<p>Hi Kirss1024,
Congrats on being half way done with college. Can you believe you only have 2 more years of being able to sit in the student section?</p>
<p>The best electives for SCPP, I would say, are human/vertebrate physiology (take this with Sunny Boyd if you can), genetics, biochemistry, and cell biology. Some med schools also require a course in biochemistry. </p>
<p>I'm not exactly sure when you can take the MCAT, because it's offered more frequently now; when I took it, it was offered twice a year, April and August. I would say it's probably best to take it as soon as you're ready. That way you'll get your scores before AMCAS (the med school application) goes live and hopefully have time to retake it if necessary. Basically, there is a day that the AMCAS application becomes available for submission and almost every med school applicant presses the submit button on that day because med schools usually read applications in the order they receive them. You are at somewhat of a disadvantage if you don't submit it on that date. Of course if you don't plan to apply for the 2009-2010 medschool class you could take the MCAT as late as you want to.</p>
<p>AHHH!!! I've been doused in private messages. Give me time...I promise I'll get to all of them. :)</p>
<p>Hi everyone,
I finished my first year of medical school on June 11. It was a great year, and I never thought it was possible to learn as much as I did in such a short amount of time. After my first year, I can again say, unequivocally, that my Notre Dame education really helped me to succeed during this difficult first year. Get the most out of ND because you will really appreciate it during med school when you don't have to prepare as long for a cell biology or biochemistry test because you have a strong background in them, and can instead focus on memorizing the 300+ anatomy terms you have to know for the next day. </p>
<p>And medical school is an amazing experience. Everyday you become more and more fascinated with the human body and medicine. You get to do cadaver dissection and see how beautifully and intricately crafted the body really is. You watch live videos of laparoscopic surgical procedures like gastric bypass and gall bladder removal. You meet patients and learn what a heart murmur sounds like. Your vocabulary expands rapidly and you have no problem using words like "acetabulum" or "hematemesis" or "anastomosis" in everyday conversations. You actually get real-world contexts for all that "cell stuff" you've spent so many years learning. Instead of drawing diagrams of the heart, you actually get to hold a real, human one in your hands and trace the path of blood through it. I hope these anecdotes keep you motivated for what's to come and give you at least a little inspiration for MCAT preparation or that next orgo or physics test. :)</p>
<p>I just wanted to say thanks to all of the nice people I've gotten to chat with on this message board over the past year and a half. It has truly been an honor to help you all with your medical school-related questions, and I'm excited that we'll have so many fabulous doctors in the future. I'll continue to answer questions for as long as I have time and you still have questions.</p>
<p>princess, you are amazing. thank you.</p>
<p>Hi Kids,
I've gotten a lot of private messages in recent weeks of students asking what they should be doing during their summers to increase their chances of gaining acceptance to medical school. The answer: you should be doing something. Yes, my friends, that means no more sitting in your pajamas until noon watching reruns of 90's sitcoms. You must be doing something. Here's some options: </p>
<ol>
<li>Doing summer research in science or some other field that relates to medicine is an excellent choice. There are many programs that give you a stipend (and even room and board if you're from out of state) to participate in clinical or basic science research. For these, you're going to have to start preparing to apply in November. Some have early application deadlines and require letters of recommendation, so get an early start. Here's some websites with lots of programs you can apply to: </li>
</ol>
<p>-<a href="http://www.columbia.edu/cu/biology/ug/intern.html">http://www.columbia.edu/cu/biology/ug/intern.html</a>
-<a href="http://people.rit.edu/gtfsbi/Symp/premed.htm">http://people.rit.edu/gtfsbi/Symp/premed.htm</a>
-For URMs: Minority</a> Summer Opportunities
-Of course you can also find some other really good programs by doing a Google search. </p>
