High School student going to Pre-med

[Ryne]

Hello, anyone on here have any suggestions about college courses, undergrad, and mcat tests. I have read that some colleges like you not to major in pre-med dunno if this is true thought i would come here and ask the pros. If this is true any undergrads that you suggest will help...Also, I was wanting some info on the mcats, do you learn everything needed to pass the test in pre-med. Thanks for all responses.

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[Grrr]

Hello, anyone on here have any suggestions about college courses, undergrad, and mcat tests. I have read that some colleges like you not to major in pre-med dunno if this is true thought i would come here and ask the pros. If this is true any undergrads that you suggest will help...Also, I was wanting some info on the mcats, do you learn everything needed to pass the test in pre-med. Thanks for all responses.

I opted for Biochemistry as opposed to traditional Pre-med, and took alot of non-science courses including writing, philosophy, music, and some various cultural classes. The schools I applied to seemed to love this - they definately prefer a well rounded candidate.

Likewise, as far as exracurriculars go, they dont need to all be related to medicine. Its definately important to get some experience, but if you make your goal to get out there and simply learn about some of the opportunities going on in your community, schools will recognize this.

As far as the MCAT, your pre-med courses will cover most of whats on the test (as far as science sections go), but they will not prepare you for the test, that takes lots of studying. Also, 1/3 of your test grade is a reading comprehension section. In my opinion it is the most challenging of the section, and a good way to get a jump start is just being well read. In the end you'll want to take a prep-course to get you ready for the test, which can span 1 or 2 semesters, depending on how spaced out you want the class to be.

Hope this helps

 

[MarzMD]

Hello, anyone on here have any suggestions about college courses, undergrad, and mcat tests. I have read that some colleges like you not to major in pre-med dunno if this is true thought i would come here and ask the pros. If this is true any undergrads that you suggest will help...Also, I was wanting some info on the mcats, do you learn everything needed to pass the test in pre-med. Thanks for all responses.

I think that the general consensus is that one particular undergrad major is not favored over another, so just chose whatever you are interested in. As far as undergrad university, I would suggest you go to the school that you like the most, and dont base your decision on ranking. Because in the end, your chances of getting into med school will depend on how well you did wherever you went. As far as mcat, no your science courses will probably not teach you all of the information you will need for the mcat, but will lay the ground work for anything you will need to learn. You will need to eventually buy an mcat prep book and you will be fine if you really study throughout your 4 years of undergrad and learn all of the stuff you should be learning.

 

[nimotsu]

maybe you should go to college with an open-mind instead of running to campus with blinders on. Medical schools enroll diverse classes, so there is no particular mold to aspire for.

 

[zurned]

Hello, anyone on here have any suggestions about college courses, undergrad, and mcat tests. I have read that some colleges like you not to major in pre-med dunno if this is true thought i would come here and ask the pros. If this is true any undergrads that you suggest will help...Also, I was wanting some info on the mcats, do you learn everything needed to pass the test in pre-med. Thanks for all responses.

Med schools only require a year of bio, chem, orgo, gen chem, physics, calc and english and preferably biochem by the tiem you apply. Some universities have a pre-med major that gives you these courses and possibly some other courses related to bio. However, you can be any major and apply to med school if you've completed the above pre-reqs. Fore xample, if you like history, do a history major and take the science classes on the side. Therefore, its not necessary taht a university have a "pre-med" major for you to get into med school. However, most schools do have majors that are related to biological sciences and about 50 percent of medical school applicants major in those areas. They say you should choose a major based on your interest, and it may even help you in the end to major in something non-science because taking too many science courses may wind up hurting your gpa.

As for the mcats, you need to understand the sciences that you take in college, BUT a lot of it is how you incorporate that knowledge to the passages. Therefore, if you memorize everything you've learned and do only that, you probably would not do well. However, if you practice with old exams and maybe take a Kaplan course and learn how to apply the stuff you learn and get better at reading the passages at a good pace, then that combined iwth the factual stuff helps a lot. I can't really give you a good example, but you'll see when you start studying for it. Good luck!

 

[gary5]

Pick any major that you're interested in. If it's a non-science, considering minoring in bio. You'll learn what you need for the MCAT in your science classes. Aim to get 4 A's and 1 B per semester. (The B is a little wiggle room.) Don't get less than a 3.5 GPA. Get a premed advisor immediately upon starting college and do everything they advise you to do.

