Is It Common???

<p>Bigndude is spot on. Doogie you are no NPH. It is a crapshoot even if you have the appropriate stats and apply to the right school. Believe me, I've had plenty of friends that did those things and didn't get in on their first try (and a couple on their second). Doogie, like most people, needs to get away from this idea of "upper" and no-name medical schools: there are only 125 schools in the US, they all teach to the same material (USMLE) and the difference between the first and the 125th is not that wide (92% of US M2's pass boards on first try - any differences of average board scores seen when comparing two schools are likely due differences of average MCAT scores since there is significant correlation between the two). This isn't like law school where going to a third tier school really limits your earning potential.</p>

<p>As for sports medicine: There are fellowships for sports med coming out of Ortho, medicine (most everyone in med school calls Internal med just plain medicine), and peds. That's from the MD avenue.</p>

<p>Other support staff include athletic trainers, massage therapists, physical therapists, sports psychologists, and equipment managers. Getting into a pro franchise is mainly a matter of luck. If you go through med school, then part of it is getting residencies in cities where there are pro teams and following those up with fellowships in other big cities. I'd also imagine that going to med school in major league cities, one could volunteer and shadow the team docs (I have a buddy of mine who is currently shadowing the Indiana Pacers team doc). It would definitely be easier to be the team doc for a college team, particularly if you aren't set on working for a D1 team...of course not everyone wants to live in a college town.</p>

<p>hey, say what you want...this is the convo i had with the dean of a NY medical school who happens to be a very good family friend of mine, in addition to the an ADCOM for mt. sinai.</p>

<p>Ill take my advice, you take yours</p>

<p>Bigred,
Wanted to see what you thought of my son's clinical experience this summer in relation to what med schools like. He is working with a pathology group in hospital. He has been able to stand in on autopsies and "assist" as appropriate, has been shown sections from the OR each day, helps do gross exams of specimens and has gone out to accident sites on ME cases. He feels that he has learned a tremendous amount already this summer and is very excitied about the experience. Would like to continue with this group in subsequent summers. Would that be too much of one thing? Would it be better to garner experience in another clinical setting?</p>

<p>I think that's great experience, definitely something that is somewhat unique and great that they are involving him so much. If he enjoys it, I don't think that there is any reason not to continue in the future. I do wonder if there is any "growth" potential in future summers, so he may get bored with it as he does the same thing over and over again. I might also temper it a little bit during the school year with some other hospital volunteering so that he gets some actual (living) patient experience. Nothing major, 2-3 hours a week depending on his schedule and how the hopsital volunteer program is set up. Unless of course he's fairly sure he really wants to do pathology in the future. It's one of those specialities where either you are all about it, or you just can't imagine doing that for a career (I'm in the latter).</p>

<p>Which college should i go to for premed, NYU or UT-austin? I know NYU is expensive, but i think its the ideal environment for me, but sometimes i feel that i should go to UT because its cheaper and that if don't/can't make it to med school, then i would have less debt than if the same happened to me at NYU?</p>

<p>I have a completely different question to ask...i went to college wanting to do pre-med but i have been doing research for the past two years. Within these 2 years, I have fallen in love with research but I am not sure I want to just do research....so my question is...should I just not do research for the next two years and do clinical work or do both and go for an MD/PhD. And is getting into this type of program harder?</p>

<p>I can tell you that MSTP is, indeed, more competitive for admission.</p>

<p>As for the rest, I would tell you that if you really love research, there's no reason not to continue it. Do try to spend some time clinically, too, to get a feel for whether you want a PhD or an MD/PhD. Either way is a great option.</p>

<p>I have a friend going through the exact same thing as you now. I've always advised him that I thought he'd have more fun being able to choose between the two, and - since he's a competitive applicant either way - to go for the MD/PhD.</p>

<p>???......................</p>

<p>Kobe, are you a college senior who has been admitted to both of these schools and currently trying to make this decision?</p>

<p>Because it's hard to answer this question in the hypothetical.</p>

<p>no i am a hs senior</p>

<p>Sorry, that's a typo on my part. Let me redo that:</p>

<p>Kobe, are you a high school senior who has been admitted to both of these schools and currently trying to make this decision?</p>

<p>Because it's hard to answer this question in the hypothetical. If you've been admitted to both places, however, then you have to decide - independently of your career goals in medicine, in which case I'm sure both places are fine - whether or not the better atmosphere is (given your family's financial standing) worth it. I wish I could be more concrete, but the reality is that it's a very specific situation you're facing.</p>

<p>What do you mean by a very "specific" situation?</p>

<p>Anyways, I'm just scared that I wont make it to Med School and I dont want to be stuck graduatying from NYU with huge debt that I cant pay because I cant become a doctor...</p>

<p>I have two points to make.</p>

<p>First, have you been admitted to these schools yet? If you are asking a hypothetical question, then I suggest waiting for a little while and assessing the situation post-application.</p>

<p>Second, I simply mean that there is a great deal of information we would need to have in order to help you make this decision - information you simply can't (or at least shouldn't) give us. You should not answer the following questions. I am simply pointing out questions you need to ask to make your decision. How much is the debt relative to your family's income? How much will it affect your family? How much happier will you be at NYU? What kind of medical schools will you want to attend later on - still private, or go back to publics? Etc. You must decide how much the money means to you, and how much the environment means to you, and nobody else - certainly nobody on these boards! - could possibly know that.</p>

<p>Yes i was asking a hypothetical question, but I am applying ED to NYU so i have no choice but to attend even if they will give me huge debt.</p>

<p>ya dude, get into college first</p>

<p>Thanks Bigred, yes I think he might like some "live" experience too. I think one reason he is enjoying this so much is that he can be very involved since one is not dealing with live patients and families and though Hippa still applies, it is not as constraining in this environment, plus it is harder to do harm---they have left over tissue that is just disposed of so that they are able to use that to teach him.</p>

<p>as for the NYU situation though....im not sure you should apply ED if its just because you want to go to medical school. I may have misinterpreted your post...but that could be a HUUUGE mistake. Go to whatever school you will be happy at and that you can do well in. NYU in my opinion, wont do any more for you as a premed then BU in my opinion...you gotta ask yourself why you want to go to NYU...and if its just because you think it will boost your chances of getting into med school, im not sure that its gonna be the place for you...NYU is kinda eccentric</p>