Pre-Med and College advice

[Mr.Patel]

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Hello all of SDN and partners. I have been reading these forums for about 1-2 months. I graduated High school this past year (class of 07). I am posting today to get some advice on college and the Pre-Med stuff.

Throughout High school I was a lazy bastard who did nothing, but still earned high grades. People tell me this kind of stuff doesn’t work in college. You must work your ass off to get decent grades. In order to make the transition easy, I am only taking 4 classes this coming semester (Bio, Chem, Calc 1, and English). I will be attending Rutgers University and PROBABLY majoring in either Economics or Finance. I would greatly appreciate any advice on the transition from high school to college or about my majors. Any advice on the 4 classes will also make me happy.

As for the whole Pre-Med thing, how is the Pre-med life-style compared to that of the normal students? (It can’t be that much different, can it?). How many hours/where should I volunteer/who should I shadow this first up coming freshmen year? When is the best time to take the MCATs?

Please try posting ANY advice you can about ANYTHING that all New Pre-Meds need to know. I have done a lot of reading on this, but I think it would be better to READ from students who have been through it or are going through it. I never gave a rat’s ass about any of this stuff until last month (After doing some reading in the forums, I have seen kids who are 12-16 who come here for Advice…At first I am like wtf are these kids worrying when they should be parting their brains out lol ).
Thanks in advance…Please Tell me EVERYTHING I Need to know .

 

[brianmartin]

I don't know what kind of advice you're looking for...sounds like you are doing the right things. I would recommend NOT getting caught up in the "pre-med" lifestyle and instead just keep your goals in mind and don't sacrifice the rest of your life.

 

[Thornwalker]

Well here is some advice from a junior biochemistry major in college..


It is true that good grades are harder to get in college than hs simply because in 90% of (science) classes your grade is equal to 4 or 5 test with different weights on the midterm or final. In hs, you could probably get low to mid B's on all the test and Ace all the homework and projects and still wind up with a decent grade. Obviously this will not work in college. I tend to make it a rule to study one week in advance for every test I have which equates to 2-4 hours a night and then two nights before the test i study 6-12 hours that day.

From what i gather from your post it sounds like learning comes easy to you, but trust me you will still have to work at getting those grades especially in your GE's. Rate my professor is your best friend. Don't sign up for a class with a bad prof unless you absolutely have to it will make getting A's a lot easier.

I'm curious, why are you majoring in Econ or Finance? I love being a science major at a small school, there are only about 15 other biochem/chem majors in my year so we are a very tight night group. Know that most people who go into college thinking they are pre-med drop. By the end of my sophmore year 1/2 to 2/3rds of the people who orginally said they were 'premed' gave up on going to med school simply because they didn't have the grades or didn't want to put in the time.

As for 'lifestyle of a premed' your experience might be much different than mine because I am a science major. A few semesters i have had all hard science classes + a math, so i had to do quite a bit more nightly studying and work than say an econ major with bunch of GE's. Although i honestly think that premeds (and medical students from what i gather) party harder when they party than anyone else. As the old adage goes "work hard, play hard". Being a science major, there have definitely been some friday nights spent studying but i usually get to party at least once a week.

Thursday is the big party night since a lot of comm majors and whatnot don't have friday class. I have to say, I get jealous that some people get to go out thursday, friday and saturday nights... or even more.

My advice..get involved on campus. I am in a community service group which is basically like a fraternity which is a lot of fun and we also do 30+ hours of community service a semester (not med-school related). I am also in an organizations that focus doing social justice events and my schools chemistry society. I also work 20+ hours a week. I also volunteer at a hospital.

Needless to say i am really busy during the semester, i think much busier than the majority of students simple because of the amount of extracurricular activies i'm involved in. However , i manage my time much better because of it.

Another note, being a premed is stressful. I feel like every paper, every test, and every class I take I need to get an A in; and I'm pretty sure every premed feels this way. You will question your decision of wanting to go to med school 985795 times. Certain days make you feel like there is not a snowballs chance in hell of you getting in, other days make you feel like nothing can stop you. Other days you go up and down every hour. It wears on you after awhile.

Being a science major and a premed you consider a 12 hour day a blessing. You have to be motivated after having a full day of lecture, lab, research and work, to come back to your dorm and study for 3 or 4 hours before you go to bed. Most professors say that for every hour of lecture you should study 3 hours. There is literally not enough time in the day- ever.

