School of Medicine

Office of Admissions

Requirements for Entrance in August 2024


The MCAT is required and should be taken no later than September 2023, to be considered for admission in August 2024. Applicants are strongly urged to complete the regular four-year undergraduate curriculum and take the appropriate recommended courses before the study of medicine. The school encourages a balance between the natural sciences, social sciences, and the humanities.  For the entering class of 2024, only test scores from Janaury 2020-Septemeber 2023 will be accepted.

Minimum academic requirements for admission are satisfactory completion of the required subjects as specified below along with a total of ninety hours of acceptable credit hours at the time of matriculation into medical school. All coursework must be completed in a satisfactory manner, at a grade-level of C or better, in an educational institution within the United States or Canada that has been approved by an appropriate accrediting agency.  If your school accepts an online course as credit toward a degree, then we will accept that course also. This applies ONLY to lecture-based courses. Any lab work should be done in person. This applies to both prerequisite and upper level science courses. The school which offers the online course must be an ACCREDITED American or Canadian university, college, or community college. 

Acceptance of advanced placement for credit toward fulfilling specific requirements in the sciences (biology, chemistry, and physics) may be approved on a case-by-case basis.  Transfer credit from medical schools outside of the United States is generally not permissible.

REQUIRED SUBJECTS

Chemistry

Eight semester hours of general/inorganic chemistry with laboratory
and
Eight semester hours of organic chemistry with laboratory

Physics

Eight semester hours of general physics with laboratory.

Biochemistry

Three semester hours (laboratory not required)

Biology

Eight semester hours of general biology with laboratory.

English

Six semester hours of English.

Statistics

Three hours of statistics

 

OTHER RECOMMENDED COURSES

Enrollment in any of the following science courses may be beneficial to applicants: biochemistry (strongly recommended), cell biology, comparative vertebrate anatomy, computer sciences, embryology (developmental biology), histology, mathematics, microbiology, molecular genetics, physiology, statistics (epidemiology). Selection from the following arts and humanities courses is recommended: economics, English, ethics, foreign languages, history, philosophy, psychology, public speaking, sociology.

The 30-Hour Policy

As part of the medical school application process, an applicant may be encouraged or required to take additional coursework after completion of his/her undergraduate studies.  The reasons for additional coursework may include a non-competitive undergraduate grade point average (GPA), a need for continued expansion of an applicant's basic science knowledge base, or an excessive time lapse between previous science coursework and medical school application.  For those applicants who may need significant improvement in their science GPA, the LSU-New Orleans Medical School Admissions Committee has what is commonly referred to as the 30-Hour Policy.

The 30-Hour Policy was a policy adopted by the LSU-New Orleans Admissions Committee many years ago. This policy allows for an applicant to obtain 30 or more post-baccalaureate hours of coursework in biology, chemistry, physics or mathematics. The admissions committee would then consider the GPA for those 30 or more hours to be that applicant's GPA for the medical school application process. This policy allows for those applicants to distance themselves from a weaker undergraduate GPA which may otherwise hinder them from gaining acceptance into our medical school.

Post-baccalaureate studies in a degree program (Master's, Ph.D, etc.) in biology, chemistry, physics or mathematics would satisfy the 30 Hour Policy “if” such programs allowed the applicant to attain the required 30 hours of coursework.

MEDICAL COLLEGE ADMISSION TEST (MCAT)

LSUHSC School of Medicine in New Orleans requires every applicant to take the MCAT.  The test is administered multiple times during the year at testing centers throughout the nation.  This examination must be taken at an appropriate time by all applicants. To apply for the MCAT examination or for additional information, sign onto the MCAT web page: www.aamc.org/mcat

The MCAT must be taken no later than September 2023, which enables scores to be received by the Admissions Office by the November 1, 2023 AMCAS application deadline. See the below link for the test calendar.

https://students-residents.aamc.org/media/13716/download

 

AMERICAN MEDICAL COLLEGE APPLICATION SERVICE (AMCAS)

All applicants must apply through the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS). A web application is available from the AAMC's website: http://www.aamc.org/

It is strongly recommended that applicants carefully consider the contact information on their AMCAS application. The "Preferred" address listed on the AMCAS application will be used by LSU for any mail sent by US Mail.  E-mails are most often sent via the AMCAS server to the e-mail listed on the AMCAS application.  As many campus e-mails may expire during the year of the application process, it is suggested that applicants subscribe to a generic e-mail provider for application purposes.  It is also important that any changes in mailing or e-mail address always be updated through AMCAS. Those updates are forwarded to the Admissions office by AMCAS.

For informational purposes, the address and telephone number for AMCAS is indicated below:

American Medical College Application Service
Association of American Medical Colleges
Section for Student Services
655 K Street, NW, Suite 100
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 828-0600

The Association of American Medical Colleges also has a one-stop medical education shop on the Web, connecting all aspiring and new physicians to the services and information they need.
It's home base for everyone with medicine in their future: http://www.tomorrowsdoctors.org

SECONDARY APPLICATION

All applicants must submit the LSU Secondary Application to the School of Medicine. All applicants must be in compliance with the Technical Standards in order to be considered for admission.  The Technical Standards may be viewed at:

admissions/docs/TECHNICAL%20STANDARDS.pdf 

Once the Office of Admissions has received the AMCAS application, the applicants will be notified by e-mail with the web address to download the Secondary Application.  All Louisiana residents will be sent the electronic link to download the Secondary Application. The Secondary Application will be sent to pre-screened non-resident applicants. The deadline for our office to receive the Secondary Application is December 1, 2023.

LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

Itis strongly advised that applicants obtain their letters of recommendation from their school's pre-professional/pre-med advisory committee.  In this case, applicants should follow the pre-professional/pre-med advisory committee's individual rules and deadlines for obtaining their letters.  If an applicant chooses NOT to use their pre-professional committee or is no longer eligible to use their committee, the applicant must then submit THREE letters of recommendation from professors/teachers who have taught them in DIDACTIC classes in science and math.  Letters from teachers/instructors of one (1)-hour lab courses or from research instructors WILL NOT fulfill the required letters of recommendation. 

LSU School of Medicine will participate in the AMCAS Letter Service for the 2024 application cycle.  Be sure that you designate LSU SOM-New Orleans on your AMCAS application to have access to your letters under the AMCAS Letter ID you provided to your advisor. Additional letters, while not required, may be submitted for consideration by the Admissions Committee. Letters may also be mailed to the Admissions Office by the letter writer to the Admissions Office, LSU School of Medicine, 1901 Perdido St., Box P3-4, New Orleans, LA, 70112.

If you have been out of school for a short period of time (less than two (2) full academic years), and are unable to obtain a committee evaluation, you should make every attempt to get evaluations from at least three (3) faculty members IN THE SCIENCES in didactic courses from schools previously attended. 

It should be noted that it is highly desirable that an applicant not have more than a two (2) year lapse between their most recent coursework and the application year.  If you have been out of school for an extended period of time (more than two full academic years), you should still attempt to obtain faculty evaluations.  If you are unable to do this, you should get letters from individuals with whom you work.  It is strongly recommended that one of these letters be from your immediate supervisor or employer. In addition, you may have letters of evaluation sent from individuals who know you well; however, these should be limited to two (2) letters of reference. 

In order for an application to be considered complete, an applicant's file must contain the AMCAS application, the LSU School of Medicine-New Orleans Secondary Application and the required letters of recommendation or the Pre-Med composite recommendation. The deadline for applications to be completed in this office is December 1, 2023.  Incomplete files WILL NOT be reviewed.