Medical and Veterinary
Schools
Biology majors who seek careers in the health
professions can expect to attend post-baccalaureate
schools where intensive training will be provided. At
UNCA we provide the foundation courses for such
specialized education. This preparation provides a broad
context for the highly focused education of the
professional school. In addition to considering your
performance at UNCA and your scores on entrance exams
such as the MCAT, many of these schools require a
personal interview as part of the admission process. In
your junior year, plan to take the MCAT or other entrance
exams and begin selecting the schools you might like to
attend. Dr. Nicolay and Dr. Kormanik can advise you about
the choices you'll need to make to maximize your chance
of gaining admission to these professional schools.
As a general recommendation concerning your coursework
at UNCA toward a medical degree, you need a minimum
of
- two years of chemistry (including a year of
organic),
- two years of biology,
- a year of physics
- math 191 (calculus I) is recommended
Competition for admission to these professional
programs is keen. It is wise to consider graduate school
or alternatives to dental, medical, or veterinary school
in case you are not accepted into a professional program.
It is important that you apply yourself at UNCA and
achieve at the highest level possible. The word from UNCA
graduates who are attending medical school is that the
pace at which new material must be mastered is
phenomenal, so prepare yourself with a strong education
and good study habits.
Students should consider joining the Hippocrates
Student Organization that is a campuswide
organization for pre-med and pre-professional
students.