Academics
You can refer to our academics page to see the main required courses in order to apply for medical school.
If you want to know which schools require which specific courses, you may refer to their website, where they list course requirements.
Medical School Application Essays
Each medical school varies in the number of essays they require, and the length of these essays.
You will need to submit a personal statement with your application as well.
On the AMCAS M.D. applications, the personal statement prompt is as follows: "use the space provided to explain why you want to go to medical school." The maximum character count is 5,300.
If you need help with your essays at any point in the process, you may utilize The Writing Center in Walsh Library at Fordham.
Additional Exams for Medical School Applications
*Some medical school applications require or recommend submission of additional ethics exams. These are not mandatory to take, unless a school you want to apply to requires submission of scores from these exams.*
The PREview exam is designed to look beyond academic metrics to assess and evaluate the professional competencies that schools have found important for success.
The competencies tested are as follows: cultural awareness, cultural humility, empathy and compassion, ethical responsibility to self and others, interpersonal skills, reliability and dependability, resilience and adaptability, teamwork and collaboration, commitment to learning and growth, cultural awareness
The PREview exam is a 75 minute exam, consisting of 186 multiple choice responses. You may register for this exam on the AAMC website at this link.
You may find free preparation materials on the AAMC website at this link.
The Casper test is an online, open-response situational judgement test. It aspects of your social intelligence and professionalism, like ethics, empathy, problem-solving, and collaboration.
Casper has two main sections: video responses and typed responses.
video responses consist of reading 2 word-based scenarios and watching 4 video-based scenarios, and recording videos to answer two open ended questions. There is 1 minute to record each typed response.
Typed responses: You will read 3 word-based scenarios and watch 5 video-based scenarios. For each scenario, you will type answers to 3 open-ended questions, which will all be presented on the same page. You will have 5 minutes total to respond to all 3 questions.
You may register for this exam at this link.
Common Components of Applications
Research : Refer to our Research Opportunities page to learn how to get involved in research at Fordham.
Medical schools like to see some sort of research experience on an application. It does not need to be related to medicine at all!
Clinical Hours : Clinical hours include any hours that involve direct patient care, evaluation and treatment hours, or hours spent under the supervision of a licensed healthcare professional.
Some common examples of ways to complete clinical hours include:
Certified Nursing Assistant : Someone who supports patients in daily tasks, working closely with nurses and healthcare professionals. Responsible for supporting medical staff in administering care to patients with various injuries, illnesses, or disabilities.
Various states have different requirements in order to become a certified nursing assistant, so be sure to research how to get certified in the state you live in.
Emergency Medical Technician : A trained professional who responds to emergency calls and provides urgent medical care. Responsibilities include assessing patients' conditions, providing emergency medical treatment, transporting patients, and collaborating with healthcare teams to deliver effective medical care during emergencies.
Various states have different requirements in order to become a emergency medical technician, so be sure to research how to get certified in the state you live in.
Medical Assistant : A professional who supports physicians and other medical staff. Responsibilities include taking patient histories, measuring vital signs, and preparing patients for examinations.
Various states have different requirements in order to become a emergency medical technician, so be sure to research how to get certified in the state you live in.
Phlebotomist : A professional who draws blood for tests, transfusions, donations, or research.
Various states have different requirements in order to become a emergency medical technician, so be sure to research how to get certified in the state you live in.
Medical Scribe : A professional who assists healthcare providers by documenting patient encounters and maintaining accurate medical records.
You can find medical scribe employment opportunities on places like handshake and linkedin. See our networking page for more information.
Shadowing : Shadowing involves observing healthcare professionals in various fields. To gain shadowing experience, students may call or email healthcare facilities or a specific healthcare professional, and ask to observe them in order to learn about their career field.
Leadership : Leadership is an important part of medical school applications. Admissions officers like to see that applicants have experience in leadership roles, as this can develop important professional skills that are important in any field of healthcare. Skills developed can include but are not limited to : event planning, organizing, delegating, and teamwork.
Some common leadership roles for undergraduates at Fordham include
Club leader / president of a club: For most clubs, becoming a member of the executive board of the club requires prior membership in the club for at least a semester, and then applying to the position through an interview or application. Being a club leader offers great experience for gaining important leadership skills.
Resident Assistant: Resident Assistants are hired to live in residence halls, and oversee a specific floor of students. They are responsible for mitigating roommate problems, handling serious manners that arise in certain living situations, creating programming for the students, and being a listening ear for the students on their floor. They are also trained in all safety aspects of living in a residence hall.
United Student Government Representative : The United Student Government consists of an Executive President and Vice President, who oversee eleven Vice Presidents and twenty Senators. Each of these positions are considered leadership experiences.
The Student Government works together to improve the student experience at Fordham in all regards. For more information about running for a position on student government, see their website page here.
Employment in various Fordham offices : Office of Student Involvement, Office of Multicultural Affairs, Career Center, Information Technology, Health Office, Office of Residential Life - View the Student Employment website page here for more information about finding an on campus job.
Volunteering : Volunteering is an important aspect of medical school applications. The AMCAS M.D. application will ask you to list 15 work and activity experiences, and it is recommended that one or more of these is volunteer or community service related.
Examples of volunteer opportunities at Fordham (this is not a comprehensive list).
FUEMS: Fordham University Emergency Medical Services: Information about this is listed on the Pre-Health Clubs page.
New Student Orientation: This program is aimed at welcoming new students to Fordham's community. Current students may apply for an orientation leader, assistant, or coordinator position. For more information, contact orientrh@fordham.edu
Various Student Clubs: At the club fair in the beginning of each semester, students may browse the active clubs at Fordham, many of which have volunteer components.
Committee Letter
As a pre-health student at Fordham, you will receive an email from the Pre-Health email regarding a committee letter. This committee letter is written by an established committee of faculty at Fordham.
Preparing for the committee letter
The committee guides you through the steps of receiving a letter once it comes time to begin preparing your application materials.
Through guided directions from the committee for writing these letters, students will need to submit various essays, a transcript, a draft of a personal statement, and more useful information.
The committee will utilize all of this information to write you a letter of recommendation on behalf of the Pre-Health department to the best of their ability.
Each Pre-Health student will receive email notifications about every step in the process of receiving a letter.
For questions, contact Dr. Robert Beer at beer@fordham.edu
Individual Letters of Recommendation
Medical School applications require letters of recommendation to be submitted.
During the committee letter process, you will be asked to collect letters of recommendation from two STEM professors, one non-STEM professor, and one alternate mentor that can write you a strong letter.
Some schools have room for more submissions, so you may want to collect more than those four letters depending on where you want to apply.
Some Fordham professors may require a certain grade in a class prior to agreeing to write a letter for a student, so it is important to ask ahead of time.
It is recommended to establish a good relationship with professors by going to office hours, and ensuring that they recognize admirable aspects of your character or your knowledge/ skill level in areas crucial for medical school.