As a (very proud) member of the Class of 2020, a avid traveler, and someone interested into eventually entering medicine, I am sort of conflicted on my preliminary plans for my time at the College. I’ve always dreamed of studying abroad as I’d think it’d be the perfect way to supplement the lessons I’ve learned in the formal environment. I’m aware, however, of med schools requiring a pretty extensive and specific list of prereqs for admission. How conducive are these required classes to studying abroad? Is it feasible as a student on the health track to take a quarter off and study abroad?
Of course you can study abroad, but if you plan on applying to go straight to medical school after you graduate, you’ll have to put a little bit of thought in planning out your d-plan. Talk to the pre-health advisors to get any help. Also, you don’t take a quarter off to study abroad – it counts as an on term not an off term. there are a few programs (I think) that will take you abroad on an off term.
@Apocra Thanks for the reply! Do you speak from experience??
I’d be really interested in hearing the workload of someone who’s on the health track/ planning on studying abroad. Assuming that you wouldn’t be allowed to take any heavy science courses abroad, is the work still manageable?
Hi there! As a fellow member of the Dartmouth Class of 2020, I’d like to give my congratulations and express my joy at getting the chance to meet you next September.
That said, something you mentioned confused me. I am a prospective history major, and I understand that what the Pre-Med Program asks you to fulfill may be extensive, but as far as I know, Medical Schools’ prerequisites are fairly easy to meet. Both my parents are physicians (though my mother was certified abroad), and from what they’ve told me/what I’ve read, the only requirements are the MCAT, a completed major, 1 year of Biology w/ lab work, 2 years of Advanced Chemistry (Organic and Inorganic, maybe Biochem, depending on the institution) w/ lab work, 1 year of Calculus w/ Stats component, 1 year of physics, letters of rec, and an interview.
You could major in English Literature and still go on to Medical School - don’t worry about it. Study abroad won’t negatively impact you in the slightest, and some schools may even see that experience as a positive thing and use it to gain a deeper understanding of you as an applicant.
You won’t necessarily need to take more time. You’ll meet with an advisor your first week on campus, and you can plan out every class for each term for each year that week if you want. Dartmouth is also really good at study abroad programs, meaning a large portion of the student body ends up doing one or more by the time they graduate. There are also various programs that provide classes within your pre-req needs. There was a biology trip to Costa Rica one of my years, for example. That means you can go on the trip and take one or two pre-reqs that term… it’s not a wasted term by any means. Or, like it was stated above, if you major in English or Govy, you take your major classes on that program, and pick up premed next quarter.
Generally speaking, if you want to do Premed and major in something not-bio, you’ll take maybe 14 classes for your major, maybe 10 for premed, meaning you have about 11 “free” courses to take. For illustration purposes only, you have enough wiggle room to do Pre-Med + Random Major + 1 off-campus quarter if you plan it out ahead of time.