Demystifying medicine all in one place!

Applying to medical school is intimidating and confusing at times. Here at Medical Mystery, we hope to bring useful materials and create a community of informed pre-meds all in one place

There are two main schools of medicine: Allopathic Medicine (MD) and Osteopathic Medicine (DO). Explore the following links to get familiar with the differences between these two professions:

Plan your path

Below are the academic requirements for AMCAS (application service for MD) and AACOMAS (application service for DO)

Undergrad to Medical School

Here are some general expectations of what you should focus on each year of undergrad. Timelines depend on if you plan to take a gap year/s or not:

  • Work on completing all of your lower division medical school requirements with a strong GPA

  • During junior year, you have two options:

    No gap year: Start studying for your MCAT and plan to take it in summer of this year and begin work on AMCAS/AACOMAS in spring

    Gap year/s: Work on finishing your upper division requirements and take MCAT in the summer after this year

  • No Gap year: Work on secondaries and prepare for interviews

    Gap year/s: Work on submitting primary application. Prepare for secondaries during the summer

Determine Your Readiness:

AAMC has a list of 15 core competencies. This list of topics are crucial to a successful medical school application.

The MCAT Exam

Arguably one of the most important parts of your Medical School application is your MCAT score. The exam consists of 4 Parts:

*Click on the sections for more info

We have included a multitude of free resources to help you study for your exam which can be found on the top right of the page.

Activities and Clinical Hours

  • Shadowing is an amazing opportunity to observe local physicians while they make rounds with patients and get a better understanding of what it takes to be a doctor. For examples and tips on how to reach out to physicians, use this link

  • This activity will expose students to the heavy toll that death takes on family and loved ones. Working in hospice care teaches you incredibly valuable skills. For more information on hospice care, visit this link

  • Becoming an EMT exposes students to fast pace, “real life” scenarios in the medical field. Those who are interested in emergency medicine might be more inclined for this activity. For more information please visit this link

  • Scribes are typically tasked with gathering of patinet information as well as being present in many operations in the OR. For more information of scribe work in your area, please visit this link

  • Research is an important experience for pre-meds that allows undergraduates to work directly with faculty members and learn important lab techniques, as well as participate in unearthing groundbreaking discoveries. To explore example emails to reach out to professors, visit this link

Obtaining many clinical hours over the course of undergrad and during your gap years is essential to a well rounded application. Some examples of clinical experience include but are NOT limited to: