[whoandy]

Seems like lots of people here are stressing over what to major in college. It has been said before in earlier posts and I couldn't have said it better myself but I guess I will iterate it once more: There is no "correct" major for medical school admission. That being said, choose a major you will enjoy and can excel in.

As for undergraduate GPA for medical school admissions, it is extremely, EXTREMELY important. Though, in humble opinion (PLEASE TAKE IT WITH A GRAIN OF SALT), due to so many prevalent grade inflations among undergraduate institutions and excellent performances in college by students nationwide, GPA is seemingly starting to become undermined in medical school admissions. I do not mean to say or imply that GPAs are brushed off but rather, because of the two reasons mentioned in the line above, having a high GPA no longer makes heads turn, if you will. Don't get me wrong though, having a high GPA should be your number one priority. If you look at the stats of students who matriculated over the past years, you will notice that the average GPA of those who matriculated has been on the rise and is still continuing to rise. I guess what I am trying to say here is that, in essence, the standard for a competitive GPA is going to rise annually.

Another tidbit you guys might want to know is that, medical schools have admission officers who scout out schools - meaning, ADCOMs know the difficulty or the lack of, of any given undergraduate institutions and their programs, curriculum, etc.

So the question of the day: How do ADCOMs differentiate between an applicant with a 3.8GPA from, oh I don't know, Harvard and an applicant with a 3.8GPA from, let's say, Stony Brook University (I bode no ill will towards SBU, I just couldn't think of another, better example at the moment). The answer: The Ultimate equalizer, the MCAT. The average MCAT score for those who matriculated (currently a complementary score of 31, I believe?) has also been on the rise but not as rapidly as the average GPA for those who have matriculated. However, the percentage of those who get 35+ on the MCAT has been more consistent than not over the past few years (don't quote me on this). One thing I do know, though, is the percentage of people who took the MCAT and scored a 40 or higher (45 being the perfect score) was under ONE percent. Yeah, it is pretty difficult to get a good score on the MCAT and that is an understatement. The MCAT can make you or break you. You can have a 4.0 GPA but if your MCAT score isn't as hot... well, you get the idea. That can be said for the other way around as well. The MCAT and GPA work in hand in hand, sort of like an enzyme and substrate. Okay, bad example. I know I was more serious when I was writing about undergraduate GPA, but PLEASE, don't take this as an implication that the MCAT is not as important as your GPA. MCAT is *insert here* (regards to how important it is) exclamation mark!

Someone else also has mentioned in an earlier post about doing research. Although research is not a prerequisite for medical school, the trend of those who have matriculated, let alone those who are pre-med, says otherwise. Research is practically a must nowadays. I advise you, for those who are intent on going to medical school, to have some research experience under your belt before applying to medical school. For example, on the secondaries of some medical school applications, they ask you to write about research you have done. Sorry for being so trite on this matter. Research is something you have to discover and "research" for yourself; it's not something I can lay out in cold, hard facts such as GPA or the MCAT (I hope no one takes this the wrong way. I am, by no means, on a high horse. I was sincere but unfortunately, when you are a bad writer as I am, there is little room to convey your sincere feelings through text).

What about clinical internships you ask? Why not? As long as you can maintain a good GPA, it is a plus. What about other EAs/internships? Why not? Make sure they are legit and somewhat respectable (quality and not quantity as someone nicely put it in an earlier post) and of course, the same rules apply - Maintain your GPA no matter how grueling and time consuming the EA/internship is.

Oh! I nearly forgot. All of this, your resume, ONLY DECIDES WHETHER YOU WILL BE GIVEN AN INTERVIEW BY THE RESPECTIVE MEDICAL SCHOOL AND NOT YOUR ADMISSION (you can argue post-secondaries but let's not delve into the excruciating details)! I REPEAT, YOUR FLUFFED UP RESUME IS NOT FOR YOUR ADMISSION BUT FOR WHETHER OR NOT YOU WILL RECEIVE AN INTERVIEW. You can have a 4.0 and a 40 MCAT, but if your interview goes awry, you can forget about that letter of congratulations from that medical school.

