How do you get into chiropractic school?

Answer 1

Before a student can attend a Chiropractic college he/she must complete at least 3 years of an undergraduate university degree (eg: bachelor of science). Most students at Chiropractic colleges (at least in N. America) have completed their undergraduate degree. Once you complete at least 3 years of an undergraduate degree you must apply for admission to a chiropractic college.
The chiropractic college you choose to apply to would depend on many personal preferences. For example, the time you want to take to complete the program. Chiropractic college can last 3 or 4 years, depending on which country and/or school you choose to attend. Although the World Health Organization has stated that to become a Doctor of Chiropractic a student must attend no less than 4200 hours of schooling in a Chiropractic college, some schools squish this all into 3 years, others spread it over 4 years.
Another example of how personal preferences can affect your descision of what chiropractic college to attend is how do you want to practice chiropractic. Some schools like Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (and others) are very evidence-based, in that they teach that scientific evidence should dictate what you do as a chiropractor. Alternatively, some schools like Sherman (and others) still teach "principled chiropractic", where you are taught that belief systems should dictate what you do as a chiropractor.

Answer 2

Prospective chiropractors are required to have a Doctor of Chiropractic degree which is a postgraduate professional degree that takes 4-5 academic years to complete. Admission to D.C. programs requires at least 90 credits of undergraduate education with pre-requisite courses of basic science including physics, inorganic and organic chemistry, psychology and Biology. Most chiropractic students earn a bachelor's degree before going onto a chiropractic school.

The average classroom and clinical study hours prior to graduation is about 4800hrs compared to the medical curriculum being 4600hrs. The curriculum includes neuroscience/anatomy, gross anatomy (dissection of human cadaver), physiology, pathology, microbiology, diagnostic imaging (x-ray and MRI), patient assessment, clinical diagnosis, rehabilitation, and multiple chiropractic technique classes. Also chiropractic students get supervised clinical experience with a licensed chiropractor in the last year of a D.C. program.

Doctors of chiropractic must pass national board examinations and become state licensed. Chiropractic colleges also offer post-graduate continuing education programs in specialty fields. This extensive education prepares to become a primary health care provider as well as the primary neuromuscular system specialist.