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The Pre-Med Dilemma: Part OneMay 29 '00 Write an essay on this topic.Through my own personal and university teaching experience, I've noticed that the road to medical school contains three distinct, but equally important stages: planning (i.e., High School, Freshman year), preparation (Sophomore and Junior years), and application (Senior year). I'll focus each part of this treatise on one of these stages. Introduction Every year, more and more people apply for a limited number of places in American medical schools. Subsequently, getting into medical school has become quite an ordeal, and requires constant vigilance from the beginning of a student's senior year in high school right up to graduation from college. Securing admission to medical school has become almost political in its nature: if you don't walk the walk and talk the talk, you're out. Just like that. It it critical, therefore, that all the would-be doctors out there know what they're getting into before they even begin college. The road begins with their senior year in high school. I. Why Medicine? (Part One) Ask your average pre-med student when they wanted to become a doctor, and their answer is likely to be miserably predictable: he or she will likely tell you about some experience he had at the age of five in which a doctor helped someone close to him. "And from that moment on..." the story continues "I wanted to help people in that way." A noble sentiment, but the logic of a five-year-old cannot necessarily be trusted. Before you begin your senior year in high school, ask yourself one last time "Do I really want to be a doctor? What do I hope to achieve by being a doctor? What do I want to do with my life?" And no, "I want to help people" is not a valid answer. Really think about it, and know what you're getting into. Make sure your motivations are pure. Don't become a doctor just for the title. Write it down in a "mission statement", and keep it to reference in the future. You may be surprised how much your perspective will change as you get older. II. Declaring the Right Major First of all, "Pre-med" is not a major. It's not a minor, either. Technically, it's an emphasis, but in reality its little more than just a fancy title, since only about 20% of "pre-meds" will actually ever get into and complete medical school. Most people do not know that the road to medical school begins with their first college application, when they are still seniors in high school. The first academic step you will make toward becoming a doctor is declaring your college major. Take your major decision seriously, but don't freak out about it. It's easy to change your major once you start college, and if done early enough, it won't require any extra time in school to do so. You have a couple of choices here, each with its own advantages and disadvantages: 1. Biology or Chemistry: Biology seems to be the most commonly declared major among pre-meds, although Chemistry seems to attract its fair share of wanna-be physicians. As a result, med schools claim that they admit fewer bio and chem students than the other majors, although I've seen no evidence of this. All of the prerequisite classes you'll need to enter med school are all more or less here for you. The downside? Everyone else in here is likely to be pre-med, also, so you can expect the competition for grades to be fierce. What's worse is sometimes the professor will go off on a power trip and feed this mentality, giving only the top 10% of the class 'A' grades (placing the 'A' cutoff around 96%). If you decide to be a bio major, expect a fierce fight. These guys will also do better on the "Life Sciences" part of the MCAT. 2. Letters or Arts: Med schools claim repeatedly that they prefer students with diverse backgrounds, which would make majors such as English and Psychology perfect majors for the pre-med. Add in the fact that there's little pre-med competition and that you'll be a top-notch writer upon completion, and you'd think that these people would get snatched up by med schools almost immediately. For some odd reason, they aren't. Furthermore, these people still have to take the requisite biology and chemistry courses to get admitted to med school, which may cause course timing conflicts and a number of other problems. Still, if you enjoy your subject matter, one of these majors may be your answer. Plus, you'll clean up on the "Verbal Reasoning" part of the MCAT. 3. Engineering: I can't remember what I was thinking when I declared Biomedical Engineering as a major and still intended to go to medical school. Declaring engineering as a major is the biggest gamble you can make as a pre-med student. If you complete the coursework with a high GPA (3.8-3.9) and a decent number of extracurricular activities, you will almost certainly get into medical school. However, the course work in engineering is extremely difficult, and only the best students in a class actually have a competitive shot at making it into med school. Again, you'll need to take those requisite bio and chem courses outside of your normal curriculum. Your writing skills may be a bit rusty when the MCAT rolls around, so you'll need to practice your writing every once in a while (epinions is good for that). Bet you didn't think that there was so much to do before college even started, did you? III. I Can't Believe the !@#$%^ gave me a B! Finally, you get to college. All around you are parties, co-ed dorms, alcohol, and a myriad of other activities that are guaranteed to slaughter your GPA and end your med school quest before it's even begun. Freshman year can be a lot of fun, but don't forget while you're there. You can attempt to find a few extracurricular activities while a Freshman, but your primary objective during this first year of school is to concentrate on classes and obtaining the highest GPA you can. Why, you ask? Because, put simply, it doesn't get any easier than this. Freshman year contains a lot of high school review and material that you have already seen. However, the course work moves very quickly. A lot of material will be covered in a very short amount of time, which means that if you put in the time, getting a 4.0 GPA the first two semesters isn't so tough. And a good start will give you the knowledge you need for advanced classes and a strong initial GPA (you won't be able to bring it up later, trust me). Finally, if the professor gives you a B (or worse) on a paper or exam, don't whine about it. I've seen freshmen burst into tears over getting a B on a biology exam because their idea of the correct answer didn't coincide with the professor's idea of what the correct answer was. And while disagreeing with a professor or TA is perfectly acceptable and it is perfectly OK to voice this disagreement (in private), don't argue mute points with a professor. If you've made your case and he still disagrees with you, then drop the subject and get on with your life. A single bad grade is not the end of the world, and a 'B' is not a bad grade. Everyone got that? Learn from your mistakes and move on. That's what being an adult is all about. Next time: the "Preparation" stage  |
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