Pre-med course track and major

[studentdoktor]

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Hi forum, I'm pursuing a path in the medical field. I am a little concerned though. I chose a major in Chemistry, namely an AA transfer program to a joint 4-year that will let me continue into a Bachelor's (I'm assuming a BA, not BS). I am very ignorant to premed tracking, because I only just recently chose to pursue this and have only found seemingly vague ideas of what courses to take as prerequisites for medical school.

I am concerned I won't get the prerequisites necessary for medical school. I have tried speaking to an advisor, but was only referred to a different degree program (BS in Biomedical Sciences) (she seemed to just want to brush me away and didn't offer any actual help aside from giving me a piece of paper for the degree requirements,) which made me feel I should be pursuing it rather than the transfer plan for Chemistry.

I took some time away from schools after high school to set my priorities straight and felt that my interests were for medical. That said, I am aiming at Johns Hopkins' medical school, even though my college is only fairly renowned. So I am looking to make sure I have things straight ahead of time...

My questions so far are:
What should a pre-med track look like on a span of four years?
Does it matter what major I take? Between Chemistry and Biomedical Sciences?
How does Johns Hopkins medical school sound as an aim for someone graduating out of a somewhat above-average joe university?

I would add more questions but I'll leave them for later, if anyone responds.

I would very much appreciate some support, informative or moral. Thanks ahead of time.

 

[Ismet]

Pre-med requirements:

• Intro biology 1 and 2 + lab
• Intro general chemistry 1 and 2 + lab
• Organic chemistry 1 and 2 + lab
• Physics (either algebra-based or calculus-based) 1 and 2 + lab

Requirements/recommendations that vary depending on the med school in question:

• 1-2 math courses (calc 1 + statistics, calc 1 + calc 2, etc)
• variable English requirement (if you have 2 semesters of English you should be covered for most, if not all schools)
• biochemistry

Courses you should consider taking that might be helpful for MCAT:

• biochemistry
• human physiology
• sociology
• psychology
• other behavioral/social sciences
• intro neuroscience course

Doesn't matter what you major in as long as you get the pre-med pre-reqs done and do well in them. You can major in history or music or chemistry or biology. Doesn't matter.

Johns Hopkins is a top 10 school, so it is very competitive. Where you go to undergrad doesn't matter, but what does matter is how you are as an applicant and how prepared you are for med school. In order to get into a top school, you need to shoot for great grades (aim for 3.7+ GPA), great MCAT (I don't even know the scale of the new MCAT you'll be taking), letters of recommendation from science faculty that enthusiastically support you, clinical experience (shadowing, clinical volunteering), other extracurricular activities (other volunteering, clubs, music groups, etc), and potentially research, especially if you're interested in a top school like JHU.

 

[freakingoutabit]

My questions so far are:
What should a pre-med track look like on a span of four years?
Does it matter what major I take? Between Chemistry and Biomedical Sciences?
How does Johns Hopkins medical school sound as an aim for someone graduating out of a somewhat above-average joe university?

Hi!

1. There is no real "pre-med track." You just major in whatever you want and take the required pre-reqs plus (if you have time) any other classes you think will be helpful or interesting. The standard pre-reqs are:

Bio I and II
Chem I and II
Orgo I and II
Physics I and II

Many schools also have a math requirement. Some require a semester of college math, some require 2 semesters, and some require Statistics and/or Calculus. Schools also typically have an English requirement which can always be filled by taking introductory level English classes and can sometimes be filled by taking writing-intensive classes in a different department. Because of the variation, it's important to research individual schools' requirements.

You'll have to sit down and plan out your semesters so that you take the classes you need for your major plus the pre-reqs. Most people take most of their pre-reqs as electives.

2. It does not matter what you major in. Pick the subject you find more interesting. The important thing is that you do well and keep your cGPA and sGPA up.

