Saturday, March 31, 2007
Take a look in the mirror, young doctor.
I've recently been taking a long hard look at myself in the mirror lately. As I end my medical school career and begin my new life as a fresh young doctor in this really crazy time in medicine, I've had to re-evaluate why I chose to go to medical school. I started off wanting to be a nephrologist. Then I wanted to be a radiologist, an ophthalmologist, an ENT, a general surgeon, a cardiologist, an allergist...you get the picture. I had to re-calibrate my thoughts and think about why I chose the path I'm presently on. During college, I was so focused on my goal - medical school - that I neglected many other areas of my life. At the time, I couldn't possibly believe there was anything else out there for me. I still feel that way today, but with some reservation now knowing what I know! I often wonder if I should have chosen another path such as business or computer science when I was in college trying to decide what to do with the rest of my life! Computer science is now a dying science in my opinion because all the "good" jobs are going overseas. Business offered no guarantees except the possibility of becoming a manager at a Steak-n-Shake, one of the largest on-campus recruiters at my school. None of those options appealed to me. However, I had always wanted to be a doctor. Ever since my mom's kidney transplant in 1993 I was inspired by the physicians that saved her to become one of them. It was my mission. It was my way to change the world! My how things have changed - even since 1993!! The way medicine is practiced today is even different from when I started medical school four years ago. The reason why I chose internal medicine was because I enjoyed my clinical medicine rotation and the possibility of pursing a variety fellowships - such as nephrology. But even more importantly, I chose it because I enjoyed physiology and pharmacology as a med student. I felt that those were my strengths. I believe it takes the same amount of thought when deciding upon a medical specialty as it does in deciding whether or not to go to medical school. All things aside (such as huge debt burden), you really must think carefully BEFORE you embark on medical school. It is the BIG LEAGUES if you will. One of the best pieces of advice I can give to you is to think about WHY you want to go to medical school. A little thought can save you time, money, and sanity! I'd love to hear what your thoughts are. Please feel free to share your thoughts on why you are thinking about applying to medical school. Also, don't forget to bookmark this site and come back often because I'm constantly updating!
Friday, March 30, 2007
How can I make myself more competitive?
There are several things you can do in order to help improve your chances of getting accepted into medical school. First, observation is key. It is important to become familiar with what the profession is about. So, shadowing is a great way to meet physicians, develop a rapport with them, and see what goes on in their practice on a daily basis. Most attendings would enjoy having someone around. All you have to do is ask! Medical school admissions committees also like to see that you know what you are getting into!
Research is an important component to any application. If you don't have an active research department at your college, seek out larger universities in your area or local medical schools. Contact the lead investigator either through phone or email and express your interest in their project. They would be more than happy I'm sure to have some free labor, even if it is just cleaning test tubes. The potential to move up with greater responsibility is high, especially when it doesn't cost them anything! Keep in mind, if you can manage to earn a little cash from it, by all means - take it!
Volunteering is another avenue that is highly regarding in the medical community. It shows excellence to service of others as well as the ability to multitask your life, school, and working for the community. You can volunteer in many different settings. First, you can volunteer in the hospital or a lab. There is also the America Red Cross and don't forget about church-related community events. Those occur weekly in my area! It is always good to be a little unique when it comes to volunteering, so make it your own and enjoy it! Do it because you want to - not because it helps get you from point A to point B. There are many sites about volunteering. You can Google search for them at the top of this page! As always...there is more to come! Please stay tuned.
Research is an important component to any application. If you don't have an active research department at your college, seek out larger universities in your area or local medical schools. Contact the lead investigator either through phone or email and express your interest in their project. They would be more than happy I'm sure to have some free labor, even if it is just cleaning test tubes. The potential to move up with greater responsibility is high, especially when it doesn't cost them anything! Keep in mind, if you can manage to earn a little cash from it, by all means - take it!
Volunteering is another avenue that is highly regarding in the medical community. It shows excellence to service of others as well as the ability to multitask your life, school, and working for the community. You can volunteer in many different settings. First, you can volunteer in the hospital or a lab. There is also the America Red Cross and don't forget about church-related community events. Those occur weekly in my area! It is always good to be a little unique when it comes to volunteering, so make it your own and enjoy it! Do it because you want to - not because it helps get you from point A to point B. There are many sites about volunteering. You can Google search for them at the top of this page! As always...there is more to come! Please stay tuned.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
What kinda numbers are we looking at?
I know many pre-meds are concerned with their competitiveness for medical school. I know I was one of them! In order to help alleviate some of your anxiety (or possibly add to it) let me dispel the common myth that you need a 4.0 GPA in order to get into medical school. Granted, a high GPA will help your application, but it is not necessarily required. Medical schools look at a variety of factors in order to determine competitiveness for admission. GPA is only one piece of the puzzle. So, generally, in order to be competitive at a US medical school, I would say you NEED a GPA of 3.0 or greater. I would say that if your GPA is less than this, I would take additional coursework to raise it above a 3.0. Now, your chances are better the higher your GPA. In reality, a GPA of 3.5 to 3.6 is more like what you should shoot for in order to be competitive to MOST med schools. Here's a breakdown from what I remember when I was applying:
Harvard Medical School 3.8
Washington University 3.8
Georgetown University 3.6
Saint Louis University 3.6
Most state schools 3.5 (University of Illinois, Missouri, etc.)
