How to Succeed as a Georgia Tech Premed
/Everything to know about the Georgia Tech premed student experience, including premed course requirements, premed extracurriculars and research, and the Georgia Tech premed acceptance rate
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Part 1: Introduction
Established in 1885 as a trade school, Georgia Tech has transformed over the past century into a world-renowned institution best known for its engineering and computing programs, including a robust biomedical engineering department generating groundbreaking research in cancer technologies, biomedical robotics, cardiovascular engineering, immunoengineering, and more.
In addition to international campuses in France and China, its flagship campus is located in Atlanta, Georgia. You’ll find no shortage of activities, cultural attractions, clinical experiences, and research opportunities on and around campus here. To further its research initiatives, the university—along with its nonprofit research organization, Georgia Tech Research Institute—receives a mind-boggling nearly $1.3 billion in research funding each year.
While just six percent of graduates in 2023 received their degrees in Biological and Biomedical Sciences, this still placed them in the fourth most popular field of study at Georgia Tech (behind Engineering, Computer and Information Sciences, and Business). In 2023-2024, it was a Top 30 feeder of medical school applicants, demonstrating a solid premed program equipped with the support systems required to generate students who are driven enough to endure the medical school application process.
The STEM-heavy environment here will provide a rigorous academic environment for high-achieving premeds looking to challenge themselves. And if you’re particularly interested in pursuing a career that integrates technology with medicine—an increasingly popular path these days—then Georgia Tech could be the perfect fit for you.
In this guide, we’ll cover all you need to know about how to make the most of your time as a premed at Georgia Tech so you can enter your med school application season with purpose and confidence.
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Part 2: Georgia Tech premed requirements
As you put together your course schedule for Georgia Tech, remember that each medical school sets its own standards for the courses you’ll need to take before matriculating there. As a rule, you should always check to confirm each individual medical school’s requirements, but because these courses usually don’t vary much from one medical school to the next, you can still cover most of your bases even before you’ve finalized your medical school list.
Georgia Tech’s Pre-Health Advising Office provides a helpful overview of which courses most premeds should plan to take in order to both prepare for the MCAT and check all the boxes of prerequisites for most medical schools in the U.S.:
| Chemistry: Two semesters with lab |
CHEM 1211 Chemical Principles I CHEM 1212 Chemical Principles II |
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| Biology: Two semesters with lab | BIOS 1107 (with BIOS 1107L) or *BIOS 1207 (with BIOS 1207L) Biological Principles BIOS 1108 (with BIOS 1108L) or *BIOS 1208 (with BIOS 1208L) Intro to Organismal Biology | |||||
| Physics: Two semesters with lab |
PHYS 2211 Intro to Physics I PHYS 2212 Intro to Physics II |
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| Organic Chemistry: Two semesters with lab |
CHEM 2311 Organic Chemistry I CHEM 2312 or 2313 Organic Chemistry II / Bio-organic Chemistry CHEM 2380 (lab component for Org) Synthesis Laboratory |
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| Biochemistry: One semester |
CHEM 3511 Survey of Biochemistry OR Chem 4511 and 4512 Biochemistry I and Biochemistry II OR CHEM 3521 and 3522 Biochemistry I and Biochemistry II |
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| Statistics: One semester | Course numbers vary by major; Bio majors take BIOS 4401 Bioinformatics | |||||
| Calculus: One semester | **MATH 1551 Differential Calculus | |||||
| College-Level English Writing: Two semesters | ENGL 1101 English Composition I ENGL 1102 English Composition II |
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Notes:
* BIOS 1207 and 1208 satisfy the Biology major requirement.
** Georgia Tech's Pre-Health Advising Office suggests an additional two semesters of Calculus (MATH 1552 or 1555 and MATH 1553 or 1554 or 1564), but this is not typically required by medical schools.
Although not required, it's strongly recommended to take PSYC 1101 General Psychology and SOC 1101 Introduction to Sociology before taking the MCAT, as they cover key social psychology concepts that appear on the exam.
Georgia Tech premed five-semester course plan
Even with this useful roadmap, though, you’ll still have some decisions to make. Your major, minor, and personal preferences will all influence exactly which courses you’ll be taking. You’ll want to pay close attention to courses with prerequisites and courses that are only offered in one term out of the full academic year, as well as courses that we strongly recommend you have under your belt before taking the MCAT (more on that below).
