Undergrad in 3 years and med school right after?

I'm going to take the easy way out with my answer. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page, you will see a list of several of the many, many threads where this question has been asked. Voila! You have links to loads of replies without waiting for answers.

Plenty of people do it. You need to have a VERY strong application, be very sociable and have a good reason to be doing college in 3 years. Otherwise you'll just end up with an unwanted year off. 3/104 people in my class did college in 3 years (not including the 18 yo who did it in 2)

Here is a link to a more recent thread (2/11/08) asking the same question:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=495186
It is not included in HumidBeing's list at the bottom of the page. How can one append such a list, anyways?

ponybreeder4 said:

I wanted to know..has anyone done this? I am currently a freshman but have "junior standing" because i came in with a lot of units. Would it be possible to do undergrad in 3 years in this case and go directly to med school? I would love to save some money.. and plus about the whole college experience...i think college isn't what it used to be in terms of being the "easiest/ most stress free time of your life"...and 3 years should be good enough of college life

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Maybe if you elongated your 3 years into 4 your college experience would be easier AND less stressful! Come on, party and have fun, you'll never have this chance again...

ponybreeder4 said:

and plus about the whole college experience...i think college isn't what it used to be in terms of being the "easiest/ most stress free time of your life"

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umm, i don't think it's every been the "easiest time of your life."

you (or your parents) pay big bucks for you to go to college. college has always been very expensive, and you pay for an EDUCATION. education is typically very rewarding and fulfilling, but it is usually not supposed to be "easy."

as for your original question, there are many people who do it in three years and enter med school the year after. Most, end up rejected and have to take a year off to boost their EC's. Then again, most end up rejected anyways (regardless of numbers of college years) so weigh your options. if it's cost that you fear, then that's a legitimate excuse to skip out on your last year and accelerate your junior year.

ponybreeder4 said:

I wanted to know..has anyone done this? I am currently a freshman but have "junior standing" because i came in with a lot of units. Would it be possible to do undergrad in 3 years in this case and go directly to med school? I would love to save some money.. and plus about the whole college experience...i think college isn't what it used to be in terms of being the "easiest/ most stress free time of your life"...and 3 years should be good enough of college life

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When I was in college, there were the regular premeds and the accelerated program BS/MDs. They had like no life and were socially ******ed from doing nothing but taking 30 credit hours each semester and rushing to finish undergrad in 2 or 3 years (I'm not saying all combined program's students are like this, just referring to the one's at my college). Now that I am almost finished with med school, I wouldn't hesitate for a second to go back to college days. You should enjoy them, unless saving money is your highest concern and want to finish in 3 years. College is definitely what it used to be, and it's much easier than med school. You don't want to risk the chance of burning out when you get to med school. You should definitely enjoy your time there, and you'll develop more socially which will only help you in medicine.

If you're the type that can do it in 3 years, then more power to you. I personally feel like I would get stressed out with all the work load so it's definitely not worth it to me. However, the stress and workload of med school is probably much worse than completing undergrad in 3 years so you might be on to something here. I'm the type that doesn't try to rush through school to get out. I'm working at a lab right now as a transition job. I just completed my B.S. and am applying to med school. Once you start working, it kinda sucks. I mean, my job is great but when you think about it, you ask yourself, is this all I'm going to do for the rest of my life? Your everyday routine becomes very repetitive. I'm very happy that I'm going to continue my education and try something new.

HumidBeing said:

I'm going to take the easy way out with my answer. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page, you will see a list of several of the many, many threads where this question has been asked. Voila! You have links to loads of replies without waiting for answers.

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Humid, have you read Tess of the D'Urbervilles, possibly one of the best novels ever?

Well, when she's in her milkmaid phase, she relates to Angel Clare (I believe) that she doesn't like to read books. Because, you see, books reveal too much about how people live their lives and the terrible tragedies and thrills that happen to them. She wanted to experience life fresh.

I think I forgot where I'm going with this.

paranoid_eyes said:

you (or your parents) pay big bucks for you to go to college. college has always been very expensive, and you pay for an EDUCATION.

