As a premedical student at Rochester, you will have the following opportunities and services available to you:

• The proximity of the University of Rochester Medical Center, which houses Strong Memorial Hospital, the School of Medicine and Dentistry and the Arthur Kornberg Medical Research Building.
  Opportunities available to undergraduates include:

• Research
• Clinical volunteering
• Contact with School of Medicine faculty and Admissions staff, who assist The College's premedical advisers in preparing students for the application process. For example, University Health Service physicians normally offer mock medical school interviews.

• Two full-time professional advisers who provide the following services:

• Assistance with academic planning, in conjunction with faculty advisers
• General information sessions about the medical school application process
• Assistance in selecting schools, based in part on information about recent graduates who applied
• Advice about letters of recommendation
• Individual essay critiques

• Letters sent to the medical schools of your choice by the Health Professions Advisory Committee. These letters are available to all students who are in good academic standing and complete some very basic paperwork. Letters are not limited to pre-screened candidates and are accompanied by a cover letter which includes descriptions of the premedical courses offered here and grade distributions for each.
• Reliable, comprehensive applicant results which include all candidates
• All of the other opportunities and programs available to Rochester students, including:

• The Rochester Curriculum
• The "Take Five" Scholars Program
• Certificates
• Quest courses
• "3-2" Programs in a variety of disciplines
• Study overseas
• The option to design an individualized major, minor or Cluster
• Internships for academic credit

There is no formal "premed major' or "program' at Rochester; it's simply a matter of taking courses in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics in conjunction with the major(s) of your choice. Medical schools have no preference for certain majors over others. The choice of major should be guided by (1) your academic interests and strengths; and (2) the alternative career field(s) you would pursue if you don't go to medical school.

Questions? Contact Jennifer Sherwood or Kate Sgabellone at (585)275-2354 or by email.

REQUIREMENTS

A. Prerequisites

Schools of medicine, dentistry, osteopathy, optometry, podiatry, and veterinary medicine have similar prerequisites for admission. Because individual programs may vary, however, students should consult the reference materials in the Goldberg Career Library and talk with a health professions adviser in the Center for Academic Support. A Health Professions Handbook for UR students and application results are available on the Web at /College/CCAS/.

Students can meet preprofessional requirements by taking any one of the following sequences for each subject. Nonetheless, students should consult a departmental adviser or an academic adviser in order to choose the appropriate sequence for their ability and intended concentration. See the sample programs that follow:

B. Biology Requirement.

Students who plan to pursue a B.A. degree in Biology or a B.S. degree in Biological Sciences will complete more than enough Biology courses to fulfill the preprofessional requirement. Those who choose to major in a discipline unrelated to Biology should consult with the health professions adviser. Regardless of major, all health professions students should consult the Program in Biology and Medicine's Curriculum Handbook, available in Hutchison 402, for the latest information on Biology course offerings.

C. Sample Programs that Enable Fulfillment of Pre-professional Requirements .

It is important that students intending to apply to health professions schools make an early start on science courses. There is no "one size fits all" schedule (especially since so many entering freshmen have AP and/of transfer credit), but here are some key points to keep in mind.

1. Any student considering a Biology or Biological Sciences major should take Biology in the freshman year. The Biology Department strongly recommends that a student enrolling in BIO 110 or BIO 112 also enroll in CHM 131 or CHM 151. If there is concern about a student's ability to handle more than two science/technical courses in a semester, it may be wise to consider postponing calculus until the sophomore year or the summer.

2. Those health professions schools which require calculus will accept AP credit (even for both semesters) or any two calculus courses (e.g. MTH 161 and 142). Students who enroll in the MTH 140s sequence need not take MTH 143 unless their concentration requires it.

3. Most Rochester students who apply to health professions schools complete general chemistry in the freshman year, organic chemistry in the sophomore year, and physics in the junior year. This "timetable" may be altered to fit individual needs, and students are free to take courses in the summer. What is most important to remember is that admissions tests for health professions schools must be taken no later than a year before expected matriculation, and all required science courses (except for calculus) must be completed prior to taking the tests.

4. Health professions schools do not treat repeat courses as the College does. Both grades are included in the cumulative average, so even an "A" in a second attempt does not raise the average that much.

5. Health professions schools are not troubled by a few grades of "W" in an otherwise good record, and they will certainly "forgive" course withdrawals resulting from circumstances (illness, family emergency) beyond a student's control. Student's should keep in mind that a grade of "W" indicates that an effort was made to complete a course. When a course is dropped (deleted) from a 16-credit program, the student appears to have carried and "underload" for the entire semester. This is usually more detrimental than a grade of "W."

NOTE: Students planning to attend medical school or graduate school should take two semesters of organic chemistry with lab and two semesters of physics with lab which are required by most medical schools and may be required by certain graduate programs. Consult with you faculty advisor regarding these courses.