Physicians diagnose and treat illness and injury, manage chronic conditions, provide preventive care, and help patients make decisions about their health. Their responsibilities vary considerably depending on specialty and practice setting.

Some physicians spend most of their time providing direct patient care, while others combine clinical practice with research, teaching, public health, administration, policy, or other work. Physicians practice in hospitals, outpatient clinics, private practices, community health centers, academic medical centers, government agencies, research institutions, and many other settings.

Medicine may be a good fit for students who:

• Enjoy learning about science, health, and human behavior.
• Want substantial responsibility for diagnosing and managing patient care.
• Are comfortable working closely with patients during difficult or uncertain situations.
• Enjoy clinical problem solving and making decisions from complex information.
• Work well with other healthcare professionals.
• Are prepared for a career that requires continued learning throughout professional practice.

Explore the profession through experience

Clinical experiences can show you how healthcare is delivered and how patients experience the healthcare system. Physician shadowing provides a closer look at the physician’s responsibilities, decision-making, workflow, and relationships with patients and other healthcare professionals.

As you explore, pay attention to the parts of medicine that interest you and the parts you find difficult. Both are useful when deciding whether the work and responsibilities of a physician fit your goals.

Explore Medicine

• AAMC: Choosing a Medical Career
• AACOM: Become an Osteopathic Physician
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Physicians and Surgeons

Students can become physicians in the United States by completing either a Doctor of Medicine (MD) or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) program.

Graduates of both pathways are physicians who may become licensed to practice medicine, prescribe medications, perform procedures and surgery when trained to do so, and enter residency programs across medical specialties.

Osteopathic medical education

DO programs include the biomedical and clinical education required for physician training along with instruction in osteopathic principles and practice. Students also receive training in osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM), which includes hands-on approaches to evaluating and treating the musculoskeletal system.

MD and DO graduates participate in the same U.S. graduate medical education system for residency and fellowship training.

Choosing where to apply

Applicants may consider MD programs, DO programs, or both. Research individual schools rather than making the decision based only on degree type. Curriculum, mission, location, clinical training, cost, residency outcomes, student support, and your own interests can all affect whether a program belongs on your school list.

Students interested in DO programs should learn about osteopathic medicine before applying. Some colleges of osteopathic medicine place particular value on an applicant’s understanding of osteopathic practice and may recommend or expect exposure to DO physicians.

Explore MD & DO Programs

• AAMC Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR)
• AACOM Choose DO Explorer

Medical schools admit students from many undergraduate majors. Students should choose an academic program that fits their interests while completing the coursework required by the schools they may eventually consider.

Prerequisite requirements differ among medical schools. Schools may also have different policies for AP or IB credit, dual-enrollment coursework, community college courses, online courses, laboratory requirements, and minimum grades.

Common prerequisite areas include:

• Biology with laboratory
• General Chemistry with laboratory
• Organic Chemistry with laboratory
• Physics with laboratory
• Biochemistry
• English or writing-intensive coursework
• Statistics
• Psychology, sociology, or other behavioral science coursework

Use individual admissions websites and the AAMC Medical School Admission Requirements database when researching MD programs. Applicants considering osteopathic medical schools can review school-specific requirements through AACOM’s Choose DO Explorer and each college’s admissions website.

Academic performance

Medical schools review academic performance in several ways, including cumulative GPA, science GPA, prerequisite coursework, course rigor, academic trends, and performance in more advanced science courses when applicable.

Admissions committees review the complete academic record. Stronger or more recent performance can provide useful evidence of academic development when an earlier semester or portion of the record was weaker.

Work with your faculty advisor on course sequencing and degree requirements. HPA can help you understand how medical school prerequisites and recommendations fit into your broader professional school preparation.

Medical schools consider applicants’ experiences alongside their academic preparation. Your activities can help you understand medicine, develop skills needed for professional school, contribute to communities, and identify the interests you want to carry into your career.

Clinical experience

Clinical experience provides exposure to patients and healthcare delivery. Depending on the setting, students may volunteer, work in a patient-facing role, participate in clinical programs, or gain experience through other structured opportunities.

Pay attention to what you learn from patients, how healthcare teams function, and how the realities of healthcare compare with your expectations of the profession.

Physician shadowing

Shadowing is primarily observational. It can help you understand how physicians structure their work, communicate with patients, make clinical decisions, and collaborate with other professionals.

Exposure to more than one specialty or practice setting can broaden your understanding of medicine, although students do not need to shadow every specialty or determine a future specialty before medical school.

Service and community involvement

Service can take place inside or outside healthcare. Sustained involvement with communities can strengthen your understanding of people whose experiences differ from your own and develop reliability, communication, empathy, and responsibility.

Research, leadership, employment, and other activities

Research can be valuable for students interested in scientific inquiry and may be particularly relevant to research-intensive medical schools. Leadership, employment, athletics, teaching, campus involvement, creative work, and other activities can also contribute meaningfully to an application.

AAMC Premed Competencies

The AAMC identifies 17 Premed Competencies that describe knowledge, skills, and professional qualities important for entering medical students. They include professional competencies such as empathy and compassion, ethical responsibility, reliability, teamwork, self-awareness, understanding others, and commitment to learning and growth, along with science and thinking and reasoning competencies.

Use the competencies as a framework for reflection rather than a checklist of required activities. A single experience may help you develop several competencies, and the same competency can develop across coursework, employment, service, research, clinical work, and other parts of your life.

