Acceptances looking back. What would you change?

[transfec]

---

Members don't see this ad.

For those fourth year undegrads accepted to medical school, what things would you change about your life as an undergrad, if you were to be given the chance?

 

[TheFogHat]

Focus on learning the material for the class rather than getting an 'A'.

 

[IrishCalini]

Start research earlier (I just started January of last year)

 

[rafflecopter]

Would have gone into a time machine and told my freshman self that "no, filmmaking is not what you want to do with your life, yes being a doctor is better, and no, its not okay to get a 3.1 overall GPA."

I also would have told him that when the hottest girl you've ever seen calls you horny and wanting to come over, you had better call in sick to work that day.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Stats are stats, don't waste so much money applying to 30 schools because you are afraid of coming from a low ranked uni.

 

[bacalaca]

Dont be neurotic and worry about all the little details and how it might reflect on your application. Adcoms dont know and dont care if there is a harder major school, or that there are multiple bio/chem/physics/math series at your school that vary in length, difficulty and grading. Just do what you need to do and enjoy yourself!!!!

 

[toastedcheese]

Focus on learning the material for the class rather than getting an 'A'.

As someone who is a few years out of college, I say the opposite of this. I had this idea, like somehow the grade didn't really matter as long as I learned the material. Got a great MCAT, have a mediocre GPA, feel like I'm missing out at a chance at the real high-end medical schools because of it.

If you want to learn something there is plenty of opportunity to read or take classes after college. Right now your job is to get A's and get a good MCAT score. And honestly, if you work hard enough to get an A you're learning everything you need to from the class.

 

[Mizoodles]

enjoy your time at college~!

 

[krispy]

As someone who is a few years out of college, I say the opposite of this. I had this idea, like somehow the grade didn't really matter as long as I learned the material. Got a great MCAT, have a mediocre GPA, feel like I'm missing out at a chance at the real high-end medical schools because of it.

If you want to learn something there is plenty of opportunity to read or take classes after college. Right now your job is to get A's and get a good MCAT score. And honestly, if you work hard enough to get an A you're learning everything you need to from the class.

this👍

it definitely goes both ways, you learn the material really well, you'll get an A...you wanna get an A, you have to learn the material really well.

 

[URHere]

I would have become a tour guide.

That was the only thing on my college "bucket list" that I never had the chance to do, and giving med school tours doesn't quite seem the same.

 

[TheFogHat]

Trust me, coming from a kid with straight A's, you can get all A's and not learn anything...

 

[jhamaican]

Trust me, coming from a kid with straight A's, you can get all A's and not learn anything...

same

Would have gotten ~3.8 instead of a 4.0 and added more extra curricular in the spare time.

 

[jhamaican]

As someone who is a few years out of college, I say the opposite of this. I had this idea, like somehow the grade didn't really matter as long as I learned the material. Got a great MCAT, have a mediocre GPA, feel like I'm missing out at a chance at the real high-end medical schools because of it.

If you want to learn something there is plenty of opportunity to read or take classes after college. Right now your job is to get A's and get a good MCAT score. And honestly, if you work hard enough to get an A you're learning everything you need to from the class.

strongly disagree, coming from someone with a 4.0 and a 39. I am not sure what you define as a "top" med school but for me that is a top 10-15 school. I have been accepted to a top 20, and waiting to hear back from a few top 10 in march, but i feel my application would have been much stronger if i had settled for a ~3.8 and added more crazy extracirrculars.

 

[surftheiop]

1) Don't go through the first two years of undergrad thinking I was going to be a chemical Engineer

2) Don't do all the "pre-med" stuff (MCAT/Research/Volunteer) in the span of about 18 months

3) Don't be afraid to take some more easy A classes

4) Did I mention don't major in chemical engineering?

