<p>Hi! I'm interested in applying to Emory next year. I'm currently a junior, and I'm looking to pursue a career in medicine. Emory seems to be one of my top choices, but I don't know a lot about Pre-Med advising at Emory. Can anyone help? Thanks!</p>
<p>Don’t worry about it. Stay away from the advising folks until you need a composite letter or are in trouble or need extracurricular help. Until then, do what’s best for you or follow advice given by other elite schools. It’s a good place to be pre-med as long as you don’t get on the giant bandwagon of docile, neurotic pre-meds. Many courses (science and non) and instructors are excellent prep for a career in medicine and it’s just up to you to take them. Don’t let the advising or other folks scare you. Also, just wait until you get in somewhere for university education first. At that point, select a place and weigh your options based upon your HS credentials and background (as in, do you have AP credits in science or math? Are you into scientific or clinical research? Things like that). Anywhere can be great for pre-med if you just optimize your educational experience based upon your background. Emory can indeed be exceptional if you “do you” or it can be “meh” if you just follow the crowd (though I get the feeling that with a slew of new hires coming to biology, chemistry, and NBB that certain courses that the “bandwagon” tends toward now that actually aren’t good, will become much better by time you come to Emory if you chose to. I’ve heard some hopeful things about who they’re trying to hire. Also, neuroscience course offerings have been ramped up, so that’s a good thing). I would wait until at least your first semester is done to worry about advising. If you have a very strong first semester or 2 with the path you choose, you are likely doing things right and will only need pre-med advising on things like summer opps, shadowing opps, etc. </p>
<p>Lastly, keep an open mind. A place like Emory offers many opportunities outside of seemingly appealing and secure paths like medicine. Even if you do indeed want something in healthcare, it need not be medicine. Other facets of healthcare are becoming more important now and Emory is really good at training undergraduates and graduate students in these areas. I would argue that the opportunities for students pursuing these paths are as rich if not richer than those pursuing the traditional pre-MD thing.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for all the advice!! I will definitely take all of that into consideration. I know that I have a while before I really have to worry about my career plan, but I was just curious, as I wanted to at least start thinking about it. Again, thanks for the response! </p>