How many humanities/social science classes do I need for PreMed?

[private health advisor]

This was good, thanks.

Some comments for thought.
1) Save your answers somewhere and put on your calendar to look at this every so often (maybe the end of each semester). Update it as you learn more about yourself. Goals will change. Plans will change. But by being thoughtful and intentional about the process, you will have more control and it will show your growth.
2) There is nothing selfish about being the best in something and then turning around and tutoring/helping others. Wouldn't you want your doctor to be the best in something and then sharing that? My friend tutored about 10 of us in a science course and because of him we all managed to pass (thank you Stan!).
3) You mentioned Spanish as a goal. It is practical to do and would be a plus on the application and your career, but also in my experience, some students really struggle with it if they aren't passionate/motivated to learn. So it definitely wouldn't hurt to take a class and explore that, but if it really isn't a passion, don't force it, and put your energies into something you are passionate about and will also make you a better doctor/professional/person.
4) Volunteering/shadowing is crucial in seeing if this will work for you. But also, always keep in mind the quality of the volunteering. It's ok to volunteer in a hospital doing "grunt work" for a short time, but you want to gain real experiences. That is what you should be striving for. But this is also often the hardest to get.
5) I like the forward thinking of studying for the hard classes. There is no rule that says you have to wait until you flunk your first test before you become serious about studying. My philosophy is to go into every course prepared to give the maximum from the beginning, so that way when it's harder than most students think, you are the one ruining the curve, not the one depending on the curve to save your butt. If possible and you want, maybe take your math course over the summer at a community college to get that out of the way and make your first semester a little easier.
6) It's ok to not see a connection with the personal and professional yet. But this is something I want to be constantly annoying you as you think about it, because when you can merge the two, life is infinitely more enjoyable.

Questions:
1) When is your new student orientation?
2) Have you heard from you major advisor yet? Have you reached out to them with questions about choosing classes?
You may be putting in all of the effort of looking for a perfect class, when actually how the run it is that you have very few choices that first semester, and the course you really want isn't open for you to add.

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[raiderette]

If you can't get the ideal class schedule, look at it as an opportunity. One of my favorite classes came as a result of a scheduling snafu. Often my labs would interfere with my desired general ed requirements. I ended up in a philosophy class that I can honestly say was the best class in my college experience.

Some other advice that will serve you well in and out of college: make friends with people outside of your major and outside of your comfort zone. Not only will you learn from them, but it can really help to be able to chill with people that are also not stressing about grades, MCAT, etc. It may even help you with your goal of finding a gf. Not everyone wants to date/marry clones of themselves.

 

[Blackjack7]

If you can't get the ideal class schedule, look at it as an opportunity. One of my favorite classes came as a result of a scheduling snafu. Often my labs would interfere with my desired general ed requirements. I ended up in a philosophy class that I can honestly say was the best class in my college experience.

Some other advice that will serve you well in and out of college: make friends with people outside of your major and outside of your comfort zone. Not only will you learn from them, but it can really help to be able to chill with people that are also not stressing about grades, MCAT, etc. It may even help you with your goal of finding a gf. Not everyone wants to date/marry clones of themselves.

I once dated a clone of myself (figuratively). It was interesting in its own way...

 

[Blackjack7]

This was good, thanks.

Some comments for thought.
1) Save your answers somewhere and put on your calendar to look at this every so often (maybe the end of each semester). Update it as you learn more about yourself. Goals will change. Plans will change. But by being thoughtful and intentional about the process, you will have more control and it will show your growth.
2) There is nothing selfish about being the best in something and then turning around and tutoring/helping others. Wouldn't you want your doctor to be the best in something and then sharing that? My friend tutored about 10 of us in a science course and because of him we all managed to pass (thank you Stan!).
3) You mentioned Spanish as a goal. It is practical to do and would be a plus on the application and your career, but also in my experience, some students really struggle with it if they aren't passionate/motivated to learn. So it definitely wouldn't hurt to take a class and explore that, but if it really isn't a passion, don't force it, and put your energies into something you are passionate about and will also make you a better doctor/professional/person.
4) Volunteering/shadowing is crucial in seeing if this will work for you. But also, always keep in mind the quality of the volunteering. It's ok to volunteer in a hospital doing "grunt work" for a short time, but you want to gain real experiences. That is what you should be striving for. But this is also often the hardest to get.
5) I like the forward thinking of studying for the hard classes. There is no rule that says you have to wait until you flunk your first test before you become serious about studying. My philosophy is to go into every course prepared to give the maximum from the beginning, so that way when it's harder than most students think, you are the one ruining the curve, not the one depending on the curve to save your butt. If possible and you want, maybe take your math course over the summer at a community college to get that out of the way and make your first semester a little easier.
6) It's ok to not see a connection with the personal and professional yet. But this is something I want to be constantly annoying you as you think about it, because when you can merge the two, life is infinitely more enjoyable.