<p>ND also has a program through the College of Arts and Letters where you can design your own project with a faculty member, so look for emails about this. Usually sophomores and juniors win these fellowships. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Get a job/non-research internship. A great place to start is going to ND's career and internship fairs (don't be too put off by all those Goldman Sachs-seeking business majors). Even if you don't wind up landing something there, you will get some ideas for things to apply to. There's also the career center website. Here's some interesting internships that could definitely come in handy on a med school application:
-<a href="http://www.hrw.org/internships/undergraduates/undergraduates.html">http://www.hrw.org/internships/undergraduates/undergraduates.html</a>
-Camp Sweeney: Summer camp for diabetic kids seeks counselors every summer (Contact</a> Us :: Camp Sweeney 2008)</p></li>
<li><p>Volunteer at a hospital or set-up a regular shadowing schedule with a physician. Let's face it, you should probably do this anyway. Don't know any physicians? Look for doctors in your area on Google and email them or call their offices and leave them a message. Tell them about yourself, that you're interested in their field and that you'd like to shadow them. If you live near an academic medical center, I'd recommend starting with those docs because they like to teach and will likely be thrilled that you're interested in their field. </p></li>
<li><p>Go abroad. Med school like to see this because it's one of those things that shows that you have "life experiences". ND has a wide variety of summer abroad program options. </p></li>
<li><p>Do a service project. Although I list this last, these are really great opportunities to help in the community, gain life experience, and show that you care about others (all things med schools LOVE). Luckily for you, ND has the Center for Social Concerns which maintains of list of both domestic and international (I know someone who did a summer service learning project in Fiji) service programs. Some pay, others don't. You could spend your summer rebuilding homes in New Orleans or teaching English to kids in Thailand. If this sounds interesting to you, visit the CSC in November-ish to see about how applying works.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Hi, I was just wondering what path to becoming a doctor would be the most beneficial or efficient. Should I go into college and major in psychology then go on to med school, or would it be in my interest to find a pre-med program starting out. I am a good strudent, but I know how competitive med school is, so any suggestion would greatly help! thanks so much</p>
<p>Hi Everyone,
I'm resurrecting the premed forum I started back when I was still a Notre Dame senior applying to medical school. I am now more than half way through my second year of medical school at the University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine. As I have time, I am willing to respond to questions you may have about premed, med school, etc. I just noticed I have some private messages waiting for me that are very old, so if I never got back to you, I'm sorry. :) I'll be better in the future.</p>
<p>Hi Princess -- I think I might have mentioned this before, but we'd love to have you at the PreMed Topics forum, too. =)</p>
<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/</a></p>
<p>hello princessND, how hard is it to get internships or research experience if a person does not major in something science related? thanks</p>
<p>Hey Altamount,
It can be tricky. My best advice here would be to find something you're interested in and email faculty members for help. Tell them you want to go to medical school and you're interested in their project/topic and ask them how you could get a research opportunity doing something similar. For all you know they might sponsor you themselves or hook you up with someone else who needs an intern. Networking is key.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>First, I want to thank you for your very intersting thread.</p>
<p>My son has been admitted EA at ND for the class of 2013. He has also been admitted to U. of Michigan (in-state costs).</p>
<p>I went to ND and knew a lot of pre-meds, all of them got into good med schools, so I do believe that ND has a very good track record (but of course a person still needs to get the grades, etc...).</p>
<p>But what about the cost difference here ($120,000) over 4 years, we won't qualify for any FA (just outside the limit) and my wife and I both work in automotive industry....so things are a little worrisome.</p>
<p>My son is now thinking about pre-med, so if we sent him to ND, he would take on some debt and so would we, and now if you add up medical school (3 years at $60K/yr?), this is a lot $$$.</p>
<p>So go to ND or in-state U of Mi? How are med students handling all of this cost?</p>
<p>Hi MiPerson80, </p>
