full of useful information.

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BeMo Academic Consulting

Hello Brianna! Thank you for this wonderful question. You can and should start shadowing in your second year of undergrad. This way, you will determine for yourself whether this career path is right for you and demonstrate to the admissions committee in a couple of years that you took initiative early! While shadowing a pharmacist will be very interesting, it is not going to be enough to only shadow a pharmacist. You should have a variety of physician shadowing under your belt too.

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