What would you have done differently in undergrad?

[Butwella]

I will soon be in college and am hoping to go to medical school. I plan to major in Biology. Anyways, do you guys have any advice on what courses to take/not to take that may have been more helpful? Do you regret not spending enough time with friends or maybe not getting involved in clubs etc? I'm really looking for some general advice on how to be prepared for med school!

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[junior23]

study hard, party hard, get involved

 

[Brorthopedic]

Take an easier, non-medical related, major

 

[Butwella]

Take an easier, non-medical related, major

What was your major?

 

[Butwella]

study hard, party hard, get involved

Pretty much my plan.

 

[Brorthopedic]

What was your major?

Biomedical Engineering

 

[TheShaker]

Start lifting freshman year instead senior year and develop interesting hobbies. Also, it would have helped to not be a piece of ****.

 

[badasshairday]

-Major in something other than bio, biochem, molecular bio, or other typical "pre-med" major.
-Have more fun.

 

[673441]

Everything. Maybe have more sex. Ya, definitely more sex!

Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[OnePunchBiopsy]

I always kept my studies first. I would not change this, because IMO the whole point of paying tons of money in tuition is to get your diploma. You will also have to keep a decent GPA to be a competitive medical school applicant.

There will be times in college though when you are on the fence between getting that last bit of studying in before an exam and going out with friends. When in this position I wish I had chosen the latter more often.

Life is about the journey, not the destination.

 

[Ismet]

Moving to hSDN

 

[Mad Jack]

I'd be less of a ****ing dumb***. Classwise? wouldn't change a thing.

 

[sss1219]

Agreed with above. Definitely would take an easier and more interesting major. I would have loved to have spent the free time I would have had doing more extracurriculars and just generally following a healthier lifestyle both emotionally and physically.

 

[efle]

I would have tried to do two semesters abroad instead of just one. Absolutely go abroad if you can.

 

[NYCpremed212]

I would have tried to do two semesters abroad instead of just one. Absolutely go abroad if you can.

Definitely try to do this.

 

[Dr.JD.House]

I wish I would have known about this site going into undergrad, as it's been very helpful! Also, don't major in Biochemistry just because you think it sounds harder and will look better for med school (it won't) and then you'll be stuck taking very chemistry and physics based technique classes (at least at my school) your last semester of senior year that you don't care about especially when you're already accepted to med school. Finally, I wish I would have started volunteering somewhere freshman year instead of sophomore year. Don't go overboard your first year, as it will be important to get your feet wet with a college curriculum, but starting one volunteer or medically related work experience early on in your undergrad career will be very beneficial to bank hours and get exposure in the health care field which will give you a better idea if you want to go into a career in health care.

 

[tiger330]

Major in something practical, whether that's biomedical engineering or education is up to you but, its going to make the application process less stressful if you have something to fall back on. Also, go to the school that is going to give you the most bang for you buck, and where you're going to be happiest. Don't pick a school that's going to cost $100,000 more and cause you way more stress just because its in the top 10 or something. Where you went to undergrad matters much less than I expected it would when I was starting college.

 

[Stagg737]

Major in something practical, whether that's biomedical engineering or education is up to you but, its going to make the application process less stressful if you have something to fall back on. Also, go to the school that is going to give you the most bang for you buck, and where you're going to be happiest. Don't pick a school that's going to cost $100,000 more and cause you way more stress just because its in the top 10 or something. Where you went to undergrad matters much less than I expected it would when I was starting college.

This. Prestige/name matters, but as long as you keep your GPA up and do decently on the MCAT, and don't apply like a ***** you'll get in somewhere. I wish I had learned to study as a freshman. I didn't really study/know what real studying was until my senior year, and by then my GPA was stuck at mediocrity. Do well during your first year or two, and take some time to balance life with school and your life will be much less stressful later. At least until you go to med school...

 

[sss1219]

This. Prestige/name matters, but as long as you keep your GPA up and do decently on the MCAT, and don't apply like a ***** you'll get in somewhere. I wish I had learned to study as a freshman. I didn't really study/know what real studying was until my senior year, and by then my GPA was stuck at mediocrity. Do well during your first year or two, and take some time to balance life with school and your life will be much less stressful later. At least until you go to med school...

