Advice for pre-meds

Going to medical school to become a physician is a big decision to make, so make sure

you know what you are in for. Besides 4 years at Yale, there are 4 years of medical school,

4-7 years of residency, 1-2 years of fellowship, and THEN you get to practice medicine.

That’s a long road. Make sure it’s really what YOU want to do. Dean Chang

recommends that you volunteer for at least 2 years in a hospital, and get hands

on experience taking care of patients to make sure you like doing this before committing

to a career in medicine.

Yale undergrads do really well when it comes to applying to med schools, with almost

90% getting into a US medical school. Compare this with the ~45% national average.

This high acceptance rate is INDEPENDENT of what students major in. Our English

majors do as well as our MBB majors. Not all of you will get into Yale Med or Harvard

Med, but getting into any US medical school means that you will receive good training to

become a good doctor. Remember, the secret is that for your future career, the quality

of your residency program counts more than the medical school you studied in. So don’t

stress out, do the best you can in your classes, volunteer in a hospital, and you’ll have a

good chance of becoming a doctor.

To get into medical school, you have to take classes to satisfy the pre-med requirement.

Yale does not have a “pre-med major.” To help you think about when/what you should

take, a typical pre-med curriculum is listed below. Disclaimer: Dean Chang sits on

the MD/PhD committee at Yale Medical School so is familiar with what Yale medical

school requires, but the specific class requirements sometimes vary from state to state.

Below is a guide only, not the final word, but it applies to the majority of med schools in the

US.

You need to decide by end of sophomore year whether you want to go directly into med

school right after graduation from Yale, or will you take a year or more off (a gap year)? If

you don’t take a gap year, you have to finish all your pre-med requirements by the end of

junior year. Many undergrads take a gap year to finish a research project or participate in

clinical research, and med schools like students with gap year experience. Dean Chang

suggests that you take one or two years after graduating from Yale to do something

interesting before going to med school.

The Office of Career Strategy https://ocs.yale.edu/ is the place to get started if you are

considering medical school. This link https://ocs.yale.edu/yale-college/career-options will

help you with begin your medical school application process. Make an appointment to

speak with the OCS health professional folks during the beginning of your sophomore

year, when you are sure medical school is for you. While they are terrific at giving great

advice, they are busy working with current juniors so don’t be surprised if they do not get

back to you with your questions immediately. Look out for Dean Chang's career talks on

“Things to consider to getting into medical and graduate schools” on the SQR website.

Below are some recommendations of when to take specific pre-med classes. This applies

to any major at Yale.

If you don’t want to take a gap year:

First-year:

General Chemistry

Gen chem lab

[or Freshmen Organic + orgo lab]

Math 112 or 115 or 116 or 120 (depending on your preparation)

English 114 and 120 (or another WR credit)

Take a small STEM class (First year seminar or CURE class)

Summer: do research at Yale and start volunteering in Yale New Haven Hospital

Note: if you are choosing between taking either gen chem or intro bio during your first

year, one recommendation is to take gen chem first. The chem sequence has to be

taken in order (gen chem, orgo, biochem) and if you don’t start taking it during your first-

year, you will either have to take a chem class in the summer or during your senior year

(which means you will have to take a gap year). Math is tricky - you need a year of

calculus for med school, but most (not all - check your favorite schools) med schools

will accept one semester of college calculus if you got a 5 in BC calculus in high school.

If you didn’t take BC calculus in high school, you will need to take 2 semesters of

calculus at Yale.

Sophomore year:

Organic chemistry + lab

[or one semester of biochemistry]

Intro bio sequence

Psychology (1 semester)

Statistics (1 semester)

WR course

Summer: research at Yale or at another institution. Start volunteering if you haven’t

started already. Or finish that language requirement in a foreign country.

Junior year:

Biochemistry (1 semester)

Physics 170 or 180 or 200 + lab

Research for credit (if your major allows for this)

Note: if you didn’t do any research in the biological sciences over the summers you will

probably need to take 2 semesters of biology lab courses - this requirement varies

among med schools.

Study for MCATS

Summer: apply to med schools

Senior year:

Medical school interviews

If you are going to take a gap year…

Freshman year:

General Chemistry

Gen chem lab

[or Freshmen Organic + orgo lab if you place in]

Math 112 or 115 or 116 or 120 (depending on your preparation)

English 114 and 120 (or another WR credit)

Take a small STEM class (First year seminar or CURE class)

Summer: do research at Yale and start volunteering in Yale New Haven Hospital

Same notes apply as above.

Sophomore year:

Organic chemistry + lab

[or one semester of biochemistry]

Intro bio sequence

WR course

Summer: research at Yale or at another institution. Start volunteering if you haven’t

started already.

Junior year:

Biochemistry (1 semester)

Psychology (1 semester)

Research for credit (if your major allows for this)

Summer: more research and volunteering

Senior year:

Physics 170 or 180 or 200 + lab

Statistics (1 semester)

Research for credit

Study for MCATS, apply to med schools. Note: if you didn’t do any research in the

biological sciences over the summers you will probably need to take 2 semesters of

biology lab courses- this requirement varies among med schools.

1 year after graduating from Yale:

Med school interviews