PreHealth Professions
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I choose a major?
A student can choose ANY major at Mississippi State University and still apply to professional schools (which are schools like med school, pharmacy school, dental school, optometry school, nursing school, etc.). The student must take the pre-requisite courses at Msstate to be eligible for application to their professional school of choice and those course requirements are independent of the major you choose. MANY students choose to major in science-strong fields such as Biological Sciences, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Agriculture and Biological Engineering or Physics because these majors overlap best with the professional school requirements. There are three things a student should consider when deciding on a major:
- What will I enjoy doing? Make sure you are interested in your major field and will enjoy the classes required. It does no good to major in something if you hate every minute of it.
- What is my Back-Up plan? Professional school such as Medical school, Pharmacy school or Dental school doesn't always happen right away after leaving MSU. The student could change their plans or decide they want to work for a while before continuing their education. MAKE SURE that you have an alternate career path available to you if your plans for professional school are delayed.
- How much will my major overlap with the required courses for professional school? You don't have to major in the sciences, just understand that science-heavy majors will have greater overlap with the Chemistry/Biology/Physics pre-requisites that you have to take for professional school application. Understand the requirements for both your professional school of choice and your major at Msstate so you can make the best choice for you.
If you have questions, consult the advisors in your departments of interest. We are happy to help you as you progress toward your professional school degree.
Departments with PreMed and PreDent emphasis:
Biological Sciences
Biochemistry
Chemistry
Ag and Biological Engineering
Physics
Departments with PrePharm emphasis:
Chemistry
Biochemistry
What is required for application to Medical School? Dental School? Pharmacy School?
Medical School?
The requirements listed here are for the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, MS although many other major medical schools have similar requirements. Check your preferred medical school for their specific requirements and recommendations. Advanced Placement credit for these required courses is NOT acceptable (so even if you took it in high school and tested for AP credit, you need to take it again). Medical schools also will typically not accept any required coursework that is an online or virtual class.
Required Med School Coursework:
Medical schools typically ask applicants to take
- 1 year General Chemistry plus lab (8 hours)
- 1 year Biology plus lab (8 hours)
- 1 year Organic Chemistry plus lab (8 hours)
- 1 year Physics plus lab (8 or 9 hours)
- 1 year of College English (6 hours)
- 1 year of College-level mathematics (6 hours)
- 1 year of Upper Level Science coursework (8 hours)
Your grades are reported as an Overall GPA (oGPA) and an undergraduate GPA calculated from only Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Math courses (uBCPM).
The coursework listed above is the minimum requirement. Many degree programs at Msstate offer additional upper-level science courses as a means to improve your MCAT score and enhance the breadth of your uBCPM score. Strong preference for med school admission is given to those students who have completed a bachelor's degree at an undergraduate institution.
Other Requirements for Application
- Must take the MCAT.
- Must have 3 letters of faculty recommendation.
- Must demonstrate exposure to medicine. This could mean volunteer or employment opportunities in MD office, clinics, hospital, nursing home, hospice or participation in pre-medical organizations plus an awareness of the time and cost required for training.
- Must demonstrate extracurricular activities indicative of effective interaction with diverse people.
- This could mean showing service to individuals, family or community groups. Demonstrating the capability for leadership and responsibility; academic and cultural interests beyond the classroom and time management skills.
- We offer a Freshman Year Experience class at MSU that goes into more detail on the requirements and recommendations for medical school admission.
The 2010 entering Medical School class (for UMMC) had the following statistics:
46% admitted (from those that applied)
Mean MCAT score: 28.4
Mean oGPA: 3.70
Mean uBCPM: 3.64
28 different college majors represented
The requirements listed here are for the University of Mississippi School of Dentistry in Jackson, MS although many other major dental schools have similar requirements. Check your preferred dental school for their specific requirements and recommendations. Advanced Placement credit for these required courses is NOT acceptable (so even if you took it in high school and tested for AP credit, you need to take it again). Dental schools also will typically not accept any required coursework that is an online or virtual class.
Required Coursework:1 year General Chemistry plus lab (8 hours)
1 year Biology plus lab (8 hours)
1 year Organic Chemistry plus lab (8 hours)
1 year Physics plus lab (8 or 9 hours)
1 year of College English (6 hours)
1 year of College-level mathematics (6 hours)
1 year of Advanced Biology or Chemistry coursework (6 hours)
1 semester of Statistics (3 hours)
While not required, the following courses are highly recommended:
Comparative anatomy, biochemistry, biostatistics, speech, humanities core courses, quantitative analysis (also known as analytical chemistry I), physical chemistry, embryology, histology, immunology, microbiology, bacteriology, cell biology, cell physiology and psychology.
Your grades are reported as an Overall GPA (oGPA) and an undergraduate GPA calculated from only Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Math courses (uBCPM).
The coursework listed above is the minimum requirement. Many degree programs at Msstate offer additional upper-level science courses as a means to improve your DAT score and enhance the breadth of your uBCPM score. Strong preference is given to those students who have completed a bachelor's degree at an undergraduate institution. We offer a Freshman Year Experience class at Msstate that goes into more detail on the requirements and recommendations for dental school admission.
Other Requirements for Application:
- Must take the Dental Admission Test, DAT.
- Must have 3 letters of faculty recommendation
- Must demonstrate exposure to dentistry. This could mean volunteer or employment opportunities in a dental office, clinics, hospital, nursing home, hospice or participation in pre-dental organizations plus an awareness of the time and cost required for training.
- Must demonstrate extracurricular activities indicative of effective interaction with diverse people. This could mean showing service to individuals, family or community groups. Demonstrating the capability for leadership and responsibility; academic and cultural interests beyond the classroom and time management skills.
- The 2010 entering Dental School class (for UM School of Dentistry) had the following statistics:
- 30% admitted (from those that applied)
- Mean DAT Academic Average score: 18.1
- Mean oGPA: 3.7
- Mean uBCPM: 3.6
Pharmacy School
The University of Mississippi Pharmacy School has specific class requirements to be eligible for admission. The complete list of coursework required can be found under the PrePharmacy page (put in link to PrePharmacy page). If you are interested in other Pharmacy Schools, you must determine their specific entrance requirements.
We offer a Freshman Year Experience class at MSU that goes into more detail on the requirements and recommendations for pharmacy school admission.
The required coursework for Pharmacy school admission is computed into a pGPA that represents only those courses. ALL attempts at a course are included in the pGPA (so even if you replace a course grade under msstate policy, the pharmacy school will still count both attempts at the course.) There are minimal requirements for the pGPA and the PCAT score; no applicant below these minimums will be considered (2010 minimums are pGPA= 2.75 and PCAT= 40).
Other Requirements for Application:
In addition to the Pharmacy school coursework, applicants must also
take the PCAT
Applicants are encouraged to have pharmacy related experience
No letters of recommendation are required
Admissions Information
2010 PY1 Pharmacy Class
Number: 64
(13 Regular Entry + 3 Early Entry)
Female: 48%
Mississippi Residents: 78%
Racial/Ethnic Minority: 19%
Average pGPA: 3.31
Average PCAT: 62.6