In the past, medical school curricula were more standardized, as were the schools’ prerequisites. Today, there is far more variation in how you’re taught and in what amount of time, and in what medical schools value in their future scholars.

Realistically, no one applies to all 145+ MD and 30+ DO schools, so it isn’t necessary to take every course that every school will require. On the other extreme, there are over 30 schools that have no specific required courses and instead have recommended courses or competencies that they want you to meet, but we don’t recommend forgoing all requirements!

We recommend that you take all of the courses we’ve outlined on our Academic Preparation webpage along with any requirements that may be specific to the public medical schools in your state of residency. Your state school(s) should always remain on your radar because they’re going to be one of the less expensive options and are likely holding seats for in-state residents, which gives you a leg up in the admissions process in most states. We have a spreadsheet and links to the prerequisites websites for many of our most popular medical schools, so that’s a good place to start your research.

You’ll see that some schools require humanities and/or behavioral/social sciences – your distribution requirements will cover these prerequisites. Explore this FAQ for more information about courses in specific disciplines.

It’s always recommended to stay eligible for your public schools in your home state. Public state schools tend to have some preference for in-state applicants. If you’re interested in medicine and you’re not sure what your state schools are, you can search for them in the AAMC Medical School Admissions Requirements online database. Beyond those schools, you might check some that are in locations you’re interested in using that same MSAR for MD programs and the online map for osteopathic medical schools. We have also compiled a list of schools that are popular among our MD applicants on our website. If you’re interested in programs other than medicine, you can find links to program directories on the HPA website.

First, go through the med school prereqs on the website and check for any admissions FAQs that might address your question. If you can't find anything, send an email to whatever contact address they provide (we recommend email rather than phone so that you can have an answer in writing). Include your name, expected graduation date, expected med school admissions year, and as much detail as you can about your situation. You might include a copy of a syllabus or course description if you're asking for a specific course exception. For example:

Dear X School of Medicine Admissions,

I am a current sophomore at Princeton University majoring in Psychology and hope to start medical school in Fall 2021. I have 2 units of AP credit in Biology and I know that you require two semesters of Biology with Lab. I plan to take one semester with lab (Introduction to Molecular and Cellular Biology, MOL 214), as well as two semesters of upper-level Biology that do not have a lab component. Will MOL 214, two advanced courses, and AP credit satisfy your requirements? Thank you in advance. 

or

... I see that you require a statistics course. As a neuroscience major, I took a course called Mathematical Tools for Neuroscience (NEU 314), which included x weeks of stats study and required learning to use statistical software. I have attached a copy of the syllabus for your review. Please let me know if this course would satisfy your statistics requirement.

If you'd like us to review what you plan to send to schools, feel free to email us a draft!

As long as you’re comfortable with the limitations, then it’s fine to focus on the schools where you’d meet the prerequisites. In fact, you could even apply to some schools that do have a math requirement and, if you were accepted, you’d be expected to take the math course before enrolling—schools are generally willing to consider your application if you have one or two prerequisite courses that you haven’t taken yet as long as you have a plan to take them prior to enrolling. This comes up from time to time with schools with strict AP credit policies, or that require extra advanced biology courses (like the Texas system) or non-science courses (like Johns Hopkins), which requires six courses in humanities/social sciences). We do recommend that you ensure that you’re eligible for your public state medical schools, but beyond that, it’s fine to make plans that will still allow you to craft a reasonable school list without taking a certain prerequisite.

It’s fine to apply with a couple of prerequisites not yet completed. Schools will look for evidence of your plan to complete them, and if you are accepted to a school without all of its prerequisites finished, your offer of admission will include the expectation that you complete the course(s) by a certain deadline. For most schools, this deadline is before orientation begins, but some may want the courses done by an earlier date (for example, Weill Cornell sets a January 31 deadline). Check each school’s requirements for specifics.

