Hello im just getting into my major i have about 60 credit hours with a 3.5 GPA and i’ve hung on to the idea that i want to go to medical school one day. The only thing is last year i had a 3.8 GPA and my classes keep getting harder. Im pretty sure i can maintain what i have now but its like im overwhelmed. I love computer science and engineering so I dont want to change majors but i still have the dream to go to med school some day. Im looking for advice on what i should do as far as extra curricular stuff goes and just preparing for med in general. Oh and if you don’t realize how hard computer engineering really is then dont bother leaving a comment.
I wrote this in about 3 seconds so sorry for typo’s im in a rush today.
Make sure you get your med school pre-reqs done:
2 semesters gen chem w/labs
2 semesters ochem w/labs
1 semester biochem (it’s on the MCAT and many schools require it)
2 semesters intro bio w/labs (some schools require or strongly recommend genetics, anatomy and other bio classes)
2 semesters physics /w labs
2 semesters math (you’ll need stats or biostats for MCAT)
1 semester psych
1 semester sociology
2 semesters English or writing intensive classes
Expected ECs for med school--
See p. 4 of [Using</a> MCAT® Data in 2017 Medical Student Selection]( <a href="https://www.aamc.org/download/462316/data/2017mcatguide.pdf%5DUsing">https://www.aamc.org/download/462316/data/2017mcatguide.pdf)
Listed as being of "Highest importance" by adcomms
---community service, esp w/vulnerable populations
--physician shadowing, esp in primary care specialties
---clinical exposure --can be paid or volunteer, at a hospital, stand alone clinic (Healthcare for the Homeless, Planned<br>
Parenthood, county free clinic), nursing home, hospice, rehab hospital, group home for the mentally<br>
ill/developmentally delayed/physically disabled, cancer center, dialysis center
---Leadership
"Medium Importance"
---Clinical or Bench Lab research experience
"Lesser Importance"
---Teaching/Tutoring/Coaching
~~~
And I'm not going to say anything about our choice of major.
D1 was a physics & math double major; D2 was a math & neuroscience double major. Both went to med school.
mom2collegekids' son was a chemE major--and went to med school.
kal123's son was CS major--he went to med school too.Daughter is a 3rd year premed/bioengineering student. (computer science based)
The challenge she has faced is scheduling the premed and engineering classes and making a timeline so that she is prepared to apply to med school. Her degree requirements along with premed is 135 credits. (9 semesters) She also has to meet the requirements of the honors program.
She is trying to complete that in 8 semesters but that means taking 17 to 18 credits a semester.
Her elective classes end up being premed classes so I get having a rigorous schedule.
She works with her advisor to make sure she is taking her engineering classes in the sequence that is required and fits in her premed classes accordingly. She will be taking her last premed class (2nd semester of bio) fall semester of senior year. As far as applying to med school and having a timeline to have a strong application for med school is going to require a gap year which will result in her taking her MCATs by January of senior year so that she can apply for the next cycle. That will allow her time to focus on her med school entrance EC’s since she wants more clinical and shadowing experience and more time to prepare well for the MCAT exam.
I know someone who graduated last year who was premed/computer science. She too is taking a gap year and working fulltime as a programmer to save money for med school.
I want her to do well in her engineering classes because that is what her degree is in and she has done well so far. This is the path she chose knowing that her curriculum for four years was going to be challenging but she loves her classes. In senior year the big thing for her major is a two semester senior design project which is a research project that gets presented. She focused first on the engineering classes and then 2nd premed. It is a juggling act. Aside from that she is taking upper level science classes like genetics, physiology, and anatomy. The concern has always been that her engineering classes should not bring down her gpa and right now her range is 3.75 to 3.84.
One more thing–if you are planning on using AP credit to fulfill pre med requirements, you need to be aware of 2 things–
-
not all med schools accept AP credits for pre-med requirements
-
those schools that say they do accept AP credit expect you to take higher level coursework in the same field to supplement the AP credit. IOW, if you received 4 credits for AP bio, you’ll need to take 4 credits in upper level bio to supplement the AP. Or if you get 8 credits AP credits for chem and are allowed to skip gen chem completely, you’ll need to take 8 additional credits in upper level analytic/inorganic chem to supplement your AP credits.
My son was a chemical engineering major so I do understand how hard it is to be an eng’g premed. It can be done.
You have a 3.8 GPA. That is fine for a premed.
As for the extra-curriculars…what are your summer plans? Do you have time to fit in some volunteering and shadowing?
Have you done any research (even if not medically related)?
Does your major offer any sort of 4XX research class that allows you to work on a research project for credit (these might be listed last in the course listing and have a title like: 4XX Special Projects or 4XX Research Topics…or something like that. If there is something like that offered, it might be helpful to take junior year and do a project that has some sort of medical connection. Would that be possible?
@WayOutWestMom Thanks your reply was very helpful!!!
@mom2collegekids I had a 3.8 but now have a 3.5 b/c I didn’t perform well enough in some classes. I don’t have any research or anything and my summer is going to be calc 3 and physics 2 so I guess I might be able to do something on the weekends maybe. I’m not a genius so taking a 10 credit hour summer with those classes is going to be a lot for me.
Thanks everyone who also responded.
@mom2collegekids Im going to look into my senior design project and doing something medical related.