I apologize if I came off as cynical or taking this lightly towards the end. It turned out to be much longer than I had expected. I hope this helps some! Good luck to everyone and especially those who are taking the MCAT in the very near future (I will be too).

P.S. I made some edits right after I posted the original post because I forgot to add one important tidbit. Guess which part.

[mz.carolyn]

I've heard that biology is one of the most useless science majors so I wouldn't recommend becoming a bio major just in case med school doesn't work out for you. Maybe go for some other science major like chem, genetics, or microbiology because those are all easier than biochem while being more useful than biology.

Actually, biology is one of the most useful science majors, because you can go into a lot of things if med school doesn't work out. Biochemistry/neuroscience/more specific biology-related majors are harder fields to get into if medical school is not an option, because it's so targeted and specific that the job range is limited.

Seems like lots of people here are stressing over what to major in college. It has been said before in earlier posts and I couldn't have said it better myself but I guess I will iterate it once more: There is no "correct" major for medical school admission. That being said, choose a major you will enjoy and can excel in.

As for undergraduate GPA for medical school admissions, it is extremely, EXTREMELY important. Though, in humble opinion (PLEASE TAKE IT WITH A GRAIN OF SALT), due to so many prevalent grade inflations among undergraduate institutions and excellent performances in college by students nationwide, GPA is seemingly starting to become undermined in medical school admissions. I do not mean to say or imply that GPAs are brushed off but rather, because of the two reasons mentioned in the line above, having a high GPA no longer makes heads turn, if you will. Don't get me wrong though, having a high GPA should be your number one priority. If you look at the stats of students who matriculated over the past years, you will notice that the average GPA of those who matriculated has been on the rise and is still continuing to rise. I guess what I am trying to say here is that, in essence, the standard for a competitive GPA is going to rise annually.

Another tidbit you guys might want to know is that, medical schools have admission officers who scout out schools - meaning, ADCOMs know the difficulty or the lack of, of any given undergraduate institutions and their programs, curriculum, etc.

So the question of the day: How do ADCOMs differentiate between an applicant with a 3.8GPA from, oh I don't know, Harvard and an applicant with a 3.8GPA from, let's say, Stony Brook University (I bode no ill will towards SBU, I just couldn't think of another, better example at the moment). The answer: The Ultimate equalizer, the MCAT. The average MCAT score for those who matriculated (currently a complementary score of 31, I believe?) has also been on the rise but not as rapidly as the average GPA for those who have matriculated. However, the percentage of those who get 35+ on the MCAT has been more consistent than not over the past few years (don't quote me on this). One thing I do know, though, is the percentage of people who took the MCAT and scored a 40 or higher (45 being the perfect score) was under ONE percent. Yeah, it is pretty difficult to get a good score on the MCAT and that is an understatement. The MCAT can make you or break you. You can have a 4.0 GPA but if your MCAT score isn't as hot... well, you get the idea. That can be said for the other way around as well. The MCAT and GPA work in hand in hand, sort of like an enzyme and substrate. Okay, bad example. I know I was more serious when I was writing about undergraduate GPA, but PLEASE, don't take this as an implication that the MCAT is not as important as your GPA. MCAT is *insert here* (regards to how important it is) exclamation mark!

Someone else also has mentioned in an earlier post about doing research. Although research is not a prerequisite for medical school, the trend of those who have matriculated, let alone those who are pre-med, says otherwise. Research is practically a must nowadays. I advise you, for those who are intent on going to medical school, to have some research experience under your belt before applying to medical school. For example, on the secondaries of some medical school applications, they ask you to write about research you have done. Sorry for being so trite on this matter. Research is something you have to discover and "research" for yourself; it's not something I can lay out in cold, hard facts such as GPA or the MCAT (I hope no one takes this the wrong way. I am, by no means, on a high horse. I was sincere but unfortunately, when you are a bad writer as I am, there is little room to convey your sincere feelings through text).

