What should I do to prepare for medical school?

[Blu T]

Hey,
This fall I'm going to be an incoming college freshman and I was wondering what I should do to prepare for medical school. So far I've already register for all my classes. The total number of units I'm taking this fall quarter is 18, though 3 of those units are advising seminars and tutoring classes. So, technically I only have three main classes (english, math, and science), which makes up 15 units. However, overall do you know if that's too overwhelming?? Also, should I start doing community services during my freshman year or should I focus on the academic part first?? And..as for the MCAT, do you know when's the best time to prepare for it? If you have any other advices, please feel free to provide them. Thanks.

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[penguinophile]

Hey,
This fall I'm going to be an incoming college freshman and I was wondering what I should do to prepare for medical school. So far I've already register for all my classes. The total number of units I'm taking this fall quarter is 18, though 3 of those units are advising seminars and tutoring classes. So, technically I only have three main classes (english, math, and science), which makes up 15 units. However, overall do you know if that's too overwhelming?? Also, should I start doing community services during my freshman year or should I focus on the academic part first?? And..as for the MCAT, do you know when's the best time to prepare for it? If you have any other advices, please feel free to provide them. Thanks.

That sounds like a great first semester schedule. What science are you taking? You want to make sure it is either bio, chem or physics to make sure it is covering the premed requirements. The best thing for you to do is enjoy the first semester, figure out how to study, and focus on the whole adjustment. If you have always been involved in the community, go ahead and do that if that will help you adjust, but if not, focus on school and your friends. Don't worry about the MCAT until junior year.

 

[Mortal_Lessons]

Hey,
This fall I'm going to be an incoming college freshman and I was wondering what I should do to prepare for medical school. So far I've already register for all my classes. The total number of units I'm taking this fall quarter is 18, though 3 of those units are advising seminars and tutoring classes. So, technically I only have three main classes (english, math, and science), which makes up 15 units. However, overall do you know if that's too overwhelming?? Also, should I start doing community services during my freshman year or should I focus on the academic part first?? And..as for the MCAT, do you know when's the best time to prepare for it? If you have any other advices, please feel free to provide them. Thanks.

Hi there,

I'm a second-year medical student who not long ago was in your shoes as an entering college freshman. The best advice I can give you is to work hard, do well in your classes, and enjoy yourself. You don't need to begin volunteering or participating in community service activities until you feel you're ready. The most important thing for you to do is concentrate on your studies. Make sure you're challenging yourself and not taking too few classes; at the same time, you don't want to overwhelm yourself.

I took the MCAT back when it was taken on paper with pencil and was offered twice a year: April and August. Now that there's more flexibility in scheduling, I recommend taking it when you've completed your scientific prerequisite courses for medical school admission. These classes include: general and organic chemistry, biology, and physics. Once you've taken these classes, you're ready to take the MCAT. If you're taking your last pre-requisite, it'd be appropriate to begin studying for the MCAT-this is far away so don't worry too much about it now.

I also recommend finishing your prerequisites by sophomore year. Finishing biology and general chemistry your freshman year and finishing physics and organic chemistry your second year would be great. You will then be ready to spend part of your summer studying for the MCAT and taking it before you return to school to begin your junior year. This is how I did it and it worked out nicely. In your post, you mention that you're only taking three "real" classes; this number sounds quite low-most classes are between 3-4 credits so I'm not quite sure how this all adds up to 18. Credit-awarding among schools varies and I'm not familiar with how it works where you're attending.

 

[smq123]

This fall I'm going to be an incoming college freshman and I was wondering what I should do to prepare for medical school.

Well, for starters, you shouldn't be preparing for med school YET....you should be preparing for med school application.

Step #1: Take things one step at a time.

No need to worry about the MCAT now. The ONLY thing that you need to do is to do as well as you can in your classes. That's it. Keep your GPA up as high as possible for as long as you can. Worry about the MCAT later.

Step #2: (this is more important than Step #1) MAKE SURE THAT YOU REALLY, REALLY WANT TO DO THIS.

I mean it. Sure, being an attending looks like fun. Gross anatomy and getting into med school look like fun too. But there's all the stuff in between that you need to survive.

Shadow as many doctors as you can. Talk to as many doctors (especially residents!) as you can, and press them on the hard questions. I wouldn't even recommend talking to med students - we don't know anything yet.

