I am starting a pre-med program, and need advice.?
405774
You are perfectly on track and looking for more - GREAT. My kind of person.\n\nTwo things:-\n\n1) Since you have a lot of time on you, (in terms of years) - not that you will really be a lot free with the pre-med program --> Start with USMLE Step 1 topics. USMLE Step 1 is an exam generally taken after the 2nd year of medschool. But starting and being prepared with that for over the years will help you get EASILY through the medschool interviews.\n\n2) Medical Research! Get published. Recently Stanford started a program where they are taking in students who have some research background in the 9th grade! All IVYs are expected to follow, soon the others will.\n\n*Medical education is getting tougher, moreso longer, by the day.
62239
Well there really isn't such a thing as a pre-med major. In most schools that say they have a pre-med program really have a student major in one of the sciences and take the requisite courses toward medical school (and there really are very few required courses--gen chem, organic chem, majors biology, physics, and sometimes genetics). Pre-health has arisen to include those students who want to go to vet school, dental school, optometry school, etc. But, the requirements are not all that much different for all the health professions, so I don't think it really matters what you call it.\n\nI would want to make a decision based not on what they call it, but what results they have. Ask each of the schools you are considering to tell you their acceptance rate to medical school. How many of their students go on to medical school? If they tell you they don't know or that very few students go to medical school then you probably want to consider why that is.\n\nThe other thing you want to find out is what support they offer you. What kind of premedical/prehealth advising do they offer? What kind of preparation programs (MCAT prep, interview prep, etc) do they offer?\n\nRemember, also, that you don't have to be a science major to get into medical school. You just need your basic science courses. Consider that if a social science or humanities major might work for you then you can pursue that. Remember that they will teach you all the science you need in medical school. Use undergraduate school to help you learn to think about complex problems, communicate well orally and in writing, understand the world and people in it, appreciate diversity and the differing views of others. Since you want to be a pediatrician take some elective courses in child psychology, family studies, things like that. Pediatricians have to work with a much broader segment of persons and are much more relationship oriented than are many of the other specialties.\n\nGood luck to you!
66607
Even with your bachelor of science in nursing, medical schools will still want to see that their prerequisites for admission (courses you need to take) are satisfied.  Basically, you'll need to complete a pre-med program at your school in addition to your B.S. in Nursing.  The good news is, since you majored in a science (healthcare at that) most of your pre-med courses (if not all) are probably completed!\n\nAs for med. school pre-reqs, I think they are pretty similar nationwide, but some schools may have varying requirements.  In Texas, most medical schools, at the minimum, require:\n\nEnglish/Rhetoric/Composition I and II, Inorganic and Organic Chemistry with labs, Biology I, II, III and electives with labs, a semester of Calculus, and University/Engineering Physics I and II with labs.\n\nI'm willing to bet that your university has a pre-medical advisor or department that will have all the information you need.  If you go to your university's website you'll probably be able to search online for pre-med course requirements.  Also, check out and search websites for med. schools you are interested in attending.  They will definitely spell out exactly the courses you need to have under your belt.\n\nGood luck!
220297
Are you taking about becoming a physician?  You would want to choose a Pre-med program that will do you well launching into the medical college you choose in the end.  \n\nFor example, Getting a BS in Nursing or Clinical Laboratory Science are very good degree programs designed to prepare you for becoming a doctor.\n\nHere is a website with more information:\n\nhttp://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/14365.html\n\nThe first thing I would concentrate on is being more thorough in your spelling and composition skills.  I assure you, that will be very important.  The spell check option is one way to approach this conundrum.
554721
i assume you are interviewing for an 8 year program so this is quite a bit different to the interview process i went through for med school, but there are still some points that i can give for advice.\n\n1. have something non-academic that you are passionate about and think about it before hand.  they want to know that you are a well-rounded student and are eager to learn about everything.\n\n2. read, read and read some more.  the year before I applied i kind of made it my goal to be familiar with the current state of healthcare.  i was asked several times what i thought the state of healthcare would be in 10 years when i was practicing.  so be able to talk about the problems with our current healthcare systems, new directions medicine is taking (noninvasive care, gene therapy, preventive medicine, etc.) as well as any issues that particularly important to you (indigent care, family practice..whatever)\n\n3. know why you want to go to medical school.  really.  think about it.  don't just repeat your personal statement, they've read that.  it's a big decision so make sure you know why you're going into it.\n\n4. have questions for them.  it is always good to have a list of school-specific questions to ask at the end of your interview.   it shows that you're very interested and if you hit the right topics, you can let them show off their school (every interviewer loves talking up their institution).\n\n5. a simple one, but one that can ruin the process...don't be late.  if you are not familiar with the area, get there the day before and do a test run or if you don't have an extra day, just get there extra early and hang out at a coffee shop nearby and prepare.  there's nothing worse than rushing from the airport to an interview and getting there with no time to prep.\n\nhope this helps...good luck\n\noh, and you can always check out forums.studentdoctor.net but beware...the people who post on their are very aggressive and cutthroat.
975384
Go for it.\n\nYou don't need to take any science courses beyond what are required by medical schools if you don't want to. The prerequisites will be plenty of preparation for medical school, if you do well in them. \n\nThe fact that you can write proper sentences is a nice plus :)
1171290
Going to med school?\nI suggest you read the books then...
826776
You want to start a medical school - as in a school that teaches people to become doctors? I think the look of your business cards will be the FARTHEST thing you need to consider.\n\n1. Do you have the funds to buy your own school building, hire professors to teach would-be doctors? \n\n2. Do you have the funds to buy all the medical equipment you need?\n\n3. You need to develop a curriculum that would give students the knowledge they need to pass the courses, be licensed and actually knows how to heal.\n\n4. You need tremendous insurance\n\n5. Do you have the funds to maintain the building, the facilities, equipment and classrooms?
