[xthefirst]

^ that's what i plan to do, but i don't know if i should in case i can't handle the workload.

[yongwonhi]

I hear that undergrad doesn't really matter, is this true? Like, if I go to a better school but get a lower GPA, would that be worse than going to a not-as-prestigious school and having a higher GPA? Do med schools consider how hard your undergrad school is?

[l3oosh]

Hi~im going to be a freshman in college this coming fall and i was wondering if i should start volunteering at a hospital or community service right away. It seems like dedication is really important and im willing to do that.. but would it be smart to start all this volunteering/etc as soon as i enter college?

Yes, it certainly would, especially if you volunteer in the same hospital for all your undergrad career. Volunteering at a hospital or at least being in a healthcare setting is a major must for all premed students, in my opinion. Volunteering in general is a good thing, but being able to tell the person who's interviewing you that you have seen many things in the hospital and STILL have the drive to become a doctor puts your name under the seriously-consider list.

^ that's what i plan to do, but i don't know if i should in case i can't handle the workload.

Most hospitals have flexible volunteering hours. You're pretty much in the hospital at least 4 hours a week; it's not too hard to dedicate just four hours to volunteering even though you may have heard horror stories about undergrad

I hear that undergrad doesn't really matter, is this true? Like, if I go to a better school but get a lower GPA, would that be worse than going to a not-as-prestigious school and having a higher GPA? Do med schools consider how hard your undergrad school is?

A lot of people are split on this when they answer this question (I heard the same question many times at medical school board Q&A sessions.) However, this is what most people I've heard say.

Medical school admissions boards at the better med schools have a list of good schools and a list of other schools. If an applicant goes to a school on the good school list and have no glaring low points (meets the standard 3.7 GPA, 30+ MCATs, volunteers, etc), he/she is granted an interview. If the applicant goes to a school on the other school list and have no glaring HIGH points (3.7 GPA, 30 MCATs, volunteers), he/she may not be granted an interview. In my opinion, it really boils down to what medical school you're shooting for. If you're shooting for Harvard/Johns Hopkins/Duke, etc, try going to a school whose name EVERYONE recognizes. If you're shooting for middle- to lower-tiered med school, your state undergrad university should be fine. I know someone's going to come in here and say they know someone who got into Harvard/JH/Duke from community college. Heck, I know some people who have gotten into the top 10 med schools in the nation from state universities, but they were outstanding people who did more than just what the average premed student does.

LOL btw, thought I'd share this article. And I read another article the other day (can't find it) that said that to be a good premed student you can't get anything lower than an A. FALSE lol.

[erure]

LOL btw, thought I'd share this article. And I read another article the other day (can't find it) that said that to be a good premed student you can't get anything lower than an A. FALSE lol.

Haha that was a nice read. I tentatively agree with it, but it's just generalizations.

[GreenTeaBanana]

Medical school admissions boards at the better med schools have a list of good schools and a list of other schools. If an applicant goes to a school on the good school list and have no glaring low points (meets the standard 3.7 GPA, 30+ MCATs, volunteers, etc), he/she is granted an interview. If the applicant goes to a school on the other school list and have no glaring HIGH points (3.7 GPA, 30 MCATs, volunteers), he/she may not be granted an interview. In my opinion, it really boils down to what medical school you're shooting for. If you're shooting for Harvard/Johns Hopkins/Duke, etc, try going to a school whose name EVERYONE recognizes. If you're shooting for middle- to lower-tiered med school, your state undergrad university should be fine. I know someone's going to come in here and say they know someone who got into Harvard/JH/Duke from community college. Heck, I know some people who have gotten into the top 10 med schools in the nation from state universities, but they were outstanding people who did more than just what the average premed student does.

but what if its a private university thats prestigous and well known in like say the west coast but unheard of elsewhere?
like small liberal arts colleges in the middle of nowhere that are hard to get into but obviously not as famous as like harvard?

[yongwonhi]

A lot of people are split on this when they answer this question (I heard the same question many times at medical school board Q&A sessions.) However, this is what most people I've heard say.

Medical school admissions boards at the better med schools have a list of good schools and a list of other schools. If an applicant goes to a school on the good school list and have no glaring low points (meets the standard 3.7 GPA, 30+ MCATs, volunteers, etc), he/she is granted an interview. If the applicant goes to a school on the other school list and have no glaring HIGH points (3.7 GPA, 30 MCATs, volunteers), he/she may not be granted an interview. In my opinion, it really boils down to what medical school you're shooting for. If you're shooting for Harvard/Johns Hopkins/Duke, etc, try going to a school whose name EVERYONE recognizes. If you're shooting for middle- to lower-tiered med school, your state undergrad university should be fine. I know someone's going to come in here and say they know someone who got into Harvard/JH/Duke from community college. Heck, I know some people who have gotten into the top 10 med schools in the nation from state universities, but they were outstanding people who did more than just what the average premed student does.

