Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine prerequisites

2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

Most medical schools ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab and list it as required.

Biology is not on Case Western's required list for the four-year MD; only the MSTP track requires an advanced biology course. Take the full year anyway (the MCAT assumes it and nearly every other school requires it), but at this school it counts as recommended preparation.

2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

Two semesters or three quarters, with two semesters of lab. AP and IB credit is accepted for this one.

1 semester · 4 credits · lab

Most medical schools ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.

One semester with one semester of lab. AP and IB credit is not accepted here, so it has to be a real college course.

1 semester · 3 credits

One semester, no lab required, and it must cover metabolism. Check the syllabus, because a survey biochemistry course sometimes does not. One quarter is acceptable, with a second quarter recommended.

2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

Most medical schools ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab and list it as required.

Physics is on Case Western's recommended list rather than its required one. It is still on the MCAT and required almost everywhere else, so this changes nothing about whether you should take it.

1 semester · 3 credits

Most medical schools ask for 2 semesters · 6 credits.

One semester of writing or college English. Expository writing courses in other humanities subjects also satisfy it.

1 semester · 3 credits

Most medical schools ask for 1 semester · 3 credits and list it as required.

Biostatistics is recommended for the four-year MD. Two semesters or three quarters of calculus or statistics are required only if you are applying to the MSTP, and AP or IB credit is accepted for that.

1 semester · 3 credits

One semester. Required outright at a minority of schools (several of them highly selective) and accepted in place of statistics at most of the rest. Take it if calculus is already in your major's path.

1 semester · 3 credits

One semester. A minority of schools require it, but a quarter of the MCAT is psychological and social foundations: this is the cheapest points on the exam.

1 semester · 3 credits

One semester. Same reasoning as psychology: required by fewer schools, tested directly on the MCAT.

1 semester · 3 credits

One semester. Required by a small number of schools and a common way to fill the upper-division science coursework that strengthens a science GPA.

1 semester · 3 credits

Cellular biology and genetics are on Case Western's recommended list for the University Program. An advanced biology or biology-subfield course, one semester without lab, is required for MSTP applicants only, and AP or IB credit does not count for it.

1 semester · 3 credits

The social and behavioural sciences (psychology, anthropology, sociology and the like) are recommended coursework here.

150+ hours

Almost no school publishes a number, but admitted applicants typically report a few hundred hours. 150 is the point where you can speak about patient care from experience rather than in the abstract; sustained hours over years read better than a summer sprint.

50+ hours

Aim for 40-50 across more than one specialty, including primary care. DO programs weigh shadowing more heavily and several ask for hours with a DO specifically. If DO schools are on your list, get those hours and the letter early.

150+ hours

Service with no medical angle. Committees are reading for a habit, not a total, so one commitment held for two years beats five one-off events.

100+ hours

Effectively expected at research-heavy MD programs and genuinely optional at many DO and community-focused schools. If research is not your path, put those hours into clinical work and say so clearly rather than padding a semester in a lab.