Requirements for Admission
Residency | Secondary | Technical Standards | Honor Code | Course Requirements | MCAT | Letters of Recommendation | Personal Interview |
Residency
At the present time only applicants who qualify as Louisiana residents for LSU Tuition purposes are offered admission. Exceptions may be made for the children of LSUHSCS medical graduates and/or MD-PhD applicants.
How do I know if I qualify as a Louisiana resident?
If the picture on the right is unfamiliar, you probably are not a Louisiana resident. 
In general, a Louisiana resident is one whose parents or guardians (or the applicant, if independent) have established legal residence in, and resided permanently in, the State of Louisiana for twelve consecutive months immediately prior to registration.
Applicants cannot claim Louisiana residency based simply on the fact that they lived in Louisiana coincident with attending a college or university. To receive initial consideration as a Louisiana resident, applicants must declare Louisiana as their state of residence on their AMCAS application. Exceptions to this requirement will not be granted. More details can be found on the Registrar's website.
Secondary Application
Application fee ($50)
Unless AMCAS has granted a fee waiver, applicants must send us a check for Fifty Dollars. Mail to:
Dr. F. Scott Kennedy
Assistant Dean of Admissions
Student Admissions
1501 Kings Highway
Shreveport, LA 71103
When/How will I get access to your online Secondary Application?
Once AMCAS notifies us that they have received your application, you will be sent an e-mail with instructions about how to access our Secondary web site. At any time, however, you can download a PDF worksheet for the Secondary if you like, but you must complete and submit online by December 15. Mail us nothing but the check and photo.
Do all applicants get to complete a Secondary Application? - No.
Only Louisiana residents are sent access to the secondary.
Photographs. Can I send one? Should I send one? - Yes, please.
You are encouraged to snail-mail us a current, wallet-sized photo of yourself for identification purposes. Print your name and AMCAS ID on the back. Now think ... Right or wrong your photo introduces you to strangers and makes a lasting impression, so consider investing in a little quality. Your call. Still not convinced? ... Vote in our Photo Contest in the FAQ section.
Is my application complete when I submit my Secondary? And, will I receive the weekly status reports by e-mail after that?
In most cases, you will get Secondary access before your AMCAS is verified. Until verified, your AMCAS application is incomplete. Only applicants with verified AMCAS applications receive our weekly status reports by e-mail. Only applicants with verified AMCAS application, complete Secondary application, the required Letters of Recommendation and the $50 fee are considered for interviews.
Technical Standards
In the Secondary Application all applicants are required to indicate whether or not, with or without reasonable accommodation, they can meet the schools Technical Standards, which were developed and approved over a period of months by various faculty committees and ultimately approved by a unanimous vote of the General Faculty.
Honor Code
All applicants are required to indicate in the Secondary application whether or not they have read and understand the Honor Code and whether or not they agree to abide by it. The Code was developed and approved over a period of months by students and various faculty committees and ultimately approved by the General Faculty.
Courses
Which courses are required? And how much?
A total of 90 semester hours that include the following, constitute the minimum. The overwhelming majority of accepted students had extensive coursework in the natural sciences, including many of the Recommended Courses below:
|
|
Course
|
Semesters
|
Quarters
|
|
|
English*
Chemistry + labs
Organic Chemistry + labs**
Physics + labs
Biology + labs
Additional Science***
|
2
2
2
2
2
2
|
3
3
3
3
3
3
|
We strongly recommend at least one semester of Biochemistry.
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*
|
The English requirement can also be met by literature courses, or by writing-intensive courses in any subject.
|
| ** |
A course in biochemistry may be substituted for one semester of organic chemistry. |
| *** |
Additional Science may come from natural sciences such as general biology, zoology, botany, microbiology, genetics, ecology, immunology, parasitology, ornithology, anatomy and physiology, entomology, and pathophysiology. |
Do you recommend any other science courses besides Biochemistry?
Yes.
| Cell Biology |
Molecular Biology |
| Developmental Biology |
Microbiology |
| Genetics |
Neuroscience |
| Histology |
Physiology |
| Immunology |
|
Where should I take these courses?
These 90 hours must be taken in a college or university located in North America and approved by a Regional Accrediting Organization. Except for study-abroad courses taken while attending a qualified institution, credits earned at foreign institutions are not accepted for the 90-hour requirement or required courses.
