If you're considering medical school, make sure the undergraduate college you choose can help you meet your medical school prerequisites. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, you'll need one year each of biology, English and physics, along with two years of chemistry. Because medical school is highly competitive, choose the most competitive college you can, to boost your chances of admission. Excellent grades and strong professor recommendations can also help you get into medical school.
A pre-medicine undergraduate program gives you a preview of what you'll learn in medical school, while helping you meet your medical school prerequisites. The Institute for Developmental Anthropology publishes an annual list of pre-med schools with the highest Medical College Admissions Test scores. The top five schools on this list are Cornell University, Creighton University, Boston University, Dartmouth Medical School and East Tennessee State University.
According to "U.S. News and World Report," MCAT scores weighs more heavily in medical college admissions decisions than undergraduate majors do. You can meet the prerequisites for medical school by majoring in biology, physics, chemistry or even one of the humanities, then taking electives to fill in any needed classes you don't take as part of your major. Similarly, you don't necessarily have to go to a school with a highly ranked pre-medicine program. A state school can help you save tuition money that you can then put toward medical school, and a school with a strong general academic reputation can look impressive on your application.
A nursing degree can provide a fast route to a career in medicine, and if you change your mind about becoming a nurse and decide to become a doctor, it can also help you meet medical school prerequisites. "U.S. News and World Report" listed Johns Hopkins University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Washington, the University of California at San Francisco and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as the top nursing schools in the country in 2011.
A high-ranking medical school offers a rigorous curriculum, numerous residency and internship options, highly qualified professors and a low rate of acceptance. According to "U.S. News and World Report" in 2013, the top-ranked medical schools in the country for research are Harvard, Stanford and Johns Hopkins Universities. For a primary care focus, the highest ranking medical schools are the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Washington and Oregon Health and Science University.