Oh my im having trouble deciding......

[Tim Haas]

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Okay. Hello to everyone, im a new user here interested in the medical profession. Please don't flame me, seeing that I am here to learn.

Well, I'm a senior at Palmyra High School in Palmyra, PA and I am going to Rochester Institute of Technology this fall. The thing is, is that I was intending to major in Mechanical engineering and they have a great program, and now that i think of it, i really enjoy biology and think it'd be of better interest for me to be a md. I really enjoy this stuff, and find myself going to the library and getting books on biology and stuff and just reading them on my own freewill. This has all just started happening this year, like within the past 2 months and i dunno what i should do. I realize that RIT does have a decent science program/premed, and I know that they say 80% of their graduates get into medschool, so they say....Again, however, in my freshman year, i barely got a C in honors biology cuz i never studied. Well, I know i can do so much better, cuz i used to cram. This year i have ap calc. and barely got a c last semester and now i pulled it up higher. I am finally putting myself in the mode to study hardcore now and i believe i have what it takes to succeed. Oh, and my gpa after first semester this senior year was a 3.895 weighted of course-i took 3 ap classes last year, and 1 this year of course w/ a ton of honors. However, i do enjoy science and math and am just conflicted on my choice. PLEASE DONT FLAME, I REALLY NEED HELP. THANK YOU.

 

[14931]

so what exactly was ur question?

 

[Tim Haas]

Oh yeah, i forgot to mention that i come from a fairly poor family....🙁 My mom and dad are divorced, my mom has 3 kids, me(17), little brother(4) and a little sister(2). Money is a huge issue, which she makes like only $31,000 a year. She was a high school dropout and got her ged and an associate paralegal degree 2 years ago and is still in the hole $ wise.

Oh geeze, if i do decide to try for med school, with my current situations, is there a light at the end of the tunnel? thanks a lot

 

[Tim Haas]

oh sorry, basically just need some advice on this situation of mine....

 

[14931]

are u deciding on a major or ur choice of school? sorry i dont get

 

[An Yong]

Hello Tim,

I'll have to agree with Immediatespring... I am confused as to what exactly your question is? It seems you want us to decide for you as to whether you should go the pre-med/biology or mechanical engineering route. To be truthful, I do not think anyone is qualified to answer that question except you =)

If it is assurance you want (as in if its possible for you to succeed as a pre-med), well that depends entirely on your study habits in college. However, it seems you are an excellent student that is very bright and inquistive. I suspect you will have nothing to fear in the pre-med curriculum (or mechanical engineering) as long as you keep good study habits! =)

Good Luck!

 

[abw]

Hi!
First of all - don't sweat anything. If you apply yourself and work hard you can succeed in whatever you want to in college. If you want things to work out they will (just be prepared that they sometimes do in different ways than you expect) I hate to be the one to say this (bc I hated when people said it to me) but there is so many fun things to study in college that you may change your mind again. Many many people want to be pre-med the first second they get to college then by soph. year have dropped the idea. Just follow your interests, get a feel for each/all of the careers that interest you so you can make a good researched decision, then put your heart into what's best for you when the time comes. College is a short 4 years! If you want to apply to med school/grad school, grades are important; however DO NOT let living your life/having fun/studying other subjects/being a person get side tracked in an effort for a 4.0 - it's just not necessary, and it's a waste of 4years of your life. Good luck with everything and i'm sure you'll do well in whatever you like best.

 

[Tim Haas]

hey, not my choice of school...im definitely going to RIT. I just think it'll best fit my style so to say. I know I'd have what it takes, but just dont know about the entire chemistry thing i guess. I have heard horror stories on college chem/bio and that it's a ton of material. Just wondering if most schools overload you with information and such.

Okay, basically i dont' know what i am doing here i just feel i want to learn about premed, medical school, the entire deal...

ANy suggestions? Sorry of being a hassle, but i am very interested in medicine itself.

 

[Wrigleyville]

Study the things that interest you. If you want to go to medical school, it doesn't much matter what your major is, as long as you take the prerequisite classes. If you were a bio major, you'd be taking all those classes in the course of your normal studies, but you could just as easily fit them in as "electives" if you chose to major in something else.

I'm not going to lie to you though, engineering majors have to take loads of hard classes every semester, so fitting in bio/organic classes is going to be more difficult than in would be for someone majoring in humanities.

 

[14931]

Thanks An Yong.

Tim Haas, like above, we really cant decide for u whcih major u should choose, thats up to u. it also depends on ur schools curriculum, if u are interested in biology and mechanical engineering, maybe u could major in one and minor in the other, but i think ur best bet would be to talk with ur pre-med advisor at rochester institute or in ur present high school. if u talk to ur pre-med advisor at rochester institute, they will be able to adivise u based on the past and current pre-med students at rochester so that may be to ur advantage.

i am sorry about ur stuation but make the best out of it. apply for scholarships and if possible loans. again talk to ur advisor at rochester, maybe u could find a research or clinic related paying job, just dont let it affect ur classes, keep up ur gpa.

i am an engineering maor, if u have specific questions, feel free to pm me, but i have to understand the question okay? 😉

good luck and welcome to SDN, no flaming!