It’s always recommended to stay eligible for your public schools in your home state. Public state schools tend to have some preference for in-state applicants. If you’re interested in medicine and you’re not sure what your state schools are, you can search for them in the AAMC Medical School Admissions Requirements online database. Beyond those schools, you might check some that are in locations you’re interested in using that same MSAR for MD programs and the online map for osteopathic medical schools. We have also compiled a google sheet with URLs on our website. If you’re interested in programs other than medicine, you can find links to program directories on the HPA website.

Thinking from an admissions point of view, a first concern will be whether you’ll be ready to jump into the school’s very rigorous, science-heavy curriculum and succeed. Beyond admissions committees evaluating this, you should evaluate it for yourself! You often only have 18 months of classroom experience in med school so you have to be ready to hit the ground running to get through it all and learn what you need to know. If you had taken five years away from academics after high school graduation, what would your first year at Princeton have been like?

Different medical schools will have different policies about coursework “expiration dates” – if there are certain schools you’re strongly interested in, it’s worth checking their websites. If you do take all of your prereq courses before graduating and then take five glide years, we’re confident that you’ll be able to create a viable school list if your academic performance and MCAT are competitive, but we would still recommend at least a couple of courses to reacquaint yourself with the academic setting before applying. Almost every accepted Princeton medical school applicant who took five or more years between graduation and medical school have at least some classes taken after graduation during those intervening years on their application (see virtual data binder on our website for more specifics).

Keep in mind that there’s a full academic year that elapses between submitting your application and matriculating at medical school (during which schools conduct interviews). So, if your service precludes you from doing things like taking classes, gaining clinical experience, and taking the MCAT, it’s likely you’ll need a year after service concludes to do those things, then a year in which to be in the application cycle. For example, if you graduate in Spring 2026 and serve from 2026-2031, then you’ll probably use 2031-32 to do application prep, summer 2032 to apply, and 2032-33 to be in the application cycle, starting medical school in Fall 2033. Use this google sheet to see how all of the tasks come together based on your intended medical school matriculation year.

Schools have different deadlines for when prerequisites must be completed. A few may want to see all prereqs done by the end of the fall semester of your application year (e.g., Fall 2024 for 2025 matriculation); some will have a spring semester deadline; others before medical school orientation begins. If you’re missing prerequisites when you’re offered admission, the offer will be contingent upon completing the course(s) successfully.

At the same time, admissions committees are evaluating readiness for the science curriculum at the time you apply. Just like we don’t recommend applying without adequate clinical experience, we wouldn’t recommend applying with many prerequisites still outstanding (plus taking the courses will help with MCAT preparation). Based on our recent applicant data, those with fewer than 45-50 credits of science coursework (about 12 Princeton courses) tend to be less successful in the application process. You will be evaluated based on your experiences, attributes, and metrics as they appear on your application when you submit it in the summer, not on the promise that you’ll be adding more experiences and courses by the end of the application year. Your preparation years should be about accruing that solid core of academic and experiential preparation, and your application year activities should complement and deepen that preparation.

There are some schools that no longer have specific course requirements, so no matter what courses you take at Princeton, you could be eligible for these schools (if you meet other requirements they have, such as state residency, taking MCAT, etc.); we have a list of these schools on our website (netID login required).
 
Beyond those schools, you can apply to any school without having completed its prerequisites. Some may reject applicants who do not have a plan to complete the requirements pre-interview, but many will continue to consider your application and if you’re admitted, they’ll make the offer contingent upon completing any remaining requirements. If you only have one or two courses left and your top choice school accepts you and requires that you take those courses, you could do so in the summer before matriculation.
 
That said, given how competitive it is to gain any admissions offers, we recommend staying in line with requirements, especially for your state schools and any schools of specific interest to you, so that you have many options. Meeting the traditional course recommendations will also reduce ambiguity when you’re applying, which can make you feel more secure as an applicant during a time of uncertainty and stress.

Welcome to Princeton! Our best advice for the first semester is to take a balanced, open-minded approach in classes and activities. Try something new and don't try to do too much--give yourself room to adjust to expectations.  And remember that you’re here to become a broad and critical thinker, an effective communicator, and a problem solver; you’re not just to do what you have to do on your way to becoming a doctor. Take advantage of the liberal arts curriculum and the incredible opportunities that Princeton provides in these four years as a time of enrichment and growth, not just as a means to an end: you’ll miss so much if you take the latter approach.
 
