All medical school applicants must have a four-year degree from an accredited undergraduate institution. No one pre-medical degree is required. Harvard Medical School suggests, "The premedical curriculum should foster scholastic rigor, analytical thinking, quantitative assessment and analyses of complex systems in human biology." However, most medical schools require certain undergraduate courses. For example, Harvard Medical School requires biology (one year), chemistry -- general, organic and biochemistry (two years), physics (one year), mathematics (one year), analytical writing (one year) and one year of a foreign language.
No minimum grade point average (GPA) is required for admission to medical school. However, in the 2008-09 school year, the median GPA for students accepted into medical school in the United States ranged from 3.38 at Howard University to 3.91 at Washington University.
The standardized multiple-choice Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is required to apply to all accredited medical schools in the United States. The exam assesses critical thinking and analytical skills as well as fundamental knowledge of physical and biological sciences. The sections on physical sciences, biological sciences and verbal reasoning are scored on a scale of 1 to 15. The writing section is scored from J to T. No minimum MCAT score is required for admission to medical school. However, for the 2008-09 class, the average of the three quantitative sections ranged from 8.3 at Howard University to 11.7 at numerous schools. No accepted student scored less than O on the written portion of the MCAT.
Extracurricular activities give the medical school admissions committee insight into the applicant's character, motivation, interests and drive to succeed. The best activities emphasize public service, health-related interests, teamwork and leadership.