Thanks for the info! I just decided to try premed, so we'll see how that goes. I'm worried about my GPA (3.7 is effing highh!) because ochem/orgo at my school kills everyone, but hopefully I'll live :3

Another quick question - I took 3 courses fall quarter and I'm planning on taking 3 courses this quarter (usually students take 4) - would I look like too much of a slacker? LOL

[xthefirst]

Yes, it certainly would, especially if you volunteer in the same hospital for all your undergrad career. Volunteering at a hospital or at least being in a healthcare setting is a major must for all premed students, in my opinion. Volunteering in general is a good thing, but being able to tell the person who's interviewing you that you have seen many things in the hospital and STILL have the drive to become a doctor puts your name under the seriously-consider list.



Most hospitals have flexible volunteering hours. You're pretty much in the hospital at least 4 hours a week; it's not too hard to dedicate just four hours to volunteering even though you may have heard horror stories about undergrad



A lot of people are split on this when they answer this question (I heard the same question many times at medical school board Q&A sessions.) However, this is what most people I've heard say.

Medical school admissions boards at the better med schools have a list of good schools and a list of other schools. If an applicant goes to a school on the good school list and have no glaring low points (meets the standard 3.7 GPA, 30+ MCATs, volunteers, etc), he/she is granted an interview. If the applicant goes to a school on the other school list and have no glaring HIGH points (3.7 GPA, 30 MCATs, volunteers), he/she may not be granted an interview. In my opinion, it really boils down to what medical school you're shooting for. If you're shooting for Harvard/Johns Hopkins/Duke, etc, try going to a school whose name EVERYONE recognizes. If you're shooting for middle- to lower-tiered med school, your state undergrad university should be fine. I know someone's going to come in here and say they know someone who got into Harvard/JH/Duke from community college. Heck, I know some people who have gotten into the top 10 med schools in the nation from state universities, but they were outstanding people who did more than just what the average premed student does.

LOL btw, thought I'd share this article. And I read another article the other day (can't find it) that said that to be a good premed student you can't get anything lower than an A. FALSE lol.

like you said, it depends on the med school. i think some colleges have this under the requirements. like, for columbia's school for P&S, they ask for people not from community college, i think. at least, i think i read that on their website a few days ago...

[l3oosh]

but what if its a private university thats prestigous and well known in like say the west coast but unheard of elsewhere?
like small liberal arts colleges in the middle of nowhere that are hard to get into but obviously not as famous as like harvard?

Med schools get applications from almost every university. There's a good chance that you're not going to be the first person from that liberal arts college to x med school. Med school admissions boards recognize more names than just your Yale and Ivy League schools, especially if you apply to med schools in the west coast. Honestly, though, if you just make the grades and the scores, the undergrad school you go to isn't as important. The system I had described is kind of like the last step. There are only a limited number of interviews granted so it makes sense that when they're down to the last few seats, they decide by prestige of undergrad.

Thanks for the info! I just decided to try premed, so we'll see how that goes. I'm worried about my GPA (3.7 is effing highh!) because ochem/orgo at my school kills everyone, but hopefully I'll live :3

Another quick question - I took 3 courses fall quarter and I'm planning on taking 3 courses this quarter (usually students take 4) - would I look like too much of a slacker? LOL

Ochem never fails to kill everyone's GPA.
Hmm I don't think it looks good to take 3 courses (is that like 9 credit hours?). They might bring it up during your interviews, expecting you to say something profound like, "I had to work full-time to rear my brother" or "I work part-time as an EMT," etc. While not taking more upper-level sciences won't completely take you out of the running, when it's down to the last two or three spots, you might not get chosen. I do recommend that you take at least a few upper-level sciences though, even if science isn't your major. Also take some courses that are non-science courses that you're extremely interested in; interviewers like the cool and unusual (a friend of mine majored in Mediterranean Archeology or something like that, and the med school admissions board LOVED her because she had so many cool things to talk about during her interview).

like you said, it depends on the med school. i think some colleges have this under the requirements. like, for columbia's school for P&S, they ask for people not from community college, i think. at least, i think i read that on their website a few days ago...

Yeah med schools don't like community colleges :/ Most of them don't even accept credit/grades for courses taken in community colleges and will require you to take at least all the prereq courses at a four-year institution.

