<p>In my D’s case, the unanswered prayer was truly a gift.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/3582079-post12.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/3582079-post12.html</a></p>
<p>Bubba- chill out…it’s not a contest to be first to the finish line. Med school is not the prize for winning the race. It is a part of the journey of life. It is a completely absorbing lifestyle, it is a commitment to an intense vocational education. Not something you do just because it is prestigious or because your parents tell you to do it.</p>
<p>Go to a solid undergrad, great if you can get merit aid and keep your expenses low as med school is not cheap. But do your pre-med required classes and do a major you enjoy. Explore the medical profession through shadowing and volunteering and any other health involved opportunities. Learn about it, all about it and learn whether it truly appeals to you.</p>
<p>For example, my DD thought she might be interested in sports medicine, she was a high level athlete (played for a US national team) and is interested in how all that works. She did a term with a Div 1 football team and was less than impressed with the pampering prima donna attitudes she saw, she was very disappointed in that and it steered her toward another focus.</p>
<p>Consider even a year off between UG & MD school, many students go right in, like Kristen and Curm’s DD. My DD needed to wait to apply due to MCAT timing and other reasons, but even more, she now realises that for HER it was so important to have the year off working in medical research, so still exploring medicine, but also working-earning enough to pay for her living expenses and to save some money as well as just plain relaxing and having fun! Also, she was exposed to a great number of people her age who are not going to med school and even skipped any college. She realised she likes the mind of academics, she was finding her fit.</p>
<p>This is your life, not your parent’s Christmas letter, pursue lofty goals, keep your options open, but enjoy the path.</p>
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<p>That’s not entirely true. My life is part of their life. I mean I kind of sold my soul to my parents when they pay from their pocket, don’t ya think?</p>
<p>I’ll second somemom on that one!</p>
<p>Do what you need to do. Try not to stress out too much right now–you’ll have plenty and I mean PLENTY of time for that later on. Med school’s still pretty far off for you right now if you’re not even an undergrad yet. </p>
<p>Sure it’s great to prepare along the way, and to know going into it what you need to do to be competitive at the end. But another thing to realize is that if you’re going to be a successful premed (and by that I mean, get into medical school), then all the required stuff should be stuff you really like, and most of it should be stuff you’re absolutely clamoring to do. Being a premed is tough work. I can only imagine going to medical school will be challenging, and I bet being a resident is far from a walk in the park.</p>
<p>But if you really like the stuff you’re doing, it won’t feel like work and you’ll be eager to continue. I’ve logged 400+ hours shadowing–and I’m confident that 90% were fun, easy, and because I wanted to go (not because I thought it would look good or someone was making me). I love volunteering and have been doing it for years. Getting involved with student organizations–and even starting my own–was something I really wanted to do, and I naturally assumed leadership positions within them. Even interning at a research lab was a great experience–though I now know I don’t want to do research–because it was really cool to see how to apply the science I was learning in the classroom. The challenging upper level honors science classes I took were hands down my favorites of undergrad. Learning about health care systems, health disparities, and health policy is fascinating. Etc etc etc.</p>
<p>All of those things I just described have combined to make me a pretty strong applicant. I have a resume with plenty of depth and breadth and I believe I have very strong recommendation letters. I’ve interviewed at 2 top 20s and am headed to a top 10 this afternoon. I’ve been accepted to my state school and am waiting on decisions from the other 3. </p>
<p>What should that mean to you? Do what you want to do because you want to do it. Don’t do a whole bunch of stuff just because you think it will make you a good premed. Stop kidding yourself and feigning interest in areas that are dull to you because you think they will make you a more competitive applicant. Do things authentically and you’ll be pleasantly surprised with how high quality they are. If you enjoy all the steps along the way, you’re going to be thrilled with the outcome. I know I am :)</p>
<p>PS: The only exceptions to “don’t do stuff just because it’ll make you look like a good premed” notion are the premed prereqs. I, for one, DESPISE physics. If I never take another physics class or look at another formula sheet or sit through another physics lab again it will be way too soon. But I had to take an entire freakin year of physics to meet the requirements for every school out there. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.</p>
<p>I think you guys are off-track in what im saying. I am not saying that I want to be a doctor because my parents are forcing me to be a doctor. </p>
<p>I am saying that I am applying to direct med programs because my parents are forcing me to. They fear that I won’t get into med schools from undergrad so they think that this is my one and only option. Man, I want to be a doctor. Thats for sure.</p>
<p>That’s good to hear, it is easy to misinterpret postings on CC as it is nearly impossible to paint a complete picture.</p>
<p>Yes, a direct program would be easy & simple, if you got in. Often no MCAT or moderately low one required, no POS, no 15-40 AMCAS (plus TX!) app forms plus secondaries plus all the fees plus the transcript fees plus the costs of interviews plus the year of stress and panic (some late nights ;)) until you get in. Yes, if a person is ready it is truly a simpler way. In the west I do not know anyone in the US who has done this.</p>
