Advising

Rob Borger
Health Professions Advisor

Thesla Berne-Anderson
Health Professions Advisor and Outreach Director

The Pre-Health Advising Office at Florida State University College of Medicine provides academic advising and counseling to students interested in pursuing careers in the health sciences. Currently, over one thousand students are enrolled in this advising program. Many of the students who seek advising office are premedical students. Advisement is open to all prehealth students interested in dentistry, veterinary science, pharmacy, physician assistant, optometry and physical therapy. Our Advisers meet regularly with these students throughout their college years assisting with career goals, course scheduling, long-term academic planning and professional school admissions procedures.

In addition to one-on-one advising, the College of Medicine Pre-Health Advising Office also sponsors programs of special interest to prehealth students. Programs from recent years included panel discussions with admissions representatives from various medical and professional schools and workshops on Succeeding in the Application Process and Interviewing Strategies. Florida State University has a competitive acceptance rate to medical and professional schools nationwide, and many of our graduates have been recognized for their outstanding contributions and achievements in the field of medicine. To register with the Pre-Health Advising Office, call or visit to set up an appointment with the Health Professions Adviser at your earliest convenience. Most medical schools are in agreement as to the general pre-medical required coursework.

Rob Borger, Health Professions Advisor
Thesla Berne-Anderson, Health Profession Advisor and Outreach Director
College of Medicine
Tallahassee, FL 32306-4300
Telephone: (850) 644-7678
FAX (850) 644-5766

Pre-Med Advising

A premedical student may choose any undergraduate major while completing the premedical curriculum. Approximately one-half of the students in recent PIMS COM classes had baccalaureate degrees in majors outside of the biological and physical sciences. In a four-year graduation plan, the curriculum should be planned in such a way that a minimum of one year of general biology, two years of chemistry (general and organic) and one year of physics are completed by the end of the third undergraduate year. This will assure adequate preparation for the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) which would be taken at the end of the junior year or at the beginning of the senior year. Biochemistry I & II should be taken prior to graduation or matriculation with the College of Medicine. In addition to completing premedical courses during undergraduate years, students should also seek out paid or volunteer work experience in a medical setting to acquire direct knowledge of health care delivery. The typical pathway from high school to the M.D. degree is eight years in length. A premedical student who matriculates into a university following high school will usually spend four years at the undergraduate level. A community college student with an A.A. degree typically transfers into the junior year at the upper division university and will remain there for two years as an undergraduate. Students at community colleges should complete the premedical requirements at their community college (exception-biochemistry) to finish their undergraduate education in four years. Transfer students are especially cautioned not to split two semester courses between two schools. For example, if organic chemistry I is taken at the community college, organic chemistry II should also be taken in the same school. Some students may complete their degree in three years, although this is not common nor is it encouraged. Such a student would enter the university from high school with substantial Advanced Placement credits and/or having taken courses at a community college or university while in high school. It should be noted that it is not unusual for a student to spend more than four years as an undergraduate prior to entering medical school. This often occurs when a student decides to pursue a medical education late in their undergraduate career.
 

GENERAL PRE-MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR FSU COM