changing path for premed

College Majors Science Majors
1

<p>i am starting my 3rd year of school next fall. but i recently decided that medicine is what i really would like to purse a career in, only problem, i've been studying political science/international relations for the past 2 years now, and completly hate it.</p>

<p>I have don't only one science course, geology, which doesn't count towards pre-med. my college doesn't have pre-med major, only biology or chemistry. </p>

<p>1) i'll probably change a major in biology since i am more better in that and minor in chem</p>

<p>since i am going to start my thrid year, i know it's pretty much required that you take the MCAT fall semester of junior year, which, i have no science course done to even have the change to get a good score on it.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO !!!!</p>

<p>next, currently i have a 3.1 GPA, which, pretty much sucks for this kind of work if i am not mistaken, since med-school you need to have at least a 3.6 to get in.... AHHHHH</p>

<p>i know i don't want to study politics, i want to study medicine, and get into med school.</p>

<p>is it too late for me? what should i do? </p>

<p>thank you in advance!!</p>

2

<p>No, it is not too late.</p>

<p>Firstly, know that you do not have to major in biology or chemistry or any science to get into medical school. You can choose any major that you are interested in, as long as you fulfill the pre-med course requirements (which are generally 1 year each of biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, english, and a semester to a year of math).</p>

<p>It’s not necessarily “required” that you take the MCAT fall semester of your junior year. That’s just when it’s advised to take it if you started pre-med from freshman year. Since you did not, you won’t be taking it in your junior year. Take the MCAT after you have completed all of the pre-med courses, otherwise you won’t do well on it. You may have to take it after you graduate, which is okay (I know many people that did this).</p>

<p>3.1 is low, but it’s not the end of the world (and remember that GPAs like 3.6 are averages, so there are people that got below that and were accepted). Aim to get the best grades you can from now on. If necessary, you could take more advanced sciences (genetics, biochemistry, anatomy, physiology, etc), even after you graduate, before you apply. Since you are starting pre-med in junior year, you must realize that you won’t be finishing everything before you graduate, but know that you won’t be alone in that.</p>

3

<p>You are not being realistic. It is essentially impossible to get into any medical school with a 3.1 GPA and taking the MCAT without having taken Biology, Chemistry and Physics would be an exercise in futility. All medical schools require undergraduates planning to go to medical school to take, at a minimum, two semesters of Biology with labs, two semesters of Inorganic Chemistry with labs, two semesters of Organic Chemistry with labs and two semesters of General Physics with labs plus at least one semester of English composition (which you badly need). </p>

<p>If you truly hate Political Science then changing your major might be a reasonable thing to do but medical school is a tremendous long shot for you and you should really be exploring more attainable options.</p>

4

<p>lemaitre1, would there be any advice that you can give me that you would think i could be able to do med-school ?
should i just do an extra year ? </p>

<p>i do hate poli-sci, i did it because my parents wanted me too, but i am more interested in med than anything else… i know it’s late, but i really would take any advice, to make it happen.</p>

<p>i know i would have to raise my GPA, but i belive being determined i could do it.</p>

<p>should i change ?</p>

5

<p>There are a number of options. As I already mentioned, you need to aim to getting the highest grades possible from now on. You can take the MCAT after you complete the pre-requisite courses (if you do General Biology I and II and General Chemistry I and II junior year, and Organic Chemistry I and II and Physics I and II senior year, with English somewhere in there, that puts you at taking the MCAT after you graduate, which again, is not problematic).</p>

<p>Depending on how many credits you already have taken, you may have to take additional upper level classes after you graduate to raise your GPA. I have a number of friends that completed a Special Masters Program in Physiology at Georgetown. These programs are for people that have relatively low GPAs, such as your own, but have decent MCAT scores. They did this, and they are all in medical school currently. You should keep that in mind, though it’s too early to think about applying to such programs. The most important thing to concentrate on is undergraduate GPA.</p>

<p>You can also consider D.O. schools (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine). These schools are medical schools, and D.Os are physicians, however the average stats for these schools are lower than M.D. schools. One of the ER attendings I used to work with is a DO, and the hospital I currently work in has many D.O. residents (probably because NYC area has a few D.O schools) and the head of Pulm/Critical Care is a D.O.</p>

<p>So, I won’t say that you’re completely out, but you need to work very hard from now on, and consider all options.</p>