Questions:
1) When is your new student orientation?
2) Have you heard from you major advisor yet? Have you reached out to them with questions about choosing classes?
You may be putting in all of the effort of looking for a perfect class, when actually how the run it is that you have very few choices that first semester, and the course you really want isn't open for you to add.

My student orientation is in early July (Summer orientation)
I have not reached out to my advisor. Should I?

And Spanish was a kinda fun thing. I probably won't go all out with it at all.

Also, what should I look for with "real experiences"? Obviously I'll look around widely, but are there some general guidelines?
Thanks for the help!

 

[private health advisor]

My student orientation is in early July (Summer orientation)
I have not reached out to my advisor. Should I?

And Spanish was a kinda fun thing. I probably won't go all out with it at all.

Also, what should I look for with "real experiences"? Obviously I'll look around widely, but are there some general guidelines?
Thanks for the help!

I do recommend you reach out to your advisor, if nothing else just to introduce yourself. Ask them what you should be doing to get the most out of your orientation experience. Ask your advisor about the classes you are wanting to register for and get their opinion. Also, keep in mind that you are starting the making of your personal brand. Every interaction you have with someone gives them an impression of who you are. So make the best of it. Write cordial and professional emails. Start them with "Dear Mr. or Mrs xxx". End with "sincerely". Little things like this often blow people away, because hardly any student acts professionaly (well, at least hardly any freshmen). Don't be like everyone else. Be better.

As for experiences, the first place to look would be within your network. If you are lucky enough to have close friends or family who can help get you "real" experiences, utilize that network. If you don't, talk to the pre-health professions advisors as soon as you get to the university to pick their brain about how you can make that happen. Think outside the box as well. Every student wants to volunteer or shadow at a hospital. But they often get very little real patient interaction and even less interaction with doctors. Think of where else you could shadow a doctor. I've had many students have great "real" experiences at a hospice. Others, usually juniors, have gone on trips to other countries with organizations that let the students do way more than they ever could in the US (though I must admit ethically I'm always torn by that, because there is a reason why they don't allow students to do the things they do in the US - it's not safe or best for the patient. These patients are not "less than" the patients here, but I'll let you make that decision if you decide you want to do that).

These are just a couple of examples. The main thing is to keep trying to get quality time with real doctors. That can be hard to get.

 

[The Real SVB]

Guys just switch to private messaging, this **** getting real personal real fast lmao

And @Blackjack7 should pay the advisor his prorated rate already for this wonderful stuff. I'm sure he's also trying to drive traffic to his own advising site, though.

 

[The Real SVB]

@Blackjack7 to use an old geezer's line, you remind me of me. First choice was Brown 5 years ago because they didn't have any requirements for a well-rounded courseload and I wanted to max out all the sciences. Ended up at likely the polar opposite of Brown in the Ivies, decided to shave off the sciences for a bit to satisfy the reqs and pick up later. Freshman fall in 2011 I was still adverse to doing much else besides science.

Fast forward a little bit and I graduated magna cum laude as a philosophy/politics/econ interdisciplinary major with a senior thesis award and I'm currently on a fellowship at a top law school. Less than a third of my credits were in STEM. Couldn't have asked for a better outcome or time in college. I contributed way more to my field with my research than I ever could have slaving away with pipettes.

Science ain't all fun and games. It's the only thing you know now because you're a baby high schooler, but it gets boring and irrelevant real fast if you just want to practice medicine. You connect with people better as a non-science thinker. Take it from someone who's been there and succeeded at it. It was hard to make the transition and learn the extra set of skills to do well, but I couldn't be happier that I did.

 

[Blackjack7]

Guys just switch to private messaging, this **** getting real personal real fast lmao

And @Blackjack7 should pay the advisor his prorated rate already for this wonderful stuff. I'm sure he's also trying to drive traffic to his own advising site, though.

Oops, I have tried to prevent leaking any real personal info. Have I failed?

 

[Blackjack7]

@Blackjack7 to use an old geezer's line, you remind me of me. First choice was Brown 5 years ago because they didn't have any requirements for a well-rounded courseload and I wanted to max out all the sciences. Ended up at likely the polar opposite of Brown in the Ivies, decided to shave off the sciences for a bit to satisfy the reqs and pick up later. Freshman fall in 2011 I was still adverse to doing much else besides science.

Fast forward a little bit and I graduated magna cum laude as a philosophy/politics/econ interdisciplinary major with a senior thesis award and I'm currently on a fellowship at a top law school. Less than a third of my credits were in STEM. Couldn't have asked for a better outcome or time in college. I contributed way more to my field with my research than I ever could have slaving away with pipettes.

Science ain't all fun and games. It's the only thing you know now because you're a baby high schooler, but it gets boring and irrelevant real fast if you just want to practice medicine. You connect with people better as a non-science thinker. Take it from someone who's been there and succeeded at it. It was hard to make the transition and learn the extra set of skills to do well, but I couldn't be happier that I did.

