So you want to be a doctor?

Overview of medical education

Premeds: Overview

Alex Shteynshlyuger

Premed RumorMill

Dedicated to unfettered exchange of information.

If you have a Question or a Suggestion. If you want to add a comment from your own experience that you would like everyone to see, please e-mail it to me and I will post your comment or question & answer right here for everyone to see & benefit. I will strip questions/answers of all identifying information to preserve privacy unless you request otherwise.

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10/29/99

I was very happy to read you web-page a bit. I was simply wondering something. Right now I am a freshman at Johns Hopkins University. I really would like to know if you have some statistics on acceptance rates into certain medical schools - it is not so much for me but for this poor fellow down the hall who is simply worried to death. Is there anyplace in which I could find statistics for acceptance rates for Hopkins pre-meds at Harvard, Hopkins, Georgetown, Stanford, & UNC medical schools? If so could you please tell me? Thank you so much. I hope you have a great day & do well in your studies this year.

I have gave this long and hard consideration but im now 23 years old and I know its very late to decide that I want to become a doctor. I should tell you first that I didn't finish high school for reasons beyond my control. What is the process for me to get in to med. school if I didn't finish school the traditional way? The reason I ask is that in your web site you mention that when getting into a school that you bring things like recommendations from your high school. Thanks for your help id really appreciate all the help you can give me.

Hello Alex. Before I begin I would like to thank you in advance for this wonderful website and for the opportunity to ask you for advice. My story is this, in a shortened form. My girlfriend and I are both premed in the same college. We're sophomores now and have taken and will continue to take absolutely the same courses (we have the same majors). Aside from getting into med school, our biggest goal is to get into the same med school. Do you have any advice on how we may go about doing this? Should we give med schools the "take us both or reject us both" ultimatum? (foolish in my point of view). Or should we mention each other at interviews and hope they see us as one entity. Do you think we stand a chance of getting in together? Is thare anything we can do to help our situation?

Hello I will be applying to med school in a year. I saw that you said that a year of calculus is required. However, I looked up the web pages of quite a few schools that DID NOT require calculus. Now, do you know which schools do require calculus? Also, could it be that calculus is just implied that you take it, but not actually written on paper? thanks Jen

Hi, I will try to keep this brief. I have an aged BS in Biology/Chem. Minor from 1983...intending to go to med school...got married and sidetracked instead. After the divorce went back for BS in nursing to get my foot in the medical door. I have been practicing about 3 yrs now in Hospital and realize that although nursing is rewarding and very proactive, the scope is too limited. I am rethinking attempting to get into medschool, and am vastly concerned about the outdated education I have....if not used/usually lost. Org. Chem. and Trig. are just vague scents by now...what's the best way to revamp old knowledge? btw, good luck, we are a teaching hospital and see many poor tired overworked residents. (and be kind to nurses...they can help you muchly.) thanks, Shirlin.

I am currently a junior at Union College and I was interested in obtaining a combined MD-MPH degree. However, I do not know any schools who offer this degree. I would greatly appreciate perhaps a list of schools, or even a website I could visit to get this information. Thank you for your time and help!

Hi alex! I have recently graduated from the University of Florida with honors. I maintained an overall GPA of 3.6. My upper division GPA was 3.9 and consisted of Mostly Nursing Prerequisites. [anatomy, physiology, chem 1(mot for premed) , etc.]. I am now interested in attending a postbaccalaureate premed program. I was particularly interested in NYU or Columbia. Which both offer this. My questions lie partly in my fear of the demands of the science prerequisites. How much demand do medical schools put on grades in science classes when they are considering a Postbac. Also do they consider my upper division GPA when making their decision. In addition, any information that you have on either one of those two schools would be greatly appreciated. I know I have a lot of questions but I've been feeling lost lately. Thank you for this website and this opportunity.

Your site was very useful. I am looking (been unsuccessful with all the web searches!) for a list of schools that get you into the med program directly after high school. I know of Brown, UMKC (U of Missouri at Kansas City) only. Any other leads? How advisable/difficult is it to go to these 7 yr progs? At least one doesn't have to wrestle with MCATs and high GPAs. What are the requirements for such schools? Reply will be greatly appreciated.

Hi.I'm searching for places to start medical studies. I am not a traditional student or medical school applicant. I am older and have a profession, but I want to become a doctor. I am interested in including a couple of the schools in the Caribbean in my search process, but I am having trouble finding evaluations of them. Can you recommend anything to help me? Thanks.

hi, i am a non-traditional student in the sense that i have a B.A. from another country several years ago.and have had some college level work in the U.S.also. I am an R.N and a CNM (Certified Nurse-Midwife)with many years of experience. I want to become a doctor now. can you guide me on the quickest route to do that?

I found your site to be very informative. I am 27 years old and want to go to medical school. I graduated in 1995 as a Medical Technologist. When I first graduated I took 2 temp. jobs, one working at a reference lab in clinical chemistry and the other at a truama center. I got sick of working in the lab and felt like I needed more people contact. I took a job at a community health center. I worked extremely close with the doctors and patients and loved it. Now i know i want to be a doctor. My question is I graduated with a 2.7. I am taking the full series of org. chem and physics with labs this year. I am going to ace these classes and ace the mcat. What do you think my chances are? Should i take the mcat in april or august? I also have volunteering experience and i work full time.

I visited your web site and posted a message on your board. Your web site is the best yet, that I have plowed through in the net. I am a pre-med student and really appreciated all the advise. If you have time one of these days maybe you can tell me what your specialty will be and what school you are attending. Thanks and have a good weekend!

hello. i am a college student who is intersted in medical school. n.i am from nj...i hope u would give me..some..informatiion on medical school.....i would be very delighted if u can help me out....thank you for ur time

Alex this site was full of information that was quite useful as an aspiring Pre-Med student. I am a non-traditional student 33 years old, a wife and mother of two children. I am taking one pre-med course along with three or four of my course requirements for my major. The question I have is about the extra-curricular activities. I am an International Presenter who offers lectures and workshops in fitness related issues, etc.. I also volunteer at the local Senior Centers and personal train special populations. Is there anything else that I should volunteer at, that would enhance my change of getting into medical school? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hi! I found your website to be very informative and right now I can use all of the advice that I can get. I am enrolled in school, taking undergrad classes in bio, chem, spanish and public speaking. I have a BA in math, and took 2 years off from school and worked full-time as a staffing manager. My question is, how heavily are grades weighed when applying to med schools? I know my gpa from my degree is 2.5, or around there, but I do intend to get A's now in these undergrad classes. Will my chances for applying to med school still be in my favor even though I did so poorly before in school when I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life? Please email back your thoughts to me, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks again!

Hi Alex: Thank you for the web site and taking time to help us, the premed fellows. Here is my situation and I will appreciate if you can input any thought. I am 27 years old. I did my undergraduate study in biochemistry with 3.44 GPA (Sci. GPA 3.61)from a top 25 school. My MCAT is 31 with verbal in the bottom 25%. Somehow, I always felt that by being an asian my chance with those stat is really low. I had applied twice and only the last time I got an interview from the state school (the only school I applied) which rejected me without waitlist. I am currently finishing up my MS in public health at a less known school in the southeast. I am on the border of giving up. All my other friends either got in already or had chosen other path.

Hello, I am a junior in college hoping to be admitted into med school, and I was wondering what are the average test scores, GPA's, etc... for admission. Thank you

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