<p>"“Its almost a reflex action among HS kids”"</p>
<p>It is almost a reflex action amongst HS kids (and parents) when the student is a good student and/or does well in biology. These kids hear: “you should become a doctor.” That is why so many A students declare “premed” when either they don’t really have the stamina, the foundation (their HS was weak), interest, or wherewithal to make it thru.</p>
<p>try Holy Cross and Tufts both strong pre-med programs.</p>
<p>I think it’s weird to assume that this student wouldn’t thrive at JHU. His SAT scores are in their middle 50% range, and perhaps his school has grade deflation or makes it harder to achieve higher GPAs. A lot of the stratospheric GPAs we hear about here on CC are due to grade inflation where the highest achievable GPA is like a 4.8 or something. I mean, it’s very possible that he’ll get to JHU and be at the bottom of the class or even middle-of-the-pack, which isn’t good for premed. I just wouldn’t assume that’s going to happen.</p>
<p>With that said, yeah, the hardest thing will be finding something affordable. I wouldn’t get your hopes up about out-of-state publics without significant merit aid programs, as they will likely be unaffordable for you.</p>
<p>And yeah, I would always ask my premed students why they were premed and what kind of doctor they wanted to be. Most of them didn’t know. A few would defensively answer that they didn’t have to pick a specialty until they got to med school - to which I’d say yes, I know, but surely you must have thought about or daydreamed about what kind of doctor you want to be? Blank stares. I had a few notable exceptions; two are already at prestigious med schools, and the third is doing a stint in TFA before she goes to med school, and I have little doubt that she’ll be successful in gaining admission to med school because of her grades and on-campus involvement.</p>
<p>I feel like there’s such a variety of careers within the medical field that one can do besides being a physician. It would be cool to investigate all of them and see if there’s anything else that suits you more than being a physician, especially given the way that the career has changed and will continue to change with the advent of the Affordable Care Act and the changing corporate structure of hospitals and practices.</p>
<p>I am surprised it took so long for Holy Cross to be brought up…they are notorious for only writing committee letters for their top pre med students, then they claim an exceptionally high med school acceptance rate. Run.</p>
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I think it’s weird to assume that this student wouldn’t thrive at JHU. His SAT scores are in their middle 50% range, and perhaps his school has grade deflation or makes it harder to achieve higher GPAs.
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<p>If the student is very serious about wanting to go to med school, then it is risky to go where your stats aren’t strong for the school. </p>
<p>60% of frosh have a GPA of 3.75+. This student has a 3.5 and there is no mention of any grade deflation. If he is well within the upper 10% of his school, then maybe that is correct. </p>
<p>To say that his scores are within the middle quartiles may be “correct,” but the truth is his scores are at the bottom of the middle quartiles. So, roughly 74% of students are stronger than he is. </p>
<p>None of this bodes well for this premed at JHU. </p>
<p>Cost could be an issue if the parents don’t plan on contributing another $25k+ per year, in addition to the money from the college fund. </p>
<p>Agree you should aim for a college where you can shine. Many actively weed out huge proportions of kids who entered as pre-med. It’s brutal. Others are far more cooperative. </p>
<p>On the EC side, shadowing won’t be as important as what you actually did as a hospital volunteer and, if you write about that, what you convey. Plus other experiences where you interface with people’s needs. Your prep and success in math-sci courses can be more telling than overall gpa. But are you now in AP bio? </p>
<p>JHU talks of their success rate and when I saw the average college gpa of kids accepted to med school, I was surprised it wasn’t higher. But, remember, that’s the select group of kids who make it through a very tough process, a much lower number than those who began freshman year with the intentions. (It’s hard to find colleges that will tell how many started versus how they were culled.) UConn starts to look like a good choice, doable financially and for your future goals. Best wishes.</p>
<p>I’ve spent much of my career associated with teaching hospitals and universities and was a premed major myself as a freshman. I couldn’t agree more that declaring oneself premed is a reflex reaction on the part of students (and their parents) who do well in high school. While many practicing doctors enjoy their profession, it takes a person with more than smarts. Empathy and wanting to help others is a large part of enjoying the profession. Being a doctor is business too… hospitals make doctors see a certain number of patients/day to earn their keep. </p>
<p>A student that thinks only of the money he/she will earn as a doctor is delusional. I thank my lucky stars that I realized this as a freshman undergrad. Sure I could have been accepted into med school, but I would not have enjoyed that career. Doctors have large student debt, pay an large sum for malpractice insurance, and work long hours for their pay. Becoming a doctor without considering these realities and not truly wanting to help others is a recipe for hating your career. Unfortunately, many doctors are in this situation. </p>
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<p>I don’t think a univ necessarily knows how many frosh are “premed”. Since it isn’t a major, how would many schools know the exact number? Yes, some might contact the premed office from the get-go and get on some list, but that is likely not required. </p>
