Metropolitan State University of Denver
BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT ADVISING HANDOUT
Last updated January 2024
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 followed 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 with labs (CHE 1800 & 1801, CHE 1810 & 1811) | 2 semesters |
| Organic Chemistry with labs (CHE 3100,3110,3120,3130) | 2 semesters |
| General Biology with labs (BIO 1080,1090, 1081,1091) | 2 semesters |
| Mathematics (MTH 1110,1120) as prerequisites to Chemistry and Physics | 2 semesters |
| Physics with labs (PHY 2010,2020,2030,2040) | 2 semesters |
| English/(ENG 1010, ENG 1020) | 2 semesters |
| Electives and Liberal Arts | 4 semesters |
Highly recommended courses, although not required, include Biochemistry (many schools require Biochemistry), Cell Biology, Genetics, Anatomy, Physiology, Psychology, Sociology, Ethics, & Statistics. Consider taking more challenging courses, rather than always taking the easiest ones.
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. Applications open in August and for priority consideration, are due by March 1 for the following fall admission. The final application deadline is June 30 of each year for fall admission of the same year, but EARLY application is advised.
Consider keeping a journal through your undergraduate years. This will provide you with much information to draw upon when filling out your application.
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.
MCAT: 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 in the spring of your Junior year. The MCAT must be taken before the application deadline of June 1. 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. Typically, test results must be no older than 3 years old. You may take this exam more than once.
Click on this link https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/about/ to find out where and when the MCAT exams will be offered, and to register for it.
MCAT (The total score ranges from 472-528). A competitive score would be higher than 490.
MCAT (each of the four sections are scored on a 118-132 scale):
a. Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems. (General Biology, Biochemistry, Organic Chemistry, Cell & Molecular Biology, Scientific Inquiry and Reasoning)
b. Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems. (Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics, Basic Research Methods and Statistics, Scientific Inquiry and Reasoning)
3. Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations of Behavior. (Psychology, Sociology, Culture, Basic Research Methods and Statistics, Scientific Inquiry and Reasoning)
4. Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills (critically analyze information in reading passages, include content from ethics, philosophy, culture, population health, social sciences and humanities in your answers)
MCAT: For more MCAT information, including official deadlines, and access to online MCAT registration, go to the AAMC: https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/about/ and https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/
MCAT Preparation Resources: https://www.kaptest.com/mcat
GRE: 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
GRE Preparation Resources: https://www.kaptest.com/gre
What do you do if you do not get accepted your first time to podiatric medical school? Contact the medical schools to see if they have suggestions to strengthen your application. Strengthen what you consider to be the weakest parts of your application. Improve your interview skills. Consider, a Master’s Program, applied experience in healthcare, podiatry shadowing experiences, science research, volunteer work, community outreach, internships and leadership activities.
| 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.cpme.org/colleges/content.cfm?ItemNumber=2425&navItemNumber=2240&RDtoken=60435&userID=