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[Meimimelody]

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[gyngyn]

All grades since high school are included in AMCAS calculations.
Grade calculators can be found here (about half way down the page):*~*~*~*IMPORTANT: How to Format Your WAMC Thread for Optimal Results and More!!*~*~*~*
You do not need a second degree. You do need a sustained period of academic excellence in the sciences.
I can not recommend going into medicine if you only want to be a dermatologist.

 

[Meimimelody]

Thanks for your response,
"I can not recommend going into medicine if you only want to be a dermatologist.[/QUOTE]"
Why not?

 

[SubliminalNeuralgia]

Thanks for your response,
"I can not recommend going into medicine if you only want to be a dermatologist."
Why not?

A big reason is probably the fact that dermatology is consistently one of, if not the most difficult specialties to match into. You can be flawless and still not match into derm.

Going into medicine for any one specialty alone is generally not advisable.

 

[Meimimelody]

Hi, thank you for the response!
"A big reason is probably the fact that dermatology is consistently one of, if not the most difficult specialties to match into. You can be flawless and still not match into derm.
Going into medicine for any one specialty alone is generally not advisable." Ok, thanks for the clarification.

 

[gyngyn]

Why not?

There are far more candidates than residency positions. Even high scoring students with an 5th year of research can fail to match.

 

[Catalystik]

1) You have some options:

a) Graduate and work toward a second bachelors degree in the sciences so you get preference to register in the upper-level classes, going at your own pace. You are not obliged to finish the second degree since you already have one.
b) Stay in college, add a minor or second major, and spend another two years taking full-time science coursework to raise your GPA. This could get you to (roughly) a 3.53 cGPA and 3.9 sGPA.
c) Enter a specialized post-baccalaureate program for those desiring to enter a medical program from a non-science background, concentrating on getting in med school prerequisites. Very intense. More expensive. But would get help acquiring all the expected extracurricular activities and good LORs. You'd need a 3.7+ GPA to get maximum benefit from this approach.

2) As discussed above.

 

[CyrilFiggis]

@Meimimelody have you shadowed or worked with a dermatologist ever?