Positives of pre-med

[KeyLime]

I am currently a freshman pre-med student, adn I wanted to know if anyone knows that positives and negatives of deciding to be pre-med. I am really worried about not getting into school. I work really well with people, but my calculus skills are left to be desired. Does anyone know doctors who I can contact with questions? I have a lot of them. What are the most important subjects to take to get ready for the MCAT? Bio, Chem, Calc, and Physics?
Thanks for all your help, if anyone can tell me what they have experienced.

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[zilberman]

Here is a number of things that pre-meds should be doing (to my opinion)

1) Do well in bio, physics, Chem and O chem, you will be tested on this stuff on the MCAT so dont sells the books after you are done with them
2) Volunteer, to my opinion this is very important, try see if you like it. It will be sad if you get into med school and during your rotations decide that this is not for you. By this time you will be old and broke

3) Do a lot of reading, this helps on verbal MCAT and makes you well rounded person
4) Science Research, this develops thinking skills needed for medical practice.

Don't worry about med school too much in your first year of college, just do the best you can and get the highest grades you can, as long as it not interfere with your party schedules

Good luck to all pre-meds

 

[apollosrt]

I agree with zilberman's responses for the most part. Especially numbers 1 and 3.

As far as volunteering goes, that isn't exactly necessary b/c you can still work at a doc's office, hospital, or your school's health clinic. BUT, getting SOME kind of experience with the health field is important.

I don't agree with number 4. Research should be explored (in my opinion) if you are considering doing some sort of research and/or getting an MD/PhD (or DO/PhD). Or if you are applying to an extremely competitive med school (ivy league, etc.) reseach may give you a bit of an edge. But if you are certain that you don't like research and that you wouldn't ever do it, then don't waste your time doing it when you could be volunteering, working ,studying etc. BUT, the only way to REALLY know if you like it or not is to try it! So it is a bit of a Catch-22 situation.

Just don't think of your next four years (or five!) in college as working on a checklist of "To Do" items. Instead, LEARN as much as you can (as opposed to focusing solely on getting A's), and get involved but do so with organizations or clubs that you'll enjoy. If you work or volunteer, then do so at a place or in a field that you are interested in (pediatrics, ob/gyn, or whatever the case may be). And don't forget t ohave fun! Your free time will diminish significantly once you get into med school so enjoy your college experience as much as possible!

Oh yeah! And get as good a grade in calculus as you can, but otherwise don't stress out about it. There is NO calculus on the MCAT and you WON'T need it in med school! I absolutely SUCK at math, particularly calculus!

[This message has been edited by apollosrt (edited 04-07-2000).]

 

[flipper]

As far as as calculus, I believe there are some med schools that don't require a calculus credit. (Baylor Med School in Houston, comes to mind) If you are really worried about calculus and think it might reflect badly on your application, take it your last semester, and hopefully you'll have been accepted to the school of your choice before they get your final transcript!! This latter choice worked for me!!!!

Good Luck...

Eric J
UHS04