If you had to repeat undergrad, what would you do differently?

[dartmed]

As some of us in here are reaching that finish line, we all have successes and failures in our lives. And I was hoping to start a discussion for those who are in their freshmen on things we wish we would do differently if we were given the chance again.

I will start:

a.) I am fortunate to have been admitted to medical on my first try, but I wish I would have maintained better grades in undergrad. Even though I roughly had around a 3.7, I was recently passed-up for the Rhodes and the Soros because of a low-end GPA.
b.) I wish I spent more time taking challenging science classes and read more research articles, so I had a better background for tackling my BS section on the MCAT.
c.) I wish I worked-out and stayed in better shape by maintaining some sort of a schedule.
d.) I wish I had taken the opportunity to intern for the Surgeon General. Instead, I was stuck retaking the MCAT.
e.) I wish I were good at standardized tests. Lol.

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[Daodejing]

Lots of things I would change, but if we're talking strictly about med school related endeavors then I would:

1. attend a different UG
2. apply for more pipeline BA/MD programs as a senior in HS
3. utilize SDN way earlier

 

[AdrianVeidt]

study better for MCAT

 

[Ansar]

Study harder

 

[notbobtrustme]

The only thing I would have done differently is apply to med school right out of undergrad.

 

[La Presse]

Attend St. John's 6-0 Pharmacy School out of HS and apply to med right after.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Drink more.

Attend St. John's 6-0 Pharmacy School out of HS and apply to med right after.

Take it from a pseudo-pharmacy student: not worth it. Most people at my school that intend to do that usually just drop out after P2 with a BS and go to med school without finishing the PharmD.

 

[487806]

Lots of things I would change, but if we're talking strictly about med school related endeavors then I would:

1. attend a different UG
2. apply for more pipeline BA/MD programs as a senior in HS
3. utilize SDN way earlier

This (except for #2).

And 49 guests viewing this thread now....

Drink more.

This is my #1.

 

[FloridaMedicine]

I would have not even bothered going to any college adviser during the first two years about getting into medical school. Seriously, they sucked and gave me bad information. Anything I learned about the MCAT and medical school is from SDN and research I did on my own accord.

 

[CsHead]

School with solid football team and...

Drink more.

 

[drdoom12]

1) Went to a different undergrad
2) Majored in something else. I wanted to be a nurse anesthetist up until Senior year, so I'm working with a BSN. I just hope it doesn't hurt me when it comes time to apply in a year after I finish Orgo and physics.

 

[deleted307836]

I would have gone to a smaller school/applied to more colleges (I only applied to one, thinking it was for sure the best choice for me). I would have qualified for full scholarships at some less competitive schools had I branched out more. I can't say I really regret the path I took, as college as been a very good experience for me. Knowing what I know now though, that's the main thing I would have done differently. I think there's a lot to be said for being in smaller classes, where it's easier to get to know your instructors and get more personalized attention and help.

 

[The Buff OP]

Quit procrastinating. In my freshman year I would have A's and then I would slack off towards the end of the semester thinking my grades would stay the same or drop to a B. Hahaha, big mistake.

 

[La Presse]

Take it from a pseudo-pharmacy student: not worth it. Most people at my school that intend to do that usually just drop out after P2 with a BS and go to med school without finishing the PharmD.

Thanks for the advice. I think there have been a few people on the forums who have done that. I've been following a few to see their progress, but so far nothing.

There seems to be an issue when applying for med school for those coming out of a 6-0 program. Some will not accept the doctorate without the BS.

 

[Didierdrogba]

1. I wish I did not do research/ take classes with a course title that looked good on paper but had no interest in
2. I wish I only did the bare minimum requirement for medical schools and took more classes I was actually interested in
3. I wish I knew which UG had the most inflated grades and attended that one.

 

[Narmerguy]

Hard to say. My undergraduate experiences shaped who I am in ways that are difficult to predict if I had started changing things around. I think I could have dreamed "bigger" and not been afraid to try many of the things I thought of.

 

[Snowdon48]

Drink more.

This ^

And study harder for the MCAT of course....Guild Wars lowered my score by at least 2 points.

 

[Dwindlin]

I would have still done music hands down, just wish I had known I enjoyed medicine so I could have done pre-recs while doing my music degree and applied sooner. Would be essentially done with residency at this point instead of just starting.

 

[Iso4ane]

Would have tried harder in vector calc and Bio Lab so i would've had a 4.0 BCPM GPA.



