Need help making a path for pre-med?

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
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Hi everyone. Recently, I realized that I really wanted to become a pediatrician because I enjoy helping kids a lot. The problem is that I spent my entire high school career researching computer science paths. Now, I’m basically stuck. I don’t know what the first step is. I know I have to work for a Pre-Med degree or something? I know: I know nothing. But, I have to start somewhere! What’s the first step? How do I plan? I know I will have to go to Med School after my four years are up.

Thanks for all the help!

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Are you in college now or a Senior in HS?

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I am a senior in HS. @Gumbymom

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You can major in computer science and still apply to Medical school. Basically you can major in any subject as long as you take the Medical School course requirements (there is no Pre-Med degree).

Required Pre-med Courses and Degree

All medical schools pretty much require the following pre-med coursework:

General Chemistry with lab: 2 semesters
Organic Chemistry with lab: 2 semesters
General Physics with lab: 2 semesters
General Biology with lab: 2 semesters
English: 2 semesters
Calculus: 1 semester

Note that some medical schools require courses such as Biochemistry or additional Calculus, for example. Other special non-science courses may also be required by some medical schools. A few examples: The University of Nevada in Reno requires one upper-division behavioral science class or something like it (and they are very specific about which ones will cover this requirement) and University of Utah requires a “diversities” class such as Women Studies, Gender Studies, or some sort of minority studies. Harvard requires 2 semesters of Calculus instead of just one.

A Bachelor’s Degree

Most medical schools require a completed Bachelor’s degree, but not all schools do. Some schools only require completion of the pre-requisite courses, as listed previously, and at least 92 completed credits (you are a senior at that point). Overall, most US MD and DO medical schools require the 4-year degree, but most US Podiatry and Caribbean schools only require the 92 credits.

If you plan to apply to Medical school, you want to select a major and school where you have the best chances for a High GPA 3.5+ and access to Medically related volunteer/research/internships. You also need a High MCAT to be competitive upon applying.

Check the link below to get you started:
http://members.aamc.org/eweb/upload/Official_Guide_Preview_2016.pdf

I assume you have already applied to some colleges? I am sure many will still be good choices if you want to go Pre-Med.

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@aimlesswriter

There is no such thing as “pre-med” major. You can major in any academic field and still go to med school so long as you fulfill the prerequisite coursework required for medical school admission. My daughters have med school classmates with majors ranging from agriculture to business to engineering to English Lit to mathematics to music performance to women’s studies.

Many pre-meds major in a biology, chemistry or biochem because there is a significant amount of overlap between major requirements and med school admission requirements.

What you need to do:

  1. get admitted to college.
  2. start taking your pre-med coursework (I’ll list pre-reqs below)
  3. work hard to maintain a high GPA
  4. once you have a good handle on your coursework, start adding pre-med ECs (also see below)
  5. get to know your professors because you’ll need them to write your LORs
  6. after you’ve finished your pre-reqs, prepare for and take the MCAT
  7. enjoy college–meet new people, get involved in sports or activities you enjoy, go to parties. Don’t spend every Friday night studying in the library. Have some fun! Med school admissions officers are looking for interesting, well-rounded individuals who can carry on a conversation about something besides science classes.

Med school pre-reqs:
2 semesters gen chem w/labs
2 semesters intro bio w/labs
2 semesters ochem w/labs
2 semesters physics w/labs
1 semester biochem

2 semesters “college level” math (typically Calc 1 and 1 semester statistics or biostatistics)

2 semesters of English composition or other “writing intensive” classes

1 semester intro psych
1 semester intro sociology

Some med schools have additional requirements, such as upper level humanities or social sciences, Calc 2, human anatomy, genetics, or medical ethics. You should check the specific requirements of your in-state public med schools. Your home state’s public med school are always an applicant’s best chance for an med school admission.

** Pre-med ECs**
Community service, particularly with those who are less fortunate than you. (Adcomms are looking for evidence of altruism and service to others)
Clinical volunteering–doesn’t need to be done at hospital, Also consider nursing homes, camps for disabled children, groups home for the mentally or physically disabled, hospices, rehab hospitals. (To find out if you really want to spend the rest of your life dealing with sick, injured, mentally ill, and dying.)
Physician shadowing (To get a up-close view of the day-to-day life of a doctor so you know what you’re getting yourself into)
Bench or clinical research (To gain a better understanding of the research process)
Leadership positions in your activities (Because physicians are functionally the team leaders in clinical settings)
Teaching/tutoring/coaching (Because a great deal of a doctor’s job involves educating patients)


And the process of becoming a doctor is longer than you think.  You'll have 4 years of undergrad, 4 years of med school, then another 3-7 years of residency & fellowship before you're done with your training. You do get paid during residency, but you don't get paid much. (Your high school teacher makes more money than a medical resident does.)
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@Gumbymom @WayOutWestMom Wow!! Thank you so much for all that information! I can’t begin to tell you how thankful I am!

So, it won’t matter if I decide to major in biology for my four years in uni? As long as I take all the classes required, I’ll be fine? Does it matter if I pick biology, biochemistry, chemistry, or any other major? If I pick computer science, wouldn’t I be at a disadvantage of some sorts?

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Your major does not matter as long as you take the pre-req courses to apply to Medical school. If you think you can get a competitive GPA as a CS major, then go ahead and pursue that major. You will still need to fit in the Medical School pre-req’s plus you should always have a backup plan just in case you cannot get into Medical school. CS would be an excellent option.

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^^What she said.

Comp sci will offer you a fine Plan B career option should you not get an acceptance to med school. (And every year more than 60% of those apply don’t get a single acceptance.) Every pre-med needs a Plan B.

Neither of my daughters were bio/chem/biochem majors. Both had no issues getting accepted by med schools.

Just make sure you keep you GPA in 3.5+ range, do well in pre-reqs classes and on your MCAT.
(BTW, comp sci and math/stats majors are welcome in most research groups because they can always use someone who can help crunch the data.)

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You can get a compsci degree AND be premed. In fact, my son’s undergrad has a CS premed path. This would give you the Plan B you want.

There’s no such thing as a premed major and med schools don’t want/expect that anyway.

Just have to complete the basic premed prereqs…some may be part of a CS major anyway.