Nervous and hoping for some insight and help.

[AMR7944]

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I just graduated high school and for the longest time I wanted to be a teacher. My senior year I took an Anatomy/Physiology course and absolutely LOVED it. I have always loved the medical field but never once considered it as a career. But now I am. I have done research but the problem is I don't understand too much. I am already enrolled at Slippery Rock University for a Early Education degree. They have pre-med classes but I feel that Slippery Rock isn't a good enough science school to get into a good medical school after four years.

So my questions are:
1. I can major in anything, correct, and it won't affect being able to move on to medical school in four years as long as I take the necessary courses?
2. Is slippery rock an okay school to stay at to get into medical school?
3. I live in PA and want to stay in PA so does anyone know an rural schools that are good science schools if The Rock isn't good enough?
4. I don't exactly know what field I want to get into. I was thinking pediatrics but I am not entirely sure. Is this okay?
5. If you have any advice, considering my parents are upset with how long I waited to change my mind and I may just transfer next year to a better school. Would this affect getting BA in four years as well?

Thank you so much for anyone who is willing to help me and give me advice. I don't personally know any doctors to ask, so I am a little nervous and confused.

 

[AH3]

1. Yes, you can. If you liked A&P, I'd suggest majoring in biology or kinesiology. Make sure to take your prerequisite courses at a 4 year college.

2. I don't know anything about Slippery Rock. Generally, it's good to go to at least decently competitive undergrads. If you take all of your courses at a community college, you may have some trouble getting in.

3. Sorry, not from PA. Any large school should have a good science program. Larger schools tend to have more money for scientific research.

4. I don't know either, and I'm applying to med school. Most people don't know until late in med school, so don't worry about it.

5. You will be able to finish in 4 years if you want to. Knock out a lot of your general education requirements before you transfer, if that's what you decide to do.

See if you can shadow a local doctor. You can contact a local hospital and ask around- they are usually pretty helpful. Feel free to post more questions or send me a message if you need some more help, and best of luck!

 

[Neurocentric]

1. You can major in whatever you like. I have to disagree with the previous poster about majoring in something like biology, unless you really enjoy science and are good at it. With all the science pre-reqs, being a biology major might be harder than if you were doing something that you really enjoyed. For instance, I am an English major. It's what I enjoy.

2. I'm not really sure about this, but definitely resist going to a much harder school if you think the prestige is going to get you into a good medical school. From what I've learned, maintaining a 4.0 or something at a nice undergrad college versus a 3.4 at a really tough private school isn't going to help.

3. That I can't answer unfortunately, as I don't live in PA. Sorry.

4. It's great you have an idea of what you want, but you really won't know until you're knee deep in your rotations in your 3rd year of medical school. However, if pediatrics interests you, keep that in your back pocket so when you take that rotation, you can really see if it's something you'd want to stick with.

5. It really depends on your course load each semester. I agree with the PP about taking gen. eds before transferring. I did that myself. I had gone to a community college first to get my GPA up, and finished most of the gen. eds there. Now I'm going to a four year university for my major and my pre-reqs.

Good luck!!

 

[AMR7944]

Very helpful. thanks.

 

[allie1361]

I agree with what the previous posters have said.

I just wanted to add that if you are considering transferring, keep in mind that the school you transfer to may or may not accept all the credits you received at Slippery Rock. Also, make sure you transfer before the 60 credit mark because most schools will only transfer that many credits over (or at least this is what I've heard some of my friends having trouble with).

 

[Neurocentric]

I agree with what the previous posters have said.

I just wanted to add that if you are considering transferring, keep in mind that the school you transfer to may or may not accept all the credits you received at Slippery Rock. Also, make sure you transfer before the 60 credit mark because most schools will only transfer that many credits over (or at least this is what I've heard some of my friends having trouble with).

Awesome thing to add; I didn't even think of that.

 

[AMR7944]

awesome. I was thinking about that last night and definitely need to ask. Slippery Rock is a accredited school so I don't think its as bad as going to a community college. I may just end up staying there and just keep my GPA up!

