Pre-Med Advising Program

The Undergraduate Major

Premedical students may choose any undergraduate major. However, medicine is a science-based discipline. Prospective medical students must do well in the required science courses. If you choose a major outside the sciences, you should take additional upper-division science courses, particularly in the life sciences. Use the resources below as a guide to help you think about what courses would be best for you to take and work with a premedical advisor about to answer any questions about course choices.

What Makes Us Different

Early Assurance Programs

You can apply in the middle of your sophomore year to the Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) and the VCU School of Medicine, which are highly competitive programs.
High Acceptance Rate

65-85% of W&M students applying to medical school with at least a B+ average typically gain admission to allopathic schools (MD programs).
Clinical Experience

Volunteer at local hospitals, Eastern State Hospital (a mental health/substance abuse facility), Olde Towne Medical Center (a local clinic serving uninsured patients) and other facilities in the area.

See where our Pre-Med students have landed the past two years:

187

Total Matriculations
30

Medical Schools
16

Top-Tier Medical School Matriculations
100

Virginia Medical Schools

Pre-Med Advising

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Interest Form & Blackboard

Complete the form below to indicate an interest in a pre-health career and be assigned an advisor. Once completed, you will be added to the "Pre-Health Advising" Blackboard course.

Once you have progressed through Module 1, you will reach the “Introductory Module Assessment.” This assessment must be completed in order to receive a pre-med advisor. Successful completion of the assessment will reflect an understanding of the academic requirements and resources presented in the module.

Pre-Health Advising Interest Form

Please sign up for our Pre-Health Newsletter that goes out every Monday. Stay up to date on clinical opportunities, volunteer opportunities, research, jobs, internships, med school and more!

Pre-Health Newsletter Sign Up

Contacts for More Information About Pre-Medical Advising

The names of our Pre-Med Advising Faculty
Lizabeth Allison, Ph.D. (on leave AY 2026)	Professor, Biology Pre-Med Advisor
Sarah Menefee, DrPH	Associate Chair & Teaching Professor, Health Sciences Pre-Med Advisor
Mainak Patel, MD/Ph.D.	Associate Professor, Math Pre-Med Advisor
Jennifer Stevens, Ph.D.	Associate Professor, Psychology Pre-Med Advisor
Doug Young, Ph.D.	Associate Chair & Professor, Chemistry Lead Pre-Med Advisor

Path to Med School

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Pre-Med Timeline while at William & Mary

Before you apply to medical school, you need to complete the coursework required for success on the MCAT. By the time you enter medical school, you should also demonstrate mastery of the competencies required of incoming medical students through clinical and other extracurricular experience.

There are two categories of courses you should take before applying to medical school: those that cover the material on the MCAT, and those that fulfill the prerequisites for medical school entry. Here's an overview of the courses.

The MCAT, described in detail on the AAMC website, has four sections:

a section that covers biology, organic chemistry, and biochemistry;
a section that covers general chemistry and physics;
a section that covers the behavioral sciences; and
a critical reading section.

The following set of courses covers the content required for the MCAT. Linked lecture and lab courses are designated as lecture/lab:

Biology (2 courses with associated labs)

BIOL 203/BIOL 203L and,
BIOL 204/BIOL 204L

Chemistry (5 courses with associated labs)

CHEM 103/CHEM 103L and,
CHEM 208/254
CHEM 206 /206L and,
CHEM 209/253 or CHEM 207/CHEM 253
CHEM 314 or the crosslisted BIOL 314

Physics (2 courses with associated labs)

PHYS 101/101L and 102/102L or,
PHYS 107/107L and 108/108L
- *Note that Chemistry and Physics majors must take Physics 101/101L and 102/102L)

Psychology (1 course)

PSYC 202

Sociology (1 course)

SOCI 200: Principles of Sociology (formerly SOCL 250)
SOCI 240: Medical Sociology (formerly SOCL 362)
SOCL 310: Wealth, Power and Inequality

Math (1 course, optional statistics)

MATH 106, PSYC 301, KINE 394, and Biostatistics (BIOL 327)

English (2 courses)

The COLL 150 fulfills 1 course
Any English literature course with a COLL 200 attribute can be used to complete the second half of the medical school English requirement.

Please see the the handouts on course selection for premedical students. You should complete all of the MCAT-related courses before taking the exam.

If you plan to go directly from college to medical school, without taking a gap year, you should complete the courses required for the MCAT by the end of junior year, and take the MCAT no later than June following your Junior year.

Many medical schools specify certain courses that you must complete before starting at that school. Different medical schools have different requirements. You should consult the current versions of the AAMC’s Medical School Admission Requirements (the MSAR) (available at aamc.org) and the AACOM Osteopathic Medical College Information Book (CIB) (available at aacom.org) for specifics.

Many medical schools require

two semesters of introductory biology with lab,
two semesters of general chemistry with lab,
two semesters of organic chemistry with lab,
a semester of biochemistry, and
two semesters of general physics with lab.

Other common requirements include two semesters of English and one or more semesters of mathematics (calculus, statistics.)

If you intend to apply to the Virginia medical schools, you should take all of the biology, chemistry, and physics courses required for the MCAT, along with

BIOL 310: Molecular Cell Biology,
two semesters of English (COLL 150 courses count),
a semester of statistics, and
at least one semester of calculus (some medical schools suggest two)

Note that many medical schools will not accept grades lower than a C in the prerequisite courses. You must take all medical school prerequisite courses for a grade (no pass/fail or audits).

The Office of Career Development and Professional Engagement can help you find research, shadowing, and internship opportunities.

The Undergraduate Major

What Makes Us Different

Early Assurance Programs

High Acceptance Rate

Clinical Experience

See where our Pre-Med students have landed the past two years:

Pre-Med Advising

Topics

How do I get a Pre-Med Advisor?

The Pre-Health Newsletter

The Pre-Med Advisors

Path to Med School

Topics

Timeline

MCAT-Related Courses

Medical School Prerequisite Courses

Additional Campus Resources