So I should try to find a "non science" way of thinking, you are saying, as the most important part? Gotcha. So I should search for humanities classes that would help me achieve that end.

 

[Blackjack7]

I do recommend you reach out to your advisor, if nothing else just to introduce yourself. Ask them what you should be doing to get the most out of your orientation experience. Ask your advisor about the classes you are wanting to register for and get their opinion. Also, keep in mind that you are starting the making of your personal brand. Every interaction you have with someone gives them an impression of who you are. So make the best of it. Write cordial and professional emails. Start them with "Dear Mr. or Mrs xxx". End with "sincerely". Little things like this often blow people away, because hardly any student acts professionaly (well, at least hardly any freshmen). Don't be like everyone else. Be better.

As for experiences, the first place to look would be within your network. If you are lucky enough to have close friends or family who can help get you "real" experiences, utilize that network. If you don't, talk to the pre-health professions advisors as soon as you get to the university to pick their brain about how you can make that happen. Think outside the box as well. Every student wants to volunteer or shadow at a hospital. But they often get very little real patient interaction and even less interaction with doctors. Think of where else you could shadow a doctor. I've had many students have great "real" experiences at a hospice. Others, usually juniors, have gone on trips to other countries with organizations that let the students do way more than they ever could in the US (though I must admit ethically I'm always torn by that, because there is a reason why they don't allow students to do the things they do in the US - it's not safe or best for the patient. These patients are not "less than" the patients here, but I'll let you make that decision if you decide you want to do that).

These are just a couple of examples. The main thing is to keep trying to get quality time with real doctors. That can be hard to get.

So basically work with important people, and learn how to interact with important people? Gotcha.

 

[The Real SVB]

So I should try to find a "non science" way of thinking, you are saying, as the most important part? Gotcha. So I should search for humanities classes that would help me achieve that end.

The most important part is to explore different areas. Not everything comes with a "goal" that has a "most important part." You should look for classes that interest you outside the sciences.

 

[Blackjack7]

The most important part is to explore different areas. Not everything comes with a "goal" that has a "most important part." You should look for classes that interest you outside the sciences.

Strange... I've heard differently until now. Could you elaborate?

I was told that one should always select classes that really interest you, i.e. will impact your later life, i.e. are useful.

 

[The Real SVB]

Strange... I've heard differently until now. Could you elaborate?

I was told that one should always select classes that really interest you, i.e. will impact your later life, i.e. are useful.

None of those things are direct equivalences. You're 17. You don't have a rat's ass idea what will impact your later life. If that's how you define your interests, that's bad. lol. When you come across something, ask "Do I want to learn more?" If yes, that's interest. If not, then no.

You've a long way to go. You don't understand what I'm saying and I don't blame you. Come back in 2 years.

 

[private health advisor]

None of those things are direct equivalences. You're 17. You don't have a rat's ass idea what will impact your later life. If that's how you define your interests, that's bad. lol. When you come across something, ask "Do I want to learn more?" If yes, that's interest. If not, then no.

You've a long way to go. You don't understand what I'm saying and I don't blame you. Come back in 2 years.

The Real SVB is speaking from a point of wisdom gained from experience, so I second his/her advice!

To sum up the wisdom and advice that has been shared:
1) No one can tell you what to do. You must follow your own unique interests which will lead you to your own unique path. You ask for advice, people give it, but it does NOT mean we are right for you. You determine what's right.
2) Don't stress so much. It's good to be proactive, but you also have to just wait and let life unfold and see where it takes you.
3) Have an open mind. Everything can be a good learning experience if you let it. With an open mind, you are open to change (changing majors, careers, etc...).
4) There is no "golden ticket" to medical school (or life), where if you just follow the prescribed path, you will get into med school (or have a great college or life experience). There are definitely things you must do (like take pre-requisite courses), but how you do all the other things depends on you.

Others, if I'm missing something, feel free to add.

I'm not saying don't ask questions. You should always be asking questions. But a lot of the plans you make will change in the first few weeks of school, so don't overplan things.

 

[raiderette]

What do you do for fun? That is a place to start. The most successful med student I know pretty much always knew he wanted to be a doctor so he used his colege years to study all those things he wouldn't see in medical school. he loved video games and comics so he took philosophy classes and classics to understand the historical archetypes. He wanted to be able to relate to people, so he took psychology and ethnic studies. He wanted to be able to understand investments and run a private practice so he took economics and even an accounting class. He took theater to meet women. Along the way he also took all the prereqs and was accepted to 8 Top-20 schools. The prereqs are the requirement, extra science can be useful or even fun for people. The rest just made him a happier person and a very attractive candidate. Admissions people found him interesting.

 

[familyaerospace]

I believe Emory wants like 18 credits in humanities. I think that is the highest I've seen. Different schools, different numbers. Lowest I've seen is six credits (the English courses.)