What about clinical internships you ask? Why not? As long as you can maintain a good GPA, it is a plus. What about other EAs/internships? Why not? Make sure they are legit and somewhat respectable (quality and not quantity as someone nicely put it in an earlier post) and of course, the same rules apply - Maintain your GPA no matter how grueling and time consuming the EA/internship is.

Oh! I nearly forgot. All of this, your resume, ONLY DECIDES WHETHER YOU WILL BE GIVEN AN INTERVIEW BY THE RESPECTIVE MEDICAL SCHOOL AND NOT YOUR ADMISSION (you can argue post-secondaries but let's not delve into the excruciating details)! I REPEAT, YOUR FLUFFED UP RESUME IS NOT FOR YOUR ADMISSION BUT FOR WHETHER OR NOT YOU WILL RECEIVE AN INTERVIEW. You can have a 4.0 and a 40 MCAT, but if your interview goes awry, you can forget about that letter of congratulations from that medical school.

I apologize if I came off as cynical or taking this lightly towards the end. It turned out to be much longer than I had expected. I hope this helps some! Good luck to everyone and especially those who are taking the MCAT in the very near future (I will be too).

P.S. I made some edits right after I posted the original post because I forgot to add one important tidbit. Guess which part.

This will totally answer most of the questions people have here. And you're not being cynical...you're being honest and telling the truth, which is what pre-med students/future pre-med students need.

Medical school is not easy to get into. College itself takes a lot of time and hard work to get that 4.0, plus all those EA's you want on top of that, AND the dreaded MCATs.
But it's totally do-able. Study hard, and chin up everyone!

[m1sh_glooor1a]

Hi~
I'm not in med school.. yet.. (hopefully I'm able to continue my studies and get in) :]
But I don't really know what to start out with for college.
What do I need to put as my major...?
Biology?
Sorry, I'm a confused, lost child..
Please guide my way..

I'm sorry if this question was already posted..
But right now I don't have time to go through the entire thread so.. HELP?
{CAN SOMEONE PM ME THE DETAILS?}

[ChakHanSarah]

i was wondering if you transfer and your GPA starts all over which do they look at for med-school?
like do they look at both, but take the one GPA from the school you are graduating from?
do they average the GPA?

help please......

[whoandy]

i was wondering if you transfer and your GPA starts all over which do they look at for med-school?
like do they look at both, but take the one GPA from the school you are graduating from?
do they average the GPA?

help please......

Do you mean to start over as a freshman (I'm assuming you're not a freshman any longer) at another institute? If so, I believe the second line of your post is correct. But this is not to say the ADCOMs will just quickly glimpse at your "old" GPA and forget about it just as quickly; they will most likely take it into consideration. Also, it's not farfetched (I'm pretty sure) to say that you will end up explaining the reason to this to whomever during the application process, whether it be in the interview or application.

[ChakHanSarah]

Do you mean to start over as a freshman (I'm assuming you're not a freshman any longer) at another institute? If so, I believe the second line of your post is correct. But this is not to say the ADCOMs will just quickly glimpse at your "old" GPA and forget about it just as quickly; they will most likely take it into consideration. Also, it's not farfetched (I'm pretty sure) to say that you will end up explaining the reason to this to whomever during the application process, whether it be in the interview or application.

^.....you are correct I am not a freshman. Thank you for your reply :]

So most likely they will look at both but take the most recent GPA. I understand that they will ask me why I transferred and the whole story about everything. I am ready for the questions...lol...

thank you again for helping me clear this question :]

[whoandy]

Anything I can do to help

[seazor]

Seems like lots of people here are stressing over what to major in college. It has been said before in earlier posts and I couldn't have said it better myself but I guess I will iterate it once more: There is no "correct" major for medical school admission. That being said, choose a major you will enjoy and can excel in.

As for undergraduate GPA for medical school admissions, it is extremely, EXTREMELY important. Though, in humble opinion (PLEASE TAKE IT WITH A GRAIN OF SALT), due to so many prevalent grade inflations among undergraduate institutions and excellent performances in college by students nationwide, GPA is seemingly starting to become undermined in medical school admissions. I do not mean to say or imply that GPAs are brushed off but rather, because of the two reasons mentioned in the line above, having a high GPA no longer makes heads turn, if you will. Don't get me wrong though, having a high GPA should be your number one priority. If you look at the stats of students who matriculated over the past years, you will notice that the average GPA of those who matriculated has been on the rise and is still continuing to rise. I guess what I am trying to say here is that, in essence, the standard for a competitive GPA is going to rise annually.