Practically speaking, when it comes to classes:

• Read our “Preparing Guide” for many tips – it’s linked here: hpa.princeton.edu/prehealth-prep/academic-preparation
• Start with one lab science course, ideally Gen Chem (CHM 201) if you don’t have AP Chemistry (for AB students – BSE students will take more).
• The Health and Medicine Related Classes document we create may give you inspiration for gen eds: bit.ly/HPAFall19
• Talk with HPA Peer Advisers for their perspectives on a balanced schedule.
• Run your schedule by an HPA adviser at the Academic Expo on Monday, at course registration on Tuesday, or during Drop-In Hours all this week.
• Use add/drop strategically – you can “shop” classes until September 24, so don’t be afraid to change your schedule around as the year begins.

Also, if you’re thinking about becoming a dentist, veterinarian, physician assistant, pharmacist, optometrist … you’ll still need a lot of the same courses, and we’d still recommend Gen Chem as your first college science.  Learn more about other careers and their prerequisites on our website: hpa.princeton.edu/explore-health-professions

We stand behind everything that the McGraw Center suggests in their First-Year student checklist – we’ve included that info here, with some more premed-oriented specifics:

• Create a study group for one of your classes; they're really efficient: The McGraw Group Study Halls are a great place to meet like-minded students and they’re offered in all of the premed sciences!
• Schedule a Learning Strategies Consultation with a McGraw Consultant: Many of the Learning Consultants are prehealth and may be able to provide some perspective on their prehealth choices; all consultants are trained to work with any student in any discipline, so you can’t go wrong meeting with them to talk about time management, organization, goal setting, and study strategies.
• Visit the Writing Center for help with your first big paper: Written communication is an essential skill for aspiring doctors (you’ll be writing dozens of essays as part of the medical school application process and you’ll need to think critically and express your ideas accurately and succinctly in many settings).
• Go to at least one of your professor's office hours to talk about something you find interesting in the course: You may feel more invested in the course if you’ve developed a relationship with the prof; if you run into trouble over the semester, it’s easier to bring it to the prof’s attention if you already know them a little; and you’ll need a number of recommendation letters for your next professional step, so start early in building these connections. Project Welcome Mat offers some advice on how to communicate with faculty.
• Even when things are hectic take time for recreation; this will actually make you a more successful student: burnout is a serious issue in medicine. Start developing good self-care habits now!
• Find at least one mentor among faculty and staff, in addition to your adviser, to meet with regularly: the AAMC offers some guidance for premed students about mentorship.
• Attend at least one of McGraw's workshops to prepare for your first midterms, finals, and everything in between: spending an hour just sitting still and making a plan with the help of experts can work wonders for your efficiency, confidence, and effectiveness as a student. McGraw’s fall schedule is online.
• Take 20 minutes a week to reflect on your academic approach and ways you might adjust it to meet Princeton's demands.
• Look around campus for additional resources, workshops, and activities to help make a smooth transition: HPA is one of those resources for prehealth students! Learn more about working with us on our website.

Absolutely, and one of our favorites is Aspiring Docs, which HPA hosts every other week. This is a conversation group for students who are the first in their families to pursue a career in the health professions. It's a safe space for you to ask questions, meet others, and stay on track throughout the semester with the support of HPA advisers and peer advisers. In last week’s session our new HPA Assistant Director, Sherise Smith, shared her story and some tips that helped her along her journey: 

1. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Bring your questions to the HPA advisers and peer advisers.
2. Gaining real world experience is key. Take the time to shadow professionals in your field and engage with patients in a clinical setting.
3. It’s okay to take as long as you need to make the right decision for you. Medical school isn’t going anywhere, but it is a long process and you want to be absolutely sure this is the right path for you.
4. Consider the source of the information you receive. Not all sources are good sources, and not all information is going to be useful to you. Stay away from the YouTubers! The best places to start are with your HPA advisers and attending the medical school info sessions we host.
5. You are constantly growing and changing; thus, self-reflection at all stages of this process will be important. Knowing what you don’t want in a career is just as important as knowing what you do want.