 

[wlee43]

I didn't apply yet but I would

1) Take Calc I at a community college
2) Study more first semester of freshmen year
3) Do more EC during freshmen year instead of just joining the pre dental club

 

[transfec]

I didn't apply yet but I would

1) Take Calc I at a community college
2) Study more first semester of freshmen year
3) Do more EC during freshmen year instead of just joining the pre dental club

#1 could have gotten you in some trouble during your interviews. I'm glad you chose the hard road.

 

[transfec]

As someone who is a few years out of college, I say the opposite of this. I had this idea, like somehow the grade didn't really matter as long as I learned the material. Got a great MCAT, have a mediocre GPA, feel like I'm missing out at a chance at the real high-end medical schools because of it.

If you want to learn something there is plenty of opportunity to read or take classes after college. Right now your job is to get A's and get a good MCAT score. And honestly, if you work hard enough to get an A you're learning everything you need to from the class.

While I agree with you, I think most mean that they wish they could have tried to really appreciate the material, rather than just walk away from the course with an A.

 

[wlee43]

I already took physics I at a community college and plan on taking II again next summer. If they ask about it and I just say I had no room in my schedule, is that a fair answer when the truth was I was afraid of getting a B?

 

[transfec]

I already took physics I at a community college and plan on taking II again next summer. If they ask about it and I just say I had no room in my schedule, is that a fair answer when the truth was I was afraid of getting a B?

I'm sure you'll be OK.

 

[TFS]

.

 

[dragon529]

Pick a major you enjoy (this translates to materials you actually WANT to absorb = more 'A')
Don't be afraid to take "easy" classes and score those 'A'
Don't be afraid to try out different ECs (but definitely pick a few to stick with in the long run)
Don't always try to be creative and avoid all the cookie-cutter activities to get into med school. Not everyone is unique and you have to accept that. Just do what you enjoy and back it up with evidence. Adcoms know there are only a handful of things an applicant can do, so as long as you can highlight your reasons for doing it you'll be fine 😀

 

[IrishCalini]

Wow, one thing that seems to keep coming up is having more of a social life/doing more ECs. Now, I'm no 3.9 GPA/40 MCAT (nor am I saying that I potentially could have been), but to me, having a social life and spending time in my ECs (especially the non-medical ones) is what I will remember from college. I would not change that for the world, even if some place like Harvard came knocking at my door. It can be done too, I just feel you need to have your priorities and expectations straight and have MAD organization & time management skills...

 

[venacontracta]

1) I'd try to plan some stuff further in advance (mostly in terms of extracurriculars, summers, etc, but also adding an interesting minor that I only realized I was interested in once it was too late) I definitely missed some cool opportunities as a result and wasted some big chunks of time. I don't regret anything in this sense because I really did enjoy all of college, but if I were able to go back and use certain periods of time more effectively, I would.

2) I'd go back in time and tell myself "there's some really really obvious signs that your gf might, for a lack of a better word, be crazy, and you might want to get out now." Doing so would have saved myself quite a bit of drama and a few wasted years committed to someone who was not the person I thought she was. I do have some regrets here, mostly because I have no idea what I was thinking and how I rationalized away the existence of huge red flags.

 

[Champaigne]

Continued with foreign language classes which I stopped taking after hs. I was on the verge of being fluent in spanish and italian and now thats all pretty much gone.

 

[HBSlim]

I would have majored in music instead of biology. I'll learn everything I need for the science of medicine in med school but I'll never have another chance to focus on music like I could have in college.

 

[toastedcheese]

strongly disagree, coming from someone with a 4.0 and a 39. I am not sure what you define as a "top" med school but for me that is a top 10-15 school. I have been accepted to a top 20, and waiting to hear back from a few top 10 in march, but i feel my application would have been much stronger if i had settled for a ~3.8 and added more crazy extracirrculars.

Maybe. As we all know it is very random. I have a 3.5, 38 and some interesting, very nonstandard extracurriculars, and I've gotten a few interviews in the 20-30 range and then a random smattering above that. I feel like I'm missing out on those #5-20 that you're getting.

