How do you pick pre-med classes in college?

[Yazo]

Long story short: I'm the first in my family to go to college in the U.S., so in the country where my parents went (Poland) the process was different.

I'm wondering how the process of picking pre-med classes goes?
This is what I'm guessing.

1. Apply to college/university
2. Get accepted
3. Once you're accepted you get with the adviser and state you want to do pre-medical courses and they sign you up (?).

Please I would appreciate any input from someone who's already done the process or has more knowledge on it.

Cheers.

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[NotMichael]

Kind of. There is a registration period the summer before (June I think) where students themselves sign up for classes, then you can meet with your advisor once school starts. You will be in contact with your advisor before that, so you can call/email them with questions about what classes to take.

The first two steps are correct. Good luck!

 

[Yazo]

Kind of. There is a registration period the summer before (June I think) where students themselves sign up for classes, then you can meet with your advisor once school starts. You will be in contact with your advisor before that, so you can call/email them with questions about what classes to take.

The first two steps are correct. Good luck!

Thanks so much, bud.

 

[SnakeOilForSale]

At the vast majority of schools your advisor doesn't make a schedule for you. You are responible for picking your own classes. What you have to do is consult your school's catalogue on requirements for your major and gen eds (print them out even, sometimes they change) as well as check the premed requirements for most medical schools. Make yourself a reasonable plan and a few backup plans to graduation. Advisors can be helpful with specific situations or concerns though.

 

[DesertPT]

If you were smart you'd do you research thoroughly and figure out exactly the list of classes you need to graduate and have all your pre-reqs taken care of. Advisers will give you bad options in a majority of cases. There are many chances to double-dip as far as meeting degree requirements, gen ed requirements, and pre-reqs, but you will miss them if you blindly follow what advisers tell you and you'll end up taking more classes than you need to.

 

[PharmDCandidate2014]

Use ratemyprofessors.com

Not like an "easy" professor will be an automatic A, but you sure as hell don't want a professor with a bad rep. Sure, this might seem like an easy way out . . . but due to the astounding number of applications for medical school (and it's only getting more competitive), the way to separate applications is metrics-based - i.e., GPA/MCAT. Worry about the other fluff - research, volunteer, and shadowing once you've attained satisfactory numbers.

 

[DesertPT]

Use ratemyprofessors.com

 

[Fedekz]

For most schools, you can go to your advisor and make a 4 year plan where all your classes are planned. Usually there are ones for each major. You can choose to follow that or switch them around as you please.

This is how it was at the schools I went to, and I've been at 3 universities lol (two for my bachelors, one for my paramedic).

 

[URHere]

You will be in charge of your schedule in college and responsible for choosing when to take each of your courses.

Where I went to college, freshmen had the chance to pick their classes during orientation week. Registration is usually online, but some colleges (like mine) make freshmen go and register in person so that someone can make sure they understand the process and remember to sign up for required courses.

In terms of what to take, most prerequisite classes build on each other, so it's a good idea to take basics like Bio I and Chemistry I early on. As a freshman, I would also suggest taking something completely random just for fun. You don't have to declare a major until late sophomore-early junior year, so you have some time to play. You also don't need a standard bio/chem major for medical school, so this is a good way to figure out what you actually want to major in.

After freshman year, you will have to think more about how to schedule your prerequisites. Advisors can be useful here. Most schools will also have sample schedules for bio majors posted on their webpages. Even if you aren't a bio major, these sample schedules are pretty close to what you will need to do to fulfill medical school prerequisites.

 

[Siggy]

Another thing is, depending on the school/major, there might be a set plan. For example, bio at University of California, Irvine (my alumni) only offers the first and second year courses once a year during the regular quarters and once again during the summer sessions. So there essentially is a "plan" since there's really no way to deviate.