Planning your undergraduate courses

One of the most difficult parts of getting to podiatry school is jumping through the hoops that your undergraduate college places in front of you. Unfortunately, universities continue to make it extremely difficult to figure out exactly what you should take and when you should take it. Most students would like a pre-designed roadmap that tells them exactly what to do that will lead to success in school and eventually acceptance to the podiatry school of their choice.

Unfortunately, no school I am aware of makes anything this easy. Keep in mind that college is big business (ASU's Michael Crow brings in about $720,000 a year not including bonuses) and it is not always in their best interest to make it easy for students to get out quickly. Programs get more and more complicated and the number of students attending as 5th or 6th year seniors increases every year. With the cost of education at a premium, students also have to plan courses around work and other obligations such as family. For this reason, it is extremely important that you doing all the planning you can so that despite the deficiencies of your school, you will graduate how and when you want to.

Okay, so assuming you have already been accepted to the undergraduate school of your choice (or any school for that matter), the first thing you need to do is choose your program of studies. By this, I mean it is time to choose your major. Don't underestimate the importance of this. It does not so much matter what program you choose as it does that you just choose it. The longer you wait to choose your program, the more likely you are to waste your time and money taking classes that won't help you at all in graduating or getting accepted to podiatry school. Many schools often reserve registration priority to student in a specific program of studies. That means that if you aren't part of the right program, you may not get in to the class you want.

So keep in mind that podiatry schools often value diversity in educational programs so don't feel like you are obligated to become a biology major. If you want some suggestions for what exactly to look for in a good pre-health program of studies, check out this article.

What is important is that you get all of your prerequisites completed for podiatry school AND for your program. However, keep in mind that your pre-pod requirements are much more important in this case because a degree is not always necessary to get accepted to podiatry school but the requested coursework is.

So, obviously I can't give you a cut-and-dry plan for how your schedule will look for the 4 years or so that you are in your undergraduate studies, but what I will do is tell you all of the courses that you need (including a couple that are not NEEDED but are strongly recommended if you want to be one step ahead of the competition) and I will suggest a basic guide for how you could space this coursework out over that 4 years to make it reasonably do-able. Remember, not all podiatry schools want the same prerequisites but if you follow this guide you will be more than covered. If you have one or two schools you really want to go to then I suggest you also check their websites for detailed requirements.

REQUIRED COURSES:

• Biology (8 credit hours*) - This requirement should be fulfilled by taking 2 semesters of General Biology and it's lab. Some podiatry school also accept Zoology as a substitution for General Biology.
• Chemistry (8 credit hours) - This requirement should be fulfilled by taking 2 semesters of General Chemistry or Inorganic Chemistry with their respective labs.
• Organic Chemistry (8 credit hours) - All podiatry schools require this and it cannot be substituted. Lab is required as well. Most people find Organic Chemistry difficult so it is a good idea to plan on taking these courses during semester which have a lower course load.
• Physics (8 credit hours**) - This requirement should be fulfilled with 2 semesters of General Physics or the equivalent including labs.
• English (6 credit hours for most colleges) - This requirement varies between colleges but should generally include 3 credit hours of English Composition and 3 credit hours of a n upper division literacy course.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED COURSES:

• Biochemistry (3 credit hours) - 4 colleges require Biochemistry but allow you to substitute the credit for O. Chem if necessary. It is a good idea to have Biochemistry regardless of the colleges you will apply to.
• Math/Statistics (3 credit hours) - Most undergraduate colleges require some form of mathematics or statistics as a graduation requirement so those courses should be sufficient to fulfill this requirement.
• Genetics (3 credit hours)
• Anatomy & Physiology (3 credit hours) - This course is not required by any podiatry schools but may be helpful in putting you ahead of the competition.
• Behavioral Sciences (varies but 6 credit hours is recommended) - Some podiatry colleges require some form of behavioral science credits. It is a good idea to complete at least 6 credits in behavioral science courses even if your top choice of school does not require it. Suggestions: PSY 101, PSY 300+

Okay, so depending on what your expectations were before, that may or may not seem like a lot, but remember that you will also have to complete all of the courses required for your undergraduate program. The courses listed above are only what is expected by podiatry schools. Now that you know what you need to take, the big question is timing, right? Well, if I were to do it all over again, this is how I would do it:

Now of course there is a lot more that goes into planning your undergraduate schedule than just filling in the blanks but following this schedule would put you at a pretty much ideal spot for attending a podiatry school. You'll notice that the first two years I pretty much filled up the schedule with science courses and classes that will be demanding on your time. There is a really good reason for that. After a while you will probably start to get burnt out and having a slower tail end of your undergraduate career will protect you from becoming like the many others who give up on their dream. Also, you will need plenty of time in your Junior and Senior years to study for the MCAT and shadow doctors. Hopefully a schedule like this will make that possible. It is important to realize though that you shouldn't slack off during your later years either because a downward trend tends to look poorly on your transcripts. Its also very hard to explain in an interview.

Of course this also assumes that you plan to work hard your first two years. A lot of students have a hard time getting into the groove so make sure you can handle this type of schedule before diving in. Your GPA plays a large part in whether you will be accepted for podiatry school so it'd be a shame to screw it all up at the beginning... but also remember that if you do great during that time, than you can pretty much just float right through the rest of it. A well planned out undergraduate program will also help you be more prepared for the MCAT, which is, in my humble opinion, the toughest part of the application process.