I Just Want to Go To Med School...

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>I'm posting here b/c there's no activity on the high school forum. Sorry if that bugs anybody...</p>

<p>I really just want to study at UMDNJ (it's my dream). So, what should I do? I added my profile so you guys can give me some advice on where to go and how to improve. I know people who get into UMDNJ from NYU and Rutgers, but that sounds pretty risky to me. I want to have the best shot possible.</p>

<p>Currently a sophomore, but I really just wanna know how it compares to some of the profiles you guys had. (and yeah, i know it's too early, but plz give me some feedback, I really just want advice)</p>

<p>Ethnicity: Asian</p>

<p>NJ: Extremely Competitive Public</p>

<p>GPA: 4.00 W, 3.86 UW (Do colleges recalc GPAs to account for difference in scales? For intance, my school gives an A for 95% or above. Anything lower but above 90% becomes an A- which is a 3.67 (UW). I know this is not a common system, so what do you guys think?</p>

<p>PSAT: 206 (It's bad. But I didn't study, so I guess that makes it a little better? I know I can do much better.)</p>

<p>APs: Physics B (4 on exam).</p>

<p>Junior schedule: AP Calc BC, AP Chem, AP English III, AP Computer Science A, Honors Global Studies (this course is required by the state otherwise I'd take an AP), Honors Latin III (no AP).</p>

<p>ECs: </p>

<ul>
<li>Medical Proffesionals Club (planning on officer role next year)</li>
<li>March of Dimes Chain Reaction Youth Council (also officer potential)</li>
<li>Piano (5 yrs. , not amazingly proficient or anything)</li>
<li>Science Competitor's Club - Competed in Exploravision among others </li>
<li>NJ Science League (Chem I)</li>
<li>Junior Statesmen of America (officer role next year). I'm a confident speaker and expect to go far here. I also write for the political newspaper run by the region that gets published and viewed by hundreds of other JSA students.</li>
<li>Also had leadership role in organizing the JSA-sponsored talent show in my school. Expect to do so again next year.</li>
<li>Latin Involvement = Silver Medal on NLE freshman year and competition at Princeton University came 2nd place for Latin I</li>
<li>Volunteer at local hospital</li>
<li>Volunteer at local senior center</li>
<li>Researching over the summer for microbiology.</li>
</ul>

<p>Awards/Distinctions/Competitions</p>

<ul>
<li>Speaking award at JSA convention. </li>
<li>Competed in AMC, but didn't have enough time to study, so I didn't make it through. I was extremely disappointed with this outcome (I guess math isn't as much my strong suit as I had suspected). I don't plan to fail next time.</li>
<li>Some future competitions I plan to be a part of: Regional Science Fair/ISEF, Chemistry Olympiad, USNCO, (maybe) USABO, Science Bowl, Central Jersey Math League, AMC/AIME, other math comps, Siemen's/Intel, and whatever else you guys can recommend. What I want to know is how important it is to compete in such competitions? Are they absolutely mandatory for admission to top colleges? I am confident in my math/science abilities but I also feel like I shouldn't have to have the pressure of performing well competitively. It feels wrong to me. But it also seems inevitable. Help?</li>
</ul>

<p>Sorry if this was too long. Some schools I hope to apply to = Columbia, UPenn, JHU, Brown, Cornell, Washington STL, U Chicago, NYU (match?), Rutgers (safety?) and any others you guys would care to recommend. I really want advice. What should I do? Where should I improve? I'm open to all comments except for those who would who tell me I'm stressing out (I'm already very much aware of that fact). Thanks to everyone who responds.</p>

2

<p>if you want to go to med schools, it doesn't really matter what schools you go to. The most important part is your GPA, MCAT, and ECs WHILE you're in college, so all those ECs that you did in HS don't really matter.</p>

<p>so just go to school that you feel is best matched for you and you can excel in and start doing well and get involve early.</p>

3

<p>Sounds good, but my main concern is maximizing my chances of getting into med school. So on those terms, what do you guys recommend I do? What colleges should I look at with my current stats? Depending on what happens as time progresses, will JHU/UPenn be a good option (in terms of competitiveness)? Or, worst comes to worst, how bad will going to NYU/Rutgers seem? I'm just looking to see where I stand and what else I can do, nothing more.</p>

4

<p>i know this has been said, but high school doesn't matter. i did horribly in high school and luckily thats behind me. It's all about college gpa, mcat, EC's etc.
my suggestion is, if you are 100% sure you want to be a doctor id suggest you apply to a 7/8 year medical program that allows you to apply to other medical schools after your third year. That way you can have the option, if you don't make it into UMDNJ, of being in medical school at your home institution. I know Rutgers has this 7/8 year program, but im not sure if its binding or not.</p>

5

<p>bruinboy, if you don't mind sharing, how bad did you do in HS...? I'm predicting you went/go to UCLA...(bruin), but I could be wrong.</p>

6

<p>
[quote]
What colleges should I look at with my current stats?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Until you've got a college GPA and MCAT scores under your belt, no one can accurately suggest medical schools for you. As has been said, for graduate school, high school grades/test scores/ECs don't matter at all.</p>

