some questions about med school admissions from a newbie

[pj02007]

is it a good idea to take 2 years off school (i'm sophomore now) to enlist as a pararescueman in the air national guard (they're commandos who are trained in paramedics)? and i'm asking admission wise.
are undergrad jobs such as paramedic, combat medic... more desirable to the medschools than volunteering at a local hospital? how about vs research (though i plan to do that later on as well)? and do any of these EC's give more privileges than being a minority (i'm not one)?

for clarification, i obviously chose pararescue for different reasons than described enough, just want to know how med schools look at it, if i ever decide to go there.

are comp. science classes considered as "science courses"?

what subjects cover the mcat precisely (i know it's bio, chem, phy, but what are the actual course descriptions or textbooks relevant to the courses)?

assuming i get a very high MCAT, but my gpa is low (though i may be doing real well in math/bio), will i have a good shot at getting interviews because of my EC's (pararescue)?

what do you think of the following schools for me: nyu, columbia, suny stony brook, u syracuse, and dartmouth? i know of others as well, but any info you could say about the unique admissions perks at these schools?

thanks a lot!

p.s. i'd like to be an orthopedic surgeon or a dermatologist.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[mpp]

Sounds like it would be great fun. There is definitely no rush and you might as well do as many cool activities as you can before you get too old.

My opinion on how it would look to admissions committees is that of course it wouldn't look bad. As far as activities go, I think at the point that schools are looking at your activities they are taking your entire application into account so I think it would be difficult to give a factual response on how schools would compare each type of activity. There is no super rush for anything so there is no reason that you could not take off 10 years from school doing all sorts of activities and still get into medical school.

There is a special section on the AMCAS application for Computer Science/Technology courses and these are not included in the Science GPA or the BCPM (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math) GPA that AMCAS calculates.

To figure out if a school would be right for you, check the school's website and other information available about the school to see if your GPA/MCAT is in the range of acceptable applicants. See if you would like the curriculum. Some schools list the background (age, previous activities, undergraduate major, etc.) of the class so see if you would fit in with those types of students. See if you would like to live in the area. See if the tuition seems appropriate for you. There are so many variables to look at it is impossible for anyone here to give you good advice regarding which schools to attend without knowing more about you.

Lastly, don't forget to investigate Osteopathic Medicine. A good starting place is the <a href="http://www.aacom.org" target="_blank">American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine</a>.

Good luck.

 

[Jamier2]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by pj02007:
•are comp. science classes considered as "science courses"?•••••What are "comp. science" classes?

 

[Doctora Foxy]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Jamier2:
• •••quote:•••Originally posted by pj02007:
•are comp. science classes considered as "science courses"?•••••What are "comp. science" classes?•••••computer science classes

 

[Jamier2]

Thanks Dr. Foxy. It looks obvious now, but when I first read it, I drew a complete blank for comp. science.

 

[pj02007]

thanks for all the info and the quick response!
yes, i meant computer science!

also about mcat, please also list any url's which describe more info about the test. and what are the bio/chem courses and their descriptions that are required that i take before the mcat?

and how are the bio/chem sections of mcat different from math section of sat (assuming i know the material, are questions of same standard) and same question towards the verbal section of mcat vs. the reading comp. of the SAT?

 

[racergirl]

For the MCAT, I think the easiest thing for you to do is go to <a href="http://www.aamc.org" target="_blank">www.aamc.org</a> and order a practice MCAT. Get either test III, IV or V; and just look the thing over for yourself. You'll be able to get a good feel for the style and content of questions on the real test.

If you want to do the pararescue thing, go for it.

 

[pj02007]

thanks!

 

[Mylaina]

yeah- I would definitely get a copy of an MCAT practice test (or try a test run offered at schools through Kaplan and PR. The Verbal sections are not anything like the SAT and the bio/chem are nothing like the SAT and there is also a writing sample. So start doing some research.