As for how much to volunteer… that is really open to debate/ your schedule/ how much you think you should be doing. I do a 4 hour shift at my local hospital at least once a week, sometimes more. Most hospitals have a volunteer program so I would suggest calling them and asking..the one I am in is a year long program that you can do for longer than a year.

In regards to the MCAT that depends when you want to go to medical school and if you want to take a year off. I think most people recommend to take it around april or may.

All in all its pretty tough, but I love it. Yeah it sucks a lot of the time but I wouldn't trade the last three years for anything. Remember, college are the best years of your life – enjoy them. Good Luck.

 

[Jew Alcindor]

My advice is to go to as many football games as you can get tickets to.

Seriously though, just work hard and budget your time well. Remember that you've got a totally clean slate, which is something a lot of people would kill for.

 

[Bacchus]

Uhhh, Rutgers, my arch nemesis. Anyway. Its all about balance. I had your schedule first semester and I did alright but nothing to write home about. Why did I do horribly? Balance. Alcohol consumption went up and studying went down. Well, second semester came around and I got my priorities straight. You need to learn how to live your life so you're successful inside and outside of the classroom. Get involved on campus, its the biggest thing you can do for yourself.

 

[Medicine929]

Anyone can get good grades in high school as long as you complete all of your work. You can get all B-'s on the test and still wind up with a 3.7 in the class as long as you turn in all of your homework. College is way different, you can study your ass off and still fall short of an A because of those damn curves. My advice to you is to get study your ass off and get the best grades in you can, start studying for the mcat early. As for how many extra curricular activities to participate in, there is no definite answer. Just remember that med school is highly selective, do what you can to stand out.👍

 

[Mr.Patel]

Wow, I feel soo much more educated already 🙂. Thanks for the comments guys and gals. The reason I am interested majoring in Finance and/or Economics is becuase I am really interested in the MACRO portion of the business world and somewhat Micro. However I am NOT interested in a career in Business. Keep the Advice coming 🙂.

 

[Inuranic]

Something that I found helpful to me:

Late in my High School career I learned how to "play the game". Minimum amount of work, maximum amount of GPA.

Early in college I had no idea what was going on. I studied my ass off and put a lot of work in to get good grades. Now, as undergrad is coming to an end for me, I've figured out "the game" again. You have to learn how each Professor grades/gives tests. Once you learn what type of Professor you have, use an appropriate study style. I really can't articulate it better - study smarter, not harder.

College is awesome. Enjoy.

 

[da8s0859q]

Commentary in red. For perspective, I am a senior at one of Texas A&M University's sister schools - a psychology major, chem minor, and premedical. Or pre... something. Who the f*ck knows these days.

Oh, and if you're so inclined, you're more than welcome to ask me anything via PM if you think I may have a worthwhile $.02. I know how I felt as an incoming college kid...

Hello all of SDN and partners. I have been reading these forums for about 1-2 months. I graduated High school this past year (class of 07). I am posting today to get some advice on college and the Pre-Med stuff.

Hi there.

Throughout High school I was a lazy bastard who did nothing, but still earned high grades. People tell me this kind of stuff doesn't work in college. You must work your ass off to get decent grades.

"People" are often damn wrong, but I'd think you would do well to make no assumptions either way. As my dear old high school anatomy teacher was fond of saying, "Assumption is the mother of all f*ckups."

That said, there is HUGE variance in the time investment needed for generally good (i.e., overall GPA of ~3.5+ or whatever your definition is) grades. Some people can do it by simply attending lecture, while others will require the rusty "two hours of studying for one hour of lecture" bit. Your high school experiences should be your initial guide here... and while college is different, it's not necessarily tremendously more difficult, so don't fix **** that's not broken (and at the same time, don't be afraid to trial new methods and see how they work for you). Your first few weeks - and into your first several assignments and exams - will pretty much be the litmus test here.

Inuranic is 100% right in that there is a game to play here. Do things smarter, not harder.

In order to make the transition easy, I am only taking 4 classes this coming semester (Bio, Chem, Calc 1, and English). I will be attending Rutgers University and PROBABLY majoring in either Economics or Finance.

Good call on a relaxed first semester (but with two labs, I guess "relaxed" is relative). Far too many people bite off more than they can - or ought to - chew. As for the majors, hey, whatever tickles your pickle. I'd go finance, but that's me.

I would greatly appreciate any advice on the transition from high school to college or about my majors. Any advice on the 4 classes will also make me happy.