 

[cliffhuxtableDO]

wouldnt have been so headstrong to start out as a bio major, wouldnt have transferred two times, wouldve had a better balance my sophomore year.

 

[NickNaylor]

Wouldn't have wasted my time with the stupid organizations I did freshman year.

I also would've tried to be more of a trailblazer and done things I was truly interested in, rather than limiting myself to what was available.

Beyond that, I wouldn't change much. There were certainly times when college sucked, but overall I'm happy with my college experience.

 

[BigEast55]

Wouldn't have wasted my time with the stupid organizations I did freshman year.

I also would've tried to be more of a trailblazer and done things I was truly interested in, rather than limiting myself to what was available.

Beyond that, I wouldn't change much. There were certainly times when college sucked, but overall I'm happy with my college experience.

Mostly agreed, especially about the trailblazer part. I also wish I had worried less, it doesn't really accomplish anything.

 

[gravitywave]

As someone who is a few years out of college, I say the opposite of this. I had this idea, like somehow the grade didn't really matter as long as I learned the material. Got a great MCAT, have a mediocre GPA, feel like I'm missing out at a chance at the real high-end medical schools because of it.

If you want to learn something there is plenty of opportunity to read or take classes after college. Right now your job is to get A's and get a good MCAT score. And honestly, if you work hard enough to get an A you're learning everything you need to from the class.

👍 to this, and the bolded is particularly true.

strongly disagree, coming from someone with a 4.0 and a 39. I am not sure what you define as a "top" med school but for me that is a top 10-15 school. I have been accepted to a top 20, and waiting to hear back from a few top 10 in march, but i feel my application would have been much stronger if i had settled for a ~3.8 and added more crazy extracirrculars.

yep. past a certain point, around 3.8 or so, more A's aren't doing you that much good. Ivys could fill their classes several times over with the 4.0s that they see every year, but they are looking for more than just that.

#1 could have gotten you in some trouble during your interviews. I'm glad you chose the hard road.

nonsense.

 

[gettheleadout]

nonsense.

I agree, I feel like this is a myth until the point where you've taken more than a couple pre-req's at a CC, at which point it might start to look suspicious.

 

[circulus vitios]

1) Don't go through the first two years of undergrad thinking I was going to be a chemical Engineer

2) Don't do all the "pre-med" stuff (MCAT/Research/Volunteer) in the span of about 18 months

3) Don't be afraid to take some more easy A classes

4) Did I mention don't major in chemical engineering?

Why did you major in chemical engineering?

 

[Isoprop]

Go to CC for the first 2 years. Major in something not biology.

 

[CaptainSSO]

...

 

[circulus vitios]

I'm still in college but I would have not gone to community college and taken my general education classes all at once. Taking them all at once was a terrible idea as upper level classes have prerequisites, and some of these classes are taught once a year at best and once every 2 years at the worst.

Because of this I now have to do 5 years total.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Why did you major in chemical engineering?

Starting salary is 100k+?

 

[Negrodamus]

I'm not anywhere near applying yet. But I wish I would of taken college more seriously when I was a freshman. I'm going to spend the rest of my college career trying to make up for it.

 

[CardiacIntensivist]

Learned Spanish

Did more research

 

[gravitywave]

Starting salary is 100k+?

err, 65K?

still baller for a BS degree tho, despite what the feds are calling a depressed job market for chemEng going forward 😕

 

[4ksibe]

I agree, I feel like this is a myth until the point where you've taken more than a couple pre-req's at a CC, at which point it might start to look suspicious.

Took all my prereq at a CC and its not hurting me a bit. I think though that if you go to a univ as a freshmen and then spend summers to take prereqs at a CC its a problem. But I had 2 years of CC then transferred and if you keep your grades the way they were at CC then there is no problem but if you fail all ur classes when you transition, then you are at risk

 

[Medwell]

I also would have told him that when the hottest girl you've ever seen calls you horny and wanting to come over, you had better call in sick to work that day.