As described below, there’s no advantage—from a medical school admissions standpoint—to majoring in a discipline closely related to medicine. Some students stand out to adcoms by selecting a major outside of the traditional sciences that demonstrates their broad range of academic interests. However, pairing the rigorous premed coursework with an unrelated major can sometimes lead to excessive courseloads and burnout. Whatever your major, you should always work closely with the Georgia Tech Pre-Health Advising Office to ensure you don’t end up spreading yourself too thin.
Your advisors will likely bring this next point to your attention, but it bears repeating, as it could make the difference between a GPA of 4.0 and one of 3.5 or lower: only take one science course in your first semester. You’ll have the chance to load on more rigorous courses as you progress through your premed experience, but it’s a rookie mistake to bite off more than you can chew from the get-go and find yourself floundering before you’ve even had a chance to acclimate. Trust us on this one: you don’t want to spend the rest of your undergraduate career trying to right the wrongs of your freshman year .
With all this in mind, check out the example below displaying the courses a Biology major on the Pre-Health Option track should plan to take during their first five semesters at Georgia Tech in order to fulfill their premed requirements and prepare for an MCAT testing date in the spring of Junior year.
| Freshman Fall | CHEM 1211K Chemical Principles I
PSYC 1101 General Psychology ENGL 1101 English Composition I *BIOL 1207 with BIOL 1207L Biological Principles |
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| Freshman Spring | CHEM 1212K Chemical Principles II
MATH 1551 Differential Calculus ENGL 1102 English Composition II *BIOL 1208 with 1208L Intro to Organismal Biology |
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| Sophomore Fall | CHEM 2311 Organic Chemistry I
**PHYS 2211 OR PHYS 2211 LS Intro to Physics I SOC 1101 Introduction to Sociology |
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| Sophomore Spring | CHEM 2312 Organic Chemistry II
CHEM 2380 Synthesis Lab I **PHYS 2212 OR PHYS 2212 Intro to Physics II |
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| Junior Fall | BIOL 2281 Introductory Biology Laboratory
CHEM 3511 Survey of Biochemistry BIOS 4401 Bioinformatics |
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* Note: Biology majors should take BIOL 1207 and 1208 during freshman year in order to fulfill prerequisites for other required coursework.
** Note: PHYS 2211 LS & PHYS 2212 LS are available only to Life Sciences majors (Biology, Biochemistry, Neuroscience, and Psychology). It covers concepts needed for the MCAT, but it is offered only in alternating semesters, so students should plan their schedules carefully.
If students choose instead to take Intro to PHYS 2211 & PHYS 2212 (or to take Physics in their Junior year), they’ll need to self-study some concepts before taking the MCAT.
How to maintain a high GPA as a Georgia Tech premed
Georgia Tech’s coursework is somewhat notorious for its rigor, and with a student-to-professor ratio of 22:1, it can be easy to get lost in the crowded lecture hall if you’re not intentional about your study habits and proactive about connecting with your instructors.
No matter how impressive your extracurriculars, essays, and even MCAT scores are, if your GPA is subpar, it could easily cost you an acceptance letter. That’s why it’s imperative that you find a way to balance each of these components of your application while also putting your utmost efforts toward your grades.
If you’re up to the challenge (and if you’ve read this far already, there’s a good chance you are!), there are plenty of ways to ensure you stay on track and maintain your GPA while obtaining a top-notch undergraduate education. A few of them include:
Be intentional about your free time. Avoid burnout by carefully balancing your classes, extracurriculars, and downtime. It’s also a good idea to seek out extracurricular opportunities that will supplement your coursework—like attending seminars or volunteering—so you can continue learning and adding to your medical knowledge even when you’re not studying for exams.
Take advantage of academic support services. Don’t hesitate to ask for help when you need it; the sooner you find your footing again, the sooner you’ll be back on track! Drop-in tutoring through the Center for Academic Success is a great option for students in need of last-minute assistance on popular courses, while Peer-Led Undergraduate Study (PLUS) offers a more collaborative environment for students who want to get in some additional study and review time alongside their peers. In addition, Georgia Tech grants all students free access to Knack, a tutor-matching platform for online and in-person one-on-one and group tutoring sessions.
Get to know your professors. It’s normal to feel intimidated by your professors, especially within the first semester or two. Try to overcome that feeling by reminding yourself that they were once in your shoes, and take the initiative to introduce yourself to them on the first day of class. Better yet, drop in to chat during their office hours. These small efforts can go a long way in helping you build relationships and find mentors who may one day connect you with an amazing research opportunity or write you a dazzling letter of recommendation.
Consider taking summer classes. Depending on your major, minor, and desired electives, you might find that your schedule in the spring and fall semesters is bursting at the seams. Instead of gritting your teeth through the risk of forfeiting your stellar GPA, consider taking one or two of your required classes over the summer to space things out more evenly.
