Oof I’ve gotten so many b’s - in EASY honors classes - and I’m scared this will haunt me. Esp. since everyone around me is doing SO MUCH BETTER! So what Im wondering is what exactly colleges look for if you know your interested in premed. And how can I stand out after all this?
What do you mean by “Is it true that pre-med majors mostly look …”
What are “pre-med majors” looking at? By the way, pre-med is not a major. It just means you intend to apply to medical school and are taking the prerequisites, regardless of whatever your major is.
ETA: Now that I read your post again, I think you are asking about what college admissions officers look at, not what “pre-med” majors are looking at.
Colleges admit students based on grades, test scores, essays, and recommendations. Colleges vary in their degree of selectivity, but the selectivity of the college is not based on what you state you intend to do post-graduation.
Are you In-state, or OOS? You’re admission decision hinges on that, to a very large extent. “Many B’s” as an OOS, probably very low chances of acceptance at UNC. In-State, depends.
in-state
oof even if it was freshman year that I screwed up in??
If admitted and you continue to get mostly B’s in college your chances for medical school admission four years from now are very poor.
Oh okay, so my grades don’t affect the major I intend on applying to for undergrad?
Are you in high school?
Once again, pre-med is NOT a major. You will have to select a major – art history, classics, biochemistry, physics, political science, economics, music – anything. But pre-med will not be your major. “Pre-med” is just an intention to apply to medical school. It means you are planning to take the courses that are required to apply to medical school.
Im a sophomore in high school
So would premed be denied to me for not making all a’s freshman year?
You are asking about your freshman year in HIGH SCHOOL? Your grades in high school have no bearing on whether you can be “pre-med” in college. I still don’t get the idea that you understand A) how college works, and B) how to be “pre-med.”
Pre-med simply means you plan to take these courses and eventually apply to medical school:
biology (2 semesters), general chemistry (two semesters), organic chemistry (two semesters), physics (two semesters), biochemistry (one semester), and English (one semester).
The admissions office does not tell you whether or not you can register for these courses. “Pre-med” is irrelevant to the college admissions process. Wherever you attend college you can feel free to register for these courses.
In other words, “pre-med” can NEVER be “denied” to you. Register for the courses you want to take. That’s it.
Now, whether you actually attain the grades to get into medical school is a completely different story.
As everyone else has said, “pre-med” isn’t really a thing. It’s a general track where you’re knocking out the required courses: anatomy, bio, chem, stuff like that.
Not making strait A’s one year might not necessarily eliminate you from being enrolled to UNC-CH, but Chapel Hill looks at your entire application - what’s called a “holistic approach”. Excellent grades, excellent SAT/ACT scores, extra-curriculars, volunteer work, and more all paint the complete picture (being in-state helps).
So to answer your question: you can still get into med school.
First, you need to get the highest possible grades in high school in all core classes: 4 years of English and history, math through Precalculus or calculus, foreign language through level 3 or 4, Biology honors, chemistry honors, physics honors or physics 1, and AP Bio or AP chemistry (one of these can be taken alongside honors physics junior year).
Second you should try volunteering at an old people’s home, shadow a doctor or a nurse, try to get a CNA or EMT certification. Medicine is not glamorous. It’s tough and requires mental stamina as well as dedication (a pre-med said that you figure out if you’re cut out for it after you’ve repeatedly been vomited or peed upon).
Third, you need to preserve your mental and physical health: join a sports team and/or do yoga/meditate, do not compromise on 9 hours of sleep each night, learn how to cook a few simple dishes and cook for yourself.
Finally, college:
Pre-med is not a major. You apply for whatever subject you’re strongest in. It could be Neuroscience, bioinformatics, Literature, Philosophy, Anthropology… (Avoid the biology major, it’s got he lowest ROI of all). You will need to be top 10% in your major. Then you’ll have to take a set of classes and rank top 10-20% among all students in each class. For this reason, it’s best to attend a college where you got into Honors college (because it means you’re among the best students+ you’ll get extra support) or where your stats make you among the best admitted students. The college itself, as long as it’s among top 100 universities or top100 LAC is totally irrelevant pick whatever you like and is most affordable as long as you’re a top applicant.