Osteopathic Schools 3.3 - 3.5 (Des Moines, OUCOM, NSUCOM, CCOM, etc.)
Caribbean Schools 3.0-3.2 (St. George's, ROSS, AUC, SABA, etc.)
This is to give you some idea of what different schools had for AVERAGE GPAs on admission.
Because GPAs only make up roughly 33% of your application, you want it as high as possible, but don't fret if yours isn't stellar. Your MCATs can save you if your GPA is on the lower side. For most private MD schools, a MCAT of 30 or greater is usually necessary to get an interview. Most state MD schools like to see MCAT scores in the 26-30+ range. Osteopathic schools, known for accepting more non-traditional students, will accept a wider range - 24-30+. And finally, the Caribbean school have the widest variation. These school are "for profit". That means they'll give you a chance if your marks aren't high enough for a US MD or DO school. St. George's in Grenada (www.sgu.edu) has the highest reported MCATs, averaging around 25 (but again there is a WIDE range). Ross and others require the MCAT but typically they will accept students with lower MCAT scores as long as they've proven they can handle the work.
Other important parts of your application is your personal statement. I won't go into that here. I may save that for another time. And finally, letters of recommendation are key. I'd get letters from physicians, professors, state representatives, basically anybody with any kind of clout! Trust me...it helps. If you are applying to DO schools, I'd make sure you have a letter from a DO and shadow them a couple times just to see for yourself - they aren't all about voodoo magic and wizardry! I promise. Please make sure you've shadowed or gained some clinical exposure with the attending physician BEFORE you ask for a LOR. Just a friendly reminder.
Harvard Medical School 3.8
Washington University 3.8
Georgetown University 3.6
Saint Louis University 3.6
Most state schools 3.5 (University of Illinois, Missouri, etc.)
Osteopathic Schools 3.3 - 3.5 (Des Moines, OUCOM, NSUCOM, CCOM, etc.)
Caribbean Schools 3.0-3.2 (St. George's, ROSS, AUC, SABA, etc.)
This is to give you some idea of what different schools had for AVERAGE GPAs on admission.
Because GPAs only make up roughly 33% of your application, you want it as high as possible, but don't fret if yours isn't stellar. Your MCATs can save you if your GPA is on the lower side. For most private MD schools, a MCAT of 30 or greater is usually necessary to get an interview. Most state MD schools like to see MCAT scores in the 26-30+ range. Osteopathic schools, known for accepting more non-traditional students, will accept a wider range - 24-30+. And finally, the Caribbean school have the widest variation. These school are "for profit". That means they'll give you a chance if your marks aren't high enough for a US MD or DO school. St. George's in Grenada (www.sgu.edu) has the highest reported MCATs, averaging around 25 (but again there is a WIDE range). Ross and others require the MCAT but typically they will accept students with lower MCAT scores as long as they've proven they can handle the work.
Other important parts of your application is your personal statement. I won't go into that here. I may save that for another time. And finally, letters of recommendation are key. I'd get letters from physicians, professors, state representatives, basically anybody with any kind of clout! Trust me...it helps. If you are applying to DO schools, I'd make sure you have a letter from a DO and shadow them a couple times just to see for yourself - they aren't all about voodoo magic and wizardry! I promise. Please make sure you've shadowed or gained some clinical exposure with the attending physician BEFORE you ask for a LOR. Just a friendly reminder.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
The challenge...
Depending on your current situation in life, the application process to medical school will vary. Assuming you go straight from high school to college, you will have a completely different path from those pre-med students who are non-traditional - those who choose to pursue a career before deciding on a medical school education. Assuming you are a high school student looking to go to medical school after college, please consider this advice. Do the best you can in school in order to get into the best college you can! (Obviously!) However, this plays an important and undervalued role in the admissions process that you may or may not yet realize. Going to a reputable college or university CAN help in some instances; however, this is not a universal point. I attended a community college for my first two years of college and then transferred to a private liberal arts school. Granted, I did well throughout college, but along the way, especially once I was in medical school, I realized that many of my peers had gone to outstanding colleges and universities located all over the country! This was very intimidating at first. Although, once I settled in and got to work, all that undergrad reputation went out the door! Anyways, back to my point. It does serve some function in your favor if you attend a more difficult undergraduate college, but it's not a requirement. I've been told by the director of admissions at my medical school that the "preferred" applicant comes from a liberal arts college and is a non-science major! Hmmm...How about that?!!!