Another tidbit you guys might want to know is that, medical schools have admission officers who scout out schools - meaning, ADCOMs know the difficulty or the lack of, of any given undergraduate institutions and their programs, curriculum, etc.

So the question of the day: How do ADCOMs differentiate between an applicant with a 3.8GPA from, oh I don't know, Harvard and an applicant with a 3.8GPA from, let's say, Stony Brook University (I bode no ill will towards SBU, I just couldn't think of another, better example at the moment). The answer: The Ultimate equalizer, the MCAT. The average MCAT score for those who matriculated (currently a complementary score of 31, I believe?) has also been on the rise but not as rapidly as the average GPA for those who have matriculated. However, the percentage of those who get 35+ on the MCAT has been more consistent than not over the past few years (don't quote me on this). One thing I do know, though, is the percentage of people who took the MCAT and scored a 40 or higher (45 being the perfect score) was under ONE percent. Yeah, it is pretty difficult to get a good score on the MCAT and that is an understatement. The MCAT can make you or break you. You can have a 4.0 GPA but if your MCAT score isn't as hot... well, you get the idea. That can be said for the other way around as well. The MCAT and GPA work in hand in hand, sort of like an enzyme and substrate. Okay, bad example. I know I was more serious when I was writing about undergraduate GPA, but PLEASE, don't take this as an implication that the MCAT is not as important as your GPA. MCAT is *insert here* (regards to how important it is) exclamation mark!

Someone else also has mentioned in an earlier post about doing research. Although research is not a prerequisite for medical school, the trend of those who have matriculated, let alone those who are pre-med, says otherwise. Research is practically a must nowadays. I advise you, for those who are intent on going to medical school, to have some research experience under your belt before applying to medical school. For example, on the secondaries of some medical school applications, they ask you to write about research you have done. Sorry for being so trite on this matter. Research is something you have to discover and "research" for yourself; it's not something I can lay out in cold, hard facts such as GPA or the MCAT (I hope no one takes this the wrong way. I am, by no means, on a high horse. I was sincere but unfortunately, when you are a bad writer as I am, there is little room to convey your sincere feelings through text).

What about clinical internships you ask? Why not? As long as you can maintain a good GPA, it is a plus. What about other EAs/internships? Why not? Make sure they are legit and somewhat respectable (quality and not quantity as someone nicely put it in an earlier post) and of course, the same rules apply - Maintain your GPA no matter how grueling and time consuming the EA/internship is.

Oh! I nearly forgot. All of this, your resume, ONLY DECIDES WHETHER YOU WILL BE GIVEN AN INTERVIEW BY THE RESPECTIVE MEDICAL SCHOOL AND NOT YOUR ADMISSION (you can argue post-secondaries but let's not delve into the excruciating details)! I REPEAT, YOUR FLUFFED UP RESUME IS NOT FOR YOUR ADMISSION BUT FOR WHETHER OR NOT YOU WILL RECEIVE AN INTERVIEW. You can have a 4.0 and a 40 MCAT, but if your interview goes awry, you can forget about that letter of congratulations from that medical school.

I apologize if I came off as cynical or taking this lightly towards the end. It turned out to be much longer than I had expected. I hope this helps some! Good luck to everyone and especially those who are taking the MCAT in the very near future (I will be too).

P.S. I made some edits right after I posted the original post because I forgot to add one important tidbit. Guess which part.