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not if you go to a state school

I finished undergrad in 3 years and was considering going straight into med school but ended up taking several years off. You definitely don't have to do medically related work if you take time off from school and don't want to. Just follow your passion and you'll end up where you should be...

dear OP,

i finished my undergraduate career in 3 years (took my mcat at the end of my second year, and applied at the beginning of my third year), and since then i have been accepted to a medical school. I will be starting in the fall. my young age has come up in some of my interviews but if you're capable, i say go for it..

epic110 said:

I finished undergrad in 3 years and was considering going straight into med school but ended up taking several years off. You definitely don't have to do medically related work if you take time off from school and don't want to. Just follow your passion and you'll end up where you should be...

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Agreed. At 17, I was all about fast-tracking the whole college/medical school process. At some point during my junior year, I scrapped my plans to go directly to medical school. I ended up taking several years off working in a field that had always interested me and was non-medical. Opting to slow down was easily the best decision I made during college.

Asp said:

Humid, have you read Tess of the D'Urbervilles, possibly one of the best novels ever?

Well, when she's in her milkmaid phase, she relates to Angel Clare (I believe) that she doesn't like to read books. Because, you see, books reveal too much about how people live their lives and the terrible tragedies and thrills that happen to them. She wanted to experience life fresh.

I think I forgot where I'm going with this.

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LOL I see where you were going (that the OP wants her own thread of replies instead of delving into the hundreds of previously posted stories), but that did not end well for poor Tess, did it. Ignorance can be bliss; more often it leads to 'tragedy'.

A lot of the education that takes place in college doesn't happen in the classroom. Going through the four years you pick up on a lot of things through life experience that is critical for becoming a good applicant. I'm in my fourth year now and I can tell you that if I was interviewing a year ago, I wouldn't be getting any acceptances.

Sounds dumb, and you feel like it won't make a difference, but it does. Rushing the college experience will only tunnel your vision on your studies and you'll miss out.

I'm gonna have to agree with most people here. I did undergrad in 3 years and was initially all about the fast track straight to med school, but somewhere along the way I realized exactly what has been said above.... the most important lessons for this time in life come outside the class room. So I took a couple years off, spent about 1/2 of it playing in various countries, and now I'm back to slightly more serious, but just as much fun, research. Applying to med school now I find most interviews focused on what I did while NOT in school and I think I'm a much better person for it.

One other thought, most of my friends were still in uni. while I was off playing, now that they are done I'm headed back. Maybe an even better rout would be to slow down your undergrad. Take classes in crazy languages, under water basket weaving, and quantum physics, ... or something, and then go play with your friends before you start school. You're only young once so live it up!!

I wouldn't hesitate for a second to go back to the college days. They say college is the best days of your life and they weren't kidding. After college you get real life. Being surrounded by friends everyday in college is a rarity later on.

Well if you already have at least 60 semester hours of credit, you should have a very easy time getting through in 3 years. It is possible to do a science degree in 2 years, especially with a large portion of your general education curriculum done.

Just make sure you have enough time to have a very strong overall application and enjoy college while you are there. I'm graduating early and I'm excited about it. College has been a blast, but I'm looking forward to moving on to bigger and better things.

Plus, you don't have to decide right away. Go to college for 2 years then decide.

Yeah. If you have that many credits already, go to school for four years, spend 20 hours a week in the lab doing serious research, and get published in Nature. It gives you a ton of leeway to make yourself a better applicant (and have fun doing it). You could even double major in something.

Hi, I haven't read the other responses, but my roommate last year graduated in 3 years because of all the credits she came in with. She got into one medical school (her state school) and is an M1 now. She was not one of those over-anal pre-meds that didn't have a life. She had a pretty fun, normal undergrad experience I think, and she was pretty involved too.

I think it might hurt a little because admissions committees tend to like more mature (not so young) students, but if you can prove yourself ready, then try! Even if you don't get in, no biggie. A year off can be a good thing

Good luck!

No one cares about your age. Simple as that. Apply when you think you are ready.

