Advice for Pre-Meds

Class Location: The Internet.

Description: This course gives students an overview of what medical school is all about.

Objective: Learn basic strategies on getting into med school.

Getting into medical school is extremely competitive, so you need to do everything you can to maximize your chances for acceptance. There’s plenty you can do during your college years to make you a stronger candidate for med school.

A good pre-med advisor can provide a lot of help in your effort to get into med school. He or she will advise you on the order in which you should take classes, how to get references, and more. If you don’t feel like your advisor knows as much as he should about the process or has enough time to give you the help you need, don’t be afraid to find another one. Some advisors know only as much about getting into med school as they learned from a pamphlet detailing the required courses. Be tactful and discreet, but find an advisor who can be a real asset to you. If you can’t find the right advisor at your school, feel free to seek expert advice outside your college.

Once you’re in med school, the course work isn’t necessarily difficult. There’s just tons and tons of it. So, med schools want to know that you have the dedication to work hard enough to handle it. Your science GPA is especially important to admissions committees. As a freshman, don’t use your AP scores to opt out of the introductory science classes. If you take the harder courses right away, you’ll be competing against sophomores and juniors who know how to handle college courses better than you. Consider auditing a difficult science course like organic chemistry at a nearby college over the summer. Admissions committees won’t look kindly on anything other than an A in this class. After completing the required pre-med science courses, don’t take additional ones unless you need to up your science GPA. The added classes won’t provide much of an edge in med school. Save the hardest required courses for your senior year so that these grades won’t affect the GPA you submit to the medical schools.

You want to show the admissions committees you can handle a part-time job in addition to your course work—but not until your sophomore year if you can help it. Spend your entire freshman year dedicated to school. After that, a part-time job, especially one at a hospital or as an EMT, will show the medical schools that you can manage your time and work well with others. Working part-time can help you in several ways: It may sway the admissions office if you’re a borderline candidate; it can earn you a letter of recommendation; and it can help you make sure the medical field is right for you.

You should also participate in some extra-curricular activities to show the medical schools that you want to interact with others and have good people skills—essential for doctors. Select activities that you enjoy, as long as they are not overly time-consuming. They will help you learn to balance your work life and your personal life and increase your chances of acceptance into med school.