Metro State University of Denver BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT ADVISING HANDOUT
PRE-PODIATRIC MEDICAL INFORMATION

Last updated July 2012

A Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM) specializes in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, through both medical and surgical means, of diseases and disorders affecting the foot. As new scientific advances are made, the field of podiatric medicine grows more and more diverse. There are a number of areas of specialization available, including Podiatric Sports Medicine, Podiatric Surgery, Podopediatrics, Podogeriatrics, Biomechanics, and Podiatric Medicine. Training usually consists of three to four years of undergraduate work [90-120 semester hours] culminating in a Bachelor's degree in some major. Although some schools will accept students with only 90 hours of prerequisite work, most accepted students have a Bachelor's degree. You should meet all of the requirements for a BA/BS degree in any major of your interest, general studies and minor requirements, in addition to the following prerequisite course requirements. You are encouraged to explore the humanities and other areas of interest in order to broaden your educational base; you will not have another chance. Since medicine is a mixture of science and contact with people, courses in social and behavioral sciences, arts and humanities are of great value. The Podiatric professional program is a four-year program followd by externships in the fifth year.

The following is a list of the minimum course requirements for admission to the most most Medical Schools. For the required courses for admission to specific Podiatric Colleges, consult the individual college.

General Chemistry (CHE 1800, 1810, 1850)

2 semesters

Organic Chemistry (CHE 3100,3110,3120,3130)

2 semesters

General Biology (BIO 1080,1090, 1081,1091)

2 semesters

Mathematics (MTH 1110,1120)

2 semesters

Physics (PHY 2010,2020,2030,2040)

2 semesters

English/(ENG 1010, ENG 1020)

2 semesters

Liberal Arts

4 semesters
Highly recommended courses, although not required, include Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, Calculus, Quantitative mathematically oriented physics, ethics, statistics, and computer courses.

Selection factors: Places are offered to the applicants who appear to be the most highly qualified in terms of intellectual achievement, character, motivation, maturity, and emotional stability. For this assessment, college grades, MCAT /GRE scores, recommendations from college instructors and others, and required personal interviews are used. A wide variety of undergraduate majors are considered acceptable in the selection of applicants. Demonstration of good performance in the prerequisite sciences is needed.

Application: The Podiatric medical colleges use a central application service, which allows you to apply to one, or all, of the colleges by submitting only one application. The American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine Application Service (AACPMAS) collects, computes and collates application data, including transcripts, MCAT scores and GPAs. Application requests should be addressed to AACPMAS; 1350 Piccard Dr., Suite 322; Rockville, MD 20852; 1-800-922-9266. URL for the web-based application is www.e-aacpmas.org/
MCAT/GRE: You should plan on completing the required courses by the end of your Junior year so that you will be prepared to take the MCAT or GRE in the spring of your Junior year. Check with your Podiatric School to see which exam is required. The MCAT is given in April and August. This test is described in "The New MCAT Student Manual," published by the AAMC and is available in the Auraria Book Center; obtain this early in your pre-med career. Test results must be no older than 5 years old. You may take this exam more than once. The application to take the MCAT should be made to MCAT Program Office, 2255 North Dubuque Road, P.O. Box 4056, Iowa City, Iowa 52243. (319) 337-1357. www.aamc.org/students/mcat/start.htm The MCAT includes sections on Physical Sciences, Biological Sciences, Verbal Readings and a Writing Sample. You MUST prepare for this exam. The MCAT requires one full day of testing and is administered in four sections described below. The first three sections are multiple choice tests which are graded on a 1 (low) - 15 (high) scale with a score of 9 being around the 60% range. The Essay section is graded on a scale of J (low) to T (high) with a score of P being around the 60% range.

a. Physical Sciences - measures the ability to understand basic concepts and solve problems in the areas of physically related chemistry and physics.

b. Biological Sciences - measures the ability to understand basic concepts and solve problems in the area of biology and biologically related chemistry.

c. Verbal Reasoning - measures the ability to understand, evaluate, and apply information and arguments presented in prose texts.

d. Writing Sample - measures skill in developing a central idea; synthesizing concepts and ideas; presenting ideas cohesively and logically; and writing clearly, following accepted practices of grammar, syntax, and punctuation consistent with timed, first-draft composition.

Schools requiring the GRE, typically require the GRE General test plus one of the science subject areas (Biology, Chemistry, Physics). GRE registration information can be obtained by contacting GRE Educational Testing Service, P.O. Box 6000, Princeton, NJ 08541-6000, 1-800-GRE-CALL; http://www.gre.org

For further information about the field of Podiatric Medicine, contact the American Podiatric Medical Association at http://www.apma.org/

For a list of Podiatric Colleges, contact http://www.apma.org/Members/Education/CPMEAccreditation/PodiatricMedicalColleges/100.aspx
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