Lots of Pre-Med Questions

[DiamondBar]

I'm going to UCSD Muir for this fall as freshman and I want to know what I can start doing to prepare for pre-med.


I know this is kind of a dumb question, but what major do you see would be best to prepare for MCAT? Chemistry? Biochemistry? Biology?

My classes are MCWP 40 (required writing course), Math20C, and 2 classes.

For the two remaining classes, do I get General Eds over with or should I take one GE and 1 Chemistry class?

I do not receive credit for taking the Chemistry class because the admissions told me my 5 ap chemistry score covers it, but I'm afraid that I might forget everything for MCAT (I really regret taking ap chem and bio early). What should I do?




What else can I start on to prepare for MCAT?
Buy and read what books?

and to boost my resume for Graduate school? Internships? or is there anything else that I can gain experience from?

Basically, I'm wondering what else I can do to stand out from other classmates and start EARLY.
I regret not doing a lot of things from freshman year of high school because I didn't know.




Thanks everyone!

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[oaklandguy]

My first advice would be:
#1 your a freshman don't worry about the MCAT for another year and a half.
#2 anything and everything you could ever need for the MCAT should be available in the MCAT discussion section

As far as classes, I would suggest taking that Chemistry class first semester, not for the MCAT, but because it is a pre-requisite for medical school and you may want to have a full college level understanding and my AP Chemistry class did not help me attain that, plus some medical schools do not take AP credit. No Major is going to specifically prepare you for the MCAT, the classes you "need" for the MCAT are 1 year of basic biology, 1 year of physics, 1 year of chemistry, and 1 year of organic chemistry + all the labs with those classes. Recommended classes for pre-meds are 1 semester of biochemistry, anatomy, physiology, genetics, and cellular biology. These supposedly help you with the MCAT, but each MCAT is different depending on the test date and it is very subjective how much these classes actually help. Don't read a single book for the MCAT right now because your going to forget the information by the time you take the test. The only thing I can recommend is start reading and read heavy material such as The Economist and Time Magazine and science journals. This will make you a better faster reader and help you pickup information from text which is essential for the MCAT.

 

[DiamondBar]

thank you!

more opinions?

 

[johncalvin]

I think you will pick up the drill very soon...

(Clinical) Volunteering, Shadowing, Research w/ posters (publications not required, no matter what anyone tells you; even research is only required for the top schools).

If you're going the MD/PhD route, that's another story entirely.

Clubs are not that important unless you have a significant commitment and/or officer position. Even then, meh. You can show leadership in other ways.

- All my opinion, btw.

 

[CoolWhipp]

I know this is kind of a dumb question, but what major do you see would be best to prepare for MCAT? Chemistry? Biochemistry? Biology?

None, really. The MCAT is designed for test takers with only the medical school pre-reqs. Many of my colleagues scored very high and they do not have science degrees. Choose the major you enjoy.

My classes are MCWP 40 (required writing course), Math20C, and 2 classes.

For the two remaining classes, do I get General Eds over with or should I take one GE and 1 Chemistry class?

Doesn't sound like it matters.

I do not receive credit for taking the Chemistry class because the admissions told me my 5 ap chemistry score covers it, but I'm afraid that I might forget everything for MCAT (I really regret taking ap chem and bio early). What should I do?

If it gives you a sense of security, take them over again. But honestly, from my University they go over the background info that you need for the course.

What else can I start on to prepare for MCAT?
Buy and read what books?

The best thing to is to study for the medical school pre-reqs classes at UCSD and save all the notes. Write really good notes and get A's. Save these to go over them if you dont remember while studying for the MCATs. This is good because since they are your notes, you know where everything is. Don't buy any MCAT books, its way too early.

and to boost my resume for Graduate school? Internships? or is there anything else that I can gain experience from?

Summer internships, study abroad, research, club leadership, community service, community leadership, awards. The same kind of stuff you did to get into UCSD.

I usually don't answer these questions and refer you to the search option because these questions have been addressed many times over. But, I look out for my DB peeps. Good luck.