It's one thing to say that you'll love this life when you're 18. I said that too. When you're 18, it's easy to imagine that staying in the hospital for 100 hours a week is "fine." It doesn't sound so bad. Suddenly, when you're 26, and have a boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse/child to go home to....it's a totally different story. Make sure that you know what you're getting yourself into.

Step #3: Try to leave college with no regrets.

Don't spend ALL your time working/studying/volunteering. Have friends. Find a girlfriend/boyfriend. Travel. Learn another language. Learn to see things from other points of view. Understand what it's like to be from another socioeconomic class or from another country/culture. If you go straight to med school out of college, you may never have another chance to do these things as thoroughly as you can in college....so take advantage.

Good luck.

 

[Blu T]

Thank you so much for all your advices. I will definitely keep all of those in mind.

Umm...just to clarify what classes i registered for in the fall quarter, here's a list of the classes i will be taking:

general chemistry and lab (5 units)
calculus (5 units)
english (4 units)
honors (2 units) <----it's a program that offer students with high GPA to enrich their educational experience through independent, advanced, or accelerated study
learning community (2 units) <-----tutoring class and advising seminars

i also have one more question. do any of you guys know what are some good chemistry and physics prep books and/or study guides?? i really want to prepare myself beforehand that way i don't have to suffer much in the fall.

 

[Narmerguy]

I would look into some volunteer things to start now but don't really overdo it. It would be nice to show that you have some longevity and commitment by keeping with volunteer work that you started freshman year into your application period.

 

[Katatonic]

Thank you so much for all your advices. I will definitely keep all of those in mind.

Umm...just to clarify what classes i registered for in the fall quarter, here's a list of the classes i will be taking:

general chemistry and lab (5 units)
calculus (5 units)
english (4 units)
honors (2 units)
learning community (2 units) <-----tutoring class and advising seminars

i also have one more question. do any of you guys know what are some good chemistry and physics prep books and/or study guides?? i really want to prepare myself beforehand that way i don't have to suffer much in the fall.

That looks like a good schedule (what is Honors?). I'd take this first semester to just get acclimated to college, try to meet new people and focus on your school work. Starting with a great GPA boosts your confidence for that next semester!

Also, I wouldn't try to start volunteering yet. Of course you CAN, but I'd wait to kick in the EC's until a little later. Of course, I'm a Junior now and have zero (yes, absolutely none) EC's so I'm probably not the best person to give advice on when to start volunteering haha. Stay focused and you'll do fine.

I wouldn't bother with a "prep book" either for chemistry. Just start fresh, pay attention in class (every class, skipping is a bad idea), and do a ton of practice problems. No sense in wasting your summer pre-studying!

 

[DrJosephKim]

Take your academics very seriously.

Study for the MCATs very seriously.

The biggest mistake I see is that people with such potential don't apply themselves and they get mediocre grades/GPA. Then, once they get serious around the age of 25 or 30, they study like crazy, take the MCAT, and get outstanding scores.

Apply yourself during college and prioritize accordingly. You can't go back in time to change those grades.

 

[lemoncurry]

smq123, that was a great post!


to the OP, have you talked to a pre-professional advisor at your school? Your school probably has an advising requirement for incoming freshmen, but a pre-pro advisor is a more specific thing, most often found in Biology departments.

 

[kdburton]

Hey,
This fall I'm going to be an incoming college freshman and I was wondering what I should do to prepare for medical school. So far I've already register for all my classes. The total number of units I'm taking this fall quarter is 18, though 3 of those units are advising seminars and tutoring classes. So, technically I only have three main classes (english, math, and science), which makes up 15 units. However, overall do you know if that's too overwhelming?? Also, should I start doing community services during my freshman year or should I focus on the academic part first?? And..as for the MCAT, do you know when's the best time to prepare for it? If you have any other advices, please feel free to provide them. Thanks.

First and foremost you should make sure that you're getting good grades. Starting out strong will feel good and keep you motivated for the next three years. Take a well-balanced schedule; I think 15 credits of mixed science/non-science sounds great, and it shouldn't be overwhelming. As a 2nd year medical student all I hear is "make sure you master the material in your classes because that gives you your base for Step I." So the same goes to pre-meds in that you need to make sure you master your sciences, at least the MCAT prereq's, so that you're well-prepared for the MCAT. These include one year each of general chem, organic chem, general bio, and physics. As a freshman its too early to start "studying for the MCAT," but its not too early to study for retention in your classes.

