Would taking this "pre-med class" be worth it?

[tantekari]

I'm a Microbiology major, and there's this entirely "separate" major that my university lists: "Microbiology with a Pre-Professional Concentration." I looked into it, and the only difference between what I'm doing now and the "pre-professional" major is a class called "An Overview of Select Medical Careers." Apparently I was supposed to take it my freshman year, but didn't-- oops.

As far as I can tell, the class basically tells you about the different careers you can have in medicine, and "how to get into med school." My pre-med adviser is pushing me to take it. Personally, I already know what I want to do in medicine, and I'm pretty sure I can figure out "how to get into med school" without a class, like people have been doing for years.

Basically, I was just wondering if any other universities have something like this, and if it's worth my time, or if I should just stick with figuring it out on my own.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[HoboCommander]

if you're a microbiology major, don't you have to take microbiology anyway?

 

[Depakote]

I'm a Microbiology major, and there's this entirely "separate" major that my university lists: "Microbiology with a Pre-Professional Concentration." I looked into it, and the only difference between what I'm doing now and the "pre-professional" major is a class called "An Overview of Select Medical Careers." Apparently I was supposed to take it my freshman year, but didn't-- oops.

As far as I can tell, the class basically tells you about the different careers you can have in medicine, and "how to get into med school." My pre-med adviser is pushing me to take it. Personally, I already know what I want to do in medicine, and I'm pretty sure I can figure out "how to get into med school" without a class, like people have been doing for years.

Basically, I was just wondering if any other universities have something like this, and if it's worth my time, or if I should just stick with figuring it out on my own.

Well, neither the (alternate) major nor the (pre-professional) class will help you get into medical school.

If you're totally clueless, then I guess the class might help you a bit, but honestly I don't know how much a college class could teach on the subject of admissions (frankly SDN is probably the best source on the matter).

Why is your adviser pushing for it?

Maybe I'm not seeing the other side of the issue, but it seems like time that could be better spent taking real classes.

 

[HoboCommander]

might be worth getting to know the prof and eventually getting a LOR

 

[Katatonic]

I took a class similar to that (Intro to Pre-Med I think was the title) and it was mildly interesting, but not really necessary. The most useful part of the class was the discussion of how to fund your education. SDN provides much more information in my opinion, so take a fun elective instead.

 

[tantekari]

if you're a microbiology major, don't you have to take microbiology anyway?

Right. I've already taken it. The class has nothing to do with Microbio, just tactics for getting into med school yadda yadda yadda.

It's just, at this point in time, I'm already at 17 credit hours a semester and I don't really feel like dropping a class that counts toward my major or minor for a class that isn't worth it in the end.

 

[lizz1702]

my school has a class like that, though interesting, i didn't really learn anything that i couldn't have found here on sdn or on some handout from the office. too bad i didn't realize that my school offered this course as an online class over the normal semesters-- i took it over the summer in an actual classroom.

so my advice is not to take the course unless you absolutely have the time/money to fit it in your schedule

 

[unsung]

I'm a Microbiology major, and there's this entirely "separate" major that my university lists: "Microbiology with a Pre-Professional Concentration." I looked into it, and the only difference between what I'm doing now and the "pre-professional" major is a class called "An Overview of Select Medical Careers." Apparently I was supposed to take it my freshman year, but didn't-- oops.

As far as I can tell, the class basically tells you about the different careers you can have in medicine, and "how to get into med school." My pre-med adviser is pushing me to take it. Personally, I already know what I want to do in medicine, and I'm pretty sure I can figure out "how to get into med school" without a class, like people have been doing for years.

Basically, I was just wondering if any other universities have something like this, and if it's worth my time, or if I should just stick with figuring it out on my own.

It's almost always better to take the "real" version of the class rather than the "pre-health professionals" version of the class. Think about it- which A sounds better to you... an A in "Physics for Pre-med Students" or "Physics for Engineering Majors"? I mean, I actually took the former, and it was actually one of the most poorly organized classes ever. Not even judging the teacher at all, but just the curriculum itself was horrid- the labs didn't coordinate with the material at all, etc. etc. Otoh, most of the other sciences courses I've taken (like say o-chem), where it wasn't specifically designated for pre-med students, I've enjoyed far more.

 

[tantekari]

I guess I wasn't clear enough (I figured I wasn't, but I also didn't want a wall of text).

The classes themselves are not different. As a "Microbiology" major, I'll be taking the exact same classes as a "Microbiology with a Pre-Professional Concentration" major, it's just that they take the one extra class that teaches about medical professions, how to get into med school, etc.

As I thought (and what most people are backing up), usually these classes offer the same things easily found on SDN.

 

[flaahless]

I guess I wasn't clear enough (I figured I wasn't, but I also didn't want a wall of text).

The classes themselves are not different. As a "Microbiology" major, I'll be taking the exact same classes as a "Microbiology with a Pre-Professional Concentration" major, it's just that they take the one extra class that teaches about medical professions, how to get into med school, etc.

As I thought (and what most people are backing up), usually these classes offer the same things easily found on SDN.

I say take the class. I was a micro major and I had a similar class to take called Communities and the Health Professions. It was fun, relaxing and a good opportunity for me to explore other aspects of healthcare. It also gave me an opportunity to network with a lot of health professionals throughout the community. Good luck.

 

[Dulcina]

meh, class sounds lame IMO. I'd rather take a class i'm more interested in. but just my 2cc

 

[Law2Doc]

I guess I wasn't clear enough (I figured I wasn't, but I also didn't want a wall of text).

The classes themselves are not different. As a "Microbiology" major, I'll be taking the exact same classes as a "Microbiology with a Pre-Professional Concentration" major, it's just that they take the one extra class that teaches about medical professions, how to get into med school, etc.

As I thought (and what most people are backing up), usually these classes offer the same things easily found on SDN.

I wouldn't bother. Med schools don't care what courses you take beyond the prereqs. And med schools will teach you all they think you need to know, and then some. As for teaching you how to get into med school, I kind of doubt it. What are they going to do, teach you how to get high GPA/MCAT and to undertake a lot of unique interesting ECs and to interview well? I kind of doubt it.