[lucky_me_noodle]

I'm thinking of switching my course to psychology or biomedical but I wonder what are the most common requirements to get accepted to college in taking the course you will pursue?

[strawberry88]

Hello~
I'm in second year university right now and I'm still in the process of taking the med school prereq's... I took seven of them already in first year and I don't have very many more to go. The problem is... I didn't do too well in first year. So I don't have very many more courses to pull the entire average up anymore.
I know the entrance average is around 80-ish, but would it still be okay if it's around 75 to 78-ish?
I'm so stressed out about my marks right now... *sigh*

Thank you in advance to anyone who could help me!

[mainweather]

I'm in second year university right now and I'm still in the process of taking the med school prereq's... I took seven of them already in first year and I don't have very many more to go. The problem is... I didn't do too well in first year. So I don't have very many more courses to pull the entire average up anymore.
I know the entrance average is around 80-ish, but would it still be okay if it's around 75 to 78-ish?
I'm so stressed out about my marks right now... *sigh*

I would try to retake a couple of classes to get a higher score. Getting a low score in one of the required classes isn't horrible, but it doesn't look too good either.

[evoJDM pauL]

Whats the gpa requirement for getting into the USC dental hygiene program?

[mz.carolyn]

Hey guys, I'm currently a freshman in college, and I've decided on the pre-med track. I'm already taking bio + chem this year, as recommended by my school, and will be starting organic chem next year (eeeek!)
But my problem is what to declare as my major. =p I've heard that med schools look at 3 things, in terms of academics. They look at your overall GPA, your science GPA, and your MCAT score. I was originally going to declare my major as bio, but I've heard from other students currently in med school that it's not worth it? They said as long as you fulfill the core requirements for premed (bio, chem, physics, english, etc) you can do whatever major. I was considering psychology as a major instead then, because I don't want my science GPA to be ruined by these upper level bio classes that aren't even required for med school. But on the other hand, since I understand bio much more easily than chem, I was thinking that being a bio major might also help balance out my average chem grades.
Any advice?
Sorry, this was such a mouthful =p But I'm stuck, and I thought it'd be best to get advice from the people who already went through this. :]

[euphoros]

I'm thinking of switching my course to psychology or biomedical but I wonder what are the most common requirements to get accepted to college in taking the course you will pursue?

You mean you want to switch your major to psychology or something related into the biomedical sciences? You could do that. It wouldn't matter if you were a history major or an art major. All you need is to fulfill the requirements. Or do you mean as a class? If you are in high school, take psychology, biology, chemistry, physics, and anatomy. If you could, ask one of your teachers to help you find any classes related to the medical field. If you are talking about college as a course, it is a requirement to take one of the social courses if you don't have any AP or IB credit for them. Psychology might be helpful. But if you want to pursue a medical career, the common requirements need to get accepted into medical school are: Take science classes like Biology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics, and Math. Some other social sciences would be nice like Psychology or any course that is related to science or anything that interests you. Good MCAT and GPA scores. Not only that, volunteer and clinical exposure. Show that you care for your community and people.

If you are talking how to get accepted into college, I think you are at the wrong spot since this only for medical school questions. But in order to get accepted into college, good GPA, good SAT/ACT scores, and good essay. And that's it? If you want to get into a good college, you might prepare yourself for an interview. It doesn't matter what course you are pursuing. Sometimes people change their major/course all the time.

Whats the gpa requirement for getting into the USC dental hygiene program?

I think its a good idea if your GPA is around a 3.5 or higher, just in case.

