Students interested in the pre-medicine career advising track must obtain a bachelor’s degree and complete the necessary prerequisites for medical school. All prerequisites should be completed or on track to be complete prior to medical school matriculation. Best results occur when all prerequisite courses have been taken and grades are available at the time of application. Students interested in medical school should consult with a pre-professional health career adviser to learn about requirements that are specific to the schools of medicine to which they hope to apply.
Vcu Gmed Acceptance Rate
Declaration of a pre-medical career advising track through VCU Career Services – Pre-Professional Health Career Advising does not constitute admission to the VCU School of Medicine. Students must apply separately to the medical school of their choice at the appropriate time.
Students with an interest in preparing for medical school must declare an academic major and should declare and maintain their pre-medical career advising track. Students do not earn a pre-medical degree. Students unsure of their academic majors initially should clarify their academic interests through regular conversations with their primary/major academic adviser and pre-professional health career advisers. Pre-medical students are encouraged to major in fields of greatest interest to them. To declare a pre-medicine career advising track, see the Pre-Professional Health Hub.
Beyond curricular requirements, students must obtain additional experiences to be a competitive applicant for the VCU School of Medicine. Successful applicants have an average of 200 hours of clinical exposure, interacting with both physicians (>60 hours) and patients. Non-clinical community service that demonstrates their passion for serving others over an extended amount of time is required; 200 hours is the average. Students should be knowledgeable about how their clinical exposure and community service has impacted their motivation to study medicine and be successful in the classroom. It is also helpful to the applicant but not mandatory to have research and leadership experience.
Prerequisites for the VCU School of Medicine
The American Association of Medical Colleges recommends students gain a core set of competencies in preparation for the Medical College Admissions Test. The MCAT is taken prior to students applying to medical school and results are weighed heavily in admissions decisions. Best results on the MCAT occur when all prerequisites have been taken prior to sitting for the MCAT exam. Please see the AAMC website for more information regarding MCAT content.
