<p>I feel that the pre-med track is really common among incoming freshman (including myself) and everyone starts off wanting to be a doctor. is there any truth to this? how many people actually accomplish it?</p>
<p>^I heard that about 15% of original pre-meds end up applying to Med. Schools and about 43-45% of applicants get accepted to at least one place.<br>
Not everyone wants to be a pre-med at all. And some simply do not see certain spcial characteristics that are required, specifically ability to work extremely hard and in some periods for the very very long hours. Huge commitment.</p>
<p>many students come in wanting to be pre-med because as BDM so cleverly put it, they only know village people type career paths and don’t realize there is a whole world of options beyond doctor, lawyer, businessman.</p>
<p>Yes…many, many kids want to become doctors because they think it’s an impressive and well-paid career. Maybe they were “good students” at their high schools or they intend on becoming so in college. Either way, most of these kids get slapped in the face with reality once they’re neck-deep in pre-med pre-reqs and realize that they’re not able to get the needed GPA or they lose interest in the profession. </p>
<p>I see the same thing happen with the many, many students (often girls) who say that they’re pre-vet. Their love for animals doesn’t always translate into a vet-school-worthy GPA.</p>
<p>Why often girls (who are pre-vet)? Does it mean girls tend to love animals more?</p>
<p>Some random thoughts:</p>
<p>There are more girls in college now; I think, in the future, there may be more female premeds than male premeds. (esp. if the med schools go the UC way, where GPA is more emphasized than the score of the standardized test.)</p>
<p>When DS was in college, he once went to a lab session at the beginning of a semester, he noticed all students in the room except him are girls. He said that, at that moment, it made him have a second thought about whether he had chosen a “wrong” career path. On the other hand, those who are very active in the “Political Union” club are mostly males, who, if successful in their career, may be in Congress and decide how much the doctors should be paid. LOL.</p>
<p>One of DS’s friends in high school is said to love animals more than human beings. LOL.</p>
<p>Also, one of my coworkers actually quit her job for more than a year and volunteered (to demonstrate her commitment, I think) in order to get into the vet school. She did get in! I believe she was a very good student when she was in college. It is rumored that it is more difficult to get into a vet school than a med school, if there are very few vet schools in your state. At least our current governor could not get in when he was young because he was a “gentleman C or even D.” But It is said he is better at “working on people” (have the people’s skills) than on animals.</p>
<p>Why often girls (who are pre-vet)? Does it mean girls tend to love animals more?</p>
<p>I don’t know. It’s just what I’ve noticed.</p>
<p>To OP: Sure seems that way. Our community hands out small college scholarships to 24 recipients. They have a nice ceremony at the rec center. When my child participated, of the 24 awardees, 20 announced their plan to attend college as pre-meds.</p>