970591
This is not a decision you have to make now. I would say at this point just take General Chemistry and General Biology along with general education courses at the community college and concentrate on making good grades. After you have completed these courses you will have a better idea of what you would like to major in - Biology or something like English or History.\n\nIt is true that the more science you have, the better chance you will have on the MCAT but medical schools do not require that you major in a science. In fact, they are pleased when a candidate for med school has a broad liberal arts education in addition to the pre-med requirements.\n\nI wish you well at the community college. It is really important that almost all of your grades are A.\n\ns
452418
you will need to go to med school for like 10 yrs first..and you have to get really good grades..come on, you'd be dealing with peoples lives!! It's very intense studing..you think you're up for it??
800836
Check this out - just make sure to take all the pre-reqs for med school. You'll be home free\n\nhttp://www.temple.edu/healthadvising/medman.html#CONSIDERING
421342
The best person to get this advice from is an administrator at your college.  Otherwise, you might not end up taking the classes that you will need to go pre-med.  Each institution has different classes that it requires, so it's best to go to a professional so you don't end up wasting money and time taking unnecessary classes.
758252
Doing well in school and on the MCAT is a good start of course, but what I think really helped me get my acceptance was the experience I had with health care prior to applying.  \n\nThere are two really good benefits of getting some exposure to health care before applying to med schools.  First of all, you will find out if its really for you.  Secondly, when it comes time for interviews, you can more easily convince the interviewer that you know this is the right path for you.  How do you know?  Because you've already been involved.  \n\nVolunteering at a hospital or shadowing a physician is probably the most common kind of experience people look for, but anything that is health care related (ie; involves doctors) works.  For me, I had been a substance abuse counselor at a medical model treatment facility, so I'd had a lot of interaction with patients and had worked with doctors.  \n\nAlso, you want to be able to demonstrate that you are compassionate, and want to help people.  It's easy to say it, but its better to do it.  Any kind of volunteer experience is good; I had volunteered at a homeless center for several years and my interviewer was clearly impressed by that.\n\nThe MCAT and GPA will get you the interview (maybe); the experience you collect will help you get the acceptance.\n\nGood luck!  It's a long road, but its totally doable if you have the right vision for it.
896819
From previous research into med schools, I would recommend getting a pre-med BS because of the sciences.  You'll probably want to take microbiology, histology, general and organic chemistry to give you a better background for the first 2 years of med school.  It can be done with a psychology degree but it may be more difficult.
772809
You have a long way to go before worrying too much.  Get into college first, do well in undergrad.  Get into med school.  There is a long way ahead of you, and you have to make sure this is what you really want.  Honestly, not having all A's in 10th grade won't bar you from med school.  I know people that got B's in some Biology courses that got into med school just fine and are well on their way to being doctors.  But Undergrad is generally a lot harder than High School, and Med School is infinitely harder than undergrad, so if you're struggling with straight A's right now, just think what it will be like to struggle for straight A's in college.  I'm not trying to discourage you, but there is a lot to do before you're really ready to become a doctor.  After high school the next 12 years of your life are devoted to becoming the best damn doctor you can be.\n\nThe 12 years after high school are generally, 4 years of undergrad (Pre-Med), 4 years of Med-School, and mostly 4 years of a residency, depends on the specialty.  The undergrad years are generally your most fun, but are still crucial.  Now I don't want you to be a naive little gunner and overwhelm yourself like most pre-meds, so watch out for scheduling yourself to do too much (volunteering at the hospital, trying to do some extra research, taking too many hard classes at once, doing shadowing rotations).  And while you are doing extra curriculars, make sure you're making them worthwhile, like if you're shadowing a pediatrician, ask them as many questions as you can without coming off annoying.  Just do your best in these years, and keep your GPA high and study as much as you can for the MC AT (Expect to study up to 6-8 hours a day).  Then once you do get accepted into a med-school, prepare for the first stage of hell.  It will involve constant studying, with maybe a few hours A WEEK for fun, and not much time for you to have a fun life.  A residency is your next step, and once you're there, you will spend time running around the hospital picking up as much info as you can on how to become a pediatrician.\n\nJust don't buy into all the glam our of the life of a doctor, you might change your mind about becoming one, or might change your specialty, or who knows.  There is a lot of work ahead of you kid, and I wish you the best of luck, but make sure you have your wits about you, and actually understand the profession inside and out.  And understand that you'll end up in debt most likely, and that family life will be really hard while in med school.  Realize that malpractice insurance comes with the job, and that not just bad doctors get sued.  Becoming a pediatrician is one of the most prestigious careers you can choose, but it comes with so many hardships that anyone who is too weak will be sorted out very quickly, make sure you know what you're in for, and that you're strong enough to make it.  Best of luck.
728074
Very few schools offer PRE-MED.  Get a degree in biology or any science like that.  Make  good grades.  Takes lots of math. Med school will count your GPA in college, the interview and the PSAT's score. GL and congrats on your surviving cancier.
382529
I always tell pre-meds to avoid pre-med majors. why? because they're full of PRE-MEDs!!!\n\nDo an easy major and you will have a lot less pressure and competition to deal with. Do your pre-reqs for med school and take a lot of neurosci and psych classes. Psych is actually a good major for pre-meds, so if that interests you, go there. but avoid BIOpsych because it's a pre-med major.\n\nIf you can, you should do a lot of related extra-curriculars. Volunteer in a psych ward. Do research in a psychology lab or neuro lab. Shadow some psychiatrists. Volunteer as a peer counselor next year. That will make you look really good to medical schools.