So I'm finishing up my second year as a Chemical Engineering Student. Med school has always had an interest in me, but I think it's been primarily been because we take virtually all the premed prereqs and not for the "correct" reasons of being in premed. Anyway I wanted to gauge whether Med School might be something I should pursue, and I figured this would be a good place to ask.
I have a 3.92 GPA currently, but this will drop this Semester and probably until I graduate. A class called Transport Phenomena managed to beat me up quite well and the engineering courses and rigor has began to get to me. I've accepted that it's going to be like this until I graduate, and I'm willing to tough it out.
I have a 4.0 GPA through all common pre-med prerequisite courses, sans Bio1 lab, Bio2 lab, Orgo lab, and Biochemistry (I haven't taken them). I took AP credits for Chem 1 and Calc 1, but considering that we take Analytical and P-Chem, I don't think this should be a big deal.
I've found all prerequisite courses, except Organic 2 to be easy (albeit boring sometimes) for me. Organic 2 was very difficult, but I took it in 6 weeks over the Summer.
In terms of ECs, I'm doing UG research. In the fall Semseter, it had applications in medicine, though now it's more directed to ChemE/MSE. This Summer I applied and got a REU at another University.
Reasons why I don't feel like med school is the right choice for me:
1. I don't like "pure memorization".
In other-words, I don't like memorizing things that I feel are "superfluous" or "jargon", etc. I can do it, but it's incredibly boring and not something that I can appreciate or enjoy. For this reason, I absolutely hated, hated, hated both Bio 1 and Bio 2. I disliked trying to memorize a bunch of "names" without any consideration as to "why".
I enjoyed Orgo 1 and 2 because for most cases there is a derived mechanism that (usually) makes sense for why a reaction goes the way it does. Also enjoyed Chem 1, 2, and Physics 1. Didn't really like Physics 2 because it became a bit abstract, the Prof was awful and I basically had to turn it into a memorization course like the Biology Sequence.
This is probably my biggest concern, based on my perspective of med school, it is almost entirely rote memorization (not entirely sure how accurate this is, just the stereotype that I'm used to).
2. I enjoy problem solving.
Probably the reason why I'm in ChemE right now. I enjoy working on complex problems to look for a solution. Not sure how much of this translates directly into med school. I like exams that make you "think", not exams where you memorize "names" or "facts".
3. It seems like too many years of schooling/residency etc.
I think this is self-explanatory.
Questions I have:
1. Do med schools generally give any merit to the UG degree you choose? I don't consider a 3.5 in Psychology and taking med school prereqs to be anywhere close to getting a 3.5 in an engineering field and doing the same thing. I'd probably smack the head of any med school admissions office who told me that.
2. How important is that my ECs are directly related to medicine/medical applications? I'd probably want to look at an internship related to my field during the summer of my Junior year.
3. How low can my GPA get and still be a strong candidate for med school? I think I'll have a 3.4-3.6 GPA when I graduate. Probably the lowest it would go is 3.2.
No idea how I'd do on the MCAT. I aced Orgo and actually "learned" it, but some of it has leaked out. I crammed for bio, most of it has leaked. Solid on Chemistry and physics. I'm sure if I had time to study I'd do very well on it. Unfortunately, "time" is quite limited for us.
I'd appreciate any commentary/feedback you'd be willing to give me.
I have a 3.92 GPA currently, but this will drop this Semester and probably until I graduate. A class called Transport Phenomena managed to beat me up quite well and the engineering courses and rigor has began to get to me. I've accepted that it's going to be like this until I graduate, and I'm willing to tough it out.
I have a 4.0 GPA through all common pre-med prerequisite courses, sans Bio1 lab, Bio2 lab, Orgo lab, and Biochemistry (I haven't taken them). I took AP credits for Chem 1 and Calc 1, but considering that we take Analytical and P-Chem, I don't think this should be a big deal.
I've found all prerequisite courses, except Organic 2 to be easy (albeit boring sometimes) for me. Organic 2 was very difficult, but I took it in 6 weeks over the Summer.
In terms of ECs, I'm doing UG research. In the fall Semseter, it had applications in medicine, though now it's more directed to ChemE/MSE. This Summer I applied and got a REU at another University.
Reasons why I don't feel like med school is the right choice for me:
1. I don't like "pure memorization".
In other-words, I don't like memorizing things that I feel are "superfluous" or "jargon", etc. I can do it, but it's incredibly boring and not something that I can appreciate or enjoy. For this reason, I absolutely hated, hated, hated both Bio 1 and Bio 2. I disliked trying to memorize a bunch of "names" without any consideration as to "why".
I enjoyed Orgo 1 and 2 because for most cases there is a derived mechanism that (usually) makes sense for why a reaction goes the way it does. Also enjoyed Chem 1, 2, and Physics 1. Didn't really like Physics 2 because it became a bit abstract, the Prof was awful and I basically had to turn it into a memorization course like the Biology Sequence.
This is probably my biggest concern, based on my perspective of med school, it is almost entirely rote memorization (not entirely sure how accurate this is, just the stereotype that I'm used to).
2. I enjoy problem solving.
Probably the reason why I'm in ChemE right now. I enjoy working on complex problems to look for a solution. Not sure how much of this translates directly into med school. I like exams that make you "think", not exams where you memorize "names" or "facts".
3. It seems like too many years of schooling/residency etc.
I think this is self-explanatory.
Questions I have:
1. Do med schools generally give any merit to the UG degree you choose? I don't consider a 3.5 in Psychology and taking med school prereqs to be anywhere close to getting a 3.5 in an engineering field and doing the same thing. I'd probably smack the head of any med school admissions office who told me that.
2. How important is that my ECs are directly related to medicine/medical applications? I'd probably want to look at an internship related to my field during the summer of my Junior year.
3. How low can my GPA get and still be a strong candidate for med school? I think I'll have a 3.4-3.6 GPA when I graduate. Probably the lowest it would go is 3.2.
No idea how I'd do on the MCAT. I aced Orgo and actually "learned" it, but some of it has leaked out. I crammed for bio, most of it has leaked. Solid on Chemistry and physics. I'm sure if I had time to study I'd do very well on it. Unfortunately, "time" is quite limited for us.
I'd appreciate any commentary/feedback you'd be willing to give me.
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