6

<p>NucleicAcid, thank you.</p>

<p>i already did 2 semesters of english since the first two years at my college are General-Education classes we need to get out of the way.</p>

<p>as for my current major, i have only completed two courses from it.</p>

<p>i was thinking about changing to sociology since i have taken two course of that since attending college, and i head that its also very good for getting into med-school.
though, i know pre-med is not a major, but a list of classes that help you to pass the MCAT.
if i raise my GPA, which i would work like a dog to make that happen now. i think i could do it. 1) because i want to do in this field. i want to be an Anesthesiologist.</p>

<p>but, if that doesn’t happen, now i know that after college i can take a Special Masters Program, which i wouldn’t want to do, but would if needed.</p>

<p>i know you said that it is common to take the MCAT after graduation, but does it look good to med-school officers looking at my app ? </p>

<p>thank you for answering, i really am taking any advice i get.
and i do plan to talk to my advior as soon as school starts up.</p>

7

<p>Remember that you can major in absolutely anything and get into medical school, as long as you complete the pre-medical course requirements and MCAT (and of course volunteering, community service, maybe some research, shadowing). If you want to major in sociology, do so because you enjoy it and know that you’ll do well in it, not because you think it looks good for medical school. Med schools don’t care what your major is, as long as you do well in it.</p>

<p>Medical Schools don’t care if you take the MCAT after graduation (especially since it’s not possible for someone that starts pre-med later in their undergraduate career to take it during undergrad). Also, know that you’ll have a “gap year” or two while you take the MCAT and apply. So, you should plan on not only doing the MCAT, but doing something productive, like research, volunteering, maybe more courses to raise your GPA, etc.</p>

8

<p>oh, wow. that was really good advice.</p>

<p>so, when you take the MCAT, its about year before you can start med-school ?</p>

<p>and yes, sociology really interest me at school.
and i am not in any clubs yes, but this semester i plan to start.</p>

<p>this semester i am going to be consided “sophomore” standing since i was one credit short last semester.</p>

<p>i live right near clevleand clinic, and belive that i can find anything possible to volunteer, shadow, research, and work with Anesthesiologists.</p>

<p>i plan to transfer to case western for junior year as well. which i think would help me a bit.</p>

9

<p>@baa4school</p>

<p>If you are really determined to go through with this I will offer the best advice that I can as an MD who has been through the process. First, you have to understand that the approximately 125 medical schools in the U.S. have a total of about 16,000 positions open each year for first year medical students. However, there are about 50,000 applicants through AAMCAS each year for first year positions in U.S. medical schools. This means that a very large majority of applicants, many of whom have strong credentials, will not be accepted by even one medical school. Therefore, you must have a back-up plan because admission to medical school is not guaranteed for anybody.</p>

<p>Second, You will have to accept that it is going to be at least four more years before you can hope to expect to receive an acceptance letter from a medical school. You are starting with essentially no background in the relevant science needed for admission to medical school. I hope you did well in your Geology course and that it had a lab component so you could at least have some confidence you can succeed in laboratory science courses, even if unrelated to medicine. You will have to finish all of your medical school preparatory courses and complete the upper division courses needed for a BA/BS in your major. This is likely to take you at least three and maybe four more years from now. You can major in anything you want, I majored in Astronomy, but you have to do very well in it, even if it is unrelated to medicine. You can not get less than a B in any of the required courses for medical school and you really need an A in your Biology courses.</p>

<p>You do not have to take the MCAT in your Junior year. You should plan to take the MCAT the year before you intend to enter medical school and certainly do not take the MCAT before you have finished your Biology, Chemistry and Physics courses. While it is not really possible to study for the verbal section of the test, you should spend at least a month reviewing biology, chemistry and physics for biological and physical sciences sections of the test. You should obtain old copies of the MCAT and take frequent practice tests to assess your progress and find the areas you need to work on. In addition to a GPA of at least 3.5 you should score 30 out of a possible 45 points on the MCAT to be a competitive applicant.</p>

<p>You should apply to as many schools as you can afford to. I applied to 20 medical schools and was accepted at one, Drexel, but one acceptance is all you need to become a doctor.</p>

