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

The science core requirement for application to medical schools to be fulfilled at Tufts consists of the following:

• Biology 13 with lab
• Biology 14 with lab
• Chemistry 1 or 11 with lab
• Chemistry 2 or 12 with lab
• Organic Chemistry 51 with lab
• Biochemistry - Bio 152 or Chem 171
• Physics 1 or 11 with lab
• Physics 2 or 12 with lab

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.

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.

• Natural sciences sections of the MCAT2015 exam reflect recent changes in medical education.
• Addition of the social and behavioral sciences section, Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations of Behavior, recognizes the importance of socio-cultural and behavioral determinants of health and health outcomes.
• And the new Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills section reflects the fact that medical schools want well-rounded applicants from a variety of backgrounds.

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)

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

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.

Tufts University sophomores are eligible for the Early Assurance Program at Tufts University School of Medicine. See here for more information.

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-Dental

Tufts Pre-Vet - tuftsprevet@gmail.com

Here are some other useful links/advice:

http://uss.tufts.edu/hpa/HealthProfessions/

www.aamc.org/MCAT

www.aacom.org

http://explorehealthcareers.org/en/home

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):

1. Set a study schedule by looking at the syllabus. Be realistic. For every hour of lecture spent, you should spend at least two hours of studying/problem solving for that lecture. And try to find a good place to study/with no distractions (friends, facebook, AIM). Preview the lecture material before you go to class. Go over basic math/calculus skills before the course starts. Try to get ahead of the game the first week of class.
2. Go to lecture. No matter how boring the subject matter/professor or how early you have to wake up in the morning, you must go to lecture in person, unless you are totally incapacitated to do so. There are always a good portion of questions on the test that are purely based on the lecture. There is no perfect substitute. Your friend's notes may help a bit, but they won't suffice. Being there in person shows your commitment to learning. You lose money in the end if you don't go to lecture (yes, your hefty tuition does pay for it!).
3. Review your lecture notes/material every day. Review, review, is key. Cramming for the final exam when you have 3 or 4 other exams is not fun. You won't achieve consistent academic success on all your final exams in college if you don't have a review schedule. You can make flashcards and flip them while eating. You can also listen to lecture podcasts now for some courses. Make review sheets.
4. Ask questions. Go to the professor's office hours/review sessions/ask during lecture. Ask your TA. Work in a study group (this really does help). If you need help, try the Academic Resource Center and request for a peer tutor. You can also try and find a list of private tutors through the internet or through the department if you really need focused help.
5. Do exam problems/re-do problem sets as the course progresses along. People who do really well in classes already have done their practice exams in a timed setting well before the night of the test. Do as many practice problems/tests as you can in a timed fashion to simulate exam day. You can find many exams/problem sets by going on the internet or asking the ARC/TA/or your professor if you have already exhausted the materials provided to you. Don't try those energy drink/coffee/night/morning before exam adventures.
6. Don't be discouraged by the performance on one exam. Use that as a motivating tool. There is something you must have not reviewed/learned properly. You need to fix those mistakes and you will do well on the next exam.
7. Curving of science grades. Grades are curved at the discretion of the professor. However, do not depend on the curves. Strive always for the 90% raw grade. Even if you get a B- on an exam and it's curved to an A don't automatically assume that you know the material well. A test might come up that isn't curved so heavily. Study hard and don't let the expectations of the curve hinder your studying habits.
8. Exams/P-set grades/Lab Grades and TA's. Check, check check over your exams/p-sets/labs for any mistakes in grading, and check with your professors on your free response answers if you suspect that you didn't get enough credit. TA's have to grade a high volume of exams and mistakes will occur because the class sizes are large. Also learn really well about how your lab TA grades reports. There are specific things that some TA's want in their lab reports.
9. Do your labs as soon as possible. Labs take time and there is nothing worse than doing them two hours before they are due, frantically calling up lab partners about data and such. Your lab report will take much less time if you do your labs the next day.
10. Eat well, exercise right, and don't overdo the "partying". Schedule your social/physical well being into your study schedule as well. Extracurricular activities and research/clinical/volunteer experience reinforce your desire to pursue medicine. Learning how to keep a balanced schedule and following it will help you very very much in medical school.

Please visit Academic Resource Center if you want more advice or send us an email if you need any help/advice.