Hi. I have been trying to find more information on UVA’s bachelor Pre-med program and I can’t seem to find it! I know a few kids who ARE Pre-med , but I just can’t find any info on the bachelor Pre-med program.
I am interested in possibly entering their Pre-med program.
Thanks in advance!
Premed often is not a program per se. Colleges tend to offer premed advising. I took a really big chance and typed UVA premed into Google and got:
https://career.virginia.edu/pre-health
Good luck
You seem to be looking for the wrong thing. Being pre-med isn’t like being an engineering major, or a nursing maor, or an accounting major.
Premed is not a “program”.
You can go to any university and be “premed.” You choose a major that you like, and then complete the premed prereqs which are just regular normal classes…nothing special or “medical” about them. They’re the same classes that other STEM students take.
I understand I can be a Pre-med student anywhere as long as I fulfil the prerequisites for medical school, including clinical rotations and some research work.
I also have been told however that a Pre-med program will ease my transition into medical school. I’m sure it will cut out a lot of the work for me, too, being a program.
What is the benefit of being in a program compared to doing it on your own? Are there designated mentors or better acceptance rates into med schools?
Thanks!
Um…no. That’s not how it works. About the only thing a so-call “premed program” will do for you is perhaps give advising on med school pre-reqs (a list of which can be found easily enough anywhere) and perhaps, depending on the program, a committee letter process to go through.
It will not in any way “ease” your transition to medical school, nor give you any shortcuts to developing the necessary CV for a medical school application. Pre med programs do not provide mentors, nor do they offer better acceptance rates for med school applicants. (Some may claim to but that’s because the committee letter process is used to prevent weaker candidates from applying by refusing them LORs so as not to hurt a colleges’ acceptance numbers.)
In our local university, U of Cincinnati, there is a Bachelors in Medical Sciences program that is tailored for students going to medical school. They work with the University hospital, VA Hospital, and the Children’s Hospital in arranging shadowing, community service, and clinical research. They also have medical resident mentors for the premed students to lean on for medical college admission advice. I have, so far, been unsuccessfully lobbying my daughter who wants to be a doctor to go to this program since she has a full ride to it!
@WayOutWestMom
Thanks for your insight! Hmm…then what IS the advantage of getting into a Pre-med program? I’m sure there is competition to get into that program,right?
Thank you in advance!
I’m just full of questions. I apologize if I ask too many.
There are no premed programs per se. The Premed “major” that exists at some universities for the weaker premed students who can’t handle premed requirements AND a real major have less success in gaining admission to med school. (This is different from the selective “medical humanities” programs that exist at some universities, which are a complement to the premed requirements).
Your best odds of success would be to major in math or in humanities while handling the rigorous science classes required by med schools, being top 10-20% of your college class in each of these. Of course,most med school applicants major in something related to biology.
Your best odds of success would be to earn competitive GPAs and MCAT, have solid ECs, strong LORs, compelling/interesting PS, do well on interview, and apply broadly, especially if you’re from CA. Pick a major that you are interested in because if you like material you’re more likely to do well GPA wise. Most premeds pick bio/chem majors because it satisfies both premed and major reqs at same time. If not bio/chem, although doable, it can be more challenging to fit year long premed seqs into a non bio/chem major schedule. Good luck.
@MYOS1634
Thanks!
@Jugulator20
Thanks! I’ll keep that in mind!
By the way, what is LOR, EC, and PS?
^ sorry, I should have provided this info too (high GPA is only one component indeed. Mcat, letters of recommendation, research, experience… Will all matter.)
In short, you can be a premed from Cnu leadership academy, from uva, from Roanoke, from urichmond, from sweet briar. What matters is not your college’s name but what you do there.
I also add that there’s no rush to apply at end of junior year like you did applying for college. You’re best odds for success is to apply when you have the strongest app you can have even if this means tapping on the brakes in freshman year to get you bearings and/or waiting to apply end of senior year.
^ I strongly second that.
In my opinion, planning for a glide year, perhaps doing research or working as an emt, provides more romantic prepare for interviews and taking the mcat in order to apply June senior year, is the most strategic use of your time.
@Jugulator20 and @MYOS1634
Thank you both! I’ll keep that in mind!
I’m actually still in high school and will graduate next year, but I just want to map everything out.
Thank you all for taking your time to help me out!
Aazrhhhggggh stupid auto-correct!
*provides more time to prepare for interviews
Ohhhhhhh!!!
Omg SO THAT’S what you were saying!!!
hahahahah! Thanks for the clarification!
I thought,“Romantic”??? Hmm…that’s an interesting way to describe prepping for interviews!
I better go back and re-read that message, now that I understand what you were really saying!
I’d be wary of any degree program “tailored to medical school” like the UC program. Medical school is for learning medicine, undergraduate education is for learning foundations in a less strictly vocational setting. It’s well documented that the allied health professionals tracks are the only course of study that are actually disadvantaged in the medical school admissions process. I’d be worried that a program that “provides students with integrated academic, experiential, and mentored opportunities that will prepare them for advanced training in biomedical science, medicine, and other health sciences,” might end up being a slightly more rigorous version of an AHP degree and that students interested in UC would be better off being a traditional undergraduate studying an academic discipline in the college of arts and sciences. This new program at UC was started literally this academic year, so we’ll see what happens starting 3 years from now when the kids start applying.