Diana
Is it necessary to be in a pre-medicine program during undergraduate school in order to attend medical school?
I am not enrolled for pre-medicine at my university, so I wanted to know if this would hurt my chances of getting admitted into medical school. #doctor #medicine #healthcare #pre-med
6 answers
Estelle Archer
Estelle’s Answer
Good luck!
Madison Buchman
Madison’s Answer
One thing to consider is do you feel you're able to/want to/have the time to take extra pre-med classes to meet the pre-recs outside of your classes for your major if you major in something non science. Talk to an advisor and see timeline wise what that might look like for you. See if you will need an extra semester or even year to complete it or if you feel you can do it still in 4 years. In a good way, having a non-science major is always something that will stand out/look cool and is fun to talk about on medical school applications and is definitely not frowned upon. Medical schools look at science and NON-science GPA on applications so they sort of weight both. If your major is considered "easier" that may be considered if you have similar grades to someone in the non-science GPA compared to someone in a harder major. So overall, pros/cons of both.
Hope this helps,
Madison
Richard A.
Richard’s Answer
In the US, to apply to medical school, you need a bachelor's degree. Any 4-year university should suffice.
Pick a college that suits your personality and a major that interests you. You will need to get good grades in college in order to apply for medical school. At the medical school I attended, the average GPA is reported to be 3.85, so even one or two B's can hurt your chances of acceptance.
Aside from this, any major is acceptable as long as you complete the prerequisite courses.
Typical medical school prerequisites include:
Biology: Lecture – 4 semesters; Lab – 1 semester
General Chemistry: Lecture – 2 semesters; Lab – 1 semester
Organic Chemistry: Lecture – 2 semesters; Lab – 1 semester
Biochemistry: Lecture – 1 semester
General Physics: Lecture – 2 semesters; Lab – 1 semester
Math: Statistics – 1 semester
English: Rhetoric (Composition) and Literature – 2 semesters
Try to find opportunities to pursue research.
Volunteer at your local hospital or low-income clinic. Ask physicians, PAs or other clinical providers if you can shadow them.
During college study for and complete the MCAT. Devote an entire summer to studying for the MCAT and consider paying for a prep course if you can afford it.
Apply to medical schools during your last year of college.
Medical school takes 4 years to complete.
After medical school neurosurgeons complete a 6 year residency for additional training. These are sometimes followed by an additional year or two of fellowship subspecialty training.
Michael DePietro
Michael’s Answer
You don't need to be enrolled in a specific premed "major". You do need to take the basic requirements to get into medical school. Typically this is 1 year of biology with lab, 1 year of general chemistry with lab, one year of organic chemistry with lab, 1 year of physics with lab and a college level math ( often at least a semester of calculus) and biochemistry ( one semester) is often strongly recommended. There are some variations on this theme depending on the individual school but as a rule of thumb this is about right. As you can see while in theory you can major in anything so long as you take these classes, as a practical matter its common practice to major in a subject in which at least some of these classes full fill your required coursework for the major and since its heavily science weighted a lot of premeds major in science of some kind. Regardless of what you choose to major in however, Most colleges have a premedical advisory committee which helps to navigate the complex process of applying to medical school, and often needs to compose a letter of recommendation for you when you apply. Early involvement with this committee, is very helpful, as is involvement in related premedical student groups. IT is very useful to be engaging with individuals who can help you navigate the process, and smooth the way.
Catherine Castillo
Catherine’s Answer
You can major in almost any subject and still be Pre-Med. Pre-Med means you are preparing for medical school. To apply to medical school, you have to take certain classes in college. Many of those classes overlap with the classes you need to take for a Biology major, but you could study something different, for example, English, and still take all the Pre-Med classes and apply to medical school. Some colleges offer a "Pre-Med" major, which I believe includes all of the required classes for application to medical school and other classes related to medicine. Either way, you still have to go to medical school after college to become a doctor.