Hey guys, I'm currently a freshman in college, and I've decided on the pre-med track. I'm already taking bio + chem this year, as recommended by my school, and will be starting organic chem next year (eeeek!)
But my problem is what to declare as my major. =p I've heard that med schools look at 3 things, in terms of academics. They look at your overall GPA, your science GPA, and your MCAT score. I was originally going to declare my major as bio, but I've heard from other students currently in med school that it's not worth it? They said as long as you fulfill the core requirements for premed (bio, chem, physics, english, etc) you can do whatever major. I was considering psychology as a major instead then, because I don't want my science GPA to be ruined by these upper level bio classes that aren't even required for med school. But on the other hand, since I understand bio much more easily than chem, I was thinking that being a bio major might also help balance out my average chem grades.
Any advice?
Sorry, this was such a mouthful =p But I'm stuck, and I thought it'd be best to get advice from the people who already went through this. :]

Well right now, I'm a sophomore in college and I also didn't know what major to declared, but now...I am a Molecular Biology and Microbiology major and hopefully a minor in Psychology. If you want to declare your major as Biology, you can. You also declare your major as Psychology or English. It doesn't matter. The thing is, students find it stressful to take your core requirements and the requirements of their major. And some find it annoying.

Psychology is a good major and different. But if you truly enjoy Biology, and not Psychology. Stick with the Biology major and perhaps do a double-major with Biology and Psychology and might be a little bit more work. I will advise you to just to stick with Biology because it seems like you enjoy Biology, and not Psychology. It is true that medical school likes variety, but that's not all they are looking it. They will get to know you when you go through the interview process.

I don't think majors are really important as long as they like a variety of classes and you show your interest in medicine and you do clinical work. It is just my opinion, but do something you love. And work and study for it. Its going to be a hard and long journey.

Good luck! Hope these answers help you guys, if not. Sorry. Hahaha. I'm in a rush since I have to drive my cousin home.

[evoJDM pauL]

should i tell my friend to change his major? because he's majoring in dental hygiene, and so far his gpa is 2.5 (very sad, i know) and this is his third year in a community college

[euphoros]

should i tell my friend to change his major? because he's majoring in dental hygiene, and so far his gpa is 2.5 (very sad, i know) and this is his third year in a community college

Third year in community college? Well my friend did horrible in community college, he got a 2.5, but he then started to go into the military and did rounds in the medical care unit in Iraq. And he now has like a 3.8 or something like that in college, but he mostly got straight A's in the hardest classes and he is majoring in...the same major as I. Hm. He doesn't have to change his major, but if he doesn't like it, he should change it but either way, I think the dental school if he gets accepted would ask him why his GPA is so low? Perhaps he can make it up with his DAT scores and volunteer/clinical experience. What is his reason in getting such a bad GPA? There are other factors you know that dental school look into like work or family problems... What is his overall science GPA?

[sle3pyguii]

Hey guys, I'm currently a freshman in college, and I've decided on the pre-med track. I'm already taking bio + chem this year, as recommended by my school, and will be starting organic chem next year (eeeek!)
But my problem is what to declare as my major. =p I've heard that med schools look at 3 things, in terms of academics. They look at your overall GPA, your science GPA, and your MCAT score. I was originally going to declare my major as bio, but I've heard from other students currently in med school that it's not worth it? They said as long as you fulfill the core requirements for premed (bio, chem, physics, english, etc) you can do whatever major. I was considering psychology as a major instead then, because I don't want my science GPA to be ruined by these upper level bio classes that aren't even required for med school. But on the other hand, since I understand bio much more easily than chem, I was thinking that being a bio major might also help balance out my average chem grades.
Any advice?
Sorry, this was such a mouthful =p But I'm stuck, and I thought it'd be best to get advice from the people who already went through this. :]

Major in what you like. Most health-profession schools don't care what your degree is as long as you have the pre-req courses done. I'm a creative writing major and pre-health and it's awesome.

[evoJDM pauL]

Third year in community college? Well my friend did horrible in community college, he got a 2.5, but he then started to go into the military and did rounds in the medical care unit in Iraq. And he now has like a 3.8 or something like that in college, but he mostly got straight A's in the hardest classes and he is majoring in...the same major as I. Hm. He doesn't have to change his major, but if he doesn't like it, he should change it but either way, I think the dental school if he gets accepted would ask him why his GPA is so low? Perhaps he can make it up with his DAT scores and volunteer/clinical experience. What is his reason in getting such a bad GPA? There are other factors you know that dental school look into like work or family problems... What is his overall science GPA?

his overall gpa is 2.5 right now..right now hes taking microbio, math170, and art100 to..next semester hes going to take some more class to try to bump his gpa..but i dont know if one more year will help him jump his GPA up if he passes the classes with an A or B's..what do you think?