Health and wellness as a Georgia Tech premed
It's no secret that the premed journey can be stressful and often downright difficult. Juggling classes for your major as well as med school prerequisites, engaging in extracurriculars, preparing for the MCAT, and maintaining a social life can take a toll.
As such, it's important to look after your health and wellness if you want to maintain that top-tier GPA. To help with this, there are a variety of resources available to Georgia Tech premeds where you can find the support you need.
Center for Mental Health Care & Resources If you're stressed out, dealing with difficult issues, or just having a hard time, Georgia Tech's Center for Mental Health Care & Resources is here to help. From workshops, peer coaching, counseling, and even crisis services, here you'll find the assistance to help you through it.
Wellness Empowerment Center This Georgia Tech center covers pretty much everything regarding wellness. From managing your diet, to mental health and self-care they offer support services as well as workshops and education resources.
Stamps Health Services A one-stop shop for your physical health needs, Stamps Health Services offers flu shots, a primary care clinic, men's and women's health services, and more.
Campus Recreation Caring for your mental health is only half the battle. You'll need to stay active to stay healthy and Georgia Tech's Campus Recreation center has an array of activities to suit your interests. From personal trainers to swimming pools and group classes, you're sure to find something to help you relieve stress.
Premed majors at Georgia Tech
Although Georgia Tech doesn’t offer a specific premed major or minor, students who intend to apply to medical school can major in whatever they like, as long as they ensure they fulfill the course requirements laid out in the first table on this guide.
However, opting for a major more closely related to medicine and the biological sciences will allow you to plan out your schedule any way you see fit. The more closely your major requirements overlap with premed requirements, the more flexibility you’ll have to take a few electives here and there.
The Pre-Health Advising Office’s website provides excellent guidance on the topic of major choice. They list a few popular majors among premed students and prescribe several required and elective courses within the Pre-Health Option tracks for some of these majors, like Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Biology.
It’s worth noting their emphasis on the fact that the Biology major course requirements perfectly overlap with the requisite courses for the MCAT and for medical school, which could make the course planning process much smoother.
Their Biomedical Engineering four-year plan is helpful, too, providing an example of what your schedule might look like for each year in your undergraduate journey.
As for minors, Georgia Tech offers a few unique medicine-related paths, including Health, Medicine, and Society; Health Policy and Economics; and Health and Medical Sciences.
But if you’re hoping to diversify your courseload a bit, the Pre-Health Advising Office also points out that a non-medicine-related minor, like a major, can sometimes help you stand out to adcoms by showing that you’re well-rounded and eager to expand your academic horizons. Looking to disciplines in the humanities and social sciences (such as anthropology, sociology, psychology, or other cultural or language studies), these may add the benefit of equipping you with a skillset uniquely suited to improving your interactions with patients and fellow hospital staff.
When should you take the MCAT?
If you plan to start medical school in the fall immediately following your college graduation, it’s best to take the MCAT by April of your application year at the very latest. In the late spring and summer, you’ll want to focus all your energy on writing your personal statement and secondary essays, so make sure your MCAT is behind you by then.
The sooner you get a favorable score, the better, but in general, you should plan to take your test after you have:
Closely adhered to and completed a MCAT study schedule, and
Taken all the courses required or recommended to be taken before the MCAT:
CHEM 1211 Chemical Principles I
CHEM 1212 Chemical Principles II
BIOS 1107 (with BIOS 1107L) or BIOS 1207 (with BIOS 1207L) Biological Principles
BIOS 1108 (with BIOS 1108L) or BIOS 1208 (with BIOS 1208L) Intro to Organismal Biology
PHYS 2211 Intro to Physics I
PHYS 2212 Intro to Physics II
CHEM 2311 Organic Chemistry I
CHEM 2312 OR 2313 Organic Chemistry II / Bio-organic Chemistry
CHEM 2380 Synthesis Laboratory
CHEM 3511 Survey of Biochemistry OR Chem 4511 and 4512 Biochemistry I and Biochemistry II OR CHEM 3521 and 3522 Biochemistry I and Biochemistry II
PSYC 1101 General Psychology (Recommended)
SOC 1101 Introduction to Sociology (Recommended)
Additionally, please note that your timeline for MCAT prep will vary if you’re taking gap year(s), which may afford you some more flexibility—just be aware that each medical school has its own rules about how long your scores will be considered valid.
