From EECS to med school ... a few questions

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
1

<p>Hello everyone,</p>

<p>I am an EECS major in my second year at Cal.. a sophomore entering my fourth semester this spring. And as of 30 minutes ago, I am considering going to med school.</p>

<p>Okay, so it's not really "as of 30 minutes ago." I've had the thought in the back of my mind for years now, and I've volunteered at a hospital before and enjoyed the experience.. I like CS, but I'm not sure I want to spend the rest of my life doing it. I think I might be happier spending my life helping people directly, as cliche as that might sound.</p>

<p>Assuming I want to become "pre-med" from here -- without changing my major -- how should I do it? Allow me to explain my circumstances:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>I have a GPA of around 3.6, 3.7 right now and am fully declared in EECS.</p></li>
<li><p>I AP'd out of Math 1A and 1B with a 5 in AP Calc BC, and I AP'd out of Chem 1A by getting a 5 in AP Chem in high school. This would maybe get me out of Chem 1A -- but SHOULD I skip it?</p></li>
<li><p>I took an R1B course and an upper-div English course at Berkeley, which I hope will satisfy the "1 year of writing" most med schools require of their applicants.</p></li>
<li><p>I took Physics 7A and 7B and got a B and an A-.</p></li>
<li><p>I took Math 53 and 54 at Cal and got an A in both. (1 year of math required by med schools ... sounds good, right?)</p></li>
<li><p>Other than my volunteer work in high school I have no biology or medical related stuff in my resume.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Obviously this isn't an ideal situation, but maybe it's not THAT bad. Am I correct in thinking that I've gotten math and physics out of the way, and I just need chemistry and biology? (Plus the MCAT) of course? Also, seeing as I don't really have a medical background so to speak, what can I do to bolster my application assuming I end up in fact applying to med school?</p>

<p>I realize I wouldn't be the typical applicant, but maybe that's a good thing. So many pre-meds are MCB, IB, Chem etc. that maybe an engineering perspective would look good on an application... especially if I get an internship as I'm hoping to this summer or the following summer.</p>

<p>Do you guys think I have a chance? It's my dream to become a doctor.. okay not really, but maybe it is. I'm really not sure but I want to know that it's possible so if I do decide for sure on it, the option is there. I will graduate with a B.S. in EECS for sure, I'm not gonna change majors at this point.</p>

<p>Thanks a lot for reading this.. I really appreciate any feedback/input you guys may have :)</p>

<p>dave</p>

2

<p>you need to go back and take Chem 1A, you cannot AP out.</p>

<p>You still need to do:
-Chem 1A, 3A/L, 3B/L
-Biology 1A/L, 1B
-A fourth semester of chemistry*</p>

<p>*Chem 1B, Chem 135, Chem C130 = MCB C100A, or MCB 102 are the general options</p>

<p>I would recommend</p>

<p>Chem 1A in Summer 10
Bio 1B and Chem 3A in Fall 10
Chem 3B in Spring 11
Biology 1A/L in Summer 11
fourth semester of chem whenever it fits</p>

3

<p>I think you also have to take Math 16 A/b or math 1a/b</p>

4

<p>no, 53 and 54 covers the 1 year of math</p>

5

<p>yea i dont think they care which math as long it’s one year in college.</p>

6

<p>oh yea, a stats class like Stat 2 would also be recommended</p>

7

<p>A psych class would make you more competitive, but only if you have extra time :)</p>

8

<p>basically, you’re a little bit late to start your premed reqs. Even though you’ll finish before you graduate, you will not be as prepared as other bio majors when you take the mcats because they’ll have covered 80% of the materials needed in class. Also, if you do this, you’ll be basically minoring in mcb. Not worth it because eecs classes are hard enough already. I though about all of this before I decided on CS, cause although med is always tempting, the classes don’t fit that well and i like what i do.</p>

9

<p>if someone can pull off an EECS major + pre-med courses with a good GPA, he/she is really something special lol</p>

10

<p>LetThereBeLight, he will not be “be basically minoring in mcb.” There is not such thing as an MCB minor, nor is there any real relation between MCB and medical school (other than that there is an MCB bandwagon-effect amongst many premeds). Also, there are plenty of non-biology major premeds. </p>

<p>Fitting premed and CS is actually rather doable. One of my friends is a MCB+CS double major premed.</p>

11

<p>well best of luck i guess</p>