Hi, I am currently attending a community college right now in California, I plan on being a paediatrician so my major is biology. After 3 years I plan on applying to UCLA. I was wondering if once I graduate UCLA do I have to go to a med school or once I’ve finished UCLA I can do my paediatrician residency?
I’m no expert but I know for a fact you have to go to medical school. If you have more questions about med school you’re better off asking on the studentdoctor forum
After you get your Bachelor’s degree, you then attend Medical school. Once you complete Medical school you would then go into a residency program. Going to UCLA as an undergrad does not guarantee you a spot at their Medical school so expect to apply to many Medical schools and have a backup plan in case Medical school does not work out.
I would also try to transfer in 2 years if possible since some Medical schools do not want you to take your medical school pre-req’s at a community college. @WayOutWestMom is extremely knowledgeable about Medical school so I would PM her about your questions.
@Gumbymom has it right.
You have to finish undergrad before you can start medical school. (Med schools require a college degree for admission.) Since CA is a notoriously difficult state for in-state med school admissions, you’ll need to apply to medical schools all over the county and hope for the best.
If you get an acceptance, then you’ll spend the next 4 years completing med school. Medical school provides general education in a variety of topics and medical specialties. During your 3rd & 4th years, you’ll spend several weeks working in all of the following fields: family practice, pediatrics, internal medicine, OB/GYN, surgery & anesthesia, psychiatry, neurology, plus several other fields of your choosing.
During your 4th year of med school you will apply for a pediatrics residency. While peds is not a particularly competitive field, there are minimum board scores and med school grades needed–so matching to a pediatrics residency is not guaranteed.
Getting a peds residency slot in CA will be very difficult, even if you graduate from CA medical school. (There just aren’t enough positions to accommodate everyone who wants to train in CA.) Medical students are assigned to a residency site by a computer program and you must go where you’re assigned.
UCLA’s med school does not give an special admission consideration to its own undergrads. In fact, UCLA doesn’t even offer a in-state preference in admissions. CA applicants to UCLA will be competing on an equal footing against the top students from all over the US for admission.
As for doing 3 years of coursework at a CC----this is probably not the best idea. Medical schools admission committees strongly prefer pre-reqs to be taken at a 4 year college, but since you’ll need to take some pre-reqs at the CC in order to transfer, make sure that you plan on taking additional science courses in all your science fields when you get to UCLA. If you take gen chem at your CC, make sure to take Ochem 1 & 2 and biochem only once you get to UCLA. If you take intro bio 1 & 2 and genetics at the CC, then take 4-5 UL bio electives at UCLA. Adcomms will most definitely want to see how well you fare against the stronger academic competition you’ll face at UCLA.
One other thing–you’ll need to plan on spending at least 2 years taking coursework at whatever 4 year college you eventually transfer to. Every medical school in the US wants 2 full years of grades/coursework from a 4 year college when you apply. This means you will not be able to apply for med school until after you graduate and that you will have one or more gap years between college graduation and starting med school.
If you have any specific questions, you can tag me or PM me for answers.
Op
Can you disclose if you are an international student or not?
Wow you were very helpful, so after I finish my time at community college, I apply to a 4 year university and after 2 years I then apply to medical school correct? Also I take the mcat after medical school right ?
MCAT = Medical School Admission Test.
You take the MCAT before you apply to med school and after you have finished all your pre-reqs. You must have a MCAT score to apply to medical school. During med school you will take a different set of exams called US Medical Licensing Exams (USMLE or “boards”).
Yes, you will apply to medical school only after you have transferred and finished 2 full years of courses at a 4 year college–so basically after you graduate from college.