[emc123]

so i want to become a doctor. perhaps an anesthesiologist or obgyn but i'm not very good at my premed classes. i am majoring in classics and love my major, but i don't think i'll make anything w/ a degree in classics. if you're only getting 3.0s in your premed classes do you think it means that i shouldn't become a doctor?

[f_ishie]

My dream goal is to be a pediatrician, and i'm only a sophmore in highschool, but i don't htink my GPA is high enough for any of hte rly good colleges..
wat colleges r rly good for premed?

[joonage]

so i want to become a doctor. perhaps an anesthesiologist or obgyn but i'm not very good at my premed classes. i am majoring in classics and love my major, but i don't think i'll make anything w/ a degree in classics. if you're only getting 3.0s in your premed classes do you think it means that i shouldn't become a doctor?

It depends. 3.0 is pretty low for a science GPA, but a really high MCAT can override. Also, job shadow, volunteer, clinical experience, research, etc all have a factor in admission. And where you apply has an effect too. A 3.0 probably won't cut it at Johns Hopkins but maybe at Drexel.

Also, anesthesiology is one of the most competitive fields to go into since it has high pay and pretty relaxed hours. Also OB/GYN is one of the "most dangerous" in a way since the chance malpractice is really high. But go for what you want and just strive to to better.

My dream goal is to be a pediatrician, and i'm only a sophmore in highschool, but i don't htink my GPA is high enough for any of hte rly good colleges..
wat colleges r rly good for premed?

You can go anywhere to college. I mean, going to Harvard or Stanford over Pepperdine or University of Colordo will probably have a small factor in determining admisiion, but if you do well in college and MCAT, you'll get accepted. Med schools don't look at high school GPA, so it matters about what you do in college, not necessarily where you go.

Also, I found this one site: http://pandabearmd.com/blog/

It's a blog of a MD (Still a resident in Emergency Medicine I believe) describing a lot of stuff ... It's pretty usefull. I'm still in high school, but it is giving me some more light on the whole med school thing.

[astar]

Do I need to take Calculus 2 for medical school?

My advisor says that I don't need it for medical school.
I'm currently taking statistics, which apparently will actually be more useful for medical school.

[mz.carolyn]

Do I need to take Calculus 2 for medical school?

My advisor says that I don't need it for medical school.
I'm currently taking statistics, which apparently will actually be more useful for medical school.

Is that the intro level to Calculus? Have you already taken a year of Calculus? If you haven't taken Calculus yet...I recommend you take it.
It's not a general pre-med requirement, but there are med schools out there that want you to have a year of Calculus under your belt.
Hope that made sense!

[astar]

I took AP Calc and i also took a placement exam and placed out of calculus 1.

[mz.carolyn]

I took AP Calc and i also took a placement exam and placed out of calculus 1.

So you skipped intro calc right?
A lot of medical schools want you to take a calc class anyways, even though you got exempt from an AP score. For example, AP Biology. Intro biology is one of the pre-med requirements, but even if you tested out of it from an AP exam, the med school wants you to take a higher level of Biology, because they want you to have taken a biology class during college. Does that make sense?
I think your safest path is to take Calc 2. You don't want it to be one of those classes where it's like "It's all because of this class..."

[Degree]

How many times can you take the MCAT?

[asnts88]

^ according to http://www.aspiringdocs.org/ - you can take the MCAT up to three times per calendar year

[joonage]

This really isn't a medical school question, more of a residency question.

If you get matched into a certain program (say Surgery) and dislike it after intern year or like PGY3, are you allowed to change specialties?

Or do you have to match into another specialty again and start over?