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Part 3: Georgia Tech premed extracurriculars
Beyond studying for exams and maintaining your GPA, a huge part of the premed experience is how you spend your time when you aren’t studying. At Georgia Tech, you’ll have the chance to immerse yourself in the premed community by joining some of the over 15 premed student organizations. Here are just a few you have to choose from:
The American Medical Student Association (AMSA) chapter offers regular opportunities for networking and mentorship among future physicians and other health professionals.
For those interested in learning more about public health and advocacy, the Undergraduate Public Health Association is a great space in which to engage with the local community while making a real and lasting impact.
You may also consider joining the EXPLORE Living Learning Community (LLC), a community of students interested in pursuing careers in health or research. Exclusive retreats, seminars, courses, and scholarships, as well as research and mentorship opportunities, are just a few of the perks available to students who join this LLC.
Clinical and community service opportunities at Georgia Tech
As a premed student, you’ll also want to spend a significant amount of your time outside the classroom engaged in patient-facing experiences in various clinical settings.
The Pre-Health Advising Office recommends volunteering at at least one “county hospital” and one “fairly affluent” hospital, so you can get a thorough sense of the different ways that access to funds, resources, and sufficient staff can cause a dramatic difference in a doctor’s everyday life from one hospital to the next. This diversity of experience also goes a long way in demonstrating to medical schools that you’re prepared to serve any community, and you’re aware of the oftentimes harsh realities of serving patients from underprivileged backgrounds. As a bonus, it will likely also prepare you to answer hard-hitting interview and Casper questions throughout your med school application process.
Project Smile, Stamps Health Services Ambassadors, and Student Hospital Connections connect students with opportunities for patient-facing experiences such as assisting at flu vaccination clinics on campus, volunteering and interning at various Georgia hospitals, and planning entertaining programming for pediatric patients and their families. Student Hospital Connections even provides a reimbursement and carpool program to cover the transportation costs required to travel to and from volunteering shifts.
For students looking to add a certification to their resume while also gaining clinical experience and learning life-saving emergency care skills, the Georgia Tech Emergency Medical Services (GT EMS) chapter is a great idea.
(Suggested reading: How to Choose the Right Extracurricular Activities for Medical School)
Premed shadowing at Georgia Tech
In addition to clinical and volunteering experience, it’s important that you spend some time observing physicians as they go about their daily tasks in order to get a fuller picture of what your own future as a physician might look like.
Although Georgia Tech lacks an affiliated medical school or hospital, its prime location in Atlanta means it’s within minutes of a variety of hospitals and clinics, all full of doctors who once had to worry about racking up shadowing hours of their own.
There’s typically no formal process for obtaining a shadowing opportunity, so the best course of action is to jump in and start contacting doctors in the area. You may find that some are simply too busy to respond to your emails or voicemails, but you’ll also find that others are more than willing to show a future physician what their day-to-day on the job is like.
Our phone and email templates are a great starting point for your outreach efforts if you’re unsure of what, how, or whom to ask about shadowing opportunities.
Premed research at Georgia Tech
Research is one of the most important components of any medical school application, and at Georgia Tech, opportunities for truly cutting-edge research will be right at your fingertips.
In fact, in a 2023 National Science Foundation survey of every academic institution in the U.S., Georgia Tech was ranked first among universities without medical schools for its research and development spending. When stacked against universities with medical schools, it still managed to rank seventeenth, surpassing the likes of Yale and even the nation’s largest cancer center, the University of Texas-M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
On the Office of Undergraduate Education website, students can explore research opportunities sorted into four categories: Georgia Tech, External, International, and Summer.
Premed students interested in interdisciplinary research at Georgia Tech should start by exploring opportunities available through the following entities:
The Parker H. Petti Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB) is a lab that seeks new solutions through collaboration between engineers, clinicians, and scientists. Students in the bioengineering and biosciences fields should strongly consider applying to the Petit Undergraduate Research Scholars Program, which offers a competitive scholarship for sophomores, juniors, and seniors ready to commit to a yearlong independent research project in the IBB labs. Each year, the labs support projects in tissue biomechanics, stem cell engineering, and cancer biology. The program expects scholarship recipients to devote at least 12 hours weekly during the spring and fall semesters and 40 hours weekly during the summer toward their research, offering a uniquely in-depth experience that few undergraduates ever have access to.
The Pediatric Innovation Network is dedicated to developing medical technologies specifically designed for pediatric patients through the joint efforts of scientists, engineers, pediatric clinicians, and data analysts.
The Global Center for Medical Innovations is partnered with T3 Labs to develop and test medical devices, diagnostics, biopharmaceuticals, and digital health solutions.
