<p>Do I need to start studying for the MCAT now? (Im a high school senior by the way). What kind of internships should I get? Should I visit Harvard medical school?</p>
<p>not another one of these....first go to college THEN study for the MCAT. you could visit Harvard if you want, but when you get to college you will realize that getting into ANY medical school is difficult so you're going to have to work your @$$ off. Just maintain your GPA, get involved with EC's (student orgs, volunteer, research), and do well on the MCAT.</p>
<p>Sometimes I think that kids read all the things we tell them NOT to do and then, just to see how we'll react, ask us about them... haha.</p>
<p>lol...seriously</p>
<p>I'm really tired of this prestige BS on here...</p>
<p>Anyways, worry first about getting into ANY medical school then about whether you can get Harvard or WashU or Udub, or some dream school.</p>
<p>I really think people don't understand how much different med school admissions are compared to undergrad.</p>
<p>I'm sorry. I should have been less rude. Allow me to mention a few things that I think are pertinent.</p>
<p>1.) Prestige is not important in medical school unless you intend on a career in academic medicine (being a professor at a medical school) or something like that, as I do. There are exceptions for the few most hypercompetitive residencies, but those are usually fairly obscure (plastics, derm).</p>
<p>2.) Even if you do have a legitimate reason for wanting to go to a highly selective medical school, picking ONE medical school is a bad idea no matter what. The process has a great deal of randomness in it. I could tell you horror stories to no end. The odds are simply too low.</p>
<p>3.) You are too young to be discussing such a decision. Pick a good undergraduate school and do as well as you can there. You cannot be 100% sure that you want to enter medicine - and if you claim to be, then you must remember that life can sometimes change very suddenly - and it is more important, especially early, to pursue a high-quality education generally speaking.</p>
<p>4.) Certainly neither studying for the LSAT nor visiting HMS would be helpful at this point. The LSAT is a test that covers the basic science material that you will need to learn during your first couple years of college - organic chemistry, etc. - and you will not have access to the foundations you need yet. Besides which, it's really a test that you only need to spend four months of studying for. Four years is just grossly inappropriate.</p>
<p>Visiting HMS would do... what? Who would you even visit with? Their admissions department would not remember you positively - either you'd be a neurotic kid, or they simply wouldn't recognize you four years later. Their general faculty have nothing to do with admissions, as is the case with undergrad as well.</p>
<p>LSAT????????</p>
<p>you can't be serious. you are a pre-med and you called the MCAT LSAT? twice?
no way.</p>
<p>Sorry. I've got LSATs on the brain - they're coming up in seven weeks.</p>
<p>Yes, I meant the MCAT.</p>
<p>martini chill out, geez, haha...let's all go haywire cause of a mispronunciation</p>
<p>Note: Children's Miracle Network Hospitals also have extremely competitive residencies, so a prestigious med school helps there, too.</p>
<p>(that's my area)</p>
<p>bluedevilmike....maybe if u stop answering each at length rather than just telling them how silly they are for asking that, they will stop asking it</p>
<p>Yeah, I know. But I feel guilty for just blowing kids off. I can't help it - I'm a Southern boy. They train us to be polite.</p>
<p>and I'm from LA...so screw them! lol</p>
<p>haha, yea, come to NY and we'll show u how to be a reall a-hole.</p>
<p>I just graduated from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. My GPA is like 3.6 (which is not on the higher end for good medical schools). I have a scientific publication with my research professor. I tutored Animal Physiology and Biochemistry under the university system. I am taking the MCAT this January and I'm taking two years off to work at the NIH in Washington, DC.
What do I need to get on the MCAT for me to be able to be accepted at Harvard Medical School. I am quite aware of how the application procedure works as most of my friends have gone directly into med school from undergrad. I understand that med schools look for more stuff than just MCAT and GPA. But what I have mentioned before is all that I have and that's it!! Is there anything else I can do to help me increase my chances?? I see that this discussion board is full of smart answers...please spare me the non-sense. If anyone has useful advice...I'd really like to know. Thanks!!</p>
<p>
[quote]
What do I need to get on the MCAT for me to be able to be accepted at Harvard Medical School.
[/quote]
The range is 25-44. MDapplicants.com</a> - Search Results Btw what's the point of reviving a 2-year-old thread?</p>
<p>You answered!!</p>
<p>I suggest being closer to 44 than 25.</p>
<p>Honestly, with your GPA and EC's, it's going to be quite hard to make it to Harvard Med. Even with a 3.9 GPA and a high MCAT, I don't think you have good chances unless you are outstanding in the other aspects of your app. The good news is that life won't end if you don't get into Harvard. Your profile still looks good for mid and low tier med schools.</p>
<p>I second NCG.
To be competitive for HMS I think you should have a 3.8+, 37+, and be president/founder for one or more clubs. If you're not a president/founder of anything, then you should at least be something like a long-term member/officer of some things. You'd also need to rock your interview. Every aspect of your app should all be near-perfect. It would also be nice to have an authorship on paper, which you have. But authorship wouldn't be as valued if there are 10+ authors for the paper and you're 8th.</p>
<p>To ysk:</p>
<p>oh dear, how sorely misguided you are. do you know anyone who has actually gotten into hms? It's hard, but there is by no means a requirement for your application to be spotless. I know 4 people who've gotten in in the last 2 years. One had a 4.0 and 35 MCAT, one had a 3.6/40+. Your numbers must be high, but saying 3.8+/37+ is pure BS.</p>
<p>There is no need to be a president/founder of anything either. As long as you do something you like and show your dedication to and impact on it, you will be fine. If I go out and halfheartedly start the Underwater Basketweaving Club, I don't think HMS is going to look at me any more favorably.</p>
<p>As far as the papers go, getting ANY publication is significant for a pre-med. Very few pre-meds get publications, so getting one puts you WAY ahead of others. It doesn't matter if you are listed 2nd or 8th. If you had any semblance of research and publications, you'd know that 1st author and last author are the most important, and that everyone in between is pretty much the same. In fact, some PIs simply alphabetize the list. Don't go running your mouth about something you obviously have no idea about.</p>
<p>I can see that you're stuck in your little high school world, where you believe that you'll be fine as long as you can put down "I was Secretary of Random Club," and the club really did nothing. In other words, you're a resume-builder. Med school admissions are a lot more rigorous than undergrad admissions and they're going to see right through the crap that you put down on your app.</p>
<p>There is no formula to get into HMS. Of the 4 people I know who got in, each one had their own weakness/imperfection, but each one still got in. Don't feed people these kinds of lies if you yourself haven't even gone through the process yet.</p>