 

[vivekap2007]

Have you considered biomedical engineering? If you choose to go that route then you won't have to take as many of the pre-reqs as electives. Also, if you choose to not go to med school then you have a marketable degree. Either way, I wouldn't worry about the pre-med courses being especially challenging, at least compared to the engineering courses. I'm a biomed engr major and i think it offers a great middle way for those who like biology and engineering.

Another thing, consider shadowing a physician and maybe candy striping to get some experience with health care and what being a physician entails. It's great that you have an interest in biology and medicine and you should develop that interest and understand what you're getting into.

 

[Tim Haas]

hey thanks everyone. yeah its a tough decision for me. At RIT where i am going, the mech. engineering program is a 5 yr coop thing, so that right there may screw me up? anyways, if i dont do eng., i have to pick something in the science college and then after accepted and a few months there, i can go into a premedical advisory program. They dont really have a premed major, just the program. If i want premed, they say i have to major in the science dept. which i dont quite understand...If i do go for science, i was thinking biotechnology cuz they dont have biomedical engineering. thanks everyone, i need to keep thinking

 

[14931]

i plan on doing a coop too, so i graduate in 5 years instead of 4, whats wrong with that?

 

[Tim Haas]

eh, i thought that it might screw me over somehow. I dunno, so what exactly are you doing? WHat major and how do you plan to tackle or go about the mcat and the required courses?

 

[beanbean]

Some advice form an old engineer and premed:

1) Major in whatever you want, just make it something you enjoy and an area you find interesting enough to put in the work for good grades. If you aren't happy, you will end up with a degree in a field you don't enjoy with most likely a subpar GPA. It is very difficult to motivate yourself to work hard enough for 'A's and 'B's when you hate the material.

2) Whatever you decide, nothing is set in stone. You can always switch majors, minors, change your career path....whatever. Don't pressure yourself trying to plan out the next 40 years of your life! I majored in Biomedical Engineering and spent 7 years working in a hospital as a Clinical Engineer. I then stayed home as a Mom for 6 years and now plan to start medical school in the fall. I have spent the last year and a half taking prereq classes and the MCAT.

3) Engineering is a great background for medical school. Engineering teaches you to solve problems which is a valuable skill no matter what career (or careers) you choose. Engineering majors often pursue careers in medicine, law and business. It is not an easy course of study and is therefore well respected.

4) Have fun ! (not too much !!) Don't stress about things to the point that college isn't fun. Meet people, go out, have a good time. Always put academics first, but leave time for a well balanced life. The lessons learned through personal and social experiences during college contribute just as much as academics to make you into an excellent premed candidate with strong leadership skills, ethics, and moral backbone.

5) Don't take on too heavy a course load for ypur first semester. This isn't a race or a contest to see who can carry the hardest courseload. It can be a tough adjustment the first year. Many of us spent high school being over achievers with high GPAs who really didn't have to study very hard. College is a whole new ballgame. For starters, at a good school like RIT you are no longer at the top, you are average. Everyone else there also did well in high school, did well on their SATs, etc. The slate is wiped clean and it is your job to start climbing the ladder to excellence. Putting to much on your plate at the beginning and not doing as well as you thought you would can be a real confidence buster. Take a reasonable schedule, get good grades, and then you won't feel as though you have to dig yourself out of a hole.

Good luck! You have a great 4 (or 5) years ahead of you.

 

[Tim Haas]

hey bean and everyone else...I really appreciate all the responses. I feel that I will be fine at college, as I am at the top of my class and do study a lot more than other people. If i dont i fail, so i know how to do it hardcore all the time. I really enjoy mechanical stuff and know i'd love mech. engineering. However, in the back of my mind i just know i'll end up in med. school. I do not know why, but all of the sudden this year about 2 months ago, my senior year, i really thought about it and think that it'd fit me very well to pursue this career.

Oh yeah, just a few ?'s.....if i go for mech. engineering, i can still take the prereq. courses for the mcat right and just take the mcat and see how well i do? ....and get accepted to a medical school even though i majored in something other than a science related major? also, what are the prerequisites and what exactly is organic chem? I hear a lot of horror stories bout it, heh

 

[sacrament]

Originally posted by Tim Haas

Oh yeah, just a few ?'s.....if i go for mech. engineering, i can still take the prereq. courses for the mcat right and just take the mcat and see how well i do? ....and get accepted to a medical school even though i majored in something other than a science related major? also, what are the prerequisites and what exactly is organic chem? I hear a lot of horror stories bout it, heh

1. You'll be able to fit the "pre-med" classes into your schedule, but it'll be a pain in the ass and it will test your dedication. I was a chemical engineering major, and squeezing the extra bio classes into the mix was a real hassle; I was frequently taking 21 credit terms. The good news is that compared to your engineering curriculum, the "pre-med" classes will seem positively rudimentary.

2. You can get accepted to med school with basically any major you've ever heard of.

3. What is organic chem? Are you really a senior in high school? Well, to put it briefly, o-chem is the study of carbon-based chemistry (which happens to be the kind of chemistry going on inside of living thins). It isn't really that hard, it is just lots of rote memorization of various reactions. Gets boring real fast. It's a good preview of the kind of "brute-force" learning that goes on during the first year of medical school, in fact.

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sacrament
MSI - OHSU

 

[Tim Haas]

hey thanks sac. anyone else have any info? Also, are there any websites on premed stuff that are really helpful? thanks