Other than that, in my head i wasn't the best high school student (~3.5 GPA; 2050), but I should at least have tried applying to more than one college. (Applied to my in town university, didn't even apply to the other one in the state.)

 

[yehhhboiii]

I would have taken easier classes freshman year. I thought it would be a good idea to take orgo, physics and multi variable calculus. I don't know why...

 

[Doctor Strange]

Thanks for the advice. I think there have been a few people on the forums who have done that. I've been following a few to see their progress, but so far nothing.

There seems to be an issue when applying for med school for those coming out of a 6-0 program. Some will not accept the doctorate without the BS.

Interesting. I personally know a handful of people that are currently MS1s that were originally pharmacy and they seem to be doing very well. In fact, they talk a lot about the preparation they got in medical school and (no offense to other majors) how much more informed they are when talking to physicians.

The way it works at my school, at least, is that all PharmDs are conferred a BS degree after successful completion of P2. This gave my friends the opportunity to apply to medical school and jump ship without any problems.

 

[Iso4ane]

I would have taken easier classes freshman year. I thought it would be a good idea to take orgo, physics and multi variable calculus. I don't know why...

Yeah I know, that why I retook Gen Chem (even though I had the AP credit), Gen Bio (Had the AP credit here too), Vector Calc, Diff Eq,, and to round things out English and a Gen Ed.

Though that Gen chem wasn't exactly a walk in the park. I took it honors (AP was practically a prereq here), this was the kind of honor class where 200 bright eyed freshman studens take it first semester, and then 180 of them say "F- This" so by second semester only 20 are left remaining. It happens every year apparently.

 

[SteinmetzMD]

Go somewhere with a warmer climate? Anyone?

 

[Iso4ane]

Go somewhere with a warmer climate? Anyone?

Lol, warmer climate. I'm went to school in Arizona, I was already in a T-shirt, shorts, sandal, >300 days out of the year. It's what you get when it hits 90 by March-April, and starts clearing 100 by finals in May.

 

[Dwindlin]

Go somewhere with a warmer climate? Anyone?

**** that noise. I love Ohio weather, it's like the ED of climates, we don't know what the hell is happening next. Just last week there were days I was in shorts/T-shirt and a day I had to pull back out the heavy jacket. Love it!

 

[GopherMD]

**** that noise. I love Ohio weather, it's like the ED of climates, we don't know what the hell is happening next. Just last week there were days I was in shorts/T-shirt and a day I had to pull back out the heavy jacket. Love it!

I can top that:

Last week in Minny we had one day of 73 degrees and sunny and one day with 5-7 inches of snow.

And yes, I love Minnesota's weather. Where's the fun in having constantly warm weather?

 

[Anicetus]

Heck, I'd redo HIGH SCHOOL to get into an BS/MD program so I wouldn't stress through undergrad.

The req is only to maintain a 3.5 or something of the sort.

 

[bigdogrob4284]

I would not have majored in biology. I think I would have majored in a foreign language instead.

 

[circulus vitios]

Go to a school that isn't a third tier dump and study engineering.

 

[mulberry]

Not party every thursday, friday and saturday.

 

[sinombre]

I would have taken my full scholarship at UCLA or Cal instead of a school that pulled my scholarship out from under me. Could have been worse, but now I have $25k in loan debt that I wouldn't have had otherwise.

Live and learn I guess.

 

[Greedo]

Go to a different school, volunteer at a hospital, be more friendly with profs.

 

[jabronee]

Not sure if I'm the only one, but I wouldn't change a whole lot academically. As OP mentioned most of us are already in, I wouldn't change a whole lot about my classes since now I know it was good enough to get in.

I would've tried to spend more time hanging out with my friends and drinking with them instead of my library desk.

I would've tried to make a move on that reallly cute girl I saw dancing at the bar.

I would've been more outgoing and done things outside my comfort zone like go sky diving etc.

Just my .02

 

[BABSstudent]

The only thing I would have changed is to try harder in a few more classes. I graduated with a 3.69 and a 3.7 would have got me magnum cum laude instead of just cum laude.

I still was accepted to my top choice for MD.

I enjoyed my social life, my majors and volunteer work. Overall, I greatly enjoyed my undergraduate experience.

 

[FxnOverload]

I haven't graduated yet, but I've finished my junior year and will be applying this cycle so I imagine I can still chime in.

