<p>Are you or do you know of anyone who is choosing to double major as a premed student? How are you/they doing, or do you have any advice for or against such a route? Specifically, I plan on double majoring in biology and psych. </p>
<p>I feel like I'm kind of in a minority--most of the premeds I've talked to just want to get their undergrad degree as fast as they can with the highest GPA possible. I planned to enjoy my undergrad as much as possible, taking all the psych classes I liked and getting out in four years :( now I'm just doubting myself haha.</p>
<p>On a mostly unrelated note--any suggestions for any hospitals or hospices to volunteer at? I don't have a car so it rather limits the choices, though I'm fine with a bus ride under 30 min...</p>
<p>In today’s time, You really can’t mess up (i.e. C’s in science courses) because then you will be competing against a nation full of students who have never gotten C’s in science courses. This is parallel with most M.D. medical schools having around a 1-4% acceptance rate.</p>
<p>From what I have been seeing now is that the students that had around 3.8s (overall and science GPAs), MCAT scores above a 35, research experience, clinical experience, and leadership are the ones that get in on their first try. I know nummmmmmmerous people that have been denied at LEAST once and are continuing to reapply like every year while working as a biotech or something similar. It is pretty discouraging to hear.</p>
<p>That said, unless you are a natural at school, where you don’t have to study as much as others and still pull off A’s, you will definitely be under some pressure in those four years. Your day would literally consist of classes in the morning, then either research or clinical work in the afternoon, some meeting for whatever clubs you’re in at night, then studying for your intense load of a schedule right after. If you think you can pull that off steadily for four years, shoot for it. </p>
<p>If anything, take as easy as a load you can every quarter to assure the highest GPA possible that you can get. At first this seemed skeptical because everyone thinks that medical school will consider your major etc etc, but that all changed when one of my friends took like 1-2 science classes a quarter with a joke class every time (~12 units a quarter) and got into medical school because of his high GPA. This contrasts with some people that literally threw their lives into extracurriculars like pre-med clubs, research, etc while taking like 4-5 classes a quarter with hopes that medical schools will see their challenging loads, but when they applied with GPAs under 3.5, none of them got in anywhere. </p>
<p>My advice to you would be to just major in whatever you want to major in. Don’t feel rushed either, though. The trick is to study something you enjoy so you can do well in it, not to study something you think will look more impressive. Also, every pre-med regrets not trying as hard their freshman year. Getting a 3.0-3.2 your freshman year can really take a hit that is always underestimated.</p>
<p>Thank you for the really thorough reply OoPurestOo! I guess my biggest dilemma was the unwillingness to let med school rule my undergrad life, but the stats you gave really explains the necessity to keep the GPA as high as possible…yikes…</p>
<p>^ The thing is… The scenario I gave you with your daily life… I tried that for a quarter, it got me straight A’s but I was miserable for that quarter haha. </p>
<p>If you stick with premed, you will be sacrificing things alot of the time. You just gotta talk to actual med students and have them give you the “Hey, it’s ok, we had to sacrifice too”. And by the way, when I say sacrificing I mean in every aspect. Sometimes you may have to study on Friday/Saturday nights to prepare yourself for Tuesday midterms, or even sacrifice going into lab to go on a date with your girlfriend. </p>
<p>It ends up being sleep that gets screwed over most priorities anyway because, face it, you NEED to enjoy life to be successful, no one can deny that.</p>
<p>momosky, for volunteering check out Palomar Pomerado Med. Center in Escondido. Transportation will be a challenge for you right now but this is a good program with more applicants than spaces. You have to interview, take a CPR class, do a bunch of orientation, sign up for at least 4 hours per week, etc. Here is what they say on the web site:</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>You can find out more on the Palomar Med. Center web site under their volunteer section. If any other hospitals let volunteers do direct patient care, let me know.</p>