First year

Fall term

• Advising appointment: Meet with your major advisor to plan winter courses.
• Develop good study habits and time management skills. If you find yourself struggling, meet an academic coach and use the resources at the academic success center.
• Join the pre-med listserv by emailing premedclub-join@lists.oregonstate.edu and replying to the confirmation e-mail.
• Consider joining clubs relevant to being pre-med: (pre-med society, etc.) or get involved in clubs that reflect your interests.

Winter term

• Advising appointment: Meet with your major advisor to discuss spring courses. Plan to sign-up for BI 109 (pre-med orientation seminar) in spring.
• Develop good study habits and time management skills.
• Build relationships with faculty and mentors on campus. These individuals will assist you as a student and are potential letter writers when you apply.
• Discuss summer plans with your advisor. Summer is a good time to shadow physicians, gain volunteering experience, and explore your interests. Check the pre-med listserv for enrichment opportunities.

Spring term

• Advising appointment: Meet with your major advisor in spring to plan coursework for next year. Solidify summer plans and discuss ways to get involved during sophomore year (e.g., clubs, leadership, research, volunteering).
• Take BI 109: Pre-Med Orientation class this term. Evaluate your fit for pre-med.
• Research scholarship opportunities available to pre-health students.
• If you are interested in an internship or study abroad, talk to your advisor about adjusting your schedule and choosing a program (often you will be abroad fall of junior year).

Summer

• Rest and recover from your first year.
• Shadowing opportunities are limited in Corvallis— spend summer shadowing a physician in your hometown.
• Consider doing volunteer work in your community.
• Consider working; developing qualities like teamwork, dependability, and leadership are important for professional school.
• Review your academic success during your first year. Make plans to improve if you are not on track for medical school.

Sophomore year

Fall term

• Advising: Refer to the policies in your home department about the timing and frequency of advising appointments.
• Begin volunteering. Medical schools prefer to see a few, long-term experiences (years) instead of numerous short experiences. It is valuable to have a patient-focused clinical volunteering experience in addition to shadowing.
• If interested, make plans to get involved in research. Note: Research is not required for medical school, but it can develop your ability to use the scientific method to solve problems. Research does not need to be (and often isn’t) in the medical field or within your major.

Winter term

• Discuss ways to round out your resume and experiences, summer plans, and timeline for taking the MCAT with your advisor.
• Look into opportunities to get more involved in leadership (clubs and organizations, labs, work, etc.). Leadership is less about title, and more about skills and taking initiative. Formal or informal leadership are both extremely valuable.
• Explore minors and other interests, such as the Medical Humanities Certificate.
• Get outside of your comfort zone– expand your horizons and try new things, meet new people.

Spring term

• Make plans for your summer enrichment activity. Look into research, volunteering, scholarships, internships, shadowing, traveling, and working.
• Seek out opportunities to gain clinical experience if you haven’t already.
• Continue to develop relationship with faculty and mentors. You should have at least 2 letters from science faculty for your medical school application.
• Work to develop interpersonal communication skills. There are many ways to gain these: leading tours, TAing, tutoring, working in customer service, etc.

Summer

• Complete your summer enrichment activity.
• Take classes if you need to (for example, you should make plans for your science series courses if you will be studying abroad— see your advisor to plan appropriately). Remember that experiences are almost always more value-added than classes.
• This will be one of your last "free" summers. Think about ways to gain experience, but also enjoy doing the things that make you unique.

Junior year

Fall term

• Once you are finished with pre-reqs (BI 21x, CH 23x, organic chemistry, biochemistry, physics), make plans to study for the MCAT. It may benefit you to take the test soon after finishing the subjects on the test. Discuss your plans with your advisor and learn how other students prepared.
• If you are applying to medical school this year (not planning a gap year), attend the Fall application meeting to learn about the application process at OSU (usually held in November).
• Familiarize yourself with AMCAS and AACOMAS application systems and requirements.

Winter term

• Meet your advisor to discuss courses for your last year, application timeline, summer plans, letters of evaluation.
• Study/prepare for MCAT
• Ask faculty, physicians, volunteer coordinators, etc. for letters of evaluation.
• Junior applicants: open your pre-med portal and complete the intake form. Add letter writers only after you have asked for a letter.
• Begin working on a personal statement for your application personal statement & attend workshop (winter or spring)
• Attend the spring application seminar if applying (this is different & more detailed than the fall meeting)

Spring term

If applying this summer:

• Meet with a pre-med committee advisor to open your pre-med file, if you haven't already. Reference OSU procedures & deadlines.
• Verify with your main advisor if he/she is writing your committee letter
• Take the MCAT by spring term or early in the summer if you haven’t already (latest by July, earlier is better).
• Solidify summer enrichment experience. Applying juniors, this is your last chance to gain experiences for your application

Summer

• Do meaningful, enrichment experience(s)

Applicants:

• Submit your application by mid-July (may be done before all your letters are complete). Be sure to reference deadlines on the pre-med application website.
• Continue monitoring letters and notify the pre-med committee when your letters are complete.
• The pre-med committee coordinators will submit your letters for you
• Take the MCAT if you haven’t already or if you want to improve your score (talk to an advisor!)

Senior year

Fall term

Senior applicants, follow timeline for junior year applicants above.

• Take electives to broaden your horizons or augment your knowledge for medical school (i.e. humanities or upper division science classes).
• Prepare for medical school interviews. (Interviews are typically Sept-April).
• Apply for graduation
• Junior applicants, continue or increase involvement in healthcare, volunteering, shadowing, etc. Doing so will allow you to potentially reapply during the coming cycle if needed.

Winter term

• Continue working on interview skills and improving in that area.
• Ask for letters of evaluation as early as possible.
• Make plans for gap/glide year, even if you applied. Look here for ideas.
• Prepare to take/retake MCAT if you haven’t done so.
• If taking a gap/glide year, open a pre-med file before you graduate (use a non-ONID e-mail). Meet in winter or spring to open the file. Add letter writers once they have been asked and meet to open your pre-med file

Spring term

• If you were rejected or waitlisted, make plans to gear up for reapplication. Note: You must have completed significant experiences to reapply. If nothing has changed, you are extremely unlikely to be accepted. Plan to discuss your reapplication with your advisor.
• Finalize plans for your summer before med school, or for your gap year activity.
• Consider experiences to improve yourself holistically.
• Mentor new pre-med students; share what you have learned about the process.

Summer

• Graduate!
• Make plans to eliminate debt as much as possible before medical school and apply for financial aid. (AAMC financial aid resources).
• Continue gaining experience to improve your application (work, volunteer, research, travel, shadowing, etc.)
• Alumni can still continue to use OSU pre-medical committee application system.
• We love to hear about your successes – let us know when you interview and are accepted!