<p>I doubt my son’s school knew that he was premed for awhile. Premed advising for frosh year is hardly necessary…I think many kids just know that they have to take Bio and Chem their first year.</p>
<p>this isn’t like engineering where a school knows how many frosh eng’g majors there are…and how many actually graduate. I suspect that the culling is roughly the same/similar. </p>
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<p>Absolutely.</p>
<p>I remember a high school student who was 3 years ahead of my son. He chose an undergrad because it boasted a 90% med school acceptance rate…so in his mind, he was “in”!!! no problem!! no sweat!! Well, he did make it to med school, but not the traditional way. He is in the same MS year as my son. This young man had to do some GPA repair and retake his MCAT a few times. Other premeds at his school who had similar questionable grades or mcat results likely went a different path.</p>
<p>Another reason to go where you will shine is it is easier to get outstanding recs. If a prof is asked for recs from 25+ med school applicants, and you weren’t one of the top students, then why would he/she write a glowing rec about you?</p>
<p>On the Common App, you can state your future goals. That’s one way. And some supps ask. But my example (other than my own D, who was summarily weeded,) is a brilliant young friend who wanted to be a doc since quite young, top of her hs class, struggled through the early bio and chem classes at a known LAC, failed Ochem, was ready to give up. Then, for financial reasons, transferred to a school that handled pre-med much more cooperatively (another known-name college.) She is now a pediatrician, grad’d from a tippy top med school. </p>
<p>It is a hard row to hoe. OP may get some feedback on one of the pre-med threads. For any lurkers, there is also the option of a “post-bacc” program, an after-college year or two, dedicated to med school admissions prep.</p>
<p>@regalaf Take a look at Case Western and University of Rochester. Your stats fit nicely and both are great schools. Case has both the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals on or near campus- plenty of volunteer and research opportunities. U of R has Strong Memorial Hospital for the same. Case has a combined MD program but you may not quite fit those criteria.</p>
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On the Common App, you can state your future goals</p>
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<p>Right, but who knows if a school’s premed office ever gets that info…and that would likely be the office that would track how many incoming premeds actually apply to med school.</p>
<p>Either way, it is commonly accepted that only about 25% of frosh premeds end up applying to med school. So, if a school starts with 400 premeds, then likely by the end of frosh year only about 300 remain, and by the end of soph year only 200 remain. Then another 100 or so will fall away due to changing interests, inadequate MCAT or whatever. The remaining 100 will apply and at a number of schools, about 80-85% will get in to at least one MD school. </p>
<p>At many/most schools, if you have a 3.6+ BCMP/cum GPA and a 30+ balanced MCAT with no low sections and appropriate ECs/essays, good LORs AND you have a reasonable app list, you should get accepted to at least 1 MD school.</p>
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<p>I find this interesting. My middle son who has wanted to be a doctor since third grade and is now well on his way toward this path by having a superb GPA (including Orgo, etc) and ECs has been cautioned by pretty much every doctor or medical person he meets to NOT set his mind on one type or another. They tell him most change their minds once they see what options are out there in a more real sense. Even in the hospital they encourage shadowing and volunteering in different areas.</p>
<p>I think he has an idea of what he likes, but he always tells people he’ll wait to decide later.</p>
<p>Of course, we tell him Geriatrics… and he counters us with Pediatrics… to which my other half asks him if there’s a difference IRL. ;)</p>
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<p>lol…what’s that phrase? Once a man, twice a boy?</p>
<p>My MS2 son has kept it rather quiet as to which way he wants to go. He says surgery, but not yet ready to say which specialty. He spent the summer working with a plastic surgeon and enjoyed that. </p>
<p>I think that many pre-meds/med students may “think” they want a particular specialty, but once they do rotations, they change their minds a time or two. </p>
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<p>I think that many who don’t know which way they want to go, just have a daydream of diagnosing, curing, helping, saving lives, etc.</p>
Haha I know this is long overdue, but thanks for all the help guys. Ended up going to UConn (my state school) and I’m currently majoring in MCB as a premed. Used a bunch of AP credit towards gen eds as well as chemistry so I could take the Organic Chemistry sequence this year (I’m happy to say I’m doing fine). I’m currently keeping active on one or two on campus clubs that I do for fun as well as several volunteering organizations. I know that I eventually have to do research, but I’m saving that for next school year. Do any of you have suggestions for how I can spend my summer productively as a premed. I’m already volunteering through Yale New Haven Hospital again as well as shadowing one of the transplant surgeons who works there for a couple of weeks. I was thinking about doing EMT training (something I’ve been wanting to do for a while). Any other suggestions?
Talk to the premed advisor at your school to make sure this will work. Some colleges will not accept AP credit for their requirements. You want to make sure you have all the math, chem, etc. that you need to be eligible for admission at all the schools you are thinking about.
Other than that, sounds like you are off to a great start!
Thanks for the response @mikemac !