<p>As much as I love ND, I would say go to UMich. While I do think that ND is the better school, UMich is one of the top publics in the country, and it sends tons of students to medical school every year, including the top med schools. That difference in cost is just staggering. I think ND (and other schools) really needs to figure out how to get the cost of attendance under control (it's currently more than the average American family makes in a year)...urgh. And yes, med school is very expensive. Of course if your son does well enough to get into UMich's med school, that will be at in state cost as well. </p>
<p>Most med students get tons of loans to cover tuition and living expenses. Of course the more loans a person gets, the more likely they are to feel that they have to choose a highly compensated specialty, thus virtually eliminating the number of students going into primary care. Good luck finding a family practitioner in 10 or so years. </p>
<p>Some of the more wealthy med schools offer a large number of scholarships that cover anywhere from a few thousand dollars to full tuition. As you can imagine, these are tough awards to get.</p>
<p>Hi Princess! Just to revive the revival...could you revisit from your memory what stats one would need to get in to med school? Daughter is a sophomore SCPP with a double major in music (I know, a different one!). She, like all her friends are starting to get jittery about what exactly they'll need to make the next move. GPA? minimum? extras? What are your thoughts now as you look back? Thanks!</p>
<p>Hi Irish,
I would get the MSAR book. It comes out every year with the averages of admitted students to every medical school in the country. I think the goal should be to get a 3.6 or higher from ND with at least a 31 on the MCAT. Higher, of course, would be better.
AAMC:</a> Medical School Admission Requirements</p>
<p>Hey ND kids,
Iām now a pretty regular contributor over at the premed forum. Itās a great community of premed and medical students and we recently had a live chat for students. If you ever have time feel free to check it out:
<a href=āhttp://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/[/url]ā>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/</a></p>
<p>Feel free to send me PMās if you ever need questions answered.</p>
<p>Hi Princess - </p>
<p>Decision time is closing in and ND is right near the top of my list :). I received my financial aid package today and I didnt receive really any form of aid (as I expected given our financial situation here at home). I am also considering georgetown (with the same financial aid situation) and saint louis university (where i have been offered a full ride and early acceptance into their medical school). I am fortunate enough to have finances as only a minor factor in my decision process. At the same time, however, it would be nice to graduate with virtually no debt. I also keep hearing sad stories about kids who dont get into med school which is very scary to me (which makes me consider slu). For what its worth, I would probably be in the honors program at ND (still waiting - fingers crossed). </p>
<p>If you have any insight, I would gladly appreciate it! Thanks!</p>
<p>hello!
Iām planning on going to college in august as a pre-med, & I got into Notre Dame under the ALPP. But I fear that it might be too big for me. How many students are in the pre-med courses, like Organic Chem, general chem, physics (which is unfortunately calc. based, I hear) Do the professors know you? How can you get help in these classes if youāre struggling? how are the TAs? are they the ones teaching the labs? I love ND but I think it may be too bigā¦Does it feel that way to you in these science lectures?<br>
Thanks for your reply in advance!
-Corneja</p>
<p>Hi, I was wondering if the workload is very intense if you choose to do the preprofessional studies in the arts and letters? I was hoping to ba in english along with the pre med requirements</p>
<p>I just got accepted into the ALPP. Iām considering going to ND but I think it may be too big for me. How many people are in the general chem, the bio, the physics, the organic chem lectures that I have to take for med/dental school? Do the professors know you? Do the TAs teach the labs? How are they? How can you get help in these courses if you need it?</p>
<p>Iām wondering also if you could tell me what advantages Notre Dame has over smaller liberal arts colleges, like Colgate and Bowdoin.</p>
<p>THANKS!</p>
<p>Hey cycloneman,
Congrats! Because I graduated from ND, Iām really partial and tell most people to go to ND, especially if they can afford it. I just donāt think that anywhere else compares, seriously. However, you have to make the choice that is right for you. You need to decide where youāll be happiest and go to that school. In the end, youāll like it more and will do better. Check out the premed forumā¦weāve been having this discussion for what seems like months now and we always give those kids the same advice: go to the school thatās the best fit for you. Best of luck.</p>