Second, you should pick a EC to begin focusing some time on during your first year. If there is a hospital by your school go to the volunteer office and find out what positions are available. I volunteered maybe 4 hours/week at a local Emergency Department when in undergrad. If you have more time and think you could work a part-time job then try to find some sort of clinically oriented position at the hospital, or find some undergraduate research position in a lab on campus. Don't overdo the time committment to your ECs until you find out how much time you've got.

Third, make sure you leave time for hobbies. If you're applying to medical school and you don't have something on your activities list that is non-medical/non-school, then you're probably going to come off (on paper at least) as some sort of recluse. I snowboarded regularly, was active in a fraternity, etc, etc.

Shadow some docs (or at least talk to them). Not only does it look good to admissions committees that you've exposed yourself to the medical field, but you've also shown that you've done some investigating into your future career choice and that may be harder to convey if you haven't shadowed doctors. At the very least maybe you'll find out that you don't like medicine or you'll find out that you like/dislike a certain field early on and then have a lot more time to explore it.

Fifth, try to think of something unique that you can build on in the next four years so that you don't look like a cookie-cutter medical school applicant. I started out selling classified ads at the school newspaper and ended up becoming the credit analyst and marketing coordinator in our advertising department by the time i graduated. That may sound lame to some, but considering it was the 4th biggest newspaper in my state I thought it was a pretty nice addition to my resume.

 

[cdmccart]

I think it's been said enough times now that you should definitely make sure that you're focusing on your classes and starting out strong. Go to every class, take lots of notes, and get to know your professors. What I think is important to do, that was touched on by kdburton, is to find out what makes you unique.

Find something you're passionate about, or continue with a passion you've always had. Make sure you'll have something to put on your med school apps that makes you different. That doesn't mean I'm saying to find something that you think will look good to adcoms. Find something you honestly love to do. Find a cause you're passionate about. Just be different.

Yes, volunteering at a hospital is important. But that doesn't mean it should be the only volunteering you do. My freshman year I saw a documentary, Invisible Children, and I wanted to raise some money. I held a rummage sale with a couple friends and raised $1100. Eventually we started a club and two years later I'm in the middle of coordinating my school's first Alternate Spring Break to help displaced refugees.

 

[Hyperstudyosis]

If I were you, I'd get settled into school and then start volunteering once you feel comfortable. Starting school can be overwhelming sometimes, especially if you're going far away from home for the first time. Once you get into the groove of your classes, you could start volunteering. Clinical and non-clinical volunteering are both good...schools like to see a well-rounded applicant. Also, being really committed to a few extracurriculars is viewed more favorably than trying to dabble a little bit in everything.

Good luck to you! I wish you the best in the process. College is exciting and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

 

[Jillian M]

Before going to med school, know basic medical terms, this will help you a lot before learning the rest of the terminology.

 

[ComputerGuy365]

Before going to med school, know basic medical terms, this will help you a lot before learning the rest of the terminology.

Please don't necropost.

 

[randomguy123456]

Hey,
This fall I'm going to be an incoming college freshman and I was wondering what I should do to prepare for medical school. So far I've already register for all my classes. The total number of units I'm taking this fall quarter is 18, though 3 of those units are advising seminars and tutoring classes. So, technically I only have three main classes (english, math, and science), which makes up 15 units. However, overall do you know if that's too overwhelming?? Also, should I start doing community services during my freshman year or should I focus on the academic part first?? And..as for the MCAT, do you know when's the best time to prepare for it? If you have any other advices, please feel free to provide them. Thanks.

Be mentally ready to be on the grind. Your GPA is the #1 important piece of application for medical school. Because your a freshman, this first year is going to relatively the easiest. Therefore you have to secure that 4.0. Don't worry about MCAT until your a junior ( if you want to go to med school right after graduating) or senior year (1 gap year).

Also, your in college. Have some fun. Once you start medical school you'll be working your butt off for an average of 10 years!!! Have fun. Set your priorities. Accomplish your goals. I wish you the best. Cheers & good luck. *Raises cup of water