7

<p>
[quote]
Sorry if this was too long. Some schools I hope to apply to = Columbia, UPenn, JHU, Brown, Cornell, Washington STL, U Chicago, NYU (match?), Rutgers (safety?) and any others you guys would care to recommend.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>
[quote]
Until you've got a college GPA and MCAT scores under your belt, no one can accurately suggest medical schools for you. As has been said, for graduate school, high school grades/test scores/ECs don't matter at all.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Actually, I would say that if you REALLY just want to go to med-school, then you should just try to get into one of those combined BS/MD programs. That way, you can attempt to leverage your high school accomplishments into guaranteed med-school admission, provided you stay eligible in the program (i.e. you keep your college GPA above a certain designated score). Of course, that presumes that your high school accomplishments are strong. </p>

<p>
[quote]
I really just want to study at UMDNJ (it's my dream).

[/quote]
</p>

<p>UMDNJ has a combined program. </p>

<p><a href="http://www.tcnj.edu/%7Ebiology/7med/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.tcnj.edu/~biology/7med/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

8

<p>Bruin: The Rutgers program is ok. The only problem is, it's based on selection during sophomore year. So, you have to first bind yourself to the school (something I am by far not willing to do) and then cross your fingers for getting into the program. And despite how it may seem, Rutgers pre-med is actually quite competitive as it is saturated with many high-achieving asians who couldn't make it to the top schools because their focus during high school was studying.</p>

<p>brand: Thanks, but I meant UG colleges.</p>

<p>Sakky: I'm aware of the combined program for UMDNJ, but I don't want to bind myself to a school like TCNJ. If for some reason I'm not able to make it to UMDNJ, then I'll find myself bound to a school that can't really get me anything else. As for other BS/MD programs, I just don't like the options presented (except for WUSTL and Brown which are both ultra-competitive).</p>

<p>Overall, what do you guys think of UPenn CAS? Is it a good place to apply for premeds? I'm considering binding myself ED (if it still exists by the time I apply), but I'd like some second opinions.</p>

9

<p>It really is to early to gauge where you'll get in, since you have a lot of coursework to finish and your SATs to take. That said, I'd offer you this:</p>

<p>I would discourage you from applying to combined programs, just because I often feel that schools use them to poach strong students who might get into 'more prestigious' med schools later on, and more importantly put you in a bad situation if later on you decide you want to become something other than a doctor. The exceptions are WashU and Brown, because the former has such a prominent med school and the latter is such a strong overall undergrad school, but to be blunt your current stats aren't good enough for those.</p>

<p>Your strong expressions of concern regarding the level of competition worry me: being premed is by its very nature a competitive endeavor, and if you're worried about the competition at a place like rutgers, I don't know what makes you think you'll do better at penn.</p>

<p>That said, since I go there, a couple notes on being premed at Penn:</p>

<p>Yes, it is very competitive, and while if you continue your current progress and do well on your sat's you'll have an ok shot at getting in if you apply ED, you'd be in the middle of the pack to start.</p>

<p>But: middle of the pack as a Penn premed will still most likely get you into med school if you don't get weeded out by orgo or something.</p>

<p>Penn's premed advising is among the best out there, and with about 300 students per your applying to med school, the infrastructure is there to help you work the system. There is research access aplenty and a major hospital on campus.</p>

10

<p>I don't know why you're so worried about getting into UMDNJ from Rutgers. Plenty of people do it... just keep a good GPA, get involved, and score well on the MCAT.</p>

11

<p>
[quote]
I would discourage you from applying to combined programs, just because I often feel that schools use them to poach strong students

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Well, you shouldn't just 'often feel' that this is the case. It is in fact EXACTLY the case. Honestly, why else would a school offer such a program? It's the same reason why some schools offer merit scholarships - to encourage you to go there as opposed to some other (perhaps better) school. </p>

<p>But I don't think that that fact should itself discourage anybody from applying. It's a trade. It's like commerce. Tit for tat. You trade a (possibly) less prestigious undergrad program for a guaranteed shot at med-school. For some people, particularly the risk averse (which the OP seems to be), it's a good trade. There are plenty of people at the most prestigious schools who find that they can't get into med-school. I'm sure they would love to be able to go back in time and choose one of those BS/MD guaranteed programs. </p>

<p>
[quote]
who might get into 'more prestigious' med schools later on, and more importantly put you in a bad situation if later on you decide you want to become something other than a doctor.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Well, that's not as problematic as they seem. After all, I doubt that any of these programs can actually stop you from applying to other med-schools. You might have to give up your guaranteed spot at the program's med-school, but you can still apply to other med-schools if you think your app is strong enough. And if not, then you just take the guarantee. Furthermore, if you decide you don't want to be a doctor, you can just leave the program and (usually) just get a regular bachelor's degree from the school. Either that or transfer to another school entirely. </p>

<p>I agree that you are giving up something (for after all, you have to give up something to get something), but I don't think you're giving up as much you seem to be implying.</p>