And doing a less difficult major will still be held to a high regard if you are at a prestigious university, really wish I had known this. I often looked down upon many of my premed colleagues who were doing easier majors while I pursued immunology in lieu of less sciency albeit more interesting majors. Really wish I had researched more about how successful similar students had been in the past, as I was pretty shocked to see how well said colleagues did in applying. Not to say it was entirely due to my major - I also had now idea how to study at first and this was a major part of this as well

 

[grapp]

Party. But DO NOT get in TROUBLE. So many Med Students screw up and get DUI's and I've heard about undergrads doing this. Do not drink and drive, or use recreational drugs. I'm no-one special, but you definitely have my warning. If you are going to get drunk, be smart about it in your own house/dorm. A disorderly conduct / public intoxication / public - nudity *people get stupid* / DUI could potentially end any possible medical career. I've heard the best of students get in trouble with this, you've been warned OP. I wish you luck, party smart.

 

[Stagg737]

And doing a less difficult major will still be held to a high regard if you are at a prestigious university, really wish I had known this. I often looked down upon many of my premed colleagues who were doing easier majors while I pursued immunology in lieu of less sciency albeit more interesting majors. Really wish I had researched more about how successful similar students had been in the past, as I was pretty shocked to see how well said colleagues did in applying. Not to say it was entirely due to my major - I also had now idea how to study at first and this was a major part of this as well

Yep, I was told by pretty much every advisor/doctor/whoever that my minor would look great and be incredibly useful in medicine making me a much more desirable candidate. All it ended up doing was killing my GPA. As much as it kind of sucks, all that really matters are the GPAs, MCAT, and showing you have some initiative/interests outside of medicine and you can reasonably get in somewhere. Had I known that going in the courses on my transcript would look a lot different than what they are.

 

[KinesiologyNerd]

I was lazy and assumed I would just glide into medical school. It was a struggle to get into an MD school, and I told myself I would never fritter away opportunities again. My performance thus far in medical school tells me the sky was the limit if I had tried in undergrad.

It all worked out, but I'll always wonder what if... Don't do that to yourself.

 

[mr.mkitty]

Major in something you really like and actually can do well in. Figure out your priorities early on. Make a schedule of activities you want to do before you have to apply to medical school and try to actually achieve all those activities.
But most important thing is: Form good relationships with professors and get involved with them. They write your letters of rec and can often help you.

 

[deleted407021]

I wouldn't have taken calculus.

Don't take calculus if 1) it's not in your major and 2) math is something you typically struggle with.

Your sGPA will thank you.

 

[Symphonies]

I wouldn't have taken calculus.

Don't take calculus if 1) it's not in your major and 2) math is something you typically struggle with.

Your sGPA will thank you.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't calc a common prereq in order to apply?

 

[deleted407021]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't calc a common prereq in order to apply?

It's not, though it is true that there are some programs that require it. You can likely find them easily with a few quick Google searches.

I don't usually attempt to dissuade people from taking specific courses or challenging themselves, but I'd definitely had not taken it if I'd known it'd be such a headache.

 

[mr.mkitty]

I get that calc can be annoying for some people; but personally, calc 1 and 2 where some of the few classes I actually enjoyed.

 

[Kurk]

My highschool math teacher said that calculus is gradually turning into the new algebra 1. Schools will start to 'weed out' the weak ones so to speak. I'm only average at math naturally, but I'm able to maintain an A in it through lots of studying and teacher help. This is high-school though so can't say anything about the college level.

Definitely take calculus in my young and inexperienced opinion.

 

[OnePunchBiopsy]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't calc a common prereq in order to apply?

Calculus was a prereq about 6-7 years ago, and it was changed to statistics.

IMO though, don't take calc if you don't have to, esp if you think it will lower your GPA. Med schools are going to look at your GPA first, they won't care if you took calc.

Also, I have never used it throughout the rest of college, medical school, or in the hospital/clinic.