News & Events

Medical school entrance requirements vary from school to school and are not necessarily related to the GPA cutoff required for medical schools. For example, one institution may require applicants to have a minimum GPA of 3.8 and maintain a high level of rigor throughout their college courses. In contrast, another may require applicants to have a minimum GPA of 2.0 or 2.5 with no external recommendations but with significant community service work over the past few years. Thus, the range of medical school admissions requirements is wide. However, generally, the medical school requires certain documents from its applicants. The details about these requirements are discussed in this article. 

What are the requirements for medical school?

Philippine medical schools have three general requirements for aspiring doctors. These are:

• Bachelor’s Degree

To be eligible to apply for the medical program, you must be a graduating student or have a bachelor’s degree. 

• National Medical Admission Test (NMAT)

Applicants for medical schools in the Philippines have to take the NMAT (the National Medical Admissions Test). The test is developed and administered by the Center for Educational Measurement, Inc. (CEM) as authorized by the Commission on Higher Education. Anyone who is a graduate or a graduating student of any college degree course at the time of testing can take the NMAT.

Medical schools use the NMAT to evaluate whether or not to accept an applicant. Therefore, getting good scores in the NMAT increases your chances of being accepted into a medical school.

• Applicant’s Acceptance in Medical School

After submitting all the requirements and undergoing a panel interview, accepted applicants will be notified by the medical school admission committee that they are now eligible for enrollment. 

Steps Involved in Applying for Medical Schools in the Philippines

• Prepare as early as high school.

Since the government of the Philippines has already implemented the K-12 program, more opportunities have arisen for students who wish to become doctors in the future. Therefore, choose the academic programs that suit your needs as an aspiring doctor as early as high school.

If you want to be a doctor or any medical professional in the future, the STEM Strand is your best option. It will provide you with the necessary skills to get into a career in the medical field.

• Acquire a bachelor’s degree.

A bachelor’s degree is required to get into medical schools in the Philippines, and it usually has to be in a scientific field. Almost all the students are there because they want to become physicians, so they’ll probably take sciences while at school and do well in them.

• Take a gap year (optional)

If your decision to seek medical school is only based on the monetary benefits, it’s a clear indication that you’re not ready yet. Furthermore, the fact that you’re still questioning whether or not you want to be a physician indicates that your true calling isn’t in medicine.

If you are feeling unsure of what you want and where you want to be in the future, then perhaps you should take some time to figure that out before making a big commitment. Regardless of what you choose to do, remember that you can only get into medical school once you’re fully committed to it.

• Choose the medical school you wish to apply for. 

If you’re still interested in pursuing medicine as a career, look for medical schools to help you achieve your goal. You should consider different factors when choosing a medical school, such as grade and NMAT percentile rank cut-off, tuition fee, and board exam performance, among others. 

• Do well in the National Medical Admission Test (NMAT).

You need to take and pass the National Medical Admission Test (NMAT) to enroll in any medical school in the Philippines. The NMAT is an aptitude exam that measures your readiness to handle the grueling academic demands of medical schools.

NMAT is not the sole predictor of your success during medical school application. However, you should not take it for granted. Some schools require a specific cut-off with regards to the NMAT percentile score.

• Apply to your preferred medical school.

When you have already made up your mind, all the documents required, a decent NMAT score, and a target medical school, you are now ready to apply to medical school. However, do not put all your eggs in one basket. Make sure to apply to more than one medical school so you will have a backup plan if your top choice did not offer you a slot. 

The Complete List of Requirements Needed to Get Into Medical School

NMAT

Again, the NMAT is an aptitude test that the admissions committee uses to approximate if you would be able to handle the academic load in medical school. Different schools have different cut-off scores. Hence, it is best to prepare and do well in the exam. 

NSO Birth Certificate

You can get your NSO birth certificate directly from any Philippine Statistics Authority office. You can also request it online in just three easy steps:

• Fill out the online application form.
• Pay through accredited payment. Channels.
• Wait for delivery.

Entrance Examination

Some universities require their students to undergo another examination aside from the NMAT. If you just took the NMAT, taking another exam should no longer be a problem for you because entrance examinations are almost similar to the NMAT.

Police Clearance

To prove that the applicant has not been involved in any criminal activities, they are required by schools to submit their Police or NBI Clearance. 

Certificate of Eligibility for Admission to a Medical Course (CEMed)

After the applicant has submitted all the requirements and passed the screening procedures, the medical school will request the CEMed on behalf of the applicants from the regional offices of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

Foreign students may request their CEMed at the CHED Office of Student Services (OSS) inside the National Engineering Center Building in U.P. Diliman. The requirements are as follows:

• Certificate of good moral character.
• Birth certificate.
• An original or duplicate copy of the Examination Report Form showing your NMAT score.
• Transcript of Records (TOR).
• For graduates of government schools, a copy of the Diploma or Certificate of Graduation is authenticated by the school registrar.
• Duly accomplished CEMed application form.

Recommendation letter 

The admissions committee uses the recommendation letters to know more about the applicants. You can ask for recommendation letters from any reputable source such as your professors, dean, or previous superiors such as your bosses.

Tips to Remember When Accomplishing Medical School Requirements

Request the necessary documents in advance. 

Some documents may take days or even weeks to arrive after requesting them. To avoid the unnecessary stress this may cause you, it is important to request the necessary documents in advance. Additionally, it is also best to request multiple copies of the documents you will be needing, especially if you are planning to apply to more than one medical school. 

Take note of the deadlines.

Nothing is worse than not making it into your dream medical school just because you missed the deadlines. Always check the websites of the medical schools you wish to apply for any pertinent announcement regarding the application and take note of the important deadlines. 

Prepare!

During the medical school application process alone, you will already face a lot of tests. First is the NMAT then next is the dreaded panel interview. Make sure that you review properly for the NMAT. Enroll yourself in review centers if you can for better supplementation. Moreover, make sure to prepare well for the panel interview. You can participate in mock interviews and read about the common questions asked to medical school applicants and tips on how you can answer them.