Welcome to the
TUFTS PRE-MEDICAL SOCIETY
ABOUT US
The Tufts Premedical Society is a student-run organization that supports Tufts students pursuing careers in medicine. The Executive Board plans and implements many programs throughout the year to introduce undergraduates to medicine, advises them along their premedical journey, and provides resources for enhancing their premedical experience before they enter medical school. Through our programming, we try to give students support, advice, and experiences that will excite them about medicine and help them navigate through the 'premed experience'.
For more personalized guidance, we advise you to meet with one of the Tufts Health Professions Advisors. The Premed Society is a constantly evolving organization that builds from the interests and concerns of its members. If you'd like to join our e-list, have an idea for an event, or have questions (about anything!) we'd love to hear from you! Just email us at tuftspremedical@gmail.com, follow us on Instagram, & join us on Facebook.
© 2022 Tufts University Premedical Society
CALENDAR
Check the calendar for upcoming events!
ANNUAL PROGRAMMING
Explore pre-med opportunities at Tufts!
Mentorship Program
Join as a Mentor or Mentee!
The Mentorship Program is a great way to get personal and informal advice and/or to help out other Premed Jumbos. The program matches upperclassmen with freshmen and sophomores with similar majors or interests and brings them together to discuss classes, summer plans, or anything that either one wants to talk about. While this isn't supposed to replace advice from Amanda Stone and the prehealth department, our mentorship program increases connections among students to pool their experiences and maybe even watch some Scrubs or House. The form to sign up as a mentee will be coming out soon, so look out for our upcoming email about that! To apply online as a mentor, the application will also come out soon! If you have any questions about mentorship, please email tuftspremedmentorship@gmail.com.
Q: COURSES?
The science core requirement for application to medical schools to be fulfilled at Tufts consists of the following:
Note from Health Professions Advising: The Tufts Chemistry Department has reorganized its science sequence such that much of organic chemistry that is relevant to pre-health students is covered by the end of Chem 51. Students can move directly to biochemistry – either Bio 152, offered each spring and summer by the Biology Department, or Chem 171 offered each spring by the Chemistry Department.
In addition many schools have an english composition requirement. It's best to consult the AAMC's Medical School Resource Admissions book and with the Health Professions Advisor about your career plans. People planning to apply to combined programs, i.e. M.D./P.H.D. may have additional requirements (Calculus, Biochemistry, etc.)
For those of you with AP Credit, it's best to talk with your advisor or the Health Professions advisor. One piece of advice is that you should take the courses above and cancel your AP credit because the introductory science courses at Tufts are more rigorous than the typical AP course and tests you at a higher level of reasoning that will help you for the MCAT and upper-level courses.
As for choosing Physics 1 versus Physics 11 and Physics 2 versus 12 (and Chem 1 vs Chem 11 and so forth) it's really up to you. The 11 & 12 courses are normally more rigorous and assume that you have taken an intensive preparatory course in high school. Normally these classes are recommended for those who have taken AP subjects in that area. We strongly suggest that you consult with the professors and students who are currently teaching or have taken these courses to find what suits you.
A caution on taking two/three introductory science courses ("doubling up"). Don't do this immediately without carefully thinking. You need to decide for yourself if this compatible with your current courseload/extracurricular activities. Your introductory grades are very important. You need to make sure you have enough time to devote to them.
See Health Professions Advising for more in-depth information.
Q: MCAT?
As with any application progress, there needs to be a standardized test to evaluate applicants from every undergraduate institution in the United States and in the world. The MCAT is the standardized test which is administered by the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC*). Along with the application, the MCAT is used by admissions committees to evaluate reading comprehension and problem solving attributes that are valuable for a medical student. One word of advice, think of the MCAT as a window of passage to become a doctor, do not think of it solely as a requirement for application to medical school. The more studying and practice you do for the MCAT, the more you will be able to learn how to integrate information quickly in really short amounts of time, which is a skill that will be valuable for you in the future. This is your go-to link for all things MCAT: MCAT information.
Changes for 2015 New MCAT: From AAMC
The changes to the MCAT exam in 2015 preserve what works about the current exam, eliminate what isn’t working, and further enrich the MCAT exam by giving attention to the concepts tomorrow’s doctors will need.
Content on 2015 New MCAT:
Check out this link for information on the content of the new exam.
Other Sources of Preparation:
There are many commercial review courses for the MCAT, and many of these companies advertise their courses on campus during fairs and in the Mayer Campus Center. Check out https://www.mcat-prep.com/ for some great MCAT prep resources.
Note: Many of the companies (Kaplan, Princeton Review, and Examkrackers, have contracted with AAMC to obtain the official MCAT paper practice tests. These tests have been converted from paper format to online format by these companies and may not exactly represent the actual online test conditions administered by Thomson Prometric and the AAMC)
Q: RESEARCH?
There are plenty of undergraduate research opportunities at Tufts and in surrounding research institutions in Boston. It is extremely important that you contact the principal investigator of the lab you are interested in as soon as possible and if you need to talk to your professors for letters of recommendation make sure you give them ample time.