 

[fullefect1]

Participate in any type of acitvity you enjoy. Get a good GPA. And also make sure to have fun... that my suggestions..

 

[Law2Doc]

maybe you should go to college with an open-mind instead of running to campus with blinders on. Medical schools enroll diverse classes, so there is no particular mold to aspire for.

I totally agree with this statement. Tons of people go to college wanting to be premeds. A relatively small percentage come out still premed at the other end. If you are smart, you will take the basic prereqs and then use the rest of your electives majoring in whatever you find interesting. It can be anything -- totally doesn't matter, science or not. Bear in mind that you will spend the first two years of med school learning medical sciences, so there's really no necessity to major in something "medical" while in college. And while grades tend to be the biggest weed-out of premeds, it's not that unusual for people to find something in college they like better than medicine, or that's a better fit, so you really owe it to yourself to try a lot of different things to make sure that what you think you want to do is really what you want to do -- it will make you a better doctor (or whatever) down the road. Plus, your exposure to medicine is probably quite limited at the pre-college stage, so don't make this kind of a decision until you have a chance to see more. As for the MCAT, there is no reason to even think about it before you start college, but the prereqs (2 sem of each of Bio, Chem, Phys, Orgo) will be all you need for that test (plus a prep class, perhaps). That still leaves enough of your credits free to major in virtually anything.

 

[drmota]

i would recommend to not major in a science unless you are truly fascinated by a specific subject. humanities were always much easier for me so i majored in political science which opened up a lot of time for me to party, get high, have sex, read, go to concerts, watch movies, etc. i think you'll be a much more interesting person when all is said and done if you're not in a library for your 4 years of college like so many pre-meds i meet. some people's ambition to get into med school takes up so much of their time, thought and focus, that they end up bored and lonely later in life. don't let that happen to you. either way, handle what you have to handle. get good grades and study at least 3 months UNINTERUPTED (6-8 hours a day) for your MCAT. you will not want to take it twice and i'm convinced its the most important part of your application. others can disagree with that, but its my own conclusion based on knowing lots of people that have gone through this.

furthermore, try and shadow a doctor or work in a hospital WITHIN YOUR FIRST YEAR OR TWO of college to make sure being a doctor is what you want to do. otherwise, taking all those hard classes will have been a complete waste of time. I have NO idea why you want to be a doctor or how you know this early in your life, but to each his own. do NOT glorify the medical profession in your brain on a naive, immature level. it is HARD work. hard work in itself and hard work to even get there in the first place. it is a serious commitment and you must truly be enthralled with medicine and its potential for humanity. once you have decided medicine really is for you, never get discouraged by anybody, stay your course and make sure college is the best time of your life. do ONLY things that interest you or you will hate yourself later because of it.if you don't take my advice, you will only have yourself to blame. i think this is the longest post i have ever written, so i hope it helps you. best of luck.
-mota

 

[Labslave]

either way, handle what you have to handle. get good grades and study at least 3 months UNINTERUPTED (6-8 hours a day) for your MCAT. you will not want to take it twice and i'm convinced its the most important part of your application. others can disagree with that, but its my own conclusion based on knowing lots of people that have gone through this.
do ONLY things that interest you or you will hate yourself later because of it. if you don't take my advice, you will only have yourself to blame.
-mota

This is perfect advice. Seriously. Perfect.

 

[potato51]

Seriously... major in whatever YOU want, as long as you take the necessary pre-reqs for med schools and courses covered in the MCAT.

Good luck on choosing an undergrad. I can't think of a bad school.

 

[jon stewart]

there is no "pre med" major, its just several classes that you have to take.

 

[MollyMalone]

there is no "pre med" major, its just several classes that you have to take.

At some schools there is a premedicine major, actually. But it's not terribly common.

 

[ASDIC]

you got a long way to go...here are my suggestions:

try to place out of as many AP classes as possible, some of the college level science classes are designed to weed out premeds

make sure u finish all the med school requirements by the end of the 2nd year

make sure u take physiology, biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology as they help a lot on the MCAT

get as many LORs from professors as early as possible, most people slack off over here and pay the price

try to get some clinical experience and research exp as early as possible

good luck!