 

[kikiu]

If you can get a good GPA at Slippery Rock and like it there, a degree from there would be fine.

To throw a few names out there, I think Albright (Reading) has a good science program, Susquehanna, and Bucknell, if you're looking for rural schools.

 

[SabC]

awesome. I was thinking about that last night and definitely need to ask. Slippery Rock is a accredited school so I don't think its as bad as going to a community college. I may just end up staying there and just keep my GPA up!

Ahem. CC's are accredited.

In transferring from CC, I will second the 60 credit cutoff, I looked at many, many universities while exploring my options, 60 was the max and often it's much less. Also, just be aware that there are huge variations from school to school with regard to how many credits will be accepted, what subjects they will be accepted for, the credit to credit ratio (you may have earned 5 credits but the school will only accept 3 for that class although they allow 9 for the subject) and where they will accept them from.

 

[mvenus929]

I just graduated high school and for the longest time I wanted to be a teacher. My senior year I took an Anatomy/Physiology course and absolutely LOVED it. I have always loved the medical field but never once considered it as a career. But now I am.

Well, one of the good things about going into medicine is that you can both go into the field and practice (as a whatever), and also teach. Kill two birds with one stone and all.

I have done research but the problem is I don't understand too much. I am already enrolled at Slippery Rock University for a Early Education degree. They have pre-med classes but I feel that Slippery Rock isn't a good enough science school to get into a good medical school after four years.

One thing I want to emphasize right now, so you don't get stuck in a trap, is that physicians do not make up the whole medical field. There are plenty of other careers that are worth considering, and I suggest you take a look at those early in your undergraduate career.

Some to consider: any number of 'tech' degrees... if you're interested in anatomy and physiology, maybe look into becoming a histology tech (they work with pathologists). Medical technologists work in the lab. There are techs that deal with breathing treatments, those that take xrays, those that do a little of everything in the ER, etc. There are, of course, nurses of all variations (LPNs, RNs, BSNs, NP, DNP). There are Physician Assistants, Physical Therapists, Medical Social Worker, lots of people in the mental health field, etc. Many probably won't have what you're looking for, but see if you can get into a hospital to see what they do.

And to your specific questions...

1. Yes, you can major in anything. Take a few gen ed classes to figure out what you like the best. Just be sure to take a year of bio, chem, organic chem, and physics, all with labs. It's also probably a good idea to take a psychology class and a few English classes, and maybe a couple upper division bio classes.

2. Glancing at the university website, it doesn't look like a bad school... it has undergrad and graduate degrees, so it can't be that bad. You also don't need to go to a 'science school' to get into medical school. I went to a state university. We had a pretty good chemistry program, but we weren't really strong in anything in particular. I don't know much about Slippery Rock, so I can't tell if it's a good school or not. Go to an adviser to see if anyone from there has gone on to medical school or not, and go from there.

3. Not a clue.

4. Again, please take a look at other careers in medicine before jumping into med school. It's a long, hard road, and it won't be worth it if this isn't what you really want to do. That being said, most people have a vague idea of what they want to go into, and change their minds a few times in med school. It's like choosing a major in college.

5. With all due respect, you're fresh out into the world, and can't be expected to know exactly what you want out of life. Some people do, but college is a transition time for everyone. Don't feel bad about doing some exploration. It's far better to do it now, when you haven't invested a ton of time into pursuing a career, than to decide 10 years down the road that you aren't happy doing what you're doing.

 

[AMR7944]

Thanks. My friend had some books on onto get into medical school and the first three pages terrified me. I don't know if I will be able to do it. I have always wanted a family which is why I always considered being a teacher. I may start looking into a tech or a physicians aid. They probably don't have horrible hours. I was also thinking last night maybe I will just take EMT classes sometime after I get my teaching degree and work doing that during the summers or something. Still get some action. I am going to have to do a lot more thinking first.

 

[AMR7944]

So does anyone know how to become a Physicians assistant and what classes to take in college?

 

[chibrown01]

I just pm'ed you my answer