This post made me so depressed . I can study hard and take tests, but the whole internship and research stuff is just going to be too hard. I'm bad at finding the right people, and requesting that stuff Now, I don't think I'll ever get into Medical School

[eastsea_sarang]

i don't know if this has been asked, but i'm still clueless after my 2 semesters in college.
i'm at a junior college for the moment, planning to transfer in the spring.and for the long run,
i'd like to be a veterinarian, so which major would probably be my safest bet?
a school w/ a "pre-vet" program? biology? etc? cause after my undergraduate
studies, i have to go to another 3-4 years of vet school and such...
and i'm not too sure what to do @___@

[mz.carolyn]

This post made me so depressed . I can study hard and take tests, but the whole internship and research stuff is just going to be too hard. I'm bad at finding the right people, and requesting that stuff Now, I don't think I'll ever get into Medical School

Internships + research shouldn't be too hard. Try monster.com, and ask the Career Center at your school; I'm sure they'll have listings for internships. And as for research, ask some upperclassmen how they found some. In my school, we have a program called RISE where we can do research with retired scientists who were well-known in their field.
There's a lot more to this, so I recommend talking to your pre-med advisor at your school for help
Best of luck!

--

Plus, it doesn't take finding the right people. Some of it might, but there are lots of opportunities out there. You just have to look for them! And if you REALLY want medical school, you can push past your shyness and ask for the opportunity!

[Kyohei]

1) What do medical schools think of people attending community colleges for two years and transferring into a university? There is not much info on it so I hope someone might have an answer!

2) Also if I am going to college under an East Asian language major (or some unrelated major to biology), how would someone get into research?

[Thanks]

[Rolos]

Hey everyone! I'm going to medschool in the UK.. been through all the application and other stressy stuff. So if anyone wants to ask about British unis I'll be happy to help =)

You don't have to take physics to get into med school over here, just chemistry and biology. I think it's cheaper too....

[mz.carolyn]

1) What do medical schools think of people attending community colleges for two years and transferring into a university? There is not much info on it so I hope someone might have an answer!

2) Also if I am going to college under an East Asian language major (or some unrelated major to biology), how would someone get into research?

[Thanks]

1) I've heard from many people that when you transfer to a university...it doesn't show that you came from a CC. Of course, I'm not sure how reliable that is, but it doesn't hurt to call up the university & ask. I'm sure they've had people transfer into before from CC.

2) Well, since you're intent on getting into medical school, you'd be taking pre-med requisites anyways (bio, chem, physics, etc) so you've got the background for it. Ask around: upperclassmen (how they got it), professors, pre-me advisor, etc.

Good luck!

Hey everyone! I'm going to medschool in the UK.. been through all the application and other stressy stuff. So if anyone wants to ask about British unis I'll be happy to help =)

You don't have to take physics to get into med school over here, just chemistry and biology. I think it's cheaper too....

Oh wow, lucky!
But if you wanted to residency in the US, is it possible?

[joonage]

Wow ... I'm like pretty bummed now ...

Even though I'm not in college yet, I've wanted to go to med school and become a doctor for a while.

Now, I found out that my top choice med school, UW Med here in Seattle, doesn't accept international students.

And that a lot of medical schools have pretty low or no amount of international student.

[Kyohei]

1) I've heard from many people that when you transfer to a university...it doesn't show that you came from a CC. Of course, I'm not sure how reliable that is, but it doesn't hurt to call up the university & ask. I'm sure they've had people transfer into before from CC.

2) Well, since you're intent on getting into medical school, you'd be taking pre-med requisites anyways (bio, chem, physics, etc) so you've got the background for it. Ask around: upperclassmen (how they got it), professors, pre-me advisor, etc.

Good luck!

Thanks alot for your answers.

[ilovechu]

So I'm attending UCSD (John Muir '12) in the fall as a freshmen and my major is undeclared sciences but I would really like to go to Medical School in the future. I knwo that I don't have to major in biology but I don't know what else to major in. And I was wondering if there is a link or a website I could go to, to figure out the courses I have to take as reqs. for medical school. I choose my classes in August and I'm just wondering what a medical student's freshmen year at an undergraduate school's class course looked like, i.e. what classes he/she took. I don't really know if i should post this here or the pre-college section but anything would help. Thanks in advance!

