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Pre-Med, Pre-Vet and Pre-Dent at OCC
 Students who have medical school, veterinary school or dental school in their future should consider OCC as their first stop in the path to professional education. Excellent students, who excel in both math and science and maintain nearly a "straight A average" are good candidates. Those with a GPA less than a 3.5 have a smaller chance of being accepted at a US medical, dental or veterinary school. OCC can help you get an excellent start!
Here are reasons that you might consider OCC for Pre-Med:
- The pre-medical, pre-dental and pre-veterinary curriculum is virtually identical for the first two years in any college or university in the US. OCC offers those same courses taught by an excellent faculty.
- Education at OCC is a fraction of the cost of attending the same first two years at a 4 year college.
- OCC has small classes with individual attention from science faculty. Many of the large 4 years schools jam students into lecture halls with 250 or more students. For the first two years they rarely see their professor and the only individual attention they receive is from a graduate student.
- NJ STARS students, in the top 20% of their class in high school, get a "free ride" at OCC. If they maintain a 3.0 or better they can also get a "free ride" at all 9 of the State sister colleges and universities as well as Rutgers and NJIT. Their whole undergraduate education can be free!
- Two semesters of Organic Chemistry is required at nearly all medical schools, dental schools and veterinary schools. Organic Chemistry is known to be the "killer course" for pre-med students in most undergraduate science programs and is used as the "weeding out" course at many universities. We don't focus on "weeding students out" at OCC but rather on encouraging and empowering them to be successful. Many students find that taking Organic Chemistry at OCC helped them preserve their GPA's at their 4 year schools and improved their chances of acceptance to medical school, dental school or veterinary school. MedicalSchoolAdmission.Com states the following: "Admissions committees will most definitely frown on anything less than an 'A' in this class."
Suggested Course of Study
Take the first two years at OCC and transfer to a top college or university! Kean University is now right on campus!
Students who plan to transfer to a four-year college and major in one of the basic sciences and then apply to medical school, should take these courses beyond the liberal arts - A.A. degree core. They may also wish to seek the A.A. degree in general studies which allows you to take more science courses.
The list below includes science and math core courses:
General Chemistry I/II (CHEM 181/182)
Biology I/II (BIOL 161/162)
Organic Chemistry I/II (CHEM 283/284)
Calculus I/II (MATH 265/266)
Physics I/II (PHYS 281/282) calculus-based
General Microbiology (BIOL 264)
Biology elective
Helpful Links:
Prerequisite courses for med school
Princeton Review: Path to Medical School
Princeton Review: courses and grades
What you should do at OCC
Talk to your advisor.
Your faculty advisor, guidance counselor and Professor Chris Spencer ext 2444, a great source of information for advice on classes to take, career path options for medical school. They will also be invaluable in writing letters of recommendation for medical school. You need to build a strong relationship with your advisor and have them serve as a mentor as you plan your path to professional education.
Beginning the long road to Medical School.
The road to a medical education is a long one that requires self discipline and outstanding scholarship. During the first two years at OCC you will need to maintain close to a 4.0 GPA.
You then need to transfer to an excellent college or university with a strong pre-med reputation and spend another 2 years completing a bachelors degree. Medical school, dental school or veterinary school usually require an additional 4 years. Almost all U.S. medical schools require applicants to submit Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores. Medical college admission committees consider MCAT scores as part of their admission decision process.
Internships and/or residency programs are usually required before you can complete your medical, dental or veterinary education.
OCC can give you a great start at less than half the cost!
Find summer internships in health care.
Internships or jobs are a good way to learn about medicine, make contacts, and gain experience in health care. Some internships may provide opportunities to work directly with patients and provide an opportunity to learn more about how the health care system works. Joining your local first aid squad or even volunteering at a hospital or nursing home will help you achieve your goal.
According to a recent survey of medical schools, knowledge of health care issues and commitment to health care were among the top five variables considered very important to student selection (the other four were med school interview ratings, GPA, MCAT* scores, and letters of recommendation).
You should consider being active in health care activities as much as possible as a premed student. If nothing else, these experiences will help you articulate in your personal statements and interviews why you want to pursue a career in medicine.
Adapted from Yahoo Medical School Admissions
Helpful Links
Tips on getting into medical school
Doctors in Demand
Inside medical school
The American Medical College Application Service
Future Medical School Applicants, Part I: Overall Trends
Future Medical School Applicants, Part II: Gender Diversity
OCC's PreMed Advisor
Professor Chrsitine Spencer
Science Program - Hiering Science Building Room 133
Ocean County College
College Drive P.O. Box 2001
Toms River NJ 08754-2001
732 255-0366 ext 2444
e-mail cspencer@ocean.edu
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