Before I entered college I had some misconceptions about what “pre-med” was and the work involved with it. Once I had researched everything dealing with medical school, I realized that I was headed in the wrong direction. You can learn from my mistakes!
• Major really doesn’t matter…really. I had a few people tell me this when I was applying to colleges and I picked biology as my major without a second thought. I figured, “Biology? Medicine? I’ll have the upper hand in med school!” False. From what I’ve heard, if you major as biology, chemistry, or biochemistry, everything that you learned in your four years of college that is important to know for med school will be covered in the first couple weeks. Does this mean you shouldn’t take those classes for an advantage? No – you will obviously have a smaller advantage over those who don’t have a biological science major, but it’s not worth majoring in them if there’s something else that interests you. Remember that if you’re majoring in something that you like, you have a higher chance of doing well in the major’s classes.
• Pre-med isn’t a major or something that is written on your record. It is simply a bunch of classes that you take to prepare yourself for the MCATs – that’s it. I believe there are some schools that offer pre-med as a major, but it’s more than likely that you will end up with a “normal” major and pre-med classes. The MCAT tests your reading comprehension, biology, chemistry, physics, and writing skills. Therefore, medical schools generally ask for: one year of biology with lab, one year of inorganic chemistry with lab, organic chemistry with lab, one year of physics with lab, and some English course. You would have to check your school’s requirements, but it generally works like that.
• There are a lot of people that are involved in an overwhelming number of extracurricular activities and believe there is a tradeoff with those and their GPA. To an extent yes, but medical school admission is very much similar to college admission. They look at your GPA and MCAT first, just like colleges would look at your GPA and SAT/ACT first. Extracurricular activities and volunteering is a must, but do not rely on them to “buffer” your GPA.
• Some people ask if they should start preparing for medical school in high school. To be honest, you really can’t. All the classes you will need to take will be available for you in college. Studying in high school for the MCATs is very early, as you will most likely forget the material by the time the exam comes around (most people devote 6-8 months before the MCAT). Focus on getting into the college that you want first, and once you do, your next priority will be the MCATs or medical school.
• Whenever I tell people that I’m doing pre-med or trying to get into med school, they are usually awestruck or ‘wow’ me for the amount of effort I’m putting into school. You may also believe that pre-med is a lot of work and are intimidated by it, but I’ll clear that up now. Doing pre-med alongside a normal major is no different than what any other person is doing. Your pre-med courses will most likely count for some general education requirements, so it’s not like you have to overcompensate by taking more classes than other people. The “difficult” part of pre-med is that you have to do well in your science courses and have a high cumulative GPA. You also have to spend several months preparing for the MCATs, which may be strenuous for some, but always remember that the future is incredible for you if you do attend medical school.
