When to Start?

[Lehigh2017]

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I was just accepted to college, yes, the undergraduate kind. If there's one thing I regret about that whole process it would be that I didn't start ANYTHING of value until my sophomore year. So, without giving up a second, let me ask all of you:

What can I be doing right now and in my first year in college to prepare myself for med school admissions? Should I be starting extracurriculars now? Shadowing? Studying? I know I'm probably a bit early, but it can't hurt!

 

[487806]

I was just accepted to college, yes, the undergraduate kind. If there's one thing I regret about that whole process it would be that I didn't start ANYTHING of value until my sophomore year. So, without giving up a second, let me ask all of you:

What can I be doing right now and in my first year in college to prepare myself for med school admissions? Should I be starting extracurriculars now? Shadowing? Studying? I know I'm probably a bit early, but it can't hurt!

This should be asked in hSDN. Back to the main point. While it's good to start things early, I wouldn't rush it. Freshman year requires adjusting and many premeds collapse in studies and get very poor grades, for which they spend the next three years trying to repair their GPA. Be comfortable with your new surroundings and get good grades. Once you're settled, then start your activities.

 

[tn4596]

Some shadowing is nice, but don't overdo it. You can start volunteer sophomore year. As a freshman, you are not rly expected do accomplish a lot. Just try to ace all your classes

 

[Xenops]

While it's good to start things early, I wouldn't rush it. Freshman year requires adjusting and many premeds collapse in studies and get very poor grades, for which they spend the next three years trying to repair their GPA. Be comfortable with your new surroundings and get good grades. Once you're settled, then start your activities.

GPA repair sucks, so make sure you have good grades from the start. Maybe, MAYBE continue in a hobby you enjoy that you will still be doing later, but that's it.

 

[Lehigh2017]

Sorry, I didn't realize there was a hSDN. Anyway, it would be okay to not have any ECs or anything really during freshman year?

I already like this site... So much information!

 

[MedPR]

Sorry, I didn't realize there was a hSDN. Anyway, it would be okay to not have any ECs or anything really during freshman year?

I already like this site... So much information!

It would be ok, but you should have enough time to do something beneficial outside of class.

 

[dsoz]

This should be asked in hSDN. Back to the main point. While it's good to start things early, I wouldn't rush it. Freshman year requires adjusting and many premeds collapse in studies and get very poor grades, for which they spend the next three years trying to repair their GPA. Be comfortable with your new surroundings and get good grades. Once you're settled, then start your activities.

+1

GPA repair sucks, so make sure you have good grades from the start. Maybe, MAYBE continue in a hobby you enjoy that you will still be doing later, but that's it.

+1

Do your best in both gen chem and bio. If you can pull A's in both of those and get a couple of other gen Ed classes out of the way (keeping greater than a 3.5, a 3.8 to 4.0 would be best).

Live a little, but don't get to caught up in the party scene. Don't get in trouble (alcohol, drugs, or sex that can lead to having children). Learn whether you can handle college life, THEN branch out and volunteer your sophomore year. Junior year add shadowing. Senior year apply to med school.

Good luck. With hard work anything is possible.

dsoz

 

[Vudar]

You should be volunteering 20 hours a week (at a bare minimum) in a clinical setting and spending another 20 hours a week on a medically related research project completely directed and funded by grants written by yourself at a highly regarded institution while preparing for the MCAT. Obviously.



😀 Just kidding. Everyone above me is correct. Get good grades and have some fun. You will have plenty of time to stress about Volunteering, Research and the MCAT once you get settled.

 

[MedPR]

You should be volunteering 20 hours a week (at a bare minimum) in a clinical setting and spending another 20 hours a week on a medically related research project completely directed and funded by grants written by yourself at a highly regarded institution while preparing for the MCAT. Obviously.



😀 Just kidding. Everyone above me is correct. Get good grades and have some fun. You will have plenty of time to stress about Volunteering, Research and the MCAT once you get settled.

