What steps should I take for medical school?

[Bemine4eva1]

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I am a high school senior, and I am graduating this year. I am going to be initiating my college courses this summer, and my goal is to complete my requirements for medical school. My question is, what is most important for medical schools? besides the MCAT and GPA, what other things are considered? Please comment and let me know on advise you guys might have.

 

[dramatrauma]

It's great that you're motivated and already know what you want. However, take some time to explore SDN before posting. This basic information has already been discussed ad nauseam, so give the search function a whirl. Also, these sorts of questions belong in the high school or pre-allo/pre-osteo sections.

 

[efle]

Here is a good starting place:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/a-compilation-of-essential-sdn-wisdom.1177034/

In brief, big factors under your control include: GPA, MCAT, Volunteerism, Clinical Experience, Research Experience, Interviewing, some others.
Then there are some big factors outside your control like race and state residency.

 

[grapp]

Here is a good starting place:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/a-compilation-of-essential-sdn-wisdom.1177034/

In brief, big factors under your control include: GPA, MCAT, Volunteerism, Clinical Experience, Research Experience, Interviewing, some others.
Then there are some big factors outside your control like race and state residency.

Efle did a great job of explaining it. I think that there is one thing you are never to young to do, is volunteer. I cannot elaborate on how many amazing experiences I've had from getting my foot in the door. I'm applying for an ER Tech job later this fall and know four physicians and two surgeons that wouldn't mind putting in a good word for me. Not to mention, I've been able to watch 30+ surgeries and I've enjoyed it so much.

I even created a log book because I'm starting this Summer as a premedical student with a few pre-req courses. On top of that I've met lots of different kinds of people and it's reassured me that medicine is the path I want to proceed down. So many things interest me now, and to think before I just wanted to do emergency medicine. I'm interested in: internal medicine, general surgery, maternal fetal medicine, neurology; just to name a few.

I think one of the best things you can do is to get your foot in the door at a small/medium size hospital and see what kind of opportunities you can find. It's given me more motivation than before, possible job opportunities, mentors, and so much more.

I hope some of this helps! 🙂

P.S. I forgot cardiology.