[erure]

So I'm attending UCSD (John Muir '12) in the fall as a freshmen and my major is undeclared sciences but I would really like to go to Medical School in the future. I knwo that I don't have to major in biology but I don't know what else to major in. And I was wondering if there is a link or a website I could go to, to figure out the courses I have to take as reqs. for medical school. I choose my classes in August and I'm just wondering what a medical student's freshmen year at an undergraduate school's class course looked like, i.e. what classes he/she took. I don't really know if i should post this here or the pre-college section but anything would help. Thanks in advance!

I'm going to be a junior at UCSD this fall (and no, I'm not a transfer) -- I think I am pre-med. I don't know, is there really a qualification to be a pre-med student other than the desire to go to medical school and become a doctor? O_O

Anyway my first quarter's classes were not too difficult, because a first quarter is meant to be taken easily so that you can adjust to the new environment. Here's what I took:
1. Writing class (for you that would be DOC1) - 4 units
2. Math 10C (I could have taken 20C but you only need to finish the 10 series for pre-med, so I took 10C... It's much easier) - 4 units
3. CHEM6A (first quarter of inorganic chemistry) - 4 units
4. MUS195L (wind ensemble -- it's nice to take a fun class or a general ed class, imo) - 2 units

That adds up to 14 units, which is 2 above the minimum required. Hope this helps Btw, make sure you enroll as early as possible to get the schedule that you want. This requires planning ahead, and checking the schedule of classes frequently.

[lOveXJSoo]

Ok. I accept that doing research makes you a more competitive medical school applicant and I've already looked into finding a position at my school.

But I still want to know:

How long should you do research?
Does it matter what type of research you to?
and when should you start? (i've just finished my first year)

[tinyvietpeach]

I'm going to be a junior at UCSD this fall (and no, I'm not a transfer) -- I think I am pre-med. I don't know, is there really a qualification to be a pre-med student other than the desire to go to medical school and become a doctor? O_O

Anyway my first quarter's classes were not too difficult, because a first quarter is meant to be taken easily so that you can adjust to the new environment. Here's what I took:
1. Writing class (for you that would be DOC1) - 4 units
2. Math 10C (I could have taken 20C but you only need to finish the 10 series for pre-med, so I took 10C... It's much easier) - 4 units
3. CHEM6A (first quarter of inorganic chemistry) - 4 units
4. MUS195L (wind ensemble -- it's nice to take a fun class or a general ed class, imo) - 2 units

That adds up to 14 units, which is 2 above the minimum required. Hope this helps Btw, make sure you enroll as early as possible to get the schedule that you want. This requires planning ahead, and checking the schedule of classes frequently.

actually, if you're from muir, you only have to take muir writing, which is 2 quarters, not DOC..DOC is 3 quarters for marshall students...but yeah, it's pretty straightforward, take your college's writing class, and start on your calc classes and general chem classes. i know you're from muir, but here's the 4 year plan for marshall...it's pretty much going to be the same for every college, just the writing class term differs a little.

http://provost.ucsd.edu/marshall/current/advising/plans/

the general standard classes for most med schools are 3 quarters of calc (or the equivalent), 3 quarters gen chem + lab, 3 quarters ochem + lab, 3 quarters physics, 3 quarters bio, and fulfill writing requirements...but some schools may require other classes, so it depends from med school to med school.

[whoandy]

Ok. I accept that doing research makes you a more competitive medical school applicant and I've already looked into finding a position at my school.

But I still want to know:

How long should you do research?
Does it matter what type of research you to?
and when should you start? (i've just finished my first year)

Hey,

First and foremost, the quality and NOT the quantity (if you will) of the research should be where your concerns lie. Having that said, the general consensus seems to be two years. If you, however, do research for more than two years, it only works to your advantage - you will be very knowledgeable on your given research, you will probably have more opportunities to publish, you will be prepared to answer questions regarding your research on your application and/or for your interviewer from the respective medical school, etc. You get my point. This is, of course, assuming that you have stayed with the same research project during these 2+ years.

Speaking of the devil, I am going to be late for my research. Dear me, where has all the time gone? I am sorry but I have to end it here. If you have any questions, feel free to post/PM. Cheers.