First of all, it is important to remember that one grade will not make or break things for you as a pre-med, and eventually a med school applicant. Medical schools will make every effort to put a weak grade in context, viewing it in light of your overall academic path: high school foundation, courseload, external factors affecting your performance, etc.

In fact, your attempt to work through the challenges associated with this academic “stumble” and use the resources available to you (such as the McGraw Center and your college peer advisers and tutors) may demonstrate a quality to schools that will ultimately be a positive. As a doctor, won’t you always want to learn from your mistakes and take advantage of all resources?

If you’re pretty sure that things in this course aren’t likely to improve, or you feel they’re getting worse, talk it over with your residential college deans and other advisers including seeing us at HPA so that we might have a more complete picture of your individual situation. The McGraw Center website is the place to start to explore academic support resources. 

The level of rigor and the expectations at Princeton will be far beyond what many of you experienced in high school. It’s fairly normal to experience some “culture shock” as you make the adjustment. The most important thing is to “diagnose” any potential problems areas early and “treat” them via things like changing your study habits, visiting office hours, meeting with McGraw Center learning consultants, going to study groups, and adjusting your time management. These are a lot of things to think about!

Talk with an adviser at HPA or in your residential college to assess what steps might be best for you to take as you adjust to Princeton. HPA advisers believe that everyone who got into Princeton has what it takes to become a physician – many of you will discover that there are other opportunities that better suit your talents and interests, but if you are sure that medicine is right for you, we will help you find a way to get there (even if it may not have been the way that you intended when you arrived). Please don’t hesitate to be in touch to make an appointment, or come in during drop-in hours.

When we talk with admissions deans, they are always understanding of the challenges of the transition to college. They (and we) would encourage you to focus on strategies that you can use to improve as you continue on your premedical journey. No single grade or semester means you won’t be able to pursue your interest in medicine! See our FAQ for more questions that have come in about navigating academic difficulty.
 
Since most medical schools will require a C or better in your prerequisites, you’ll need to retake CHM 201 at some point. We’re happy to talk with you about the options available to do so. Since every student’s situation is different, it’s hard to give generalized advice. In a meeting, we would talk with you about your science foundation, fall semester workload, study habits, and other factors that may have contributed to your performance, and then provide advice about how to move forward. We have lots of appointments available on Calendly.

In our opinion, yes, the McGraw Center study halls in are indeed “worth” the trouble of walking over to Frist, but don’t take our word for it. Go judge for yourself. The McGraw Center organizes these study halls and also has a lot of other very useful information for someone in your position. They run occasional seminars and workshops on how to succeed in certain difficult courses, including science courses such as CHM 201-202, Organic Chemistry, and Physics; they have a wealth of “tips” and strategies on their website; they have peer mentors available; and they have full-time staff available for academic coaching. To find out more information, go to The McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning website. 

Also, don’t be shy about using your professors’ and preceptors’ office hours; sometimes students, especially those who were very successful in high school, find it difficult to admit their academic troubles to our faculty, but you will not improve unless you’ve sat down with someone more knowledgeable than yourself and identified your exact weaknesses and the ways in which you study most effectively (ways which may differ from those of your friends). Lastly, make an appointment with your residential college dean or assistant dean (if you haven’t already). Let us know how it goes.

Deciding to leave the premed track is a very individual decision that should not be made based solely on grades, especially not after just three semesters. The key is figuring out why your academic performance isn’t where you want it to be. Getting to the bottom of this and finding ways to address it is often the first step. If it’s due to a waning interest in science and/or a developing passion for another academic or professional path, then that may be a reason to more strongly consider stepping back from premed.

