@twogirls daughter has found her calling. The point of her post was that her kid did this exploration and came to her own conclusions.
This is what needs to happen with anyone considering a career in health care… the student need to be doing the info gathering and soul searching
I think that may be viewed by Admissions in the context of the student. For example, did the student need to work to help pay their own application fees, travel expenses to interviews? If so, paid internships wouldn’t be held against them
yes I have understood that, thank you.
Does your son have a major?
My daughter will start college this fall. She is looking into biology major…
I apologize for saying your son. My daughter was also a biology major.
Yeah I think it keeps one focused. I do know that any major will work as long as the child likes it.
Any major can keep you focused as long as you like it.
Biology is a broad major that often leads to other interests. These interests may or may not include medical school. Sometimes medical school is put on hold for a few years because they are provided with other opportunities. Sometimes medical school is still the plan.
My point is that interests can change as they continue their schooling….
You may think, but honestly no - they have too many applicants and absolutely filter for those who have zero volunteering or shadowing or clinical. It’s been very enlightening to see how very arbitrary the system is and how it absolutely benefits those with resources.
Hi all, I want to know if anyone used any prep course for MCAT such as Princeton Review or Kaplan as my kid sophomore will be taking this summer and needs structure. Which one you guys recommend?
There are better sources of MCAT prep materials than Kaplan (whose practice exams really aren’t predictive how students will score on the actual MCAT)
AMCAS itself offers a question bank for subject matter review and 4 retired, full length, actual MCAT tests for practice
https://store.aamc.org/mcat-prep/full-length-exams.html
Take a look at ANKI study decks for subject matter review.
Good luck to your daughter. Where did she join for bio?
Hey,
What pre med related summer program can i do during summer before college freshman year?
There is absolutely no need to do some special pre-med related program the summer before you start college. Get a job…maybe working at a day care center, or a senior center. Sign up to do some volunteer work with underprivileged folks.
Maybe take an EMS certification course. Become a lifeguard.
There are plenty of things you can do that aren’t a “program”.
Oh…and find time to enjoy your last summer before college starts…because if you do continue a pre-med intention…the next few summers will be spent shadowing doctors, trying to get some work experience with patient contact, prepping for the MCAT, completing med school applications. Then once you start medical school….you can kiss your summers goodbye for at least 7 more years (medical school and residency summers). So….enjoy this last summer!!
@WayOutWestMom I’m sure I’ve left something important out.
Nope. @thumper1 that cover just about all of it.
Pre-med is a treadmill and once you’re on it, it’s hard to get off.
If you really want to get started on being a pre-med…volunteer at a local hospital, public health clinic, nursing home or other healthcare facility. You want a position that gives you up-close contact with patients and their families. (“Close enough to smell the patient.”) but it may take you a while to earn your way into a position like that,
I am a senior in high school, planning to pursue pre med in college. I want to self study in summer to get a head start. Please suggest good books that covers topics of first year pre med syllabus in biology, physics & chemistry & math
Get a head start by volunteering in a nursing home, a homeless shelter, an organization which supports former addicts trying to stay clean.
You will learn valuable lessons about vulnerable populations and their issues with the health care system which will serve you more than self-studying bio or chem. Your head start will be that you understand the enormous challenges facing doctors as they navigate patient care.
@jasmine48 listen to what @blossom posted. Being book smart isn’t all you will need to get accepted to medical school….should you even get that far.
Also…if you do go to medical school….this summer before your freshman year in college could very well be the last summer in a LONG time when you will be able to actually just relax and enjoy yourself. You won’t get summer breaks in medical school…or during residency. Even the summers during undergrad will be filled with shadowing, relevant volunteer work, and some kind of work that gives you actual patient contact.
Frankly, I would suggest you NOT spend your summer this year studying studying studying.
@WayOutWestMom what did I leave out?
I agree your time would be better spent doing something other than studying. For pre-meds, summers are for getting your ECs done, not doing school work.
But if you’re worried about your academics, I suggest you examine where your strengths and weaknesses lie. Once you know that, you can do some self studying to fill any knowledge gaps you have. Strong foundational skills in math are particularly important for science majors/pre-meds. You’ll need to be rock solid in algebra and trig for gen chem and physics. If you want to stretch–try R programming or mathematical statistics (as opposed to business statisitics). Both of those are important/useful for pre-meds.
You could also go to the course catalog for your college and look up what textbooks the intro bio, gen chem and calc 1 classes use and try to work your way thru them if you want to get a head start on the course material.