I want to go to medical school. Which program and courses do I need to take?

Carleton Neuroscience cannot provide definitive advising about eligibility requirements for medical school. You must investigate and ensure you understand admission requirements for any program to which you’d like to apply.

The Science Student Success Centre has resources and a team of mentors that can help support students considering medical school. Career Services also has some information available here.

It’s worth noting that all of our BSc programs require first-year BIOL and CHEM courses and second-year BIOL courses. Our Neuroscience & Mental Health programs have room to take additional biology and chemistry courses as electives, however students may run into program restrictions on some of the more highly demanded courses (mainly anatomy and physiology).

Our Neuroscience & Biology Honours program has upper-year BIOL and CHEM courses as requirements, which guarantee that you’ll be able to take courses such as Organic Chemistry I (CHEM 2203) and Human & Comparative Physiology (BIOL 3305) so that is something to consider when deciding which program to pursue in Carleton Neuroscience. You can learn more about the Department of Biology’s anatomy and physiology courses here.

Here is some general information about med school admissions:

• A/A+ GPA (11/12). Some programs look at all your grades, some look at specific ones.
• Some require MCAT, others do not.
• Some require full course load and no gaps in study, others do not.
• Research experience not necessary, but depends on institution/program.
• Need letters of reference – typically three academic (professor) and clinical.
• Referee must be able to comment on multiple aspects of your character/abilities; must have a story to tell.

Who gets in to medical school?

• High achieving, high energy students.
• Typically nothing below an A on academic record, but again it depends on the program.
• Repeating courses does not seem to bode well in general.
• Often requires balancing full course load plus many volunteer positions; often also varsity athletes or have demonstrated proficiency in another realm (e.g., music, dance, activism)
• Resiliency is necessary. They want students who can handle a great deal of stress and still maintain their activity and academic performance level.