Some students are afraid to come in and talk with us about their doubts about medicine, but there’s no need to be! We’re happy to serve as a sounding board as you try to figure things out – we just want you to have as much information as possible as you make decisions about your future. But you’re certainly not required to work with us – seeing someone in The Center for Career Development, talking it through with other mentors, and having informational interviews with individuals in fields of interest, are all great options as you explore your interests.

Medical schools also consider your academic metrics in the context of the rest of your life. If you came in with a weaker science foundation than peers, had health or family issues during a semester, or faced other obstacles that affected your performance for a period of time – that’s all information that they will take into account. It helps us provide the best guidance if we know as much of this context as you’re willing to share.

We’ve seen students who have failed science classes who bounced back and were accepted to medical school. It does tend to change your timeline to application, but if you’re truly committed to becoming a physician, we can help you devise a strategy that can get you there. For some students, the road to the next step is longer than they want to spend, and that’s reasonable, too. In any case, we hope that you’ll come and talk through your concerns about academic performance. The more that we get to know you, the more we can be helpful with your individual situation.

This is a case-by-case situation – we encourage you to come in or email us about your situation more specifically. If it was not a pre-requisite for health professions school, a repeat is not required. If the course in question is required for admission to medical school, we encourage you to come into Health Professions Advising and discuss your situation more holistically: one weak grade needs context for us to be able to advise you properly.

Generally speaking, though, a grade of C- or lower (D or F) warrants a repeat, at Princeton or another institution. Most schools will not accept grades of C-, D, or F to satisfy prerequisites because these grades do not indicate mastery of the subject. A grade of C or better usually indicates basic understanding of the material, and the student should generally go on and take more science at a higher level, and perform better, to correct the problem.

In some isolated instances, after consulting with the student, we do suggest repeating a course even with a grade of C or C+; this is usually because the student does not feel prepared to perform well on the corresponding section of the MCAT.

As for your Princeton GPA, the grade you receive when repeating a class at Princeton does factor into your Princeton GPA, but you do not receive credit toward graduation for the repeat. Your application GPA (the one professional schools will view) is computed based on all grades earned at all US colleges and universities.

It can be very discouraging to hit obstacles like this. The first step is to try to “diagnose and treat” – reflect on what you would have needed to change in order to find more success in the class. Was it the amount of time that you had to work on it? Did you use all of your resources (faculty, preceptors, tutors, friends in study groups, extra resources, Khan Academy videos, etc.)? Was it a lack of interest in the subject? Maybe you never figured out how to study properly for the type of exam given in the class. Maybe you subconsciously put more effort into endeavors where you were doing well since success can be a more positive motivator than struggle. Working with a McGraw Center Learning Strategies Consultant can be a great way to identify some aspects of your studying and prep that you can adjust for more success, but just spending some time thinking through the situation this summer may provide insight, too – things are clearer in hindsight.

As far as dropping premed or sticking with it, it's certainly a question worth pondering over the summer, as it should be for any student regardless of GPA. Becoming a physician is a tough road, full of stress and anxiety – now and during medical school – and some say that if you can think of anything else you'd be happy doing, it may be worth doing that instead of medicine. Sometimes a difficult semester can be an indication that you're losing some interest in pursuing medicine or science. But, if you're really committed to the career path with all of its difficulties, then don't let one rough semester dissuade you! Our firm belief is that if you had the aptitude to get into Princeton, you have the aptitude to get into medical school. But, you have to have the maturity and perspective to own the areas you need to improve and address them along the way in order to do so. And, just because you have the aptitude to become a doctor, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the best career path for you based on your values, interests, and skills.

We recommend taking time this summer to explore your career options – get some medical experience if you don’t have much, since concrete experience is a positive motivator. Do some research on other careers (research, teaching, consulting... whatever sounds interesting to you). Do some self-assessment (Career Services can help with some tools and resources). If, after soul searching and gaining experience you definitely want to keep medicine as an option, then we can look at how to help you improve moving forward. There are plenty of students who struggle academically at Princeton and go on to medicine, but it may mean taking more classes via a postbac program after Princeton to get back on track or otherwise making sacrifices along the way. It's up to you to decide whether or not it's worth it and we're happy to help you weigh the options!