What is “Pre-Med”? Requirements for medical school

What is premed? When people say they are “premed” what do they mean? If you are someone who has ever thought of going to medical school or you know of someone who wants to become a doctor then you have most likely hard about being a premed.

Premed is the term often used to describe people that want to go to medical school. These are usually students who are taking some or all of the pre-requisite classes required for medical school admission. Although it is primarily used for college students, it is usually for anyone trying to go to medical school.

How to get into medical school?

Medical school is known to be very competitive and only accept a fraction of their applicants. To put some things in perspective, in 2022 62,432 people applied to medical school. However, only 22,665 matriculated during the 2021–2022 application cycle. Moreover, the number of applicants in the last decade has also increased tremendously by almost 38%.

All of this data shows that medical school is getting increasingly competitive and medical school hopefuls need to know the minimum requirements they HAVE to EXCEL in to even have their application looked at by the medical school admission committees. A premed needs to complete certain specific classes as well as take a standardized test to qualify to apply to medical school.

Classes

As a premed, you need to make sure you are getting the best grades possible to set yourself up for success. Some required classes in the majority of medical schools are:

• One year of Biology w/ Lab
• One year of General Chemistry w/ Lab
• One year of Organic Chemistry w/ Lab
• One year of Physics w/ Lab
• One semester if Biochemistry w/ or w/o Lab
• One year of Math (Statistics/Calculus)
• One year of English

Premeds need to excel or at least show growth in their grades while taking these classes. Some other courses like Psychology and Sociology are also recommended to help with preparing for the MCAT. Furthermore, premeds should try to keep as high as a GPA they possibly can, preferably above a…