I don’t think there’s anything wrong with asking about medical school because you’re curious about what it’s like. I’m just letting you know that you’re wasting your time if you think it’s going to help you pick which college is best for you.
@texaspg Yes, I am attending Temple University in the fall.
Ok, do you know what it takes from the day you enter college to get to A medical school?
“I’m just curious yo”
Questions are great, but understand nobody knows how many well in excess of 100K students started college as premeds. Understand in last reported MCAT cycle approx. 95K took test. Understand that in last reported med school app cycle 48K applied, 20K got accepted, or just under 60% of the applicants did not get accepted anywhere. A lot of students crash and burn along the premed path.
So when you’re talking to current med students or parents of med students who have kids that are going or have been through this slog, it can seem somewhat senseless to see you clutter your mind on questions about med school, Step scores, specialties, etc. when your focus should be on the task at hand, doing well at Temple. Good luck.
@texaspg I mean I have ideas that of course it’s difficult but I don’t know what you’re hinting at specifically.
@Jugulator20 The reason I’m asking questions right now is because I have all my credits for high school that I took the semester off except for two classes. (I was a bit addicted to school in ninth and tenth grade :P) So I just have more time to look into things. And thanks, by the way. 
I am hinting at why you are so far into future planning but have not asked a single question about what it might take you to actually make it to the medical school while you are in college.
I would like to know if you understand jugulator’s post #43. Very few who start out as premeds make it into medical school and it takes a lot of focus while in college to get to A medical school. I don’t see you asking a single question about what you need to do in undergrad which is leads me to wonder if you believe college is just another stepping stone before you waltz into medical school?
The fact that I haven’t asked about what it takes to actually get into a medical school is based primarily on the fact that admission criteria and pre-requisites are available to me on the school websites.
Thanks to the helpful information presented by @iwannabe_Brown, I understand that most programs will get you into the medical school of your choice if you do well in them. So I have become less focused on searching through medical schools and their curricula, and more focused on preparing for Temple University. (By the way, thanks for that, Brown. You saved me a lot of time and stress. :))
If you think that I’m partying my way through my academic career, then I’m sorry, but you are terribly mistaken. I take my school work very seriously, and the fact that you would imply that I’m “waltzing into medical school” is kind of rude. I don’t mind if you give me advice or opinions but please don’t be judgmental.
You have not asked a single question about undergrad. So one has to wonder if you believe that you just have to finish a degree and you will get to medical school. One bad semester in college and many end up doing a master’s in order to make up their GPA.
In addition, there are 95,000 administrations of MCAT with only about 20,000+ successful applicants, there will be a new MCAT starting in May and I am kind of surprised about so many questions related to Step 1. Very few people who start out as premeds ever get to Step 1.
I just have more time to look into things: try this
Someone who knows more about this may be able to comment but isn’t there a disadvantage to being a younger student for med school acceptance.
@texaspg I think you missed the point of my last response. I was trying to make it clear to you that I know that hard work is involved in order to reach a medical degree. I think I’m capable of accomplishing a goal like this one, and when I said I take my academic career seriously, I have never fallen behind in classes and I don’t think I ever will. In addition to this, I straight up just don’t have the money to take extra semesters of college, especially if I want a medical degree. The lack of money has and will definitely keep me focused on my studies. I mean, who wants to pay for more school when they could have done better the first time, right?
I haven’t asked much about undergraduate school because most of the information I need to know is available to me through school websites, and now that I’m accepted into Temple, I can get information directly from the school as well.
I understand that there is a large pool of applicants, and I’m prepared to go into such a competitive field. Please stop implying that my ability to succeed is hindered by a belief that I can just breeze through college degrees.
@TempeMom I really hope that there isn’t a disadvantage because I’ll be graduating undergraduate school when I’m twenty. Where did you hear that?
Younger than typical med school applicants tend to be less successful in gaining med school acceptances than their typical-aged peers. Why? A couple of reasons:
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the biggest one is that younger applicants have had less time & opportunities to amass the ECs that are essential for a successful med school application cycle than their typical-age peers have.
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adcomms tend to question the maturity of younger than typical applicants. Adcomms tend to be skeptical that younger applicants have the necessary coping skills required to handle the intense of pressure of med school, and whether they have the necessary interpersonal skills required to deal with [much] older patients, and the maturity/sensitivity to be able to handle the confidentiality and often intensely sensitive topics physicians/med students need to be able to discuss with their patients. The onus of proving you have the necessary coping skills and maturity will rest squarely on your shoulders, whereas a more typically aged student might get the benefit of the an assumption of maturity.
Is this an insurmountable issue? No, but it may make your application cycle more complicated than for someone who is older.
@WayOutWestMom Thanks, that was really helpful!
I don’t believe there is any less information available on what medical school is like on websites.
“I understand most programs will get you into the medical school of your choice if you do well in them.”
Revise that statement to say “MAY get you into ANY medical school.”
@texaspg I believe you, I just find it easier to get some information off of this web site from the people who have experience or knowledge in the field. The explanations I get are just a lot more clear and easier to understand.
I do not belive tht the age has any significance, aside maybe from the 15 y o. But those who took care to develop significant “human” skills by seeking to be surrounded with the variety of people and not always be around intense pre-med crowd, those who posses social skills that are above average will have an advantage, not only dealing with peers but more so with patients who may include homeless, prisoners, mentlly ill, very old, very young, significantly better off than others, simply very different in all aspects of personality.
It’s pretty surprising but I do provide the occasional good piece of info 