The Georgia State/Georgia Tech Center for Advanced Brain Imaging is a collaboration between the two universities that aims to advance research in fields including cognitive neuroscience using state-of-the-art brain and whole-body imaging technology.
One of the most unique aspects of undergraduate research at Georgia Tech is the Research Option program, a special designation bestowed upon students who have fulfilled a series of requirements, including conducting at least nine credit hours worth of undergraduate research under a member of the Georgia Tech faculty. In most cases, this research culminates in a publication or presentation, both excellent accolades to add to any medical school application.
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Part 4: Getting into medical school as a Georgia Tech premed
During your four years as a Georgia Tech premed, you’ll have plenty to keep you busy. As you work to maintain your GPA while studying for the MCAT, pursuing fascinating research, shadowing doctors in various specialties, and engaging in clinical opportunities at hospitals around Atlanta, those four years will slip by before you know it.
That’s why it’s so important that you enter freshman year with a roadmap to success in hand. Consider this guide your roadmap!
Making the most of your time at Georgia Tech
From your first semester, take full advantage of the Pre-Health Advising Office’s services and talk through your interests, goals, and questions with your advisor. After that first meeting, don’t forget to check in with the office regularly—at least once per semester—to ensure you’re staying on track, and to maintain your relationship with your advisor.
Get plugged into student organizations as early as possible in your undergraduate career; give yourself a chance to try a few groups on for size before finding the ones that feel like the best fit for you. In addition to shadowing, clinical, and community service opportunities (many of which you may find through student organizations), begin seeking out research opportunities as soon as you’ve had a chance to settle in and familiarize yourself with the rhythms of premed life, as well as the demands of your coursework.
If you’re still struggling to find a research opportunity by Sophomore year, don’t hesitate to seek advice from your Pre-Health Advisor, the faculty sponsor of a student organization, or one of your professors. They’re there to help.
When your med school application season nears, be prepared to devote a significant amount of time to working on writing your personal statement and prewriting your secondary essays. Starting in January is ideal, as it will give you plenty of time for brainstorming, but certainly don’t wait until past March to get to work.
Getting recommendation letters
You’ll also need to start gathering recommendation letters several months before applying to medical school. This buffer will give your recommenders plenty of time to plan ahead in their busy schedules and draft the glowing letter you deserve. But whom should you ask?
As a rule of thumb, we typically recommend you try to collect letters from some combination of the following:
A science professor whose classes you took for a letter grade,
A non-science professor whose classes you took for a letter grade,
A physician who witnessed you providing care to patients,
The principal investigator of a research project you’ve worked on,
An supervisor, nurse, volunteer coordinator, postdoc, etc. with whom you worked closely during an extracurricular experience
Keep in mind that, above all else, your recommenders should know you very well. No matter how famous or well-respected your recommender may be, if they don’t know any more about you than the fact that you got an A on your Chemistry project in their class, their recommendation won’t hold any weight when adcoms review your application.
This is one reason why getting to know your professors early on is so important! Still, in some cases, you may find that you bonded much more with the volunteer coordinator at the hospital where you put in hundreds of hours—or the professor under whom you conducted research— despite never taking their class for a grade. Those often make for the most genuine and compelling letters of recommendation.
Once you have fully submitted your applications, you’ll move into the interview phase of your medical school admissions journey. This is often considered one of the most draining components of the admissions process, but fortunately for Georgia Tech students, the Pre-Health Advising Office partners with the Communication Center to provide extensive support through mock interviews, mock interview clinics, and interview prep workshops/webinars.
(Suggested reading: (The Ideal Medical School Application Timeline)
Georgia Tech premed acceptance rate and admissions statistics
Like many institutions, Georgia Tech doesn’t publicize their medical school matriculation data, so we can’t be certain about the number of graduates who have successfully matriculated into medical school over the past several years. However, pre-health advisor Francisco Castelan does confirm that the number is higher than the national average of around forty-five percent. He also points out that the most successful students consistently utilize pre-health advising services.
Final Thoughts
With rigorous coursework and large classes, Georgia Tech may be a challenging environment in which to keep up your GPA while also preparing to do well on the MCAT and banking extracurricular hours. But don’t let that deter you! With a well-developed Pre-Health Advising Office, extensive undergraduate research opportunities, and proximity to several hospitals, your journey toward a medical career could start in Atlanta.
About the Author
Dr. Shirag Shemmassian is the Founder of Shemmassian Academic Consulting and one of the world's foremost experts on medical school admissions. For nearly 20 years, he and his team have helped thousands of students get into medical school using his exclusive approach.
