First Year Pre-med status report...

[SyrianRenegade]

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Okay so first semester is winding down...while this is only my first semester I will already have over 50 credit hours thanks to duel credit stuff i did in HS...4.0 so far but I will probably end up with at least one B this sem which will drop me to around a 3.8. Still developing good study habits, and struggled in a few tests early on as a result. I have volunteered at a hospital for 30 hours, a clinic for 20, Voter registration drives 40 hours, and I am a member of several clubs and organizations. This past summer I volunteered with the Red Cross overseas and I plan on doing the SMDEP summer thing this summer hopefully if I get in. I am still not 100% set on Medicine and I am hoping that will help me decide for sure if that is what I want to do. Any suggestions?

 

[chiz2kul]

What? You're really doing ALL that your FIRST year? And do you know your reservations concerning medicine yet?

 

[MilkmanAl]

Suggestions? Keep doing what you're doing if it's not going to burn you out. try to shadow some doctors to get a feel for what your life will be like.

 

[sully677]

Okay so first semester is winding down...while this is only my first semester I will already have over 50 credit hours thanks to duel credit stuff i did in HS...4.0 so far but I will probably end up with at least one B this sem which will drop me to around a 3.8. Still developing good study habits, and struggled in a few tests early on as a result. I have volunteered at a hospital for 30 hours, a clinic for 20, Voter registration drives 40 hours, and I am a member of several clubs and organizations. This past summer I volunteered with the Red Cross overseas and I plan on doing the SMDEP summer thing this summer hopefully if I get in. I am still not 100% set on Medicine and I am hoping that will help me decide for sure if that is what I want to do. Any suggestions?

You sound like the typical pre-med. Chill out and enjoy life. Medicine is not life.

 

[RySerr21]

Dont worry about the B.......you can even get quite a few more, and if you keep doin every thing else right the schools wont even notice. Keep doin what you are doin and youll have no problem getting accepted.

 

[yangxx2]

Okay so first semester is winding down...while this is only my first semester I will already have over 50 credit hours thanks to duel credit stuff i did in HS...4.0 so far but I will probably end up with at least one B this sem which will drop me to around a 3.8. Still developing good study habits, and struggled in a few tests early on as a result. I have volunteered at a hospital for 30 hours, a clinic for 20, Voter registration drives 40 hours, and I am a member of several clubs and organizations. This past summer I volunteered with the Red Cross overseas and I plan on doing the SMDEP summer thing this summer hopefully if I get in. I am still not 100% set on Medicine and I am hoping that will help me decide for sure if that is what I want to do. Any suggestions?

LOL you sound like me freshman year..now a sophomore, and you'd think I'd know better...
Just be careful not to burn out. Not only is it harmful to your grades, but your health too. Don't forget, you need to be physically capable of being a doctor 😎

 

[TehDoc]

It will be real easy to burn out especially if you're stressing about a B and all A's. I won't give my typical response and say "don't apply to medical school", but you're only a freshman so chill.

 

[Emmet2301]

Wow can't believe someone is already doing all that..

I'm a first semester premed also. I just feel so bogged down with stuff and about choosing my major/school. I'm doing engineering right now, but will prolly switch. Engineering's not for me and it's too much work for too little benefit. There's a lotta work in college. I need to get into a routine and stuff. I've only joined a few clubs. I want to get into the academic mood before other things.

 

[NJDIF]

1st semester premed

who isnt?

 

[TehDoc]

1st semester premed

who isnt?

Truth

 

[TehDoc]

Did the classes you took look like this?

And if so, where did you go to school? I want to send my future children there.

Excellent!

 

[SyrianRenegade]

Well yeah I realize it is only my first semester...I am going to a small liberal arts school near where I went to high school. It's a small University with a few thousand students but it is a good feeder school into graduate programs. I did have a couple of easy classes, but I have 17 hours this sem. But when it comes to the ECs its all stuff I enjoy more than it is me doing if for premed...I mean yeah the volunteering at the hospital and clinic lol...don't know anyone who would spend 4 hours of a weekend in a hospital to roll around a few old people in wheelchairs just for the hell of it. But yeah the B I will probably end up with is in bio 101...I know a B isn't a big deal but this isn't a difficult class and it is one I am perfectly capable of acing but like I mentioned earlier, I am still suffering from the laziness and lack of motivation that comes with just getting out of an easy high school. I guess the main thing that is keeping me from settling on pre med is the endless road to becoming a doc...My dad is a physician...I know lots of physicians and I plan on shadowing sometime during my break but I know enough about it already to know it is something I would love to do for a living. I am just afraid I won't overcome this crappy work ethic I'm having right now and I know that I have a loooong way to go with regards to that if I do end up deciding to go down this long road lol

 

[Docere]

Wow you're pretty much heading in the right direction. A B in Intro to Bio isn't something to be terribly worried about, but you're right; it should be an easy class. Next semester, your classes should pretty much look the same.

You have three more years to work out your study ethics. Believe me, if you don't learn by next semester, you'll definitely learn sometime in the years to come. You'll be taking more advanced courses that will probably require a LOT more time to achieve that A. But for the moment, enjoy your freshman year as much as possible. It should be your easiest year (that or senior year), so chill out a bit like everyone said 🙂 Join clubs of interest to network, have fun with friends, etc.

That said, since you're set on becoming a physician, I'd recommend that you take a course about the humans behind the doctorate degree. You know, a class about medicine and society. It certainly helped me become not only a better patient, but I'm sure what I took from that class would make me a better doctor.

 

[SyrianRenegade]

Oh yeah also forgot to mention a W I have...fell behind in chem early and had no background in it; ended up dropping it...like I said, when it comes to studying my work ethic has been very much lacking. When it comes to ECs and my overall GPA I am on the right track, but a B in bio 101 and dropping chem is what is worrying me.

 

[Docere]

A W doesn't look too good on your transcript, it's true. But seeing as how it's your first year, hopefully it's understood that transition into college was a little rocky for you. If you just pull through your next semesters, you'll be fine.

What's been keeping you from studying? That is, are your ECs a reason why you don't spend too much time studying?

 

[chris1264]

so far...
A in Bio
Low A in Chem
A in english
B in calc

 

[Docere]

A's and B's your first year is good. More A's than B's is even better. But then again, you do need a balance of extra curriculars and research on top of those grades.