The only thing they care about is your stats.

medisaur said:

not if you go to a state school

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let's put it this way: you're paying SOMETHING, unless you're on a full ride, in which case you should probably be a strong and dedicated student anyways

I'm paying for everything this term, and I'm building a substantial amount of debt to go to college. With that said, I really love the intellectual and social environment here. I also have a fair amount of college credit, and I could easily graduate in three years (and save a lot of money). However, I think that exploring my options and enjoying my time as an undergraduate is more important.

Will you be able to take a philosophy class once you are in medical school? During your residency? Will you be able to actively participate in a team sport? How about your social life- how will that change once you are working 80 hour weeks?

Enjoy your time as an undergraduate...it is probably the last time you will have this much freedom.

ponybreeder4 said:

I wanted to know..has anyone done this? I am currently a freshman but have "junior standing" because i came in with a lot of units. Would it be possible to do undergrad in 3 years in this case and go directly to med school? I would love to save some money.. and plus about the whole college experience...i think college isn't what it used to be in terms of being the "easiest/ most stress free time of your life"...and 3 years should be good enough of college life

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wow, just... wow...

are you serious? Someone needs to slap you across the face, frequently!

Did you attend college when it was "what it used to be"? Many people consider college easy/stress free NOW and many people considered it stressful when you were never around.

You come off as one of the most naive people i've seen on these forums, what makes you think that 3 years is good, but 4 years is excessive for this "college life" you are so informed about.

Besides, I don't think many schools will want to accept an applicant with 2 years of college experiences in their resume compared to 3 years. Especially with all the great apps that seem to be out there.

When I was in highschool I wasn't sure if I wanted to go pre-med or not but I was doing the whole dual credit thing and summer courses etc... My dad told me this story,

He (my dad) was sitting in the break room with one of the nuerologists who had 15+ years of practice graduated from Hopkins at the top of his class and was one of the most respected well known nuerologists in the military. The Dr. said "You know Im not sure I like what Im doing any more". My dad gave him a puzzled look and asked what do you mean? the guy said "I've spent four years in college, 4 years in medical school, residency, specialty and it feels like my life has just flown by and ive missed everything, so i think im going to retire next year and not be a doctor anymore". my dad asked what he would do for a job..."I've always wanted to be a mechanic...My dad owns a body shop...I think Ill go work for him..." the next year he retired and no longer works at the hospital. as for the auto body shop im not sure if he works there or not, he may have just switched hospitals who knows.

THE MORAL? do what you want to and can today because more often than not, its not what you did do that you regret, its what you didnt do.

How is that even possible?......How can someone finish in 3 or 2 years? Does that mean they went Post Secondary, and many summer classes and a loadful each semester, or do they test out of classes? Are they doing what those 14 yr olds that are getting their masters are doing? LOL. Seriously, how are they doing this?

Ami212 said:

How is that even possible?......How can someone finish in 3 or 2 years? Does that mean they went Post Secondary, and many summer classes and a loadful each semester, or do they test out of classes?

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By taking AP classes in high school and receiving college credit for them. Or by taking placement tests at the college (like for foriegn language) and getting college credit for the classes you place out of.

Post secondary. It is very common in my state. A girl that lived in my freshman dorm graduated high school with an associates degree from college because she did full time post secondary for two years. She graduated college in two years and is now in law school. So, it seems that if the OP graduated in 3 years, the OP would have plenty of time to take "fun" classes too.

I still vote to just go in and see how it goes. If you feel that you are ready to graduate, go for it. Otherwise, stay for a fourth year, take more classes, enjoy yourself, get another major, etc. You don't have to decide yet.

something i wish i had done is take time off before college. i have a couple friends who took a break halfway through college for a year, they loved the time off and were hella ready to enjoy college again when they came back from having to work for a living.

and, remember these immortal words, as one of my best friends said to me:

"Graduating college in 4 years is like leaving a party at 10:00"

priceless.

If you are not old enough to go bar hopping on the weekends with your med school friends, you will miss the best part of medical school.

that guy that started the thread about having an age maximum as an admissions criteria would applaud you.