Freshman year of college

[Drizzy Drake]

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I am starting my freshman year of college next fall and I would be delighted if someone gave me some advice on what I should do my first year to have a great chance of getting into a premier medical school after graduation. Thanks!

 

[jesse120]

Some generic things that seem to work:

1. Do well in your classes. Aim for a 4.0 always

2. Get involved in extracurriculars. Try out as many things as you want at first until you get a feel for the one or two that you really care about and then concentrate on those. It's better to excel at one or two ECs than have 17 things going on with little to no participation. Aim for leadership roles (probably down the line, but the earlier the better).

2b. Don't let ECs bring down your GPA. GPA >> ECs

3. Volunteer at a hospital or other related health care setting (e.g. hospice). Doesn't have to be much, a few hours once every two weeks is fine. But continue doing that throughout.

4. Get involved in research if that's what you care about. You won't be curing cancer or getting first author pubs out right away, but you can learn a bit just by being there and doing the little things. Be proactive.

5. Have fun in college! You won't have this much freedom ever again.

Edit: To get into a "premier" med school, do all these typical premed things exceptionally well and do things that aren't typical. It's not easy getting into a top school. Check out the mdapps of people who have.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Take your time, I don't care if you need to be a underwater basket weaving major ( easiest major ever) and take 12 credits with 1 science a semester for like 5 years to graduate with a 4.0, do it with no regret. But yes, point being is don't overload yourself. Also try to get a decent amount of extracurriculars in, so around 1 year of clinical, 1 year of research, 1 year of nonclinical, and 20+ hours of doctor shadowing.
Also you should try to accomplish this all while having fun or in a setting you're passionate about. So if you like researching bugs, working with kids, etc do it. Don't feel like you need to be a complete cookie cutter.

 

[Planet Ocean]

Know your limits and keep ego out of the equation when you're designing your course load. I would apply to as many scribe programs in your area as possible now. You can take care of shadowing, clinical experience, and potential LOR through being a scribe and its paid! Also, learn to take one day/thing at a time. The path can be daunting.

 

[Drizzy Drake]

Thanks! All of you have been very helpful!

 

[ljpm8224]

Know your limits and keep ego out of the equation when you're designing your course load. I would apply to as many scribe programs in your area as possible now. You can take care of shadowing, clinical experience, and potential LOR through being a scribe and its paid! Also, learn to take one day/thing at a time. The path can be daunting.

^^ great advice. scribe >> emt-b (which everyone has)

 

[jagibbs07]

Some generic things that seem to work:

1. Do well in your classes. Aim for a 4.0 always

2. Get involved in extracurriculars. Try out as many things as you want at first until you get a feel for the one or two that you really care about and then concentrate on those. It's better to excel at one or two ECs than have 17 things going on with little to no participation. Aim for leadership roles (probably down the line, but the earlier the better).

2b. Don't let ECs bring down your GPA. GPA >> ECs

3. Volunteer at a hospital or other related health care setting (e.g. hospice). Doesn't have to be much, a few hours once every two weeks is fine. But continue doing that throughout.

4. Get involved in research if that's what you care about. You won't be curing cancer or getting first author pubs out right away, but you can learn a bit just by being there and doing the little things. Be proactive.

5. Have fun in college! You won't have this much freedom ever again.

Edit: To get into a "premier" med school, do all these typical premed things exceptionally well and do things that aren't typical. It's not easy getting into a top school. Check out the mdapps of people who have.

while I agree with all of this very much, do not try to do all of this your first year. focus on your grades FIRST. then maybe get involved in volunteering or research but don't overexert yourself and try to do everything now. you have four years!

 

[saveourpens]

Take freshman bio then start asking about "premier" med schools.

"Be active" from day 1 is my advice.

 

[Planet Ocean]

Take freshman bio then start asking about "premier" med schools.

"Be active" from day 1 is my advice.

Haha, state med schools get better looking the more pre-reqs you take.