What I need to do in High School and Undergrad

[Parakeet]

Thanks for reading this in advance

1.What do colleges look for in prospective pre-med students?
2.Does it really matter where you do your pre-med as long as you get accepted into a prestigious med school?
3.What do med schools look for in pre-med students? Is it mostly GPA?

What are my chances for BS/MD programs with my stats? I'm looking at UCSD as my top choice, but I hear they only take 12 students in their BS/MD program.

SAT: 2330

SAT Subjects

Chemistry:800
Biology:800
Math Level 2:780
Physics:790

Awards

National Biology Olympiad Qualifier
1st place regional Brain Bee (National Qualifier)
USAMO qualifier
Science Olympiad State 1st
Young Epidemiological Scholars Finalist
07,08,09 1st Place Academic Team

Extracirricular

9th Summer: Worked alongside doctors at Clinics in India
10th Summer: Internship in Indian hospitals and volunteered in villages providing medical aid.
10th Summer: Used money from internship jobs to provide funds for impoverished children requiring surgery.
11th Grade: Internship at UCSD Lab with neurology professor
10th and 11th Grade: UCSD Medical Center Volunteering
9th-12th: Academic Team Captain
9th-12th: Tennis

THANKS AGAIN FOR READING AND RESPONDING!

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[NickNaylor]

1) Colleges don't look for pre-meds. In other words, they aren't going to look at you in terms of your potential success as a pre-med student. They will evaluate you as a whole.

2) This is a pretty loaded question and will spark debate. I personally think that going to a well-reputed undergrad only has a small bearing on your ultimate success in the med school application process (for you, this means getting into a "prestigious" school - whatever that means). Some would argue that even med school choice doesn't matter that much since the curricula are more or less standardized.

3) Again, another difficult question. Numbers will generally get you into the door for an interview or spark interest in your application. They act as a "gatekeeper" of sorts. Some people argue that a few schools seem to pick students solely on numbers, but I don't think that's the case. That just doesn't make sense to me. Numbers alone won't get you into a school. You have to demonstrate that 1) you have some sort of innate altruism, 2) you have an interest in medicine, and 3) you took advantage of opportunities around you at your undergrad (this usually is in the form of extracurriculars). This is what I would value if I were looking for students as an admissions committee member, and this generally seems to be what is looked for. It's a "big picture" sort of deal.

I have no idea about BS/MD programs. I only know that they're extremely competitive. Twelve people seems like a lot; from what I've read, most schools usually do not accept more than what you can count on your hands.

 

[Silverman780]

1.What do colleges look for in prospective pre-med students?

Same thing they look for in all students, academic potential and the ability to synthesize rational thought. Pre-med isn't a major, becoming a pre-med is as simple as saying "I think I want to be a doctor" and BAM your a pre-med. Most colleges have a pre-med club and advising and all that takes is club dues.


2.Does it really matter where you do your pre-med as long as you get accepted into a prestigious med school?

No one is quite sure about this, there are plenty of doctors that went to Ivy League and plenty of doctors that started at Community College

3.What do med schools look for in pre-med students? Is it mostly GPA?

EC's, GPA, Leadership, something that will show them that you know what you are trying to get yourself into, so shadowing and volunteering, and they also are big on your MCAT score.

 

[FuturaDocta]

1.What do colleges look for in prospective pre-med students?

Well-rounded, can bring something to the college, fits in with the student body, grades, ECz, volunteer work, and MONEY! (hopefully you get a lot of scholarships )

2.Does it really matter where you do your pre-med as long as you get accepted into a prestigious med school?

Doesn't really matter where you go as long as it prepares you enough for the MCAT. Though, there are a few select schools with really high med school acceptance rates that you may have to do some research into before you decide. My advice would be to talk to a few advisers at some undergrad college and maybe even a med school if you like.

3.What do med schools look for in pre-med students? Is it mostly GPA?

MCAT>GPA>>Clinical Experience>research>ECs>volunteer>shadowing, blah blah.... (this is just my personal rating of things, but this is generally what you should focus on)

 

[Zoom-Zoom]

1. Get good grades.
2. Don't become a crazy person.
3. Volunteer, especially around hospitals and doctors.

 

[gotmilklol]

With you stats, they should definitely accept you in their program.

 

[tennisball80]

You should also go get a Nobel Prize.

 

[MilkmanAl]

2.Does it really matter where you do your pre-med as long as you get accepted into a prestigious med school?

No one is quite sure about this, there are plenty of doctors that went to Ivy League and plenty of doctors that started at Community College

This isn't quite accurate. It's pretty clear that your undergrad institution does matter. What's up for debate is how much it matters and at which schools. Generally, the answer seems to be "not much" at most places, but there are some that weigh it considerably more heavily than others.

The real issue in this case is the whole prestigious med school thing. Unless you're going into research or academics, where you go to med school is pretty much irrelevant. You're going to learn the same things everywhere. As long as you mangle Step 1, the med school equivalent of the MCAT, more or less, you're in good shape.

 

[flip26]

Attention all high schoolers:

Go to a college where you "fit in" socially and academically - don't take on extra debt for a higher ranked college assuming it will be an advantage for med school admissions.

Hit the ground running on Day 1. Don't overload your first semester with a bunch of hard science classes and labs.

Make As; don't be the typical premed who bombs the first year of college and then spends the next 3 years digging out of a GPA hole, posting questions about the value of an upper trend in GPA.

Most importantly: Major in whatever floats your boat and you can make As in. You do NOT have to major in biology or chemistry or any science for that matter to get into medical school. Worst case will be that you need to do a post bacc year to get all the med school pre reqs done.

 

[pie741]

Thanks for reading this in advance

1.What do colleges look for in prospective pre-med students?
2.Does it really matter where you do your pre-med as long as you get accepted into a prestigious med school?
3.What do med schools look for in pre-med students? Is it mostly GPA?

What are my chances for BS/MD programs with my stats? I'm looking at UCSD as my top choice, but I hear they only take 12 students in their BS/MD program.

SAT: 2330

SAT Subjects

Chemistry:800
Biology:800
Math Level 2:780
Physics:790

Awards

National Biology Olympiad Qualifier
1st place regional Brain Bee (National Qualifier)
USAMO qualifier
Science Olympiad State 1st
Young Epidemiological Scholars Finalist
07,08,09 1st Place Academic Team

Extracirricular

9th Summer: Worked alongside doctors at Clinics in India
10th Summer: Internship in Indian hospitals and volunteered in villages providing medical aid.
10th Summer: Used money from internship jobs to provide funds for impoverished children requiring surgery.
11th Grade: Internship at UCSD Lab with neurology professor
10th and 11th Grade: UCSD Medical Center Volunteering
9th-12th: Academic Team Captain
9th-12th: Tennis

THANKS AGAIN FOR READING AND RESPONDING!

good luck, i really think you will get in.