It is expected that the major portion of required science courses will be taken at the senior college level. An application that presents only a junior college academic record will not be considered.
Online? ... Required courses, No. Others? Yes, if they are taken from a regionally accredited university or college.
Do I have to have completed all the requirements before I apply? No.
While most applicants have all the required courses and more at the time they apply, this is not a requirement. However, all academic requirements must be completed no later than June 1 of the year of entrance. This is a firm requirement for all accepted students. In fact, accepted applicants must provide official transcripts of all coursework attempted, whether or not credit was received, before they can matriculate in the School of Medicine.
Do I have to have a degree?
No. While almost all new students have a baccalaureate degree, only 90 semester hours and a few selected courses are actually required.
Do the courses I took in nursing and PA school count? - Maybe
Only if they were taken to fulfill a requirement of a baccalaureate degree, but you should recognize that rarely are such courses as rigorous as those taught in programs leading to a baccalaureate degree in traditional science fields. The Admissions Committee views
them in this light, often using the MCAT as a common denominator.
Do you count AP credits? - Yes.
AP credits are accepted and can be used to satisfy the requirements for English, biology, and inorganic chemistry, as long as the credits appear on a college transcript and are verified by AMCAS.
MCAT
MCAT scores no more than 3 years old are required. Scores must be for a test taken no more than 36 months before registration.
Letters of Recommendation
Where should they be sent?
Have all letters sent to
Dr. F. Scott Kennedy
Assistant Dean for Student Admissions
LSUHSC-Shreveport School of Medicine
1501 Kings Highway
Shreveport, LA 71103
Important > Premedical or pre-professional advisory committees can upload materials to VirtualEvals or mail them to us. We will not receive letters sent or uploaded anywhere else.
Do yourself a favor by reading the rest of this section carefully.
What letters do I need?
Required: A or B
A -Your Premedical Advisory Committee
or
B -Three professors
a) Science,
b) Science, and
c) One other (science or non-science)
Optional: ( in addition to A or B above )
Professors or non-professors, up to three
Note: Graduate student teachers and lab assistants don't count as professors.
A letter from the Pre-professional Advisory Committee or its equivalent is the one we want and the only one you need. You can have up to three additional letters sent if you want.
Required: Current and Timely Letters
Please read and understand ... Letters are acceptable only for the application cycle for which they were written, unless ...
Committee Letters - Committee letters can be used a second time if the Committee specifies in the second year, that it can be re-used.
Individual Letters - Individual letters can be used a second time if the writer specifies in the second year that last year's letter can be reused. Or, the writer can simply reproduce the letter with a current date.
Timely? Individual letters must be dated and received no earlier than May 1. Letters received before May 1 will be discarded.
Some advisory offices staple a packet of letters together and send them for the student year after year ... Not. The same requirement for timeliness holds, which likely will mean that the individual writers must reproduce new letters.
Sorry, but this falls on the student to run this down.
Required: Letters must be signed and dated.
What if my school doesn't have a Committee?
You have to report this on your Secondary Application, and you should have 3 letters from college professors sent. We prefer that all 3 be from science professors, but letters from 2 science professors plus 1 from a non-science professor will suffice.
You can have up to three additional letters sent if you want, but these are not necessary.
When are they due?
The required letters are due in the Admissions office by noon on December 15, if you want to start school the following summer.
What if I don't want to use the Committee?
Knowing that this places you at a disadvantage, you need to explain why you did not go through the committee and have letters sent by three professors, two of which must be science professors.
What if I wasn't a science major and they don't know me?
Hmmm. You could have a problem.
What if I graduated several years ago?
Hmmm. Same as above.
What if I missed my Pre-professional Advisory Committee's deadline or one of their requirements?
Same answer as three up, plus knowing that this looks like poor planning on your part, you need to explain what happened and why. Truthfully!
Who should I get to write letters if I don't or can't use the Committee?
Letters should come from people who can comment on your abilities, performance and other attributes that make you a desirable applicant. Letters from senior faculty, such as professors, carry more weight than those from junior faculty. Try to pick professors who are experienced in writing letters and who have earned a reputation for telling it like it is. (Remember that TA's, Instructors and Lab Assistants are not professors.)
Interviews
A personal interview at the medical center in Shreveport is a requirement for admission.