Any advice for high school seniors going into pre-med this fall?

[ghostlibrary]

I am starting undergrad in the fall of 2024. I want to be a psychiatrist someday and I will do whatever it takes to get there. The school I most want to go to at the moment is UMich. I know that will probably change once I learn more about other schools, but for now I'm making UMich my motivation for studying. Does anyone have any advice for me, going into pre-med? Is there anything I can do this summer, such as a workbook, online program, or community college course that would help me prepare? I am very nervous. Any advice helps, no matter how broad. I hope I'm not too young for this forum. I am just really anxious, and want to be prepared as possible in order to rid myself of some of that anxiety. Thank you!

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[ByThe+C]

Please explore other careers as well. Take a programming/CS class. Take an engineering class. You never know what you might like in addition to or besides medicine.

I want to be a psychiatrist someday and I will do whatever it takes to get there.

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Learn about identity foreclosure, how it affects people, and how to get support.

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[ghostlibrary]

Please explore other careers as well. Take a programming/CS class. Take an engineering class. You never know what you might like in addition to or besides medicine.


Read below:

What to Know About Identity Foreclosure

Learn about identity foreclosure, how it affects people, and how to get support.

www.webmd.com

Thank you
I will try out unrelated courses, but I'm sure I want to be a psychiatrist because of very personal reasons unrelated to any outside pressures. I read the article and appreciate the advice very much. Will keep an open mind.

 

[eigen]

For the love of god, listen to your advisors. And connect with them early. I know not all pre-med advisors are great (sorry for folks with crappy ones) but I spend so much time and energy catching students in their 2nd or 3rd year when I have to backtrack to things they should have done right away.

Hopefully you don't fall into this category, but I am seeing a strong uptick in students who want to be pre-med/dent/pharm but don't want to take science classes / want to take as few as possible or avoid them. You don't want to overload yourself, but avoiding taking any chem or bio for your first year/two years is not a recipe for success either.

My biggest piece of advice, though, is to not try to do everything at once. The largest mistake I see in my pre-med first years is trying to take all the classes, do all the activities, get involved in all the research and still try to do clinical work. And they end up stressed, burnt out, and doing none of it well. Think of your path to medical school as a marathon: plan, and do a few things at a time and do them well. Take your first semester / year to get settled on campus and do well in your classes and find your academic groove. Get involved in a few activities that are really meaningful to you that you can keep doing long-term.

I will also echo the "explore other careers" advice. Only about 1/3 of the first years who want to go to med school still do by their third year. Most of them it's not because it was too hard or they couldn't do it, but they had no idea what else was out there, and they found other passions.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Why not Clinical Psychology (PsyD)?

1) Go to class!
2) Stay out of trouble (no IA's, no cheating, no plagiarism, no student conduct issues)
3) Choose your friends wisely.
4) You can always transfer to UM if you can't get in as a freshman.

 

[ghostlibrary]

Why not Clinical Psychology (PsyD)?

Thank you for the advice!
I love psychology, and I plan to take many psychology courses within the next four years. But I don't want to do clinical psychology because I want to be able to prescribe medication for my patients while emphasizing that getting better requires much more than just medication. I want to be able to inform them and encourage them to plan a healthier diet, get exercise, spend time outside, cut off toxic relationships, stay off the social media, have creative projects in the works, and keep their intellectual mind sharp. I have had so many psychiatrists that never pushed forward a well-rounded lifestyle as much as they pushed medication. My road to healing would have began way quicker and smoother if I had someone to inform me of the more essential things that would end up turning my life around. I am aware that a psychologist can encourage this same lifestyle in their patients, but I remember when I was really messed up and tired of every psychologist I tried, I thought the only thing that could save me was meeting with a psychiatrist and getting medication. I want to help the people who have no hope left and are fleeing to medication as a last resort. They are the hardest people to help out mentally, because they consider themselves "too far gone", and I am determined to prove them wrong. I want to give them hope and put them back on track, because they see themselves as "least likely to get better" out of everyone else on the planet. I am also fond of the benefit of getting the higher pay you get as a psychiatrist as opposed to the pay of a psychologist. I will put in the extra work of getting through med school because it promises a higher likelihood of financial comfort. You never know what could happen in the future, and economically, things aren't looking too bright. But I'm just a kid, I don't really know anything yet. Please let me know how wrong I am in everything I've typed above, I'd like to remedy it. Thanks again!

 

[ghostlibrary]

My biggest piece of advice, though, is to not try to do everything at once. The largest mistake I see in my pre-med first years is trying to take all the classes, do all the activities, get involved in all the research and still try to do clinical work...Think of your path to medical school as a marathon: plan, and do a few things at a time and do them well. Take your first semester / year to get settled on campus and do well in your classes and find your academic groove.

Thank you so much for all of the advice. Do you have any suggestions on how I should plan out which classes to take each semester? Or do you know anywhere I could turn to for advice (emphasis on this)? I haven't started college yet, but I've heard from various internet forums that the advisors at my future college are... not good. So I am worried they will be no help in arranging my schedule. Does it matter what order I take my different science subjects in? I don't feel that you owe me any further help, but if you could help me out with this I would really appreciate it! Thanks!

 

[chilly_md]

Thread moved to hSDN.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Thank you so much for all of the advice. Do you have any suggestions on how I should plan out which classes to take each semester? Or do you know anywhere I could turn to for advice (emphasis on this)? I haven't started college yet, but I've heard from various internet forums that the advisors at my future college are... not good. So I am worried they will be no help in arranging my schedule. Does it matter what order I take my different science subjects in? I don't feel that you owe me any further help, but if you could help me out with this I would really appreciate it! Thanks!

Regardless of what you heard, academic advisors are supposed to help you with your course schedule. Your first semester should be ready to set up with intro bio/chemistry courses, but it might be more complicated if you come in with AP credit. They should be able to handle that though.

It is part of your calculus in selecting your college.

 

[Hollow Knight]

I'm sure others have/will say things of this nature as well but-

-keep your grades as high as possible. A 4.0 in bio is better than a 3.2 in physics. I think it's stupid, but that's the way it works.
-in the same way, study for the MCAT like an animal. I put more hours into that test than I'm putting into step 1.
-volunteer, shadow, these are non-negotiable
-some kind of clinical experience (hospice volunteer, etc) these days is also possibly non-negotiable. Or at the least probably something you should do
- you don't have to do research, but if you want to get into fancy schools like UMich, you have to do research, sorry. Unless you're Mother Teresa/Nelson Mandela
-Do something(s) that interest you. Join a club that's not medical. Be in a rock band, idk. Have some fun.

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. Don't take on so many things that you're miserable. You're going to have to work very hard to get in, but sleep, work out, go on dates, spend time with family, etc.

Read this.

Compilation - Essential SDN Wisdom for Pre-Meds (Updated 2022)

This directory is an update to the previous 2016 thread that improves readability, navigation and usability. Before exploring the compilation, please read the AMCAS Applicant Guide to be familiar with the application process (and essentially a required reading when you actually begin to apply)...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[Hollow Knight]

Oh also like other people have told you, you don't have to do medicine. Quite frankly, it's not a family-friendly field, and I didn't realize this as a premed cause I only ever shadowed FM and peds and ENT. There are a few fields with good hours, but many subspecialties have call for example.

There are lots of ways to be happy and serve other than being a physician. You aren't trapped with what you told people you'd do as a high school senior. Explore different fields.

 

[Angler]

-some kind of clinical experience (hospice volunteer, etc) these days is also possibly non-negotiable.