American medical and dental schools are extremely interested in students who have a strong liberal arts background – precisely the education Ohio Wesleyan provides.
About the Major
The Pre-Medicine/Pre-Dentistry major gives you the broad background necessary to prepare you for many health professions. The courses required are those most frequently required for admission to colleges of medicine and dentistry. You should consult the Chief Pre-Health advisor early in your college career for the admissions requirements of specific medical or dental schools. A major in Pre-Medicine/Pre-Dentistry should be paired with a second major, most commonly in the natural sciences but also in psychology or other areas. This is because the Pre-Medicine/Pre-Dental major alone does not provide an appropriate depth of background in any single discipline.
Download this helpful list of the OWU courses you will be required to take in order to apply for admission to medical/dental school.
Applying to Med School
Nationwide and at OWU, fewer than half of medical students start their medical training the August after they graduate. The reason: To start professional school directly after graduating, you must take either the Medical College Admission Test or the Dental Admission Test by late spring of your junior year, and also apply that June. Completing all the necessary coursework by then and as well as studying enough to excel on the admission test requires careful scheduling and extreme self-discipline. It can also leave you unable to fully engage in other activities on campus, including doing service work and gaining clinical experiences that the professional schools either desire or require.