Pre Med Questions

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by adpiucf

My friend's son will be starting college in the fall. He is interested in pre-med. Any med students/doctors out there willing to share what factors they took into account into selecting their undergraduate university? Or what they wish they had known before selecting an undergrad with the intent to go on to med school?

Additional info and another question: this kid has been accepted to several schools instate, and has gotten invitations to join the honors program at all of them except for the flagship state school. Is it better to go to another state school and be in their honors program, or go to the main school in the state? What about the large state school w/o honors program versus a small private school (well regarded academically, but certainly not an Ivy or a Top 50) with the honors program

Thanks so much!

He's not really doing Pre-Med, is he? I actually do have a BS in Pre-Med. What a worthless degree. A lot of admissions officers actually like to see non-science majors who just take the pre-recs because they help make for a more diverse class. You know, he really should just go where he wants to go, where he'll have a good experience. Medical schools aren't that preferential. He will just need to take the pre-recs to qualify for medical school. You can get in no matter how podunk or fancy the school is if your grades are good, you make a good score on your MCAT and have a well rounded application. If you are looking to go to a private medical school or more prestigious school, then your university choice MAY be more important. Really, though, participating in research during college including having your name on a publication or doing significant volunteer work is important. Most students go to medical school in the same state where they claim residency, so keep that in mind.

ETA: I guess I didn't fully answer your question: I picked NLU because I didn't have to take calculus!

[Kappamd]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

He's not really doing Pre-Med, is he? I actually do have a BS in Pre-Med. What a worthless degree. A lot of admissions officers actually like to see non-science majors who just take the pre-recs because they help make for a more diverse class. You know, he really should just go where he wants to go, where he'll have a good experience. Medical schools aren't that preferential. He will just need to take the pre-recs to qualify for medical school. You can get in no matter how podunk or fancy the school is if your grades are good, you make a good score on your MCAT and have a well rounded application. If you are looking to go to a private medical school or more prestigious school, then your university choice MAY be more important. Really, though, participating in research during college including having your name on a publication or doing significant volunteer work is important. Most students go to medical school in the same state where they claim residency, so keep that in mind.

ETA: I guess I didn't fully answer your question: I picked NLU because I didn't have to take calculus!

LOL, I didn't know you could actually get a degree in "pre-med" anywhere.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by Kappamd

LOL, I didn't know you could actually get a degree in "pre-med" anywhere.

Ha, ha! You could until the early 90s. They tried to phase it out on me during my sophomore year, but I was on a 4 year scholarship and switching to a biology degree (Pre-med was a combo of bio minor and chem minor) would have put me behind by a year. I told them that they couldn't make me change my major so they let me finish in Pre-med. Thank God I got into med school! I do have a minor in chemistry, though (couldn't get one in biology since they moved me into the biology department.)