New to the Pre Med Forum!! I have TONS of questions!! Please RESPOND! :) Gracias

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>Hey guys!! I'm new to the pre-med forum. I'm a high school junior who wants to become a doctor (or a nurse of the med-school thing fails). I have so many questions for you guys, some of which I have no thought of yet, but trust me they'll be up posted for you guys soon enough lol. So, for now, I'll give you what I have. </p>

<ul>
<li>Are in in college or high school?</li>
<li>If college, where do u attend? </li>
<li><p>What are you majoring in?
- If the college you're attending does not have a designated "pre-med" program than does majoring in biology or chemistry sufice? </p></li>
<li><p>If I want to do pre-med, should I make this decision before I enroll in college my freshman year so that I can pick my classes according to what the med school requirments are? And what are the med school reqs? Are they different for every med school or is there just a general list of courses a pre-med college student must take to get into med school? </p></li>
<li><p>How often should I speak with a pre-med advisor? .. like before the beggining of each semester? </p></li>
<li><p>What kind of grades in college should I shoot for? Are C's not acceptable for med school? </p></li>
</ul>

<p>-How long will it take me to graduate? I've heard that pre-med students often graduate in 5 years instead of 4. or 4 years and one semester. Is this true? </p>

<ul>
<li><p>How stessful is doing premed? Will I be studying like maniac every day of my college life or will I be able to socialize and have fun as well? </p></li>
<li><p>Can med students take courses other than science and math ? I really social sciences and would love to take like a world lit course or something, is that going to be possible? </p></li>
</ul>

<p>Well, sorry this is so long But I hope you guys can take the time to answer some of my questions. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>I'll take a stab at some of your questions, the low down for med school is this:</p>

<p>If I want to do pre-med, should I make this decision before I enroll in college my freshman year so that I can pick my classes according to what the med school requirments are? And what are the med school reqs? Are they different for every med school or is there just a general list of courses a pre-med college student must take to get into med school? </p>

<p>4 core clases, Organic Chemistry (Need to get an A in this ), Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. This is your pre-med requirement, some med-schools may require Calculus or Writing, others may not. You CAN NOT get a C in any of these core science classes, or that will most likely be the end of your med-school dreams. A pre-med does not major in Pre-med at MOST places. </p>

<ul>
<li>What kind of grades in college should I shoot for? Are C's not acceptable for med school? </li>
</ul>

<p>C's are not acceptable, neither are B-'s for the most part, B's maybe if you have much higher grades in other sciences</p>

<p>-How long will it take me to graduate? I've heard that pre-med students often graduate in 5 years instead of 4. or 4 years and one semester. Is this true? </p>

<p>At most schools you have the option of picking any major you want, it just has to fulfill the above requirements. This means you can graduate early or late.</p>

<ul>
<li>How stessful is doing premed? Will I be studying like maniac every day of my college life or will I be able to socialize and have fun as well? </li>
</ul>

<p>Pre-med is probably the most stressfull and competitive thing you will ever be a part of. People will try to do anything in their powers to get you to quit. You will spend lots of time studying, and you will not have nearly as much time to part as others. Sure you can have a social life, but not a big one. </p>

<ul>
<li>Can med students take courses other than science and math ? I really social sciences and would love to take like a world lit course or something, is that going to be possible? </li>
</ul>

<p>As a medical student you will take courses in medicine, no real everyday specialized courses like World Lit. However, during your undergraduate studies you can take anything.</p>

3

<br>


<br>

<p>I find that just plain awful. Is there any point in doing that? Eliminating one person from the applicant pool won't really make much of a difference.</p>

4

<p>Some people may argue otherwise, if they have grades similar to yours and are from your school they are your competition. This means that if both of you apply to the same med. school he is your competition.</p>

5

<p>wow. You're scaring me guys. lol. So B's are really unnacceptable?</p>

6

<p>It is bad enough without exaggerating. Few people present 4.0 averages when they apply to medical school. If you check the AAMC website, and the US News medical school reports, they show the average GPA's of matriculating students. They are high, in the upper 3's, but not perfect. So of course the students get some B's. Just not that many. There is a long and very helpful discussion on the Amherst website, indicating what grades and MCATs one needs from a top LAC to have a reasonable chance at medical school. </p>

<p>There is a lot of pressure to get consistent very high grades. But no one expects a perfect 4.0. If that were the standard, then there would be very few doctors.</p>

<p>Medical schools do like to see A's in the core pre med courses. So serious premeds arrange their course selection to ensure that they will have plent of time to study for these courses.</p>

7

<p>I agree. 3.6-3.8 is a good GPA to aim for.</p>

8

<p>I don't remember many As in organic chemistry. I once got a 29 on an exam and it was curved to a B.</p>

9

<p>"I don't remember many As in organic chemistry. I once got a 29 on an exam and it was curved to a B."</p>

<p>What school did you attend?</p>

10

<p>Organic chem sounds scary. My ap bio teacher was talkign to us about it the other day... it appears as though the sole purpose of that class is to weed out the smart kids who will continue pre med fromallthe other ones! lol</p>

11

<p>I heard that if you take organic chem, and overload with a full-load of other courses, do an intership somewhere far away from school, work full time, and play a varsity sport and an different intramural sport in the same season, and do all of this in the same semester, your chances of getting into med school are better.</p>

