Questions from high school sophmore

[Lily5945]

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Hi everyone, thanks for reading. I'm a high school sophomore and have some questions for current or past medical students who want to become (or are currently) pediatricians.

1. What did you major in?

2. I've heard that biochemistry and biomedical engineering are the most successful majors for being accepted into medical school, so (between the two) which one do you think is the most successful? (And if not those two, then which ones?)

3. How many medical schools did you apply to, how many were you accepted to?

4. Is it possible to have a part-time job during medical school? And if not, then how do you financially support yourself?

5. I know this question may sound *****ic, but do you have time to work out/exercise during medical school?

6. What was/is the hardest part of medical school for you?

7. Did you have a back-up plan for if medical school did not work out for you? If yes, what was it?

8. Is there anything I can do in high school to help prepare me for my major (biochemistry, biomedical engineering, etc) in college?

9. This is not exactly medical-related, but what is the difference between a major and minor? And what did you minor in?

10. I want to become fluent in Spanish, is it possible for me to study abroad during my undergraduate, or will that impair my studies?

11. Did you find it easier to apply to a medical school out-of-state or in-state?

12. Was it difficult to find a job after completing your residency?

13. When did you apply for medical school/what was the process?

14. What was your typical schedule as a medical student?

15. Was residency more or less stressful than medical school?

16. Any other tips for medical school/things you wish you would have done differently?

 

[mvenus929]

There are other forums that these type of questions are more appropriate for (particularly since you didn't ask anything specific to peds), but as I am (hopefully) matching in Pediatrics this week, I'll answer for you.

1. I majored in biology, but you can major in whatever you want so long as you can meet the pre-requisites required for the MCAT and med schools (the requirements tend to overlap).

2. How do you define a 'successful' major? The ones who get in the most? Then I think Biology and Chemistry are at the bottom (not sure about your specific examples), because those who don't know what they want to do with their lives apply to med school and end up rejected. Major in whatever you're interested in, not what you think will give you an edge in admission to med school.

3. I went through two application cycles. On my second cycle, I applied to 9 schools, received 4 interviews, went on 3 of them, and received 2 acceptances. Most people recommend applying to more schools.

4. Generally, no. There are a handful of people who have a part-time job through the first two years, but they are very unusual. Most people will take out loans to support themselves.

5. Yes. You just have to make it a priority. That goes for anything you want to do in med school. Obviously, you can't do everything you want to do and still make good grades, but you have time to do things other than study.

6. Studying for Step 1. Darkest time of med school by far.

7. After my first application cycle, I became trained as a phlebotomist and worked as that for a while. I also applied to be a medical technologist (the person who runs tests in the clinical lab), and got accepted, but chose to apply to med school again. Had that not worked out, I probably would've pursued a career as a dietician or something of that nature. Maybe an MPH. I encourage you to explore other health-related fields, because becoming a physician is difficult. Make sure that nursing, PA school, or Pharmacy isn't more your tastes.

8. Get good grades, do advanced classes, and study hard for your SAT so you can get into a college that has good opportunities outside the classroom. Otherwise, you don't need to do anything to prepare for college.

9. A major is what your degree is in. Mine was biology. A minor is a concentration that you pursue, but you don't earn enough credits to major in. Mine was in history. You don't have to have a minor, and after college, it means nothing.

10. Please do study abroad if you have the opportunity.

11. It depends on the state. California is notoriously hard to get into whether you're in-state or not, but OOS students have a harder time of it. Most of the western schools take very few OOS students. Texas is easy to get in in-state, and difficult out-of-state. Private schools don't care. I go to UVA, and our class is 50% OOS. So, it depends. But it's not something that you really need to worry about until you're getting ready to put your application together.

12. As I haven't done my residency yet, I'll defer this question.

13. In the traditional track, applicants apply after their junior year in college to start the summer following graduation. However, it is becoming increasingly common for students to take a year or more off to do something else prior to applying/starting medical school.