No one noticed this?

Dude you suck lol. You better have had a REALLY good time at work that day.

 

[rafflecopter]

No one noticed this?

Dude you suck lol. You better have had a REALLY good time at work that day.

I would have lost my job if I didn't go to work that day, and I thought the girl would present more opportunities in the future. Boy was I wrong. Got laid off a month later and the girl was super pissed after that day and stopped talking to me .

 

[oldyogurt]

I'm a postbac right now but my undergrad years were filled with good times after I dropped pre-med. I want to do more research in the future, and my regret is not getting into it sooner. I also couldn't study abroad because of the way I scheduled my major to include pre-med 🙁

I would have lost my job if I didn't go to work that day, and I thought the girl would present more opportunities in the future. Boy was I wrong. Got laid off a month later and the girl was super pissed after that day and stopped talking to me .

Ah, she would have just teased you anyway. They all do.

::stares longingly into distance::

 

[Onres]

Trust me, coming from a kid with straight A's, you can get all A's and not learn anything...

I can see how this happens, since some of my premed buddies are really good at this, but I did both. I figured I didn't want to relearn everything for the MCAT, so I actually learned everything pretty well, and made all As. I also too all my pre-reqs my Junior year though, so I think it helped since I took the MCAT soon after.

 

[wanderer]

Gone to a school with more of a university feel (school pride and that kinda stuff)
Had more time with hobbies particularly in terms of learning to play my guitar which I rarely touched over last few years.
Spread my pre-med stuff over more time. I took all courses except for one in something like 3 semesters. I also did a lot of my volunteering over this time (but at least not my research). This left a lot less room for personal things. I did this in hopes of applying to medical schools ASAP and things did not work in my favor.
Other things:
Maybe learned Spanish. Honestly though I'm not a big fan of learning languages in the classroom, so....

 

[CarefreeSurfboard]

I'm not anywhere near applying yet. But I wish I would of taken college more seriously when I was a freshman. I'm going to spend the rest of my college career trying to make up for it.

In the same boat as you. It's something you have to wake up every day with and carry around with you. Pretty humbling...

 

[AH3]

I wouldn't have applied to some of the schools I did. Even though I did quite a bit of research on them, there were a couple that I didn't even send secondaries back to. Other than that, I've been very happy with my undergrad experience and path to med school. Keeping a good balance between school, friends, family, and extracurriculars was essential. It kept me focused, but also allowed development of many important "non-classroom/science" attributes and skills.

 

[Protagonistic]

Not applying to med schools yet but here is my list

1. Should have taken intro to chem instead of principles of chemistry.
2. Should have prayed harder to god to get me parents who are not Indian.
3. Should have picked a major easier than Biochemistry.
4. Couldn't have done three, refer to number 2 for the reason.
5. Should have studied more and made myself like stuff I don't really like and have no interest in at all.
6. Would have had to do 5 because of number 2 on the list.
7. Should have sacrificed a sheep so my prayer for number 2 would have came true.
8. PETA would have probably made my life living hell but not as bad as number 2.

Am I going to get into med school? Probably if it all goes right.
Did I want to go into med school? I most certainly did.
Am I going to get into a top 20 med school? Probably not because at the end of the 1st semester my GPA is a 2.9, even if I get 4.0s from here on out my med school chances are out the window.

What did I get from my short experience? To make sure I do not marry an Indian woman as it will make my kid's lives a living heck.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Am I going to get into a top 20 med school? Probably not because at the end of the 1st semester my GPA is a 2.9, even if I get 4.0s from here on out my med school chances are out the window.

If you get a 3.8 average for the rest of your college career you'll end up with a 3.7-3.8 which is above what most medical school matriculates have. Follow up with a good mcat and you've got a chance at top 20.

 

[s1lver]

Awesome thread!

Appreciate all the info...