This page is designed to provide you with general information about gaining admission to medical school. This information is not intended to replace regular meetings with your academic advisor.

Pre-Medical Advisors at Bemidji State University

Dr. Patrick Guilfoile (Biology)

Dr. Julie Larson (Chemistry)

Dr. Kerry Openshaw (Biology)

Dr. Ken Traxler (Chemistry)

One of the advantages of the Pre-Medicine program at Bemidji State is our high teacher to student ratio, which allows students to get to know their instructors and advisors, and helps ensure that a student can make the best possible application to medical school. Bemidji State University students have been accepted to a number of Medical schools including Creighton University, The Mayo Clinic, The University of Minnesota-Duluth, The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, The University of Iowa, and the University of North Dakota. In recent years, most students who have been accepted have gone to The University of Minnesota-Duluth, The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, The University of Iowa, or the University of North Dakota

The practice of medicine can be a challenging and rewarding career. One of the biggest challenges for an aspiring physician is gaining admission to medical school. The Medical Schools that our students apply to typically accept only about 10% of applicants, so a good deal of hard work (academic and otherwise) will be required to gain admission to a program that will train you to become a physician.

Most students major in either Biology of Chemistry, although no specific majors are required by these medical schools.

• Grade point average above 2.5-3.0, depending on the program (3.6 is the average for accepted students). Both Science gpas and overall gpas are included in the admission decisions.
• Good MCAT scores (average for admission at most schools is a 9-11 on each part of the exam)
• A year of introductory biology
• A year of introductory chemistry
• A year of organic chemistry
• A year of introductory physics
• A math requirement that varies from school to school (check the requirements of individual schools-- some require algebra and trig., whereas others require calculus and/or statistics).
• The University of Minnesota schools require, in addition, a semester of biochemistry with a lab, a year of college English, and additional courses in humanities and behavioral sciences.
• Some schools also recommend, but do not require, classes like genetics, human anatomy and physiology, and psychology.

More information on statistics for the most recent class of students admitted to the University of Minnesota can be found here.

Information on statistics for students admitted to the University of Minnesota Duluth can be found here.

• University of Minnesota-Duluth
• University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
• University of Iowa
• University of North Dakota

• Association of American Medical Colleges

Be sure to meet all application deadlines. Otherwise qualified students have sometimes not been admitted to Medical School because they missed a deadline. It is normally suggested that students take the MCAT during the spring of their Junior year and that they apply for admission during the summer after their Junior year. A useful timetable for your pre-medical program is given at the University of Minnesota website. Since a substantial part of the MCAT is based on the science core classes, students should have completed all the basic admission requirements by the end of fall semester of their Junior year.

Work to ensure that you can get high quality letters of recommendation written on your behalf. You should start working on this early in your academic career by getting to know faculty, doctors, and other medical professionals.

Get practice in interviewing, since this is a key component of the application process. An Interview Feedback website may provide you with some useful information about the interview process from recent applicants (the information here is of fairly uneven quality, though).

Work to ensure that you can show the selection committee that you have what it takes to get through medical school and become a successful practicing physician. This includes, of course, excellent academic ability, as demonstrated by grades and MCAT scores. However, additional experiences are important that demonstrate to the committee that you are a creative, mature person, with a great deal of personal integrity. Experiences that demonstrate an interest in medicine, the ability to work as a team, and a dedication to service to others are other factors that admissions committees strongly consider.

Participation in clubs or other organizations (e.g. The Medical Explorer Post, The Biology Club, The Chemistry Club, etc.), experience working in a hospital or clinic, and participation in a reseearch project (e.g. through Advanced Projects Lab in Biology, a summer research program at another institution, an internship, etc.) can strengthen your application.

The Association of American Medical Colleges site has information about applying for medical school, the MCAT exam, financial preparation for medical school, and other topics.

Some useful information about medical school admissions is at the Amherst College Website for Premedical students. Although oriented to Amherst College students, it has useful general information about admission to medical school.

Alex's illicit Guide to Medical School admissions provides information and advic from a student perspective. Most helpful if you are early in your pre-medical program.

Information on MD-Ph.D. programs

Please send any comments on this page to Dr. Patrick Guilfoile

Last revised 6/21/07