ÁùÉ«Íø

Please note: Cal Poly Pomona does not offer any Medical program.  The program is listed here merely for the purpose of providing general information about this program to interested ÁùÉ«Íø students.

ÁùÉ«Íø students interested in pre-medicine should aim to meet the following minimum requirements for admission to most medical schools. Individual schools may have additional course prerequisites.   

Minimum Degree and Course Pre-requisites for Admission in General

• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution is required
• Each program has its own prerequisites. Check specific school for detail prerequisites (http://www.aamc.org).  To plan for your class schedule, please visit our " Class Schedule and Action Timeline" page for details.
• General Course prerequisites include the following:
  • 1 year English
  • 1 year of General Biology with Laboratory
  • 1 year of General (Inorganic) Chemistry with Laboratory
  • 1 year of Organic Chemistry with Laboratory
  • 1 year of Physics with Laboratory

Tests Needed: Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)

Online MCAT registration is available on the  and exam schedules can be found . AAMC also provides resources for preparing MCAT exams, including and

MCAT Prep Courses

(Disclaimer: this website does not endorse any non-ÁùÉ«Íø service providers listed on this site - students should use these services at their own discretion and risk)

Suggested Time Table

Freshman Year

• Decide the major(s) (Make an appointment to see a Career Counselor in Career Center at Cal Poly)
• Consider joining the
• Stay focused to achieve excellent academic performance (Most Medical schools will accept only students with a minimum 3.5 GPA)
• Participate health-related volunteer opportunities

Sophomore Year

• Take the time to develop relationships with faculty members for future letter of recommendations
• Continue to participate in health-related volunteer opportunities

Junior Year

• Study for the MCAT exam
• Consider enrolling in commercial MCAT prep courses
• Start getting the necessary application information ready
• Take the MCAT in Spring

Summer between Junior and Senior Year

• Complete collecting and preparing all the necessary materials for your application: personal statement, letter of recommendations, MCAT scores, etc.
• Submit the after June 1st (earliest time) for AMCAS medical schools. For the non-AMCAS medical schools, contact them directly for their applications
• For osteopathic medical schools, need to submit through
• Take the August MCAT exam if you have not taken the April exam or you want to get a better MCAT score
• Complete the "secondary applications" if you receive them

Senior Year

• If you were granted an interview, prepare for the upcoming interview
• Complete your undergraduate studies and have a nice vacation before medical school starts.

What Is the Difference Between DO and MD?

Here are a couple of links that help explain the differences:

Association

Application Service

For AMCAS medical schools, one can apply through the ; For osteopathic medical schools, submit through 

The Medical School Admission Requirements^™ (MSAR^®) is an online database that enables you to browse, search, sort, and compare information about U.S. and Canadian medical schools and more.

Medical Schools in the US

US Osteopathic Medical Schools list (PDF)

Additional Links

Characteristics Medical Schools look for 

Medical students share their experiences and give advice to pre-medical students.