Starting premed in sophomore year.. am I too late?

Hi everyone, I’m currently a rising sophomore at a 4-year university in the U.S.

I was originally planning to major in communications & theatre because I’ve always had a passion for theatric arts, but I realized it just wasn’t for me by the time I finished freshman year.

So I took some summer classes (doesn’t give credit) for two and a half months in a variety of subjects to explore my options (biology, anatomy, astronomy, studio art, etc.) + did an internship at a private medical clinic. I fell in love with my science courses along with the activities I witnessed while working at the clinic. I’m one week away to finishing my summer school and internship, and I just really realize how much I am passionate for working in the medical field. I’ve definitely thought about premed back in high school since I enjoyed science classes back then as well. But I didn’t realize til now how much this field means to me especially after a lot of family hardships due to illnesses.

I’ve started researching the pre-med track, but I’m very conflicted at the moment. I didn’t take any pre-medical courses in my freshman year except for developmental psychology.

I saw that almost all pre-med students take about 2/5 of their premed prerequisites by freshman year… I need to take general chemistry, organic chemistry, biology, physics, and calculus but I don’t know how I’m going to schedule this all out when I’m a whole year behind. I’m just entirely lost in this process.

What should I do?

I would meet with a premed advisor at your university to make a schedule moving forward.

It’s never too late! I have a family member who became a doctor in his 40s! Talk to your advisor and figure out what classes you need to schedule. If you spend an extra semester or two on your undergrad it’s just a small amount of time over a lifetime. Good luck and good for you!

It’s not too late—never too late.

However, yes, it may not be possible to graduate on time and get all of the required courses completed without paying extra, doing summer school, etc.

Some college students in my area decided later than you did to go premed like at very last minute. They chose to do their premed courses separate from their primary college. There are bundled premed programs at schools. My local state school offers them.

It can be a monetary and time issue if you decide to go that route. Getting the needed courses included in your regular college makes it less expensive. But if you are able to pile up these courses, it can be difficult to do well. . Something to take intoconsideration, because you do need to learn the material well, and the grades are of paramount importance

No, it’s not too late. I seem to remember a student in S’s class was 38 when he started.

Getting into med school is a year long process. To apply to start med school say in summer after you graduate you would need to apply in summer after junior year. You should have completed all premed reqs before taking MCAT and then allow 2-3 months prep for MCAT. You still need to complete several premed reqs including 2 years of chem courses. In addition you need medically related ECs. I also assume you’d like to have college life and not just be locked up in your room studying. It seems that considering your need to finish premed reqs, prep/take MCAT, participate in ECs, have college life, etc, the earliest you could apply is summer after you graduate. If I’m not mistaken the median age of med school matriculants is 24 as more and more applicants are waiting, in part, to strengthen their applications. It would not surprise me that some/many of the premeds who you refer to as having started premed as freshman have either changed career paths or plan to apply after graduating as they need the extra year(s) for grade repair.

Keep in mind that getting into med school is not a sprint, but a marathon. It’s best to apply one time with strongest possible app. If you have to wait until you graduate and take a gap year or 2 or 3 in order to produce a competitive app, so be it. Talk to an advisor. Good luck.

It’s never too late to prepare and apply to medschools but it may be too late to do it within the constraints of your planned college time is the answer to your question.