Junior College/ Pre MED HELP!!!

[Vpathak1]

Hi, I have question to throw out there, it?s a situation I am in. I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on any of my questions. Right now I attend a junior college, and by the end of this semester my cumulative gpa at my JC will be a 3.70 if everything goes to plan. Then eventually I have a guaranteed transfer into UC Berkeley under the major of MCB (molecular cell biology). Am I at a disadvantage? I am a freshmen, and by this summer I have already planned an internship at a doctors office, and have been volunteering at a local hospital near by. What else should I do? I am worried that me attending JC will effect my chances of getting into a medical school and was wondering if anyone has stories or thoughts on this subject. Lastly, I was wondering with letter of recommendations, how does that work, do we just get letters from teachers, or people we know? I have a doctor that knows me, and how interested I am can she right one? Thanks for answering these questions, I am just really worried and kind of lost because I don?t have a premed advisor yet. Thanks guys.

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[Sarah Kerr]

I think there's a lot of good advice on the other thread you started. But I guess you didn't think you were getting enough help from that, so I'll throw my 2 cents in here. Of course I'm no expert, but I think even with transfering from a JC, if you have a strong app you should be fine. Like was said on your other thread, try to take the pre-reqs at UCB, if you can. And keep studying hard...you don't want to show a significant drop in GPA once you get out of JC. As far as letters of recommendation go, you should ask teachers who have gotten to know you well, including science faculty, perhaps doctors you have shadowed, etc. The doctor you mentioned may be a good person to write one, as long as she knows you as a person, and isn't just someone you've spoken to about your medical school aspirations. You don't want to have just anyone write you letters with the hope that adcoms will be impressed...if they don't know anything about you, it will show in your letter. Hope that helps a little.

 

[Trix]

Originally posted by Vpathak1
Am I at a disadvantage? I am a freshmen, and by this summer I have already planned an internship at a doctors office, and have been volunteering at a local hospital near by. What else should I do? I am worried that me attending JC will effect my chances of getting into a medical school and was wondering if anyone has stories or thoughts on this subject. (

Vpathak1, I am not sure why you are starting another post... but you sound like you are on the right track if you are only a freshman. Here's what you need to do.

1.) Focus on your studies at your JC.
2.) Do the internship over the summer and continue volunteering
3.) Go to the UCB career center website and read the info there, they have a premed/health careers section-if anything, it will probably give you more confidence in that what you are doing is the right path.
4.) Talk to some of your instructors about med school. Just because you don't have an official pre-med counselor doesn't mean there aren't people there to help you. My instructors were invaluable in this sense.

Lastly, stop worrying about attending a JC and the repercussions-you are already there, so enjoy it!!! I went to a JC, transferred to Berkeley as an MCB major and I am currently holding acceptances at UCSF and Stanford. What that tells me is that the admissions committees look at your whole application. If you have any specific questions feel free to pm me