[xthefirst]

hey, does anyone know the difference between the weill cornell medical college in qatar and the weill cornell medical college in NYC? i'm guessing the first one has something to do with the middle-eastern society...

[wuzunislove]

for those of you who have taken the MCAT, which prep books would you recommend? I don't wanna take a course so I'm just planning on studying from books myself.. any in particular that would be recommended? thanks in advance!

[yohimbine]

YES!!!!!!

I am now a 3rd YEAR medical student woooooooooooooooooooootttt!!!!!!!!!! (now time for step1)

[yohimbine]

hey, does anyone know the difference between the weill cornell medical college in qatar and the weill cornell medical college in NYC? i'm guessing the first one has something to do with the middle-eastern society...

I think the one in qatar requires you to be a resident of some ME country I don't recall the specific ones. Sorry. I know the information is on the website though.

for those of you who have taken the MCAT, which prep books would you recommend? I don't wanna take a course so I'm just planning on studying from books myself.. any in particular that would be recommended? thanks in advance!

I recommend ExamKrackers. Buy the whole set especially the 1001 questions. I taught for TPR and if you can pick up some of their course books for the biological/physical science those lay a nice foundation. If you don't already have a solid one.

[wuzunislove]

^ CONGRATS! lol and yea I've heard some really good things about ExamKrackers, so would the complete study package include the 1001 question books or do I have to buy those separately?

http://www.ippbooks.com/store/examkrackers...dy_package.html

thanks for the help =D

[l3oosh]

^ CONGRATS! lol and yea I've heard some really good things about ExamKrackers, so would the complete study package include the 1001 question books or do I have to buy those separately?

http://www.ippbooks.com/store/examkrackers...dy_package.html

thanks for the help =D

I heard examkrackers is generally a good publisher to buy MCAT practice books from too. I picked up the 1001 Orgo question book myself last week >.<
If you don't want to buy the whole set, definitely get examkracker's biology books. They're the best according to SDN. I'll dig for the thread again, but there's a great thread at SDN that talked about which review books to get for which subjects. I participated in a Princeton Review MCAT session preview, and I really really love their books. They're nice, thick, and full of information and practice. I'd pay the $1200+ just for the books (exaggeration, but I really do like the books).

And congrats yohimbine! Good luck on your step 1!

[GreenTeaBanana]

does anyone have recommendations for orgo chem review books?
is the orgo chem for dummies book any good? lol

[yohimbine]

^ CONGRATS! lol and yea I've heard some really good things about ExamKrackers, so would the complete study package include the 1001 question books or do I have to buy those separately?

http://www.ippbooks.com/store/examkrackers...dy_package.html

thanks for the help =D

wuz- Thanks for the congrats. Those are just the review books. check out amazon for the 1001.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5748501

walmart sells the EK books cheaper.

And congrats yohimbine! Good luck on your step 1!

Thanks l3oosh. And yes TPR is great

does anyone have recommendations for orgo chem review books?
is the orgo chem for dummies book any good? lol

I personally prefer TPR course book for orgo. However, I been out of the loop for this, but my experience is those for dummies series aren't that helpful IMHO.

[GreenTeaBanana]

^ sorry this is kind of a stupid question but
TPR = Princeton Review?

or is the name actually TPR, and if it is, in that case, where do you go about getting one?
I cant seem to find it at Borders lol

[l3oosh]

^ sorry this is kind of a stupid question but
TPR = Princeton Review?

or is the name actually TPR, and if it is, in that case, where do you go about getting one?
I cant seem to find it at Borders lol

TPR = The Princeton Review

[yohimbine]

^ sorry this is kind of a stupid question but
TPR = Princeton Review?

or is the name actually TPR, and if it is, in that case, where do you go about getting one?
I cant seem to find it at Borders lol

No, it's not . TPR= The princeton review. The books are only available in the course. I don't like their non course based books. My suggestion find a friend that took the course and buy the books off them. I gave 3 sets of mine away to my friends. Some might even show up on ebay?

[-Rose-]

YES!!!!!!

I am now a 3rd YEAR medical student woooooooooooooooooooootttt!!!!!!!!!! (now time for step1)

What?? You don't have to take Step 1 until your third year??

I'm a second year now and it's coming up for me in June. BOO.

For the person who asked-I definitely recommend Princeton Review over Kaplan. I took Princeton when I was preparing for the MCAT, and now I have access to Kaplan's question bank for Step 1. I must say...it's not a very good product. I find mistakes in it and the computer program itself is slow and crashes sometimes.