<p>Oops, Sorry, the pre-med thing is getting to me too. I was trying to weed some competition with this post:D</p>

12

<p>Why do medical schools care so much about GPA? I don't think that there is any meaningful difference between a 4.0 and a 3.8.</p>

<p>I mean colleges usually look at the whole picture; shouldn't medical schools do the same?</p>

<p>I think that the one thing I've learned from applying to colleges is not to be so preoccupied with getting that A+ all the time and try to focus on your interests instead.</p>

13

<p>GPA is important because it serves as a "weed-out" process during the first phase of medical school admission. If you make it past the GPA and MCAT phase then they look at your E.C., Personal Statement, Clinical experience, etc. It sucks but that's how it is. Med schools want the whole package, and they can ask for it because of the thousands of applicants applying for the 100-150 seats available. </p>

<p>~El Sol</p>

14

<p>why are med schools so freakin hard to get in anyways. Its medicine, for gods sake if some1 really loves medicine but doesnt have the f'in grades, that doesnt mean they will suck as a doctor. Whats with this country and competition in academics? its messed up. </p>

<p>and btw, they say that there is a shortage of doc's so admission will slightly increase in the next couple yrs.</p>

15

<p>If you love medicine and what to be a physician you will do what you need to do to get there, that includes getting the grades. Getting high grades, not perfect grades, is just part of the process. I agree that at times the medical school admissions process is "not cool", but a career in medicine isn't for everyone, and I'm glad that they do what they do. We need the best qualified people becoming physicians. </p>

<p>I'll tell you what, I respect physicians so much now that I know what is needed to get to that point. They busted their butts off during the whole process and I'm glad they are there. </p>

<p>~El Sol</p>

16

<p>yea but sometimes it just gets ridiculous when there are so many REALLY well qualified kids who can't get into med school and Know for certain they're "doctor material". they shouldnt have to resort to carribean schools or w/e. I understand ur statement though and i agree, but sometimes its just annoying lol</p>

17

<ul>
<li><p>Are in in college or high school? College</p></li>
<li><p>If college, where do u attend? PSU</p></li>
<li><p>What are you majoring in? Premed-med program</p></li>
<li><p>If the college you're attending does not have a designated "pre-med" program than does majoring in biology or chemistry suffice? It is up to you to decide what you want to major in. You have to take a certain set of pre-med courses but the major is completely up to you.</p></li>
<li><p>If I want to do pre-med, should I make this decision before I enroll in college my freshman year so that I can pick my classes according to what the med school requirments are? And what are the med school reqs? Are they different for every med school or is there just a general list of courses a pre-med college student must take to get into med school? I would make the decision as early as possible and I would check with the pre-med advisor for information or when and what courses to take.</p></li>
<li><p>How often should I speak with a pre-med advisor? .. like before the beggining of each semester? I would speak to him/her as often as possible. (Provided that you have something to speak about and not just going to brownnose)</p></li>
<li><p>What kind of grades in college should I shoot for? Are C's not acceptable for med school? I would definitely avoid C's. An equal amount of A's and B's are the bare minimum (3.5). I would definitely shoot as high as possible.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>-How long will it take me to graduate? I've heard that pre-med students often graduate in 5 years instead of 4. or 4 years and one semester. Is this true? This will depend on your major. Typically, it should take 4 years but many students take a year off to rest, travel, do anything else before proceeding to med school.</p>

<ul>
<li><p>How stessful is doing premed? Will I be studying like maniac every day of my college life or will I be able to socialize and have fun as well? I think this depends on your school and your intelligence level. I know premeds who spend every waking moment of the day in their rooms studying (i.e. me) and I know premeds who party every night and get by with a 24 hour cram session before the exam (i.e. my roommate)</p></li>
<li><p>Can med students take courses other than science and math ? I really social sciences and would love to take like a world lit course or something, is that going to be possible? Not only can you do it, it is highly recommended that you do it. I believe med schools are trying to find people who major in other subjects besides the typical bio, chem, biochem, etc... As long as you take the required pre-med courses, you can pick any major you want and as such, study the subjects that interest you.</p></li>
</ul>

18

<p>impactangel what's a typical daily schedule for you as a pre-med student?</p>

<p>How many hours a day are you in class; how many hours a day do you study? Do you get weekends to relax/do what you want, or are you still studying on weekends?</p>

19

<p>I'm in my last semester now so my schedule is pretty open for golf, golf, and more golf.</p>

<p>Last year though, I was in class for about 3 hours a day. I generally try to study for at least an hour a day after finishing assorted homework and whatnot.</p>

<p>I find that by doing so, almost all my weekends are free to do what I like. The weekends before exams though, I like to just stay in, lock myself in my room, and cram nonstop. But then again, most people get by very well without doing that! :-)</p>

20

<p>this might sound silly, but I've always wondered this...</p>

<p>In med school, how do you live? What I mean is, where do u live, how do u pay for things, do you pay bills? Do you live in a dorm or an apartment? It seems kinda hard to do all that and still pay tuition for med school. Are u able to hold down a job and still attend? I'm asking cuz i know I'll be pretty in dept and pretty damn poor while in med school ( assuming I make it in) so i just wanna know how u guys survive also..</p>