Most applications you apply to will require you have a resume that you can give to the investigator in order to evaluate your credentials for research in their lab. List all past research performed and relevant science courses that you have taken at Tufts on the resume, as well as any research techniques you are proficient in (i.e.Western Blotting). A good service at Tufts to help craft your resume is at CareerServices. They also host workshops and can also meet with you one on one for help on your resume.
Furthermore, many of the summer research programs are very competitive. Do not be discouraged if you cannot get in to some of the programs, especially if you are in your first year. That is why we encourage you to apply to a wide range of programs, preferably close to your home or in the city of Boston. You do not necessarily have to perform research in chemistry, biology, or physics or do clinical research for application to medical school. You should perform research in the areas you are genuinely interested in, because you will learn much more.
The most important thing is that you should get "your foot in the door" first. If you cannot find a paid research opportunity, try and look for a volunteer position in a lab or ask your own family and friends. Many of the investigators have to deal with a huge volume applications and some labs have limited funds and positions for undergraduate research opportunities. Keep in mind also that many professors at Tufts have open undergraduate research positions in their labs. You should not hesitate to ask your professor at the beginning of the course about available research opportunities at the department.
You can find a plethora of research opportunities both at Tufts and in the city of Boston and across the United States at this link: Research Opportunities
Q: APPLYING TO MEDICAL SCHOOL?
Applying to medical school requires a lot of planning and tracking of your courses throughout your four years of undergraduate studies. Prehealth professions advisers say that there is actually not a typical path to medical school, and actually 70% of Tufts' applicants are giving themselves a few “growth” years before applying to medical school. This timeline from the Health Professions Advising at Tufts is helpful for you in planning your application timing.
If you have any other questions or are thinking about taking a gap year/studying abroad, please contact Carol Baffi-Dugan or Stephanie Ripley at Health Professions Advising.
Q: EARLY ASSURANCE PROGRAM?
Tufts University sophomores are eligible for the Early Assurance Program at Tufts University School of Medicine. See here for more information.
Q: TUFTS HEALTH PROFESSIONS ADVISING & OTHER RESOURCES?
One of the pre-medical society's chief goals is to give students access to advice, whether it would be from the pre-health advisor, pre-medical students, & Tufts alumni. If you have any questions regarding applying to medical school or course selection do not hesitate to contact the pre-health advisors.
Appointments to contact Amanda Stone or Stephanie Ripley can be made by calling 617-627-2000. Open hours are on Tuesday & Thursday afternoons and students come in and sign up for a time slot that afternoon. During busy seasons, open hours may be added other days. Inquire at the Student Services desk. Students and alumni are also encouraged to contact the advisors by email after reviewing this website with any further questions.
If you are interested in other health professional fields, here are some helpful links:
Tufts Pre-Vet - tuftsprevet@gmail.com
Here are some other useful links/advice:
Q: FINAL TIPS & ADVICE?
There is no one set way to get all A's in all of these classes. Each science subject tests your mind in different ways and each of these science courses can be thought of as different foreign languages. There are different ways of mastering a foreign language, but putting the time and effort into mastering the language is the first step towards academic success. You really need to put time into science courses at Tufts, even if you are a science whiz. Putting time into a science course involves the following (this what every professor/ARC/student recommends):
Please visit Academic Resource Center if you want more advice or send us an email if you need any help/advice.
Carina Lo
President
Class of 2023
Major: Biology, Medical Anthropology, Studio Art
Involvement on Campus: Mock Trial, Observer Magazine
Favorite Pasta Shape: Farfalle (aka bowtie!!!!)
Dan Nguyen
Vice President
Class of 2024
Major: Biology, Community Health
Involvement on Campus: Vietnamese Student Club, Thirst Project, Asian Student Coalition, Korean Dance Association
Favorite Pasta Shape: Pappardelle
Matias Cattani
Vice President
Class of 2024
Major: Biopsychology, Biotechnology
Involvement on Campus: Tufts Frisbee, Running Club
Favorite Pasta Shape: Fettuccine
William Friedman
Membership Chair
Class of 2023
Major: Biology, Biotechnology
Involvement on Campus: Shir Appeal (Tufts Jewish A Capella), Access Coalition
Favorite Pasta Shape: Pappardelle
Josh Cohen
Publicity Chair
Class of 2024
Major: Community Health
Involvement on Campus: Student Communications Group at Tufts Admissions, First-year Resident Assistant, Tufts Public Health Society, JumboVote
Favorite Pasta Shape: Angel Hair 👼🏼
Aria Ma
Secretary
Class of 2025
Major: Biopsychology, Biotechnology, Studio Art
Involvement on Campus: Flute Ensemble, League of Legends eSports ADC, TCPL, Resident Assistant
Favorite Pasta Shape: Rotelle
Ashley Malone
Outreach Chair
Class of 2025
Major: Biopsychology
Involvement on Campus: TCPL, EMS-Aid, Effective Altruism, Public Harmony, Tutor, EMT, Burlesque, MARCH
Favorite Pasta Shape: Farfalle
CONTACT US
Questions, Comments, Concerns?
Information Compiled by Rita Wang ('17) © 2015
**All information on this site have been drawn from research online or adapted from our old premed site. Please seek personalized advice from the Tufts Health Professions Advising department or contact us at tuftspremedical@gmail.com**