<p>This fall I will be a first-year student at Penn State-University Park. I am majoring in pre-medical studies and I am set on a career as a doctor.</p>
<p>I was wondering if any of you had any experience with Penn State in terms of pre-med/med. Does anyone have any advice on what classes to take, what classes to avoid etc.</p>
<p>My first semester will probably be general chem, general bio, calc, freshman seminal, and an arts/humanties/social science course which I most likely will choose from the Middle Eastern history department.</p>
<p>I plan on contacting a local hospital at Penn State and seeing if I could come in a few times a month and over the course of four years shadow physicians. Is there anything else I should be doing?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for all of your help. I am posting the same question in the Penn State forum because I am looking first for answers that are specific to Penn State. Most of my other questions have been answered by reading other threads.</p>
<p>try getting research if u find something interesting</p>
<p>generally biology is taken during the second year along with organic</p>
<p>Joe, that varies a lot from school to school. At my school, general bio was typically second semester freshman year. The OP is probably okay taking it first semester, but should talk with an advisor first.</p>
<p>Penn state is a school with an actual pre-med major. My advice would be to get a real major in something you are passionate about. A pre-med major is pretty worthless.</p>
<p>I was accepted under pre-medicine so when and how to change my major I do not know. There are special advising days for all students throughout the spring and mid-summer where the schedule is made, you meet with the academic advisors, you meet with department heads etc. Mine will be next month and I will be sure to discuss alot of these issues with the pre-med advisor.</p>
<p>This is the pre-med PSU website that shows a sample schedule for the first 2 years- <a href="http://www.science.psu.edu/premed/schedulingtips.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.science.psu.edu/premed/schedulingtips.html</a></p>
<p>The first semester they have set up calc, general chem, bio, freshman seminar, and arts/humanties/social sciences courses.</p>
<p>The 2nd semester they have chem lab, general chem continued, bio, calc continued and english</p>
<p>In my 3rd and 4th semesters they recommend to take orgo, orgo lab, and the remaining general chem lab from the 2nd semester, and one physcis course in thr 4th semester. </p>
<p>What would be a good way to adjust this schedule.</p>
<p>If I were to major in something else it would most likely be bio or political science. In any case I woud be required to take bio, general chem, orgo chem, and calc for my first 2 yrs towards fulfilling pre med requirements. </p>
<p>I would appreciate it if you had the time to check out the recommended course for first 4 semester and offer your input. Some of the classes (nutrition, stat, compsci) I am not to keen on taking. Nor do I want to take a foreign language.</p>
<p>As for research, is this better done in the summer or during school year, and where would it be a good place to start looking for research opportunities.</p>
<p>And if it is better to do research in summer, I would prefer to do it at a university near my home in Philadelphia, so would say Drexel or Temple accept a Penn State student for summer research?</p>
<p>Skieasy89,</p>
<p>I don't have time to read through/reply to this thread in detail right now, but I don't want to forget to come back to it... I was going to PM you but you have PMs disabled.</p>
<p>I just finished my first year at PSU Main. I entered intending on majoring in Biology and am now fairly certain that I am doing BMB (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) instead. I plan to go to med school. If you have any PSU-specific questions that you think I might be able to answer... feel free to email me at david06 at gmail dot com.</p>