3. I am not saying this because of your college or anything else: you should not pin your hopes on any particular med school, especially JH. It is incredibly competitive, and even ridiculously outstanding applicants are rejected there. That said, if you do well in school, get a solid MCAT score, and show schools that you're informed and caring, you will get into A med school, maybe even a top school. Make that your goal. Aiming for one particular med school is a recipe for disappointment.

With that in mind, make sure that you research several schools, not just JH, to find out what they require. Pre-reqs may change in coming years with the changes to the MCAT, and it would be very shortsighted to tailor your application to one (uber-competitive) school. Try to be a good candidate for many schools. Most people apply to at least 10 and pray for an acceptance to one.

Good luck!

 

[inycepoo]

Johns Hopkins is a top 10 school, so it is very competitive. Where you go to undergrad doesn't matter, but what does matter is how you are as an applicant and how prepared you are for med school. In order to get into a top school, you need to shoot for great grades (aim for 3.7+ GPA), great MCAT (I don't even know the scale of the new MCAT you'll be taking), letters of recommendation from science faculty that enthusiastically support you, clinical experience (shadowing, clinical volunteering), other extracurricular activities (other volunteering, clubs, music groups, etc), and potentially research, especially if you're interested in a top school like JHU.

Incorrect. Top undergrad schools get a leg up. (Undergrad at that particular med school, i.e., JHU applying to JHU, gets an even larger leg up.) Multiple adcom members have said so on these forums.

 

[studentdoktor]

Thank you all for your advice so far.

I suppose I was a little anxious over planning my courses that I thought I had to do something specific in order to better qualify. I am a complete newbie at all of this, so I couldn't even begin to know what's needed for the field, aside from the obvious basic sciences.

Right now, I'm only taking Gen Chem I solo in order to settle in after a year of no school. Like some of you have suggested, I will add in extra necessary courses in the next semesters. Thank you for that.

I am slightly okay with the idea that I may not make it to JH because of their acceptance infamy. I am only setting the scale high because I feel it's something worth striving for. It's a personal achievement for me, and I would like my parents to be proud of me for that. I also do very well in a competitive environment, which is part of why I want to go for it. I just wanted to get an idea of what my chances could have been like if I turned to have prodigal grades regardless of my university's intermediate ranking. I'm open to other medical schools, but I will still gunsling at JH. I just want to know what's ahead of me.

If anything, I will set my sights for NYU or something else near NY when the time comes.

Again, thanks for the advice you've given me to this moment.

 

[Ismet]

Incorrect. Top undergrad schools get a leg up. (Undergrad at that particular med school, i.e., JHU applying to JHU, gets an even larger leg up.) Multiple adcom members have said so on these forums.

Not incorrect. If you do very well in school, it doesn't matter where you go to school. I'm pretty sure there are more people in my class from state schools or random small schools than there are Ivies or top 20 undergrads. But everyone did extremely well in school, so they were very competitive applicants.

Students at top undergrads can get a bit of a leg up due to the reported competitiveness of the school (I forget the name for the scale, if there even is a name for it) and if the school is known for grade inflation/deflation. A 4.0 at a very competitive school (a "top" school) might be more impressive than a 4.0 at a much less competitive school, but at the end of the day, both applicants are exceptional academically and the one at the better school doesn't have some obscene advantage.

The school bias is also very school-dependent, and I don't know how JHUSOM feels about JHU undergrads. Some med schools definitely like to accept students who went there for undergrad, some med schools want more diversity in their class or they want their undergrad students to experience other places (aka I was told Stanford Med doesn't accept many Stanford undergrads for that reason). In any case, going to that undergrad doesn't give you enough of a leg up in admissions to justify going to that undergrad just for that reason.

tl;dr The rest of your application (grades, MCAT, experiences, essays, LORs) matters a ton more than where you go to school. Do well wherever you go. Same goes for residency, btw. Med school reputation absolutely helps, but do very well, get rave recommendations, and rock your Steps and you have a good shot no matter where you went to school.