Hello,
(I messed up my first post, please disregard that one and read this one)
Hello,
I am about to start my Freshman year this month and before my appointment with my Pre-Med Advisor, I would like other people’s suggestions as to the path that I will take to get into Medical School. Yes, this post might sound generic, but I would like to tell you as to why I need and want some other suggestions.
First of all, I will be attending my undergraduate university not for four years, but for five years. This summer, I took the chance to apply into a program and I was accepted, thankfully. This program is called the Global Science and Engineering Program. In my school, it allows me to major on two different majors: one Bachelor of Science and one Bachelor of Arts. I have chosen to both major in Biomedical Science and French as the program requires the member to master a foreign language. However, this is not only the benefit of the program, as it allows me to receive an internship in a foreign country that is related to whatever profession I desire to be. According to the program, I will spend my senior academic year in a foreign country, which I have chosen France, more specifically Bordeaux and L’Université de Bordeaux. The second semester will be more focused on the internship (or research if I choose) aspect of the program.
What I would like for other people to suggest is what I should do each year. This first semester, I would like to volunteer at a nearby Medical Center which is practically less than a mile away from my university and harmonize it with a part-time job. I would like your suggestion on whether I should give up on one for now and do the other, or maybe even not do any of them, though I do not wish to give up on at least wanting to do one of them. I am also thinking of applying in an internship next summer, but I would like someone’s opinion if I should apply to one or not considering I will already be getting an internship in my senior year.
Please specifically state what you think I should do for each semester of each year of my 5 years as an undergraduate, what I should do each summer, when I should take the MCAT, when I should do research, volunteer, etc.
Thank you very much for all of your input, and I deeply appreciate each and one of them more than you could imagine. It might sound very cliché for me to say this, but I am heavily invested in attempting to become a doctor for a deep, personal reason and I have not done myself justice by not materializing my full potential. Only now had I realized that I need to work mercilessly if I wanted to truly become a doctor, and my first step is to find myself a guide even though it’s not a straight line to medical school.
No one here can tell you semester by semester what classes to take in order to fulfill the requirements of your programs, prep for the MCAT, study abroad for a year, apply to med school and do research. Your pre-med advisor is better positioned to do this.
The one piece of advice I’d offer is not to over-extend yourself fall semester of freshman year. You will have a lot of adjusting to do without adding a job and an internship. You need time to study, make friends, sleep, and figure out how ‘the system’ works. If you feel on top of your game after first semester, go ahead and add the job or the internship. You will have sufficient time during your 5 years to complete both majors if you plan ahead and that’s where your pre-med advisor can help.