Help for starting premeds

[d.anthony]

Hi, i am a highschool senior at a prepschool in FL and i am taking biomedical engineering premed next yr at University of Miami.. and i was wondering if there was any advice i could get over the do's and donts of premed. and things you guys are learning now and/or maybe you wished you knew when you started... I am a pretty good student very good in chemistry but err B's in my pre-calculus class now. How can i prepare myself for teh math of premed and overall is there anything i should know that would help me succeed. I want to go to UM med school and possibly specialize in surgury. i am undecided. i have a few doctors in my family so i kinda have connections.

[Chemist_11]

Hi,
i will also be a pre med soon (nov 2005) and i was curious that you say you get B's in calculas, what did you get in biology, chemistry etc.?
I will be studying chemistry biology physics mathematics and computer technology, but i am worried that you say you may want to specialise in surgery :s how can you say that at such an early time.

*****

[Nimitt]

I would say study hard and dont get ahead of yourselves and focus on the courses you are taking learn them well. Getting involved in research is one path you can take (med schools love publications), volunteer or shadow a doctor, do summer programs at med schools (most have them for premed students) are some other avenues.
Prepare well for the MCATS and when doing that do lots of questions. I didnt do horrible but I could have improved more if I had done more practice questions.
Good Luck...

[wolfvgang22]

Hi, i am a highschool senior at a prepschool in FL and i am taking biomedical engineering premed next yr at University of Miami.. and i was wondering if there was any advice i could get over the do's and donts of premed. and things you guys are learning now and/or maybe you wished you knew when you started... I am a pretty good student very good in chemistry but err B's in my pre-calculus class now. How can i prepare myself for teh math of premed and overall is there anything i should know that would help me succeed. I want to go to UM med school and possibly specialize in surgury. i am undecided. i have a few doctors in my family so i kinda have connections.
Just yesterday I told my wife that if I were to do things all over again, as a college freshman here's what I would do if I could retain all the knowledge I have now today:
1.)I would do all of the basics (courses required by most schools to obtain a bachelors, like english, history, etc) at my well-respected community college. It is much cheaper than attending university right away, provides just as good an education in the basics, and the credits will transfer to most universities with no problem. Also, the college provides a lot of help for students like myself who never learned to study in high school. (I never had to until late in college.)
I wouldn't stay up late and party so much, and so I wouldn't have to skip class because of the rough mornings following the excessive fun.

2.) I would space out challenging science and math courses so I could maximize the grades received in those courses. At one point I took physics, calculus, biochemistry, anatomy and physiology II, and microbiology all in one semester, while working full time at a discount store. Do NOT do this! I should have only taken one or two such courses per semester.

3.) I would maximize my GPA by taking the easiest courses possible that are not required for my final goal of med school, like bowling instead of "German history from 1825". If I wanted to take such killer courses, I should have audited them for no grade or talked to the professor and read his recommended books.

4.) Keep your credit good! Do not get credit cards and run up the balances, or fail to pay bills on time. Read about how to keep your credit good. Most college freshman have no idea how important this is, but it is just as important as good grades. You cannot get loans for med school if you have bad credit. I wish someone had told me that when I was a freshman and Discover was handing out brochures, slinky's, and free calculators in the university cafeteria. One friend of mine got his credit card and went straight to the store and bought a grocery cart full of twinkies and junk food! Needless to say, he ended up with major problems financially.

While watching many of your buddies fail out or flounder during your freshman year, keep in mind that higher education is about money - your money. It's a business. Have fun, but don't forget that or you'll party your way right out of your chance to go to a US med school.

That said, I am happy with the way things are turning out for the most part even though I didn't do any of that, as making mistakes is part of living and learning and growing. But now I gotta pay for all that growing, by putting up with the headaches of off-shore med school. 8)
Good luck!

[RavenFighter04]

I agree with taking easy courses, but don't go overboard. They want to make sure you can handle the stress of med school, so they want some difficulty level. Don't take four PE courses each semester. Take what you're interested in. You'll be surprised.

[bckwood]

Biggest thing besides the obvious academics, is to get involved in something outside of school. Med schools love to see people that can balance a life outside of Academia.
Also the one thing that is always asked during our med school interviews here at my university is; 'have you followed a Dr. around?'. If you say you wanna go into surgery, you better back that up in your interview by saying that you followed Dr. Soandso around for a couple of days. Alot of people say in their personal statement that they want to be MDs in the underserved communities because they know that there is a shortage, but when asked about this in their interview they have nothing to back it up with.

Bottem line, do something outside of school (volunteer at a hopital, nursing home, or hospice), follow a doctor, and do good in school.

[AUCMD2006]

Most importantly:

Major in something EASY get that GPA to a 4.0 and take the required classes for med school admission plus 1 or 2 upper level science classes to demonstrate ability.

schools don't care about your major, they care about their overall admission GPA just look at the majors of med students. i made the mistake of majoring in biology and chemistry ended up with a 3.4 and going to the caribbean for med school.

the US med students i am rotating with now are economics, computer sci, psych, and music majors..oh and i ran into a math major..bastards knew the trick to get in was to pad your gpa..while i was in the analytical chem lab these people were playing music or playing video games...

unless you wanna do bio eng of course as a carreer if med school doesn't work out....

[Tyson]

Ya what they said...

and another thing... Don't drink to much especially during the week. Its killer on the grades.