New to SD

[Hispanarab]

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Hello all,
I'm new to Student Doctor and so I decided to post a little salutation. I'm currently a senior in high school who will be attending the U of Chicago next and is looking forward to entering the world of pre-meds.

I had a question though, before I get too involved in this particular under-represented's section. I was wondering if I am a URM in the context of medical school admissions: My mom is from Peru and I am fluent in Spanish, however my dad is from Egypt. I'm not really sure where that puts me.

Aside from that, I'm ready to learn alot from this site.

-Hispanarab.

 

[aaj117]

If i remember correctly, i believe i was able to check more than one box. Additionally, they attempt on the AMCAS to break up race and ethnicity, so you will definitely be able to put both hispanic and some form of asian/middle eastern. I am mixed also, half black half white and i know i managed to put both aspects when filling out those check-boxes. So both aspects of your heritage will be considered.

 

[LovelyMD]

I agree with aaj-- you can check both off on the application.

Welcome to the site 🙂

 

[Hispanarab]

Thanks very much.

I might as well ask my questions here instead of making a new thread.

I've always heard that med school don't care what you major in, but looking at MDapplicants, I've noticed that most accepted students major in the biological sciences. Is this just cause more bs students apply to med school, or do med schools actually favor them>?

 

[aaj117]

Thanks very much.

I might as well ask my questions here instead of making a new thread.

I've always heard that med school don't care what you major in, but looking at MDapplicants, I've noticed that most accepted students major in the biological sciences. Is this just cause more bs students apply to med school, or do med schools actually favor them>?

That's just because most pre-meds are bio or chem majors or something similar. As long as you have the pre-reqs done, and hopefully a few upper-level science courses to show that you can do the work, you can major, minor, and take for fun, anything you want. I was an anthropology major with an african american studies certificate (what we called a minor at my school). Schools like that you're well rounded, so if you're really interested in something totally different, showing that can be good, it shows that you can succeed in a broad range of subjects and situations. PLUS, during medical school, you take exactly what they tell you you're taking and have a very specific course charted for you. This is the last opportunity you'll have to learn all of these subjects and study whatever you want for a while, so take advantage of it!

 

[Hispanarab]

Unfortunately, I'm finding it almost impossible to fit in all the requirements for med school with my own intended major(Math/Econ) because of a Core curriculum that everyone has to take at my college. I think I'm gonna have major in Bio or Chem and minor in something else if I wanna get the reqs done and do something I like.

 

[LovelyMD]

Unfortunately, I'm finding it almost impossible to fit in all the requirements for med school with my own intended major(Math/Econ) because of a Core curriculum that everyone has to take at my college. I think I'm gonna have major in Bio or Chem and minor in something else if I wanna get the reqs done and do something I like.

Another (common) option would be to take some of the pre-reqs during a summer. Quite a few students at my school opted to take physics during one summer. Or maybe if some of your required core classes are offered during the summer, you could take the pre-reqs during the school year and take 1 or 2 of your core classes during the summer.

 

[Hispanarab]

I see. That seems to be a very possible but costly solution. I'll look into it.

Question on the MCATs. I hear a lot of premeds that I know in college stressing over the MCATs, but after I took a good look at them, my high school bio and chem course seem to be almost sufficient for the material on the test, and my AP Physics course is almost overkill for some of the stuff. Is it the actual content/difficulty of the test that gets people, or just that fact that so many qualified people take it that everyone expects to score well but doesn't because of the curve?

 

[LovelyMD]

I see. That seems to be a very possible but costly solution. I'll look into it.

Question on the MCATs. I hear a lot of premeds that I know in college stressing over the MCATs, but after I took a good look at them, my high school bio and chem course seem to be almost sufficient for the material on the test, and my AP Physics course is almost overkill for some of the stuff. Is it the actual content/difficulty of the test that gets people, or just that fact that so many qualified people take it that everyone expects to score well but doesn't because of the curve?

It's a combination of factors:
1) It's a timed test with what sometimes feels like not enough time to finish.
2) It involves not just simply knowing science facts, but being able to apply those facts in new situations (the situations presented in the passage).
3) The people taking the test are very intelligent people, so you do need to get a good proportion of them correct to get a high score.
4) Don't forget about the verbal section-- there's no memorization that can be done for this section, but it's still just as important as the science ones. I personally feel that it's the hardest one to do well on because the curve is the steepest, and there isn't a lot of time per passage.

 

[Hispanarab]

Yea one pre-med told me to read the economist and other sort of advanced journals/newspapers.

Would you recommend taking an MCAT course or is studying by oneself over a summer sufficient prep?

 

[aaj117]

i studied by myself for a summer and thought it was sufficient...i think the classes are good for people who need a schedule to stick to, but if you're good at setting your own study schedule and sticking to it, you'll be fine without one.

 

[wutwinb]

Yea one pre-med told me to read the economist and other sort of advanced journals/newspapers.

Would you recommend taking an MCAT course or is studying by oneself over a summer sufficient prep?

I think the classroom part of the course is pretty useless (I took Kaplan). But, the online materials they provided were very helpful. They have so many practice exams and subject specific reviews that it's tough to get through it all before exam day. I don't know if you can buy the online stuff without going to the class, but I would have rather done that.

 

[Hispanarab]

true.out of curiosity, what did you guys major in

 

[LovelyMD]

true.out of curiosity, what did you guys major in

I was a biology major (just like your typical pre-med). If I could do college over (and for the record, I wouldn't do it over), I would've also majored in History of Science/ History of Medicine. The courses that I took in that area were really interesting.

 

[Hispanarab]

Do you think that the intro courses required by med schools were enough to carry you through the mcat?

 

[LovelyMD]

Do you think that the intro courses required by med schools were enough to carry you through the mcat?

They're generally enough, but this may depend on how well they are taught at your school, and whether the topics covered on the MCAT are also covered in your intro classes. Given that you're at UChicago, that probably shouldn't be an issue. Look at the links below to see what topics are fair game on the MCAT. I took the minimum gen. chem, orgo, and physics classes required, and took upper level bio courses. Since the MCAT has increased the number of questions relating to genetics/ molecular genetics, I found that taking a separate course in genetics really helped me. Biochem also helps, and some med schools actually require 1 semester of this.


Biological Sciences topics (Bio/ Orgo)
Physical Sciences topics (General Chem/ Physics)

 

[Hispanarab]

Merci beaucoups