Pre-Med

If you are interested in continuing on to dentist, veterinary, or pharmacy school, contact Prof. Beverly Sher, Health Careers Advisor. There are handouts available on the Health Professions Advising webpage. 

Before You Apply

Before you apply to medical school, you need to complete the coursework required for success on the MCAT. By the time you enter medical school, you should also demonstrate mastery of the competencies required of incoming medical students through clinical and other extracurricular experience. Handouts that detail the premed courses and the competencies are available here. 

There are two categories of courses you should take before applying to medical school: those that cover the material on the MCAT, and those that fulfill the prerequisites for medical school entry. Here's an overview of the courses.  

MCAT-Related Courses

1. a section that covers biology, organic chemistry, and biochemistry;
2. a section that covers general chemistry and physics;
3. a section that covers the behavioral sciences; and
4. a critical reading section.

• BIOL 203/BIOL 203L and BIOL 204/BIOL 204L
• CHEM 103/CHEM 103L and CHEM 208/254
• CHEM 206 /206L and either CHEM 209/253 or CHEM 207/CHEM 253
• CHEM 314 or the crosslisted BIOL 314
• PHYS 101/101L and 102/102L or PHYS 107/107L and 108/108L (Note that Chemistry and Physics majors must take Physics 101/101L and 102/102L)
• SOCL 250: Principles of Sociology or SOCL 362: Medical Sociology or SOCL 310: Wealth, Power and Inequality
• PSYC 202

You should also have a good familiarity with statistics as preparation for the MCAT. Helpful statistics courses at W&M include, but are not limited to, MATH 106, PSYC 301, KINE 394, and Biostatistics (BIOL 327).

Please see the premedical advisor's website for more details, including a handout on course selection for premedical students. You should complete all of the MCAT-related courses before taking the exam. 

If you plan to go directly from college to medical school, without taking a gap year, you should complete the courses required for the MCAT by the end of junior year, and take the MCAT no later than June following your Junior year.

Medical School Prerequisite Courses:

Many medical schools specify certain courses that you must complete before starting at that school. Different medical schools have different requirements. You should consult the current versions of the AAMC's Medical School Admission Requirements (the MSAR) (available at aamc.org) and the AACOM Osteopathic Medical College Information Book (CIB) (available at aacom.org) for specifics.

Many medical schools require

• two semesters of introductory biology with lab,
• two semesters of general chemistry with lab,
• two semesters of organic chemistry with lab,
• a semester of biochemistry, and
• two semesters of general physics with lab.

Other common requirements include two semesters of English and one or more semesters of mathematics (calculus, statistics.)

If you intend to apply to the Virginia medical schools, you should take all of the biology, chemistry, and physics courses required for the MCAT, along with

• BIOL 310: Molecular Cell Biology,
• two semesters of English (COLL 150 courses count),
• a semester of statistics, and
• at least one semester of calculus (some medical schools suggest two)

Note that many medical schools will not accept grades lower than a C in the prerequisite courses. You must take all medical school prerequisite courses for a grade (no pass/fail or audits).

The Undergraduate Major

Premedical students may choose any undergraduate major. However, medicine is a science-based discipline. Prospective medical students must do well in the required science courses. If you choose a major outside the sciences, you should take additional upper-division science courses, particularly in the life sciences. Please consult the premedical advisor about appropriate course choices.

Premedical Advising

You should schedule an appointment with the premedical advisor sometime during your first year at W&M. You should also continue to meet regularly with her in subsequent years.

Additional Campus Resources

The Cohen Career Center can help you find research, shadowing, and internship opportunities. This handout describes the many services offered to pre-health students by the Cohen Career Center.

For more information, contact 

Beverly Sher, Ph.D.
Senior Lecturer, Department of Chemistry
Health Professions Advisor
ISC-3, Room 2283
Website: https://sites.google.com/email.wm.edu/health-professions-advising/home
Health Professions Advising Listserv: [email protected]

Shantá D. Hinton, Ph.D.
Professor, Biology
Pre-Med Advisor,
ISC, Room 2285

Doug Young, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Chemistry
Pre-Med Advisor
ISC, Room 2037

Secondary School Report Form including official records of your courses and grades from all secondary schools and universities you have attended. Please note that in order to have complete secondary school records, we need to have records from your ninth grade year (last year of middle or junior high school) as well as your complete senior high school records. These records must be sent directly to us from your school. Certified non-English transcripts or grade reports should be accompanied by official (literal, not interpretive) translations.

*Students applying as international transfer students need to complete the transfer student application requirements.

Optional Application Materials include:

1. Teacher Evaluation Form and Letter of Recommendation - you may submit one letter of recommendation with your application. Please do not submit more than two.
2. Results of optional standardized tests a) SAT or ACT; and b) TOEFL or IELTS. Results may be sent directly to William & Mary by the testing organization or self-reported in the application. Admitted students who self-reported standardized test scores in the application will be asked to have official scores sent by the testing organization at the time of enrollment.
3. Creative and Performing Arts Submission
4. InitialView - William & Mary is a welcoming community that offers endless opportunities to discuss big ideas both inside and outside the classroom. Applicants who are non-native English speakers are welcome to participate in a third-party, unscripted interview through InitialView. If you have interviewed with InitialView, we encourage you to consider adding William & Mary to your list of school as an optional way to supplement your application.

Tell us your story. We want to learn more about who you’ve been, who you are and who you’ll become in college. Numbers will inevitably be part of your story, but we’re also interested in your ambition, your drive and your hidden talents.

William & Mary practices holistic review; decisions are not based solely on one aspect of your application. Rather, we review your essays, letters of recommendation, extracurricular involvements, and yes, those numbers like GPAs and standardized test scores. Each application is read at least twice, including once by your regional counselor. At the end of this process, our goal is to bring together a class of dynamic, diverse and academically engaged students.

Our Applications & Instructions

William & Mary currently accepts:

• The Common Application