pre med

<p>has anyone out there made it to the Tufts early assurance program? Can they give me a little background on their journey there? Thanks</p>

<p>I don’t think we have any posters who got into tufts… don’t think we have any pre-meds actually.</p>

<p>I don’t really have many details on Tufts EA, but it’s super competitive. You will need stellar grades (3.5 is the requirement but I’m thinking 3.8+, essentially you want As, maybe an A- or two, in all your sciences), you will need quality, standout ECs, volunteering experience, and some sort of clinical shadowing/exposure. Research probably a plus too, although it’s tough to get experience that early. You’ll also need a strong personal statement with compelling reasons for why you want to be a doctor.</p>

<p>Even then, I know some really strong applicants who were rejected.</p>

<p>Oh,ok. Well is there anyone who went through Northeastern’s program and is going to med school now?</p>

<p>Think you’re out of luck there too. I have some friends going to medical school from neu and know my way around sciences/premed pretty well if you have any specific questions. Overall I’d say we’re pretty successful in sending students to med school IF you have the GPA (3.5+) and the MCAT (30+). Those two factors + co-op experience (looks great on an application) + volunteering + shadowing + clinical research and you’ll do just fine. Of course, that goes for being a pre-med at ANY school.</p>

<p>There is a lot of weeding out though, just like at other places. I’d make a wild guess that about 200 freshman come in every year believing they’ll go to med school and around only 20 are good enough applicants to actually apply by the time they’re seniors.</p>

<p>Emily2007, do you think that if I decide to do pre-med, as well as the electrical engineering major, I would be fine? I don’t intend on going to medical school, however I do intend on following a career path along the lines of biomedical engineering. I am just uncertain as to whether I should try to double major with biology or do the pre-med track.
Also, does every freshman have the same adviser? Does he help me during orientation week or should I be the one to seek him about my future, such as this doubt above? </p>

<p>Thanks :)</p>

<p>Don’t do “pre-med” anything. It’s not really even a program or anything, it’s just the title for taking 1yr bio, 1yr chem, 1yr organic, 1yr physics. At northeastern you only “declare” pre-med so that you can get involved in pre-med advising, and the pre-med committee helps you organize your application and gives you a “committee recommendation” for medical school. Obviously, if you aren’t going to med school, you don’t need this. Plus for someone with your interests, gen bio II is mostly a massive waste of time and mind-numbingly dull, so it’s best to avoid if possible. </p>

<p>I don’t really know much about biomedical engineering, but I assume you’d need to take some basic cellular/human biology classes (gen bio I, genetics, biochem, molecular cell), gen chem, and at least one semester of organic, which are the foundations of biomedical anything. A bio minor may be possible, a dual biology + electrical engineering major would be… ambitious. You’re take two of the most work-intensive majors and combining them.</p>

<p>You’ll definitely want to get in touch with an advisor during your first semester or two. I’m sure you aren’t the first engineer to be interested in biomedical, and someone will be able to tell you the best way to go about it. Your advisor at orientation should be able to help you or tell you who to contact that will know what to do.</p>

<p>Thanks Emily2007! I’m not that ambitious to carry on a double major, a friend of mine (really smart and studious) didn’t make it through because of the time and labor. He made the same advice as you, and I am going to look into a biology minor, or even a biomedical engineering minor (they have it as a minor according to the NU website).
Thanks for all the help, and good luck graduating and with stuff after school :)</p>

<p>I have a friend who just finished her interview for Tufts (she’s a third year) but I don’t know if she got in. She’s a chemistry major (which requires physics) who also took the usual bio classes for pre-med. But I think her big thing was that she has done two co-ops (one in research and one in the industry) and did undergraduate research starting the summer after her first year- so she got great recommendations. I think she’s smart too… so I assume her gpa is high.</p>