10

<p>thank you Lemaitre1 for you advice.</p>

<p>at this point i’m confused. i grew up from birth being drilled into my head that i would become a politican and study political science in college. i went throught high school not thinking about any other possible careers out there. though, yes, just like every little kid thinking of being a doctor went through my head. my sister has been admitted into the hospital every winter for a problem the doctors still cannot figure out. my one side of the family has all died because of cancer. so, my whole family never thought about being doctors or joining the medical field, i assume because they were scared quite possible, or hated the whole idea of medicine.
but, i hate the whole idea of being a lawyer. i can’t see myself doing this.
my mom says “sure, only if you think you can” my dad just laughed at me for even thinking about being one. yet, both my parents work as cashier related jobs.
my sister is too young to even get her idea on it, though she wants to become a doctor.</p>

<p>my advisor told me its not too late to change and start taking pre-med related courses. i’m only scared that “is this really what i want to do?” “what if i am that person who doesn’t make it into med school?” but at the same time i am thinking “i wanna do this to prove my dad wrong” “i want to help people, and listen to their stories” “i want the satisfaction knowing that today i helped someone (even though, yes, i know sometimes you have to deliver bad news as well)” </p>

<p>today i signed up for BIO200, which is into Bio I & BIO201, which is the lab course with it. i didn’t do so well on my GEO course, i got a C in lab and the course. which i reget to this day since it was the first time i ever got a C, 2 at that. & pretty much i had to memorize 150 rocks, but its was fun to learn. </p>

<p>i have only Volunteer work at a orphanage overseas that hosted for mentally challenge kids. i thought them english every weekend, took some traveling, and pretty much acted as a friend and older sister to some of them for a year. </p>

<p>i don’t want to keep pursuing a degree in poli-sci. sociology is intreging to me, but i don’t know if its because i hang out with many doctors this past year who work in fields such as pathology, Urology, neurology & GP or if my heart really says i want to be this. </p>

<p>being an anesthesiologist was always somewhat intruging to me, and caught my interest. </p>

<p>i want to pursue, at the same time i don’t.
i know its takes many years of studying, and you’ll probably have no social life. i don’t mind, quite truthfully, i’d rather study than hang out.
the satisfaction of finshing med-school not only first in my family, and sticking to it the whole way through is more rewarding to me.
i think the reason i am so stressed about this is because i can’t get advice from my family since they really either don’t care, or don’t belive i can do it, and weather doing this is ultimately the right desicion. if i am too late in the process, or if it is a joke for even thinking i can pursue this kindof career. as many start thinking about this from high school. </p>

<p>i did english already, 2 semsters.
i think right now if i do BIO and do a good job at it i’ll be able to figure out what i should do next.
any advice ?</p>

11

<p>it is hopeless.</p>

<p>switch to Geophysics or Petroleum Engineering.</p>

<p>You’ll make more money and it’ll actually use that geology course and maybe some politics courses when you start bribing washington politicos for drilling rights.</p>

12

<p>I was searching through threads and felt so relieved that there’s another sophomore out there wanting to pursue a pre-med track! I found this article, and thought it might provide some relief… :)</p>

<p>[So</a> now you want to be a doctor? | Yale Daily News](<a href=“http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2006/dec/06/so-now-you-want-to-be-a-doctor/]So”>http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2006/dec/06/so-now-you-want-to-be-a-doctor/)</p>

13

<p>It’s time for a reality check! I know people say “you can do anything you want to do if you put your mind to it”, but really your chances of succeeding at this as are about as good as becoming a pro golfer, but having never played golf.</p>

<p>These science classes you need to take are really hard. They are meant to weed out the weaker students, and they don’t care if you fail. From my experiences, most students get about one GPA better in their GE courses than science courses. And the harder the college, the tougher the curve. I believe Case Western is one tough school.</p>

<p>Thats just the school part of it. Are you prepared to pay for 4 more years of college, followed by med school, followed by internship? This is a tough road for those that have a great aptitude for science, and a near certain failure rate for those that don’t.</p>

<p>Sorry, but someone need to tell it like it is.</p>

14

<p>Californiadreamn, thank you for your advice. And yes, I know there are a lot of people out there that say the same thing as you, but i am going to give it a shot. I always had an interest in science, and by the end of this semester i’ll figure out for myself if I should keep pursing all the reqs for pre-medicine or not.
I think taking the BIO class right now to “test the waters” instead of completely forgetting everything I have done so far.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not ignoring your advice, actually it runs through the back of my mind all the time, but I feel that if I don’t even try at it, i’ll never know if I could have had a change or not (and that i’ll regret more than having tryed)</p>