Sophomore decidng Pre-Med

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mbabs

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Hi everyone! I'm a sophomore currently studying Computer Science, but has decided to enter the pre-med realm. I'm still studying CS and planning on keeping this major, but might minor in Bioengineering or just double major with Bioinformatics (since it has the same requirements as CS, but just some more bio classes). I'm currently in a Bio 1 class and doing well in it, but was wondering if I will be able to apply to medical school on time and get the necessary courses out of the way. Am I behind? What are my next steps?

P.S. I just transferred from another university. My GPA was a 3.0 from my first year. I also plan on talking to a pre-med advisor about what I need to do.

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I wouldn't necessarily say that you are "behind" if you can get your pre-requisites for med school done during the same time as your current major. You will definitely need to look at schools you are interested in to see what pre-reqs you need in addition to what your major includes. In my experience, it seems that most "traditional" students who are pursuing medicine generally have most of their pre-reqs done by Junior year and plan to take the MCAT between Junior and Senior year.
I'm significantly non-traditional, so take all that with a grain of salt! You don't have to have everything done in the whole 4 years of your undergrad to still be able to apply and get into medical school. :)
My best advice is to really pick up that GPA (they love upward trends, and a 3.0 is very low to get into med school). Make sure you complete courses that are covered in the MCAT prior to taking the exam (I did not do that and suffered greatly, plus I didn't have a study plan and did not put as much time as needed).
Keep in mind that pre-med advisors are a great resource for information, but can often be very pessimistic. I have never had a good experience talking to a pre-med advisor. Only the professors who knew me very well have made me feel that my goals are achievable.
Do your best and work hard!
 
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