Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine prerequisites

2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

Two semesters with lab. The single most universal prerequisite: essentially every MD and DO program asks for it, and it is the foundation the MCAT assumes.

2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

Two semesters with lab. Take it early: organic chemistry, biochemistry, and most upper-division biology all sit behind it, so a late start pushes the whole sequence past your MCAT date.

2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

Organic 1 is four credits with a one-credit lab, and Organic 2 the same, but three credits of biochemistry may be substituted for Organic 2 if that suits your schedule better.

1 semester · 3 credits

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

LECOM does not require biochemistry on its own. It appears as the permitted substitute for Organic 2 and on the advanced-coursework recommendation list.

1 semester · 4 credits · lab

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

A minimum of four semester hours including one hour of laboratory: one semester, not the usual year. Almost every MD school on your list will want the full year, so treat this as the lightest requirement rather than the plan.

2 semesters · 6 credits

Two semesters of English or writing-intensive coursework. Many schools accept writing-intensive courses from any department, but a few name English specifically. If your writing credits come from elsewhere, confirm before you count them.

LECOM's prerequisites are biology, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, English, and behavioural science. No mathematics or statistics course appears among them.

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

LECOM recommends advanced coursework in biochemistry, physiology, microbiology, and anatomy beyond the required prerequisites.

2 semesters · 6 credits

Six semester hours, required. LECOM names psychology, sociology, anthropology, medical ethics, and philosophy, and this is one of the two places it will accept AP or IB credit.

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

LECOM publishes no hours for shadowing or clinical experience. Its letter requirement is either a pre-professional committee letter or two letters from science professors, and on top of that 'a letter of recommendation from an osteopathic physician is recommended'. Recommended, not required, but note it names a DO specifically rather than any physician.

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.

No published minimum

"A letter of recommendation from a pre-professional or similar committee; or two letters of recommendation from undergraduate or graduate college/university science professors."

2 letters

"Two letters of recommendation from undergraduate or graduate college/university science professors", the substitute for a pre-professional committee letter.

No published minimum

"A letter of recommendation from an osteopathic physician is recommended." Recommended rather than required, but note LECOM names a DO specifically rather than "a physician", so an MD's letter does not fill this slot. LECOM publishes no hours for shadowing, clinical experience, volunteering, or research.