For those classes at Rutgers - and, in fact, for the rest of your undergraduate life - you should consider getting acquainted with www.pickaprof.com (worth the price if they're still charging for the grade distributions alone) and www.ratemyprofessor.com. Both of them are good resources when it comes time to choose instructors, but keep in mind that a lot of reviewers may just be bitter dinguses that didn't get their way because it was their own fault for blowing off the class.

As far as the courses go, gen bio and gen chem aren't usually TOO bad, especially if you could even remotely hold your own in high school. In terms of difficulty, calculus is hit or miss from college to college; I had a f*cking miserable time with it, but other profs here pump out much less displeased kiddies. English, well, ... c'est l'anglais!

As for the whole Pre-Med thing, how is the Pre-med life-style compared to that of the normal students? (It can't be that much different, can it?). How many hours/where should I volunteer/who should I shadow this first up coming freshmen year? When is the best time to take the MCATs?

MCAT, not MCATs, and it's usually taken in or around your junior year. But yeah, don't read too much into this... as with most other things in life, your time spend in undergrad as a premedder will be precisely what you make of it, so as far as lifestyle goes, it need not be vastly different from what you'll see from the rest of the crowd (future MBAs, JDs, etc.).

Personally, I would suggest that you hold back on the volunteering until you get a feel for college and the overall change in your life; the same goes for shadowing (in which case, I'd say you should shadow someone in a specialty in which you're interested above everything else).

And for f*ck's sake, volunteer in something because you care about it - not because you want to look all spiffy on paper.

Please try posting ANY advice you can about ANYTHING that all New Pre-Meds need to know.

As above: it will be what you make of it. And above all, I would say that you ought not read too much into anything - anything you see or hear from other people, including myself. There's that greeting card message that says that the universe wouldn't be full of stars if we were all meant to wish on the same one, so we all have slightly different ideas for ourselves; something similar is true for college. Preconceived notions about what things will be like are sometimes right, sometimes wrong, but always risky in that they might just cause you undue stress (read: "omgomg, premed, Rutgers, I'm gonna dieeee kthx!"). I had a professor that used to say that you could eat a whole elephant if you take one bite at a time, so as far as all this goes: baby steps, grasshopper, baby steps.

I have done a lot of reading on this, but I think it would be better to READ from students who have been through it or are going through it.

A fine idea.

I never gave a rat's ass about any of this stuff until last month (After doing some reading in the forums, I have seen kids who are 12-16 who come here for Advice…At first I am like wtf are these kids worrying when they should be parting their brains out lol ).

Yes, I should have been partying right along with 'em, too. 🙁

Thanks in advance…Please Tell me EVERYTHING I Need to know .

In the words of Al Borland, "I don't think so, Tim." Throw around what I and the rest of the people here are telling you, but beyond that, just hang in there; it'll become a familiar world - just like high school was - in no time.

Oh, and it goes by QUICKLY. Don't forget to stop and smell the roses, coffee, cocaine, or whatever your pleasure is like so many of us are guilty of doing... you're only in undergrad once. I've done reasonably well for myself in academia, but I would gladly shave off a few tenths of that 3.91 for a chance to have been happier through it all.

 

[TheRealMD]

Unlike others who like to write long posts, I have simple advice for you. Learn how to study.

You'll understand in a year or two.

 

[da8s0859q]

Unlike others who like to write long posts, I have simple advice for you. Learn how to study.

You'll understand in a year or two.

I don't like to write long posts - I just have a lot to say! Delacroix... "What moves men of genius, or rather, what inspires their work, is not new ideas, but their obsession with the idea that what has already been said is still not enough." 😀

But nah, OP, he's also giving you good advice if you find your old habits don't quite cut it for you.

 

[TheRealMD]

I don't like to write long posts - I just have a lot to say! Delacroix... "What moves men of genius, or rather, what inspires their work, is not new ideas, but their obsession with the idea that what has already been said is still not enough." 😀

But nah, OP, he's also giving you good advice if you find your old habits don't quite cut it for you.

Nah, it's just that GPA is the one thing that can't be fixed with a band-aid. Everything else you can patch up in a year if necessary: MCAT, volunteering, clinical experience, research if interested, other nifty ECs. But that GPA.... way too easy to get f***ed in the beginning and never recover.

Thus my advice, learn how to study. 👍

 

[da8s0859q]

Sound advice, sir. I nicked my GPA by several tenths with one C in calculus, and it's taken me a couple years to gain back ~70% of what I lost.

 

[foreverLaur]

Remember that you've got a totally clean slate, which is something a lot of people would kill for.

.... no kidding

 

[TheRealMD]

.

 

[da8s0859q]

Patel, how're you doing over there?