I would start applying to at least one volunteer position/clinical position by early second semester of freshman year. Some of them take months to onboard and you may just be outright rejected, too. I think it is generally advised to not take up too many activities early, and to test out the college rigor for the first semester. Research is also hit or miss especially if you’re walking in with no experience, so cold emailing could take a long time; most universities have summer fellowships for research…something to look into.
I’m not sure my individual experience with ECs/rigor will really mean anything. I know many people who got accepted to great MDs who had vastly different EC profiles. As I mentioned, as long as you fulfill the basic categories of ECs, you can pretty much do whatever you want. I.e. clinical could be medical scribe, EMT, MA, in-hospital volunteer, ED volunteer, hospice, etc. The key is to do things you like so you can form a compelling narrative for medical schools. Without that, you’re probably toast—many extremely high stat applicants get rejected for this reason.
I have no idea how to compare case and UR for undergrad, but both have very good medical schools. I doubt it matters for undergrad if they’re both in the same tier assuming you’re paying the same.
Most of this is dependent on the individual student. If you look at some of the people getting into the real top tier schools, you will be able to tell that it’s vastly different than college and you seriously have to be both invested and passionate about what you’re doing on top of being a near-perfect academic.
Weedout courses are only during freshman/sophomore year, colloquially. Yes, if you get a C- in any course you are screwed, but upper level courses often grade extremely leniently, have very few students, and if you put in mild effort you get an A. At this point you’ve passed the ‘weedout’ so you’re commited and will be applying premed, honestly there’s no reason for people to be screwing you over with grades and most* profs understand this.
On the other hand, the courses such as gen/organic chem will have 300 kids and do a normal bell curve. Probably around 20-30% (depending on school) will get an A/A-. A large percentage get the grades you call “catastrophic - forget about it” and thus get weeded out.
Pick your student’s favorite, considering cost and ability to pay vs loans. Successful doctors come from all three.
Pitt and Case are more urban, setting-wise. UR is right at Rochester, but has more of a typical campus bubble. My guy liked that last part and it, plus their research focus - a large majority of students do research - and lack of emphasis on sports are why he selected that one over Pitt when making his final decision. (Remember research was his Plan B.) Case he eliminated earlier - didn’t apply - because he liked Pitt better and had his admission to it (rolling admission). That doesn’t mean Case is a bad school though. I know students who have gone there and loved it. It’s just differences in “settings” really.
As with major, pick what the student likes because they’re more likely to do better somewhere they love being. (Keep costs in mind though.)
Thank you so much for your insights. I guess once we get started things will become clearer.
So if we commit to college with a major in mind say …biology… then we have passed the weed out? As there is no pre med category as such
You can do any major. You’ve passed the weedout once you’ve finished the premed pre-req courses, which include general chemistry, physics, biology, and the main dreaded organic chemistry (the same at every school). This all ends around after sophomore year.
In theory you could get a B here and there in prereqs, but obviously the goal is to maintain at least a 3.8.
I don’t think you understand what “weed out” means. It has nothing to do with your major. It has everything to do with how the student does in the first year, and sometimes second year courses. Let’s just say, some students do not continue with a pre-med intention because they don’t do well in some of these courses, they don’t like the amount of work it takes to excel in these courses, or they realize that this isn’t their cup of tea.
Just because you major in biology does not mean your student won’t hit a wall, not do well, and decide to switch majors.
Weeding out means that not everyone who starts as a premed intention will continue.
FWIW, DO makes a terrible Plan B because it’s actually just as competitive/slightly MORE competitive to get accepted to an osteopathic med school as it is for MD school. (DO has 2.87 applicants for every available seat; MD has 2.76 applicants for every available seat.)
Plus DO programs have some DO-specific requirements that MD schools don’t.
Plan B is a career path that does not involve going to medical school (of any kind).
Apologies if I sound like a broken record…I do understand we can major in anything as long as prerequisites are done…
Does neuroscience major cover all the prerequisites? is it better than just biology ?
Agree with @thumper1. Interestingly, music majors seem to have the best luck getting in med school. There are multiple articles if you do a search, but here is one.
If med schools catch wind that a student is trying for easy, that’s a pretty bad ding against them. It’s a trait they don’t want to admit. They want students who take on challenges and conquer them.
Let your student pick a major they like and excel at it. Ditto with ECs. If they had the shadowing hours/medical experience and GPA to be competitive for a dual program, they can handle their own in undergrad.