<p>Hi everyone, I am a high school senior going to Princeton next year, and I hope to go to med school after that. I just wanted to know what it takes to get into med school. But that, I mean, is it just like getting into undergrad? Like, for undergraduate schools, you needed good grades, a rigorous curriculum, extracurriculars, good test scores, recs, etc.. So, do med school applications basically require the same thing? Sorry if this question makes me sound naive or stupid, but I just really have no idea where to go from here, and I would just like a little bit of direction before things get started. Thank you!</p>
<p>this is the first thread on this page for a reason: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/1486654-premed-resources-thread-start-here-first.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/1486654-premed-resources-thread-start-here-first.html</a></p>
<p>You need to have some EC that demonstrates that what is like to be a doctor.</p>
<p>Unless you want to pursue the very top med schools, your curriculum needs to be reasonably rigorous. But it is not like in high school when needs to load with tons of AP classes otherwise you are “behind,” The first round of med school admission game is purely based on the numbers (GPA and MCAT.) They do not care whether you are in the same class of math or science genius and you beat these genius academically. (If you are such a student, you may be inclined to pursue other career path. (BTW, many students from there will head to the Wall Street instead, especially when their parents have been very successful professionals. Another 8 years of "delay satisfaction is just not appealing to most of them. But this is just my bias because almost all students in DS’s circle at another college who ended up in med school were from a more modest family background, e.g., they used to be a public high school kids who tend to receive somewhat inferior education but they turn out good enough to get into an ivy. </p>
<p>Be active in some clubs but keep an eye on your GPA, especially the science GPA.</p>
<p>Stop at the pre-health office at Princeton as soon as you get there. They will guide you through.</p>
<p>Getting into med school is hard because you need to be persistent and dedicated–and somewhat humble IMO about how you want to pursue this particular avocation. I do think it’s a calling and not everyone is cut out to take the time it needs in your 20s to be constantly working to achieve the competency needed to be consistently good at what you do. I am not looking at this in a negative light-I think I am citing the facts–working in the medical field takes a lot of family support and understanding–as well as tremendous teamwork with your colleagues. Not everyone is cut out out to do that. Use your undergraduate time wisely and get the most out of college-and most of all work to get the necessary balance in your life-at Princeton-that will allow you to step up and continue your passion for helping others. Most of all, don’t let anyone kid you that it will not be a challenge in eventually getting the right “fit” for med school which I think is the key. Best of luck in your pursuit-you can do it!</p>