College of Basic Sciences | Premed/Predent Advising

1. Complete core requirements and earn minimum of 90 semester hours.
	Students should check with individual professional schools to obtain specific requirements, however the following courses are typical core requirements for most medical/dental schools:
		8 semester hours of biological sciences with labs (BIOL 1201/1208,1202/1209) (The LSU Medical School-Shreveport requires two additional semesters of Biological Sciences course and the LSU Dental School requires an additional 4 hours of advanced biology) 8 semester hours of general chemistry with labs (CHEM 1201, 1202 & 1212 lab) 8 semester hours of organic chemistry with labs (CHEM 2261, 2262 & 2364 lab) 8 semester hours of Physics with labs (PHYS 2001/2108, 2002/2109) 6-9 hours of English
	Although a minimum of 90 hours is required to enter medical/dental schools, admission is highly competitive. The vast majority of accepted students have completed undergraduate degrees at the time of matriculation to medical/dental school.

2. Take the admission test in spring of junior year.
	The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) converted to a computerised test format. There are 22 administrations on 18 days throughout the year. Information on the MCAT including dates and sites may be obtained at www.aamc.org/MCAT.

	The Dental Admission Test (DAT) is a computerized test that may be taken at any time during the year. Information about the DAT may be obtained at www.ada.org/prof/ed/testing/index.html.

3. Register for the LSU Premedical/Predental Review Committee in the spring of junior year.
	The LSU Premedical/Predental Review Committee is composed of faculty members and premedical counselors who write letters of evaluation for LSU students applying to medical/dental school. While use of the committee is not required, most professional schools strongly encourage applicants to use the committee at their university. Informational meetings about the committee and the application process are held each November for students who will be applying the following year.

4. Make Formal Application through AMCAS/AADSAS in the summer prior to your senior year or the LSU School of Dentistry in September of your senior year.
	AMCAS is a national application service for medical schools in the United States. Information about this service may be obtained from www.aamc.org. AADSAS is the national application service for dental schools and information is available from www.adea.org. The LSU School of Dentistry does not participate in AADSAS. Applications for admission may be obtained directly from the LSU Dental School admissions office in September for admissions the following year.