<p>I do know a dozen kids who have done it in the UK, they apply out of HS and go right into a, I think 3 year, MD programme in the UK. I think they then move on to residency. Since those kids are mostly 3-4-5-6 years out of HS I don’t know how successfully they move back to the states, the kids I know are all Canadian. I don’t know why they choose this route, but they are sure done sooner! But I never hear about kids in the west who do this direct route</p>
<p>Well, it’s great that you have the motivation to pursue medicine, and it’s a bummer that your parents think you only have this one shot.</p>
<p>The point I was trying to make is that worrying about all of this stuff now–as a high school student–isn’t worth your time or energy. If you’re going to be a successful premed (get into medical school sometime after undergrad), it’s likely that you’ll get there by genuinely enjoying the activities that make someone a successful premed. I gave you a few examples from my life to illustrate.</p>
<p>If your parents think the only way for you to get there is through a BS/MD program, then they’re just wrong. Any ideas why they think this is your only shot?</p>
<p>To get into medical school out of college, here’s a short/bare bones list of things you’ll need:</p>
<p>1) High GPA and a great transcript full of challenging courses
2) A solid and balanced MCAT score of at least 30, preferably 33+
3) Significant and meaningful experience in clinical settings (popular ways to get there: shadowing, volunteering, working)
4) Significant and meaningful volunteer experience
5) Significant and meaningful leadership experience, probably in an organization or club you’ve been a member of for awhile
6) Considerable research experience, preferably with control over your own project
7) Well-developed hobbies
8) Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
9) Support from professors/PIs/supervisors and the premed committee at your school, in the form of recommendation letters</p>
<p>You have lots of time to work on those things! That’s what undergrad is for.</p>
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<p>Actually yes. They tell me all the time why they want a BS/MD. Firstly, they think I am going to screw up in college. As a high schooler, I am sal of my class w/ 2200 SATs 55554 AP scores, 3 research internships, I’ve been published, started my own club, captain of academic team, yada yada yada. They attribute this success to the fact that I was at home, that they have control over me in high school. When i get to college, they think, I will party all day annd night and not give a rat’s ass about my GPA, activities, MCAT scores, etc, which is certainly not true. I tell them about how wrong they are all the time but they refuse to believe me. Also, they feel that in college, I won’t know how to take care of myself or something like that. So they think that with a BS/MD program, I will be disciplined into controlling my behavior and with the rigorous structure of the program, I will have the resources to succeed.</p>
<p>You need to go to college far away from home.</p>
<p>^No ****…Tell that to my parents.</p>
<p>If a high school student has taken physics, chemisty and biology, etc. etc., and has an interest in pre-med, would it be helpful to take the MCAT as a kind of practice to see what is in store (and what is required)? Just as the SAT and ACT seem now to be encouraging multiple test events through Score Choice (where only the best score needs to be sent to the college), can a high school student take the MCAT a few times and the, as a college student, take the MCAT some more and then choose which MCAT sitting to send to the med schools?</p>
<p>Today, even 4th and 5th graders are taking the SAT for admission into programs such as Johns Hopkins CTY; why not high schoolers taking the MCAT (Doogie Howsers anyone?)</p>
<p>Bubba- you could easily screw up the BS/MD, I think most have minimum requirements of GPA, etc. to progress on to the MD part.</p>
<p>Kelly- no it would not be helpful. Take a practice test when you are getting ready to study but ONLY take the MCAT when you are well prepared. Doing well or poorly now will ultimately not benefit you when you actually get ready to study years from now. Further, you can not select MCAT scores, all will be visible to adcoms and I’m not sure that they ever disappear (they do expire though, but I believe they can still be seen). If you really feel the need to “know” then just take a free practice exam or pay for one online from the MCAT people. I don’t recommend it, it takes your focus off them many many things you need to do prior to the MCAT, many of which are equally important.</p>
<p>OP- I just reread that post, I did not mean to imply that YOU would mess up your studies, just that your parents thinking that admission to a BS/MD would prevent screw ups is fallacious thinking…heck, a person could even drop out of med school.</p>
<p>Wait are you saying that because of the lax GPA requirements, screwing up in a BS/MD programs would be easier? How so? Is it that students wouldn’t feel that much pressure and thus not try as hard?</p>
<p>I really like bdm’s post here in response to the OP’s post about his folks assertion that his high school achievements were due in large part to them (and the OP’s response to bdm’s post).
A whole lot of understanding passed between these two with very few words.
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<p>lol. If I ever said that to my kid, or even remotely hinted at that to my kid, well…she’d have sewn me into the bedsheets and beat me with a mop handle.</p>
<p>^Have you ever said what? What are you referring to? </p>
<p>And thanks for the response. lol</p>
<p>He means: “If I’d ever tried to take credit for my daughter’s success, she’d be very upset.”</p>
<p>I was referring to your folks “stealing your thunder”. I wouldn’t do that. Ever. I didn’t take the test. I didn’t do the research paper. I am proud of what I did do, but I didn’t do any of that. And had I tried to take credit for any of my kid’s accomplishments, I don’t think it would have gone that well for me. :eek:</p>
<p>Edit: Yeah, well. Late again. bdm can type. What can I say?</p>