Just as I was getting ready to find a nice (mean) gif for you 😉

 

[911 Turbo]

don't be the premed everyone hates

don't tell anyone that you are thinking about a sub specialty (seriously don't do this its ****ing annoying as ****)

don't pretend to have any knowledge whatsoever on a medical condition that one of your friends has

don't be a know it all

don't ask too many questions in class, research, or volunteering. if you don't know what this means, limit your questions to about 1 every 10 minutes

don't ask the TA (in front of everyone else) if you can wear scrubs to bio lab

don't join AMSA

don't join the premed club at your school

don't **** your grades up freshman year

don't join a frat/sorority

make friends

get a hot girlfriend. don't settle for anything less than an 8/10 srs. get laid frequently

go out with friends

don't do meth or cocaine. weed and alcohol are fine as long as there is a 100% chance you won't get caught.

don't take adderall

don't think that SDN is the average because it isnt

find ALL of your teachers using MyEdu

FIND RESEARCH
FIND RESEARCH
FIND RESEARCH



seriously tho the most important piece of advice I can give you is to never be the premed everyone hates. because once you do one douchebag stereotypical premed thing, you will always be remembered as "that kid"

 

[MedPR]

don't be the premed everyone hates

don't tell anyone that you are thinking about a sub specialty (seriously don't do this its ****ing annoying as ****)

don't pretend to have any knowledge whatsoever on a medical condition that one of your friends has

don't be a know it all

don't ask too many questions in class, research, or volunteering. if you don't know what this means, limit your questions to about 1 every 10 minutes

don't ask the TA (in front of everyone else) if you can wear scrubs to bio lab

don't join AMSA

don't join the premed club at your school

don't **** your grades up freshman year

don't join a frat/sorority

make friends

get a hot girlfriend. don't settle for anything less than an 8/10 srs. get laid frequently

go out with friends

don't do meth or cocaine. weed and alcohol are fine as long as there is a 100% chance you won't get caught.

don't take adderall

don't think that SDN is the average because it isnt

find ALL of your teachers using MyEdu

FIND RESEARCH
FIND RESEARCH
FIND RESEARCH



seriously tho the most important piece of advice I can give you is to never be the premed everyone hates. because once you do one douchebag stereotypical premed thing, you will always be remembered as "that kid"

We've all been that kid. It's good for building character.

 

[911 Turbo]

Here is an almost perfect example of how premeds should not behave.



[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS39cF6BRjE[/YOUTUBE]

 

[IncognitoGuy]

Spend your first year exploring - don't pigeonhole yourself into cookie-cutter premed shenanigans when there's so much more to college.

Of course, grades are imperative, so keep them up. Otherwise, you could do some shadowing to test your interest but just enjoy yourself. I didn't start my ECs until Sophomore year, mostly because I was a pretty lazy freshman.

 

[deleted357625]

There are countless threads on this. Search function --> Top right.

 

[Geebeejay]

I was just accepted to college, yes, the undergraduate kind. If there's one thing I regret about that whole process it would be that I didn't start ANYTHING of value until my sophomore year. So, without giving up a second, let me ask all of you:

What can I be doing right now and in my first year in college to prepare myself for med school admissions? Should I be starting extracurriculars now? Shadowing? Studying? I know I'm probably a bit early, but it can't hurt!

You play or watch football Lehigh? If you do, then you know if you move your eyes downfield and get ready to run before the ball even arrives, you're not going to catch it.

 

[Lady Netter]

Take your first semester off - don't do anything except school and maybe go to a few meetings or do IM sports or something to meet people. But don't go overboard - pick maybe one thing...or two. Do something so you can actually meet people, but that's all you need to do your first semester.

If you find that you're handling the schoolwork fine, then you could probably handle finding one volunteer opportunity second semester. Something easy - something that doesn't require a lot of hours.

Maybe try your hand at research the summer after your first year (start looking second semester). If not, do something productive - take a class or take some time off, but if you take time off, use that time to shadow.

If you handled first year, add another volunteer opportunity if you so wish or more activities. Just add them one at a time - if you feel that you can handle it, then add more. But always remember that school comes first - your GPA and MCAT is what gets you in the door, not your extracurriculars.

Shadowing is easiest to do during breaks so you can shadow for more than one day and for longer. That way you can actually get a better idea of what goes on and you can build a relationship with the doctor who you might need to get an LOR from in the future.

 

[Lehigh2017]

Thanks for all the input - it's definitely not what I was expecting, which is a good thing. So I guess I have a while to worry about all of this.

 

[mikomistars]

Yah, you can probably take the first semester just to familiarize yourself with college. That is what i did. And second semester, you can probably start volunteering or doing something productive. Summer after freshman year should be the latest to start getting clinical/non-clinical volunteering (and/or shadowing, research etc).