“The success of the premed program at BJU is best illustrated by the results,” said Dr. Marc Chetta, a faculty member in the department of biology. Indeed, with an average medical school acceptance rate of 85 percent, compared with the national average of 48 percent, and consistently higher than average MCAT scores, the results speak for themselves.

Medical school is one of the most competitive and difficult graduate programs to be accepted into. It requires a high GPA, high MCAT score, recommendation letters and an interview. But Bob Jones University is dedicated to helping its respective students achieve this goal.

In fact, 100 percent of 2014 premed graduates from BJU were accepted into medical school. Specifically, the following seven students were accepted into the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville: Megan Fredwall, Jeremiah White, Ella Shreder, Andrew Buhr, Mark Spencer, Grace Denton and Andrew Lee.

Chetta is the Premed Association (PMA) adviser, premed major adviser and the premed major program coordinator, and he taught the seven BJU graduates who were accepted into the USC School of Medicine Greenville. Chetta mentioned how Dr. Mike Gray, head of the department of biology, has worked hard to design a premed program envied among the Christian colleges nationwide.

Gray has also taken charge of keeping up with the changes in the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) and AAMC (American Association of Medical Colleges) recommendations.

Jeremiah White, a 2014 premed graduate who is pursuing a Doctor of Medicine degree with an interest in either pediatrics or emergency medicine at USC School of Medicine Greenville, said the professors at BJU challenged him and have helped him not feel overwhelmed by the academics of Medical School.

“They thoroughly prepared me for the MCAT, the test for admission into med school, not only by covering the content but by also training me to think critically, not just rote memorization and regurgitation of information,” White said. “BJU helps prepare you for med school by keeping you busy.”

  White applied to seven other medical schools, including USC School of Medicine, and was accepted at half of them.

“I chose USC School of Medicine Greenville because the atmosphere [there] was the friendliest,” White said. “They had the nicest facilities, and their curriculum is very unique (including their EMT program, which allows you to be EMT certified and serve on the ambulance). In addition, the Greenville area is very nice. There’s lots of friends down here, and I was offered a scholarship as well.”

Ella Shreder, a fellow 2014 premed graduate, is interested in pediatrics at the USC School of Medicine. She said the program is difficult, but BJU prepared her well.

“The science program and faculty at BJU are phenomenal,” Shreder said. “As difficult as the classes were, they definitely prepared me and the other BJU grads well for med school. All the stressful weeks and days and all the tears and breakdowns at BJU were definitely worth it.”

Shreder applied to several medical schools across the United States, but USC School of Medicine was her first choice. “It’s a brand new school,” Shreder said. “It has a new type of curriculum and vision.”

Megan Fredwall, another 2014 premed graduate, is interested in pediatrics or family medicine. Fredwall mentioned how her science classes helped her do well on the MCAT. Fredwall applied to six schools in Michigan, her home state, three in South Carolina and a few others around the country. Fredwall said USC School of Medicine was different from the other schools.

“USC School of Medicine Greenville has an unusual curriculum, because they have us begin with EMT classes,” Fredwall said. “This is not something that other medical schools do, but USC School of Medicine Greenville wants the doctors who graduate from the school to have a closer connection to their patients.”

For current and future premed majors, Fredwall recommends focus and diligence in their schoolwork as they prepare for the future.