Freshman

[bas0912]

Alright guys.

Well I'm a freshman right now at ECU just got done with my first sumester at school and I'm considering going into podiatry. Right now im majoring in bio and i like it so far i was just wondering what would probalby be best to do right now and for the rest of the three years im here to help me get into a good podiatry school. After this first sumester my GPA is a 3.42 kinda slacked in my eng and math class but did good in my sciences got a A in general biology and biology. Also got a B in general chem and a A in general chem lab.

Thanks guys

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[j0ez0r]

you're right on track. keep it up!

 

[dtrack22]

Our pre-med advisers at my institution gave our pre-med seminar class these guidelines on how to be a competitive allopathic applicant. We have yet to have any individual from our school (since the current profs took over as the health sciences committee) do these 6 things and NOT get accepted to medical school. I know this is a podiatry program but I think its something good to shoot for...

1. 3.6 cumulative GPA

2. 27 on the MCAT with a 9 IN EACH subject, its their opinion that a 9 9 9 looks better to medical school admissions than a 7 11 9 (with your 7 being in one of the science and your 11 being in verbal or the other science).

3. have logged 500 clinical hours (can be anything related to medicine pretty much and should include shadowing pods in the case of a pre-pod...personally, I count my ski patrol work as clinical so this area can be covered by a wide range of activities)

4. have logged 500 hours of altruistic community service (something separate from your clinical hours, again, well-roundedness is the key)

5. Have taken all pre-reqs (if you're a science major this is a given)

6. Apply to 15 schools (our profs wont even write a letter on our behalf if we haven't done this and are applying to allopathic medical schools. Obviously as a pod this one is impossible since there aren't 15 schools, but you should apply to at least 4 IMO)

Again, as I'm sure you've read you do not NEED this to get into pod school...heck, there are plenty of kids that don't have all this that get into MD programs (they are usually stronger in some of these and may have some amazing "experiences" from working after undergrad). But if you do your best to hit all these numbers you'll get into the pod school of your choice with some scholarships in hand. Do as well in school as you possibly can, rock the MCAT, and be involved in a wide range of activities outside of school (including something that exposes you to medicine in some manner).

 

[215512]

+1 dtrack22 has it right! that is pretty much everything you need to get into any med school really best of luck!

 

[bas0912]

Ok so im not really sure if i want to do podiatry in the field of medicine what would you guys say isthe best way to figure out exactly what i want to do in the field of medicine? I guess clinical hours and interships. What would be the best ways to do these clinical hours and interships? Also as the guys said well rounded for the community and clinical could you give me some examples that would be good wellroudned ideas to do.

Thanks for all of the help guys i really appreciate it.

 

[Gryhu]

Best way to figure out what you want to do is to actually go out there and do some shadowing!

I'm pretty sure SDN has information on every single medical specialty, just search for it on the proper sub-forum. Once you've narrowed it down to a small list, go out there and find doctors in your area and ask if you can shadow them. Most are happy to let you follow them around because they were in your shoes at one point in their lives.

As far as clinical hours, you can usually rack them up either by shadowing or doing some type of other activity close to the medical field. dtrack 22 said he does ski patrol, some of my friends do EMT work...As far as being well-rounded, try to do some other community service / volunteer work thats not medical. For example you could deliver meals to needy people, work in a soup kitchen, join a club that does clean ups of parks etc. You want to show the adcom that you're not just a GPA and an MCAT score, you're a living, breathing person.

You're still a freshman. A lot of people aren't exactly sure that they want to go into medicine that early in the game let alone what they want to specialize in. Personally, I didn't decide on podiatry until the end of my sophomore year. Give it some time and explore different options. Don't slack though, try to at least decide which path you want to go down (DPM, MD/DO, DDS/DMD, PA, etc.) before the start of your junior year.

Woah! That was a long post. If you have anymore questions, don't be afraid to ask.