 

[tkdusb]

you got a long way to go...here are my suggestions:

try to place out of as many AP classes as possible, some of the college level science classes are designed to weed out premeds

make sure u finish all the med school requirements by the end of the 2nd year

make sure u take physiology, biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology as they help a lot on the MCAT

get as many LORs from professors as early as possible, most people slack off over here and pay the price

try to get some clinical experience and research exp as early as possible

good luck!

Ehh... I don't know if the OP should "make sure" to do those. It would be good if he/she could do them, but not necessary. I didn't do any of them and I got into med school just fine.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

By the way, not all medical schools require calculus, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to take it. Well, it might be painful at the time

 

[drmota]

make sure u finish all the med school requirements by the end of the 2nd year

i dont know about this. i'm a fifth year senior and just finished ochem yesterday. and did fine on the bio sciences of the mcat. i would say get them done by the end of your 3rd year or the first semester of it. dont take too many hard sciences at once.

oh ya and take statistics instead of calculus. its really easy.
-mota

 

[nekrogg]

i dont know about tihs. make sure you want to do medicine first. it might seem like a glamarous job but shadowing and actually studying for premed classes will give you a rude awakening. telling someone your loved one has a week at most to live due to nose cancer which metastazied to the brain is really not an easy experience. explore your career options. unless something occured during highschool or before that compelled you to medicine, do not make up your mind just yet. you never know it might not be for you and you might totally hate it. if this is the case, you might end up being those @ssholes doctors who complain about their job all day, b*tch at residents, b*tch at patients, and make life difficult for everyone. But if you are sure medicine is the career you want then by all means go for it. Please for your own sake be very sure.

 

[nekrogg]

By the way, not all medical schools require calculus, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to take it. Well, it might be painful at the time

if medical schools dont require calculus does it have to be calculated into BPCM? I bombed calculus and would really like it not in my BPCM gpa

 

[Jeesing]

Hello, anyone on here have any suggestions about college courses, undergrad, and mcat tests. I have read that some colleges like you not to major in pre-med dunno if this is true thought i would come here and ask the pros. If this is true any undergrads that you suggest will help...Also, I was wanting some info on the mcats, do you learn everything needed to pass the test in pre-med. Thanks for all responses.

I'd suggest that you take courses and major in something that you are interested in. Personally I performed better in the courses i am interested in and enjoy them rather than other courses where i have to force myself to study. I liked many science courses ie. cell biology and biochem, which were difficult but because i was interested in them i found them much more interesting and easier to follow and study. Where as other courses such as my humanity requirements, and other courses i took more as GPA boosters, which really did not boost my GPA because because it really did not spark any interest in me which made it more difficult to study. I did well in my sciences(approx science 3.9 gpa), while performing much worse in my no science gpa (approx non-science 3.2 gpa).

For the MCAT i would suggest taking physiscs, general Chemistry, and Biology for sure. Org Chem is really a toss up. You do not need it to do well but if you want to excel in that sections ie. 12+ i would suggest taking it. Everything tested in the MCAT is from first year physics, gen chem, bio, and org chem 1 and 2 or within the passages they give you. Courses like Biochem, genetics, Microbio etc. may help you with certain aspects of the biological section of the test and help you understand the concepts but most of it is not necessary because anything beyond first year material will be in the passage or study guides. Org chem for me was really more concept oriented rather than memorization, similar to physics, and really depends on your understanding of certain concepts. Understanding how electrons move, why is one isomer is more stable, or how conjugation affects stability, etc. is the hard part. Once you understand the principles of org chem, it becomes easy, and only small bits of memorization are required.

 

[drmota]

if medical schools dont require calculus does it have to be calculated into BPCM? I bombed calculus and would really like it not in my BPCM gpa

it'll count on your BCPM, which is automatically calculated by AMCAS based on class code. sorry to break it to ya.
-mota

 

[Law2Doc]

Ehh... I don't know if the OP should "make sure" to do those. It would be good if he/she could do them, but not necessary. I didn't do any of them and I got into med school just fine.

Ditto (on not doing the courses and AP stuff listed - it's not the mandatory path and others work just fine. LORs and clinical experience are a must, though).