Related HPA Resources

• Clinical & Patient-Care Experience
• Shadowing & Observational Experience

The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is developed and administered by the Association of American Medical Colleges. Medical schools use MCAT scores alongside academic performance and the other parts of the application when evaluating applicants.

The MCAT includes four sections:

• Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems
• Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems
• Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior
• Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills (CARS)

Planning your test date

Your MCAT timeline should account for prerequisite coursework, dedicated study time, practice test performance, application timing, and your other academic and personal responsibilities.

Most students benefit from completing the foundational coursework represented on the exam before testing. Begin full-length practice exams early enough to evaluate progress and adjust your preparation before the actual test date.

Preparing for the MCAT

The AAMC provides the official MCAT content outline, practice questions, full-length practice exams, and other preparation resources. Commercial materials can supplement these resources when they fit your learning needs and budget.

If you are considering a retake, review your previous preparation and current practice performance first. A new test date is most useful when you have identified what needs to change and have enough time to address it.

AAMC PREview and Casper

Some medical schools use an additional situational judgment or professional readiness assessment. Depending on the school, applicants may encounter the AAMC PREview Professional Readiness Exam, Casper, or another school-specific requirement.

For the 2026 testing year, participating medical schools use PREview in several ways. A school may require it, recommend it, accept it to satisfy a situational judgment test requirement, or review scores while considering future use. Requirements can change between application cycles.

Check the admissions requirements for every school on your list before registering for an additional assessment.

Official Testing Resources

• AAMC: Medical College Admission Test
• AAMC PREview Participating Schools

Medical school applications are submitted approximately one year before matriculation. Applicants should begin preparing written materials, recommendation letters, school research, and testing plans well before the application services open.

Application services

Most U.S. MD programs use the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS). U.S. colleges of osteopathic medicine use the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service (AACOMAS). Participating Texas medical schools use the Texas Medical & Dental Schools Application Service (TMDSAS).

Applicants who apply to both MD and DO programs, or who include TMDSAS schools, may complete more than one centralized application during the same cycle.

Choosing medical schools

Start with schools where you meet the admissions requirements and where your academic record and MCAT performance fall within a reasonable range for consideration. Then look closely at mission, curriculum, clinical training, location, residency preferences, cost, research opportunities, student support, and other features that affect fit.

For MD programs, the AAMC Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR) database provides school-specific admissions information and applicant data. AACOM’s Choose DO Explorer provides information about colleges of osteopathic medicine.

The primary application

Centralized application services collect academic history, coursework, transcripts, experiences, written materials, letters or evaluations, MCAT information, and other applicant information. The application service verifies academic information before or as materials are transmitted to schools according to its procedures.

Schools may then send secondary applications with additional essays, questions, fees, or other requirements.

Personal statement and experiences

Your personal statement should help the reader understand why you are pursuing medicine and how your experiences informed that decision. Experience descriptions should explain your role clearly and provide context for what you learned or how you developed.

Begin writing well before submission. Applicants usually need several rounds of drafting and revision to develop clear application materials.

Letters of recommendation

Medical schools establish their own requirements for letters of recommendation, including the number of letters and the types of recommenders they expect. Review each school’s policy while developing your school list.

Villanova HPA offers a letter packet process for eligible applicants. The current Letter Packet Process page contains cycle-specific eligibility requirements, forms, deadlines, and instructions.

Interviews

Medical schools use several interview formats, including traditional individual or panel interviews and Multiple Mini Interviews. Interviews may take place virtually or in person depending on the school.

Prepare by reviewing your own application and researching the school carefully. Practice discussing your experiences, motivation for medicine, ethical and professional questions, teamwork, challenges, and other topics without memorizing scripted answers.

Application timing

AMCAS and AACOMAS open during the spring, and individual medical schools establish their own deadlines. Many schools use rolling admissions, which means applications may be reviewed and interview invitations extended throughout the cycle.

Preparing materials before the application opens can help you submit during the earlier part of the cycle without rushing your written work or school research.

Official Application Resources

• AAMC: Apply with AMCAS
• AAMC Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR)
• AACOM: Apply to Osteopathic Medical School
• AACOM Choose DO Explorer
• Texas Medical & Dental Schools Application Service
• HPA Letter Packet Process

Many medical school applicants take one or more years between college and medical school. Additional time can be useful when it allows an applicant to strengthen preparation, gain experience, complete coursework, or pursue professional and personal goals before beginning medical training.

During a gap year, students may choose to:

• Work in a clinical or patient-facing role.
• Continue research or begin a new research position.
• Remain involved in community service.
• Complete prerequisite or additional science coursework.
• Prepare for or retake the MCAT when appropriate.
• Gain professional work experience.
• Address financial, family, or personal priorities before medical school.

Academic enhancement

Some applicants benefit from additional academic work before applying. Depending on the student’s record, options may include upper-level undergraduate science coursework, a formal post-baccalaureate program, or graduate-level biomedical science study.

Students considering substantial academic enhancement should meet with HPA to discuss the academic concern being addressed and whether the proposed coursework is likely to provide useful evidence of readiness for medical school.

Reapplying

Applicants who are not admitted during one cycle should review the previous application carefully before submitting again. Consider academic preparation, MCAT performance, clinical and service experiences, school selection, letters, written materials, interview performance, and application timing.

A reapplication should include meaningful updates where improvement was needed. The amount of time required before reapplying depends on what needs to change and how long it will take to make that change.