I would've taken a class or so less the last 4 semesters. Believe it or not, you don't have to take 16-18 credits every semester if you're premed. Don't be afraid to take 15 or less, especially if you're involved in very time-consuming extracurriculars (like I was).

A 3.8+ with an average of 14-15 credit hours is always going to be better than a 3.5 with 17-18 credits.

Edit: Not saying your GPA *will* increase substantially if you take less credits, but at the time (mostly during my sophomore year), I wasn't mature enough to handle 5 classes/labs on top of the ECs I was doing. It all depends on the person of course.

 

[KnuxNole]

Go somewhere with a warmer climate? Anyone?

I would have done the opposite, travel from the heat to a colder place with snow! I think I thrive better in the tundra!

 

[IncognitoGuy]

Drink more.

But also figure out how to study earlier - I was still using high school cram techniques which did not translate well when it came to grades. And probably care a bit more about my grades with regard to pre-med - I likely could have pulled off a 4.0 that way. Probably also would tell myself to not take 21 credit hours "for the challenge"..

All in all, I enjoyed UG. Maybe would have applied to be a tour guide/gotten involved with the bigger organizations on campus but I still made friends in them so I got the experience either way.

 

[plumhill]

-Shouldn't have applied ED to a school I felt pressured to attend so I could've taken the full ride at a really good school where I'd have been happier. I ended up having to transfer to a state school anyways :/
-Gotten better grades/studied smarter. I definitely studied hard, but it took me a while to understand how to study efficiently
-Learned to ask for help earlier and not feel bad if I needed it
-Stopped giving a **** about what the other pre-meds were doing to get ahead
-Relaxed

 

[plumhill]

**** that noise. I love Ohio weather, it's like the ED of climates, we don't know what the hell is happening next. Just last week there were days I was in shorts/T-shirt and a day I had to pull back out the heavy jacket. Love it!

Ohio weather sucks. Unpredictable is great for many aspects of life, but not the weather :/ I shouldn't have to pull out a scraper in the middle of April.

 

[SilentSoldier]

Gone to a different undergrad straight out of highschool. Would've probably ended up with less debt and a higher GPA to boot, not to mention that my choices of school post high school were sooooo much better than the one I ended up picking (which isn't the one listed on my MDapps).

 

[jm192]

I had my first beers the night before the MCAT. Just 2. I'd definitely have started younger.

I probably would skip P-Chem. That double major aint $hit. It aint worth it.

 

[dartmed]

I SOO regret not applying to the Mayo Clinic. To this day. Not even kidding. There's always residency!

 

[Mt Kilimanjaro]

I would not have majored in biology. I think I would have majored in a foreign language instead.

I majored in a foreign language and wish I would have majored in engineering. It would have been a lot easier to find a job.

 

[Ost3oclast]

study better for MCAT

+1. Even with that hard fought MD acceptance, it would have been a lot easier with a better score

 

[TRSTme]

Not party every thursday, friday and saturday.

Start on Wednesday.

 

[lalalandas]

Not buy all the bs about the "holistic application review" and worked as hard on my GPA/mcat as I did on my ECs

 

[wakeboarder1920]

I'm in the middle of my break year (I'm getting a Master's degree) because I decided to hold off on going to medical school. I remember freaking out about everything that had to do with medical school. I was the quintessential stereotype of a paranoid premed student.
Looking back on the past few years I now wish someone had slapped me full force across the face and screamed at me "STOP FREAKING OUT!"

I basically lost my life in undergrad, so I took a year to get it back -- maybe even three with how my life is going right now

Everything seems so trivial now, and I see tons of premeds freaking out much to the same degree I had. I want to smack them.

To sum it all up: I'd want the four years back that I lost. Oh and gone to a different undergrad university.

 

[Captain Sisko]

I'd go somewhere else, farther from home, with more majors and more girls.

But I did well enough now and am engaged so I can't really complain.

 

[Lucidity]

I can top that:

Last week in Minny we had one day of 73 degrees and sunny and one day with 5-7 inches of snow.

And yes, I love Minnesota's weather. Where's the fun in having constantly warm weather?

Lol I was flying into that weather, seriously crazy to see in May. But, as a Michigan resident I can understand our weather is insanely chaotic, still enjoy it though.

 

[phunky]

I didn't know what I wanted to do my first 2 years, so I didn't take school seriously at all. Luckily I can keep a decent GPA in my sleep, but I should really have a 3.9+.