14. There really isn't a 'typical' schedule in med school, as it varies so much. First and second years are generally in the classroom some hours per day (my school had 4 hours per day plus an afternoon of clinical activities), plus studying for 4-8 hours each day. More as tests approached. Third year schedule could be anything from 4 am - 8pm to a regular 9-5 schedule, depending on the rotation, but you had to study either in the downtime in the hospital/clinic or when you got home, which made the day longer. Fourth year varied even more than that, with some rotations only having a couple hours of work each week.

15. I'm going out on a limb and saying that residency is more stressful, primarily because you're more responsible for the patients as a resident. Plus, the hours are generally longer.

 

[physicsnerd42]

Welcome! That's not a short list, but I'll answer a few. I'm about to (hopefully) match into either pediatrics or combined pediatrics-anesthesia for residency. I am very glad that I went into medicine. I respect that you are very interested in medicine, but I would say that you should focus on and enjoy high school and then undergrad. I've found that if you always focus on the "next step" you will miss out on many of the great things going on in your life right now.

1. Physics. I also did a PhD in biomedical engineering during med school.

2. That's probably incorrect information. Major in whatever you like. Just because you want to go to med school, that doesn't mean you'll get in, so major in something you enjoy that might let you get another job you would enjoy. You are also likely to decide you don't want to go to med school, so I would suggest not making decisions about major based on whether you think you want to go to med school.

4. Not really. Loans, military, MD/PhD, National Health Service Corps, winning the lottery, rich/generous parents, etc. Most people go with the loans option.

5. Yes. I've done a couple of half marathons in med school/PhD and I go to med school in a place where people are very "outdoorsy" and are very active.

6. It doesn't matter how smart you are, you need to work hard in med school. Your time is not your own. I actually don't mind this all that much, but it sometimes means I can't do things I really want to do (I've missed a couple of friends' weddings, etc.) I think it's a good indication of how time consuming medicine is when we have a term like "golden weekend" to refer to the rare entire weekend that we get off. Other people just refer to this as a weekend.

7. Sure. PhD in physics or get a real job back when it was really easy to get a job straight out of college.

8. Take AP/IB classes if you can. Focus on doing well in everything, not just science. I've found that knowing how to communicate well is very important, no matter what you study.

9. A major is what you'll take a lot of classes in and what your degree is in. A minor is something you take fewer classes in than a major, but still take enough classes in that area to qualify for a minor. I have a B.S. in physics but I also did minors in a couple of other things.

10. That depends on your school and major. I didn't study abroad and wish I had. I'd suggest doing it if you can.

16. Keep an open mind in undergrad and med school. I never really thought I would go to med school until I was a junior in college. When I entered med school I thought I would be going into radiology or radiation oncology now, but I decided on doing something different. I definitely think there is such a thing as over-planning.

 

[SoSimplyKari]

I can chime in on a few things...

1. What did you major in?

Spanish. It was my hobby and something I wanted to do for forever. I enjoyed my time in undergrad and didn't burn myself out. (Still had to take all required pre-med classes, etc.)

3. How many medical schools did you apply to, how many were you accepted to?

Just one and one.

9. This is not exactly medical-related, but what is the difference between a major and minor? And what did you minor in?

Majors are your primary concentration during college. This is what you will spend the majority of your credit hours doing and the completion of major related classes is required for graduation. Minors are optional and you don't have to have one. If you chose to do so, you will take classes focused in that area, but will need to complete less credits in that subject than in your major subject. My minor was chemistry.

10. I want to become fluent in Spanish, is it possible for me to study abroad during my undergraduate, or will that impair my studies?

Absolutely, yes you can. I did a year in Madrid, Spain studying only Spanish and am now fluent. It takes planning and an awesome advisor (and money) but it's totally doable. I completed my undergrad in 3 years but had to take summer classes (16 credits each summer) for two years to do so. Just be warned that grading is different in foreign countries and it may affect you negatively. The experience however will be absolutely worth it. (And it gives you something to talk about in interviews!)

13. When did you apply for medical school/what was the process?

I joined a contingency program in high school. Basically, you go through the application process while still in high school and find out if you will be accepted to medical school after completing your undergrad. There are requirements for each school's program, but I suggest checking them out!