So, let's say you graduate from high school, you get good grades and SAT/ACT scores, and you're off to a good college (or maybe a community college if that's the case). What do you do next?! I'd recommend majoring in whatever interests you most. Here's why - I believe that you will excel at what you find most interesting. You will want to study and learn as much as humanly possible about that subject! You CAN have any major when you apply to medical school. It's a common misconception that you must major in "pre-med" or "biology" or some other science or "-ology". Please major in your passion or at least what you like best. Enjoy school and most of all - enjoy life as a college student! You will have plenty of time to study once you are actually in medical school.
Once you are in college and pursuing your bachelor's degree, you will need to take the required courses for entrance into medical school. These include one year of biology, one year of general chemistry, one year of organic chemistry and one year of physics (which doesn't need to be calculus-based). Also, one year of English is generally required and a semester of statistics is highly recommended by some medical schools. It is best to find out what each school you are interested in is requiring and try to take all of those courses. I don't recommend stacking these courses on top of each other all at once. It is wise to show medical schools that you can handle a balance of tough coursework, which means that you can handle multiple difficult classes at once. I would not try to cram all of the pre-req's in a year. You want to shoot for A's and B's in these courses and you don't want to mess around with your pre-req's. Medical schools look at these courses very seriously. Generally, if you pace yourself over your first few years with your pre-req's, this takes you through your Junior year of college. It is at this point where you can sit for the MCAT.
The MCAT is the dreaded medical school entrance exam. It is composed of three sections: a biological sciences, a physical sciences, and a verbal reasoning component. They no longer (to my knowledge) require a written section of the exam. Each section is scored out of 15 although it is speculated that the verbal reasoning section is scored out of 13. Either way, a 43 would be the highest possible score. I have never met anyone with a 43 and as far as I know it is humanly impossible to score a 43 (or a 45 for that matter), so don't worry about shooting for that score. You don't need to ace the exam to get into medical school, although that would be nice if you did do so well! A good score is anything from a 30 and above. That is considered competitive for most American medical schools. Getting a 30 is easier said than done, however. There are prep courses offered by companies such as Kaplan and test books available for you to use in preparation for the exam. I must say that the MCAT is a difficult exam to study for. The questions were absurd and I thought it was nearly impossible to accurately answer the questions with limited info! In fact, I thought it was harder than either my Step I or Step II boards!! The MCAT is basically the "weeder" test for med school and you should know this coming in. Now, that's not to say that anything less than a 30 won't hack it! I'd say anything above a 20 (seriously) can get you in SOMEWHERE! My MCAT score was close to 20. That may seem low to many, but either way I'll be graduating in June! :)
So...to summarize, we discussed the big stuff - the required courses and the entrance exam. I'd say that is all pretty important information. If you are a non-traditional student, much if not all of the same applies - you have to take the MCAT and the required courses. It's HIGHLY recommended that you have a Bachelor's these days. If you don't have one, I'd suggest getting one. It'll help your chances of admission tremendously. Also, might I add that your work experience could be a tremendous asset, especially if you worked in a health-related field such as an EMT, Radiology Tech, or ICU nurse. I had fellow students in my medical school class that worked in these fields prior to med school and they were better for it. Should you forgo your college education as a chemistry major to improve your chances of admission by working as an EMT or Rad Tech, I don't know that's up to you. However, if you really want to get your degree in chemistry, don't change your major to nursing just because you think it will help! That's not smart. Do what you love first! That's the best advice I can give. I'd also like to add that being from an osteopathic school, I know for a fact that non-traditional students are highly encouraged to apply. I had a PhD, a Veterinarian, two Pharmacists, a few PT's, a lawyer, EMT's, and nurses in my class. You may want to consider osteopathic schools as a non-traditional applicant. You'd be pleasantly surprised with how well received you'd be!
So, let's say you graduate from high school, you get good grades and SAT/ACT scores, and you're off to a good college (or maybe a community college if that's the case). What do you do next?! I'd recommend majoring in whatever interests you most. Here's why - I believe that you will excel at what you find most interesting. You will want to study and learn as much as humanly possible about that subject! You CAN have any major when you apply to medical school. It's a common misconception that you must major in "pre-med" or "biology" or some other science or "-ology". Please major in your passion or at least what you like best. Enjoy school and most of all - enjoy life as a college student! You will have plenty of time to study once you are actually in medical school.
Once you are in college and pursuing your bachelor's degree, you will need to take the required courses for entrance into medical school. These include one year of biology, one year of general chemistry, one year of organic chemistry and one year of physics (which doesn't need to be calculus-based). Also, one year of English is generally required and a semester of statistics is highly recommended by some medical schools. It is best to find out what each school you are interested in is requiring and try to take all of those courses. I don't recommend stacking these courses on top of each other all at once. It is wise to show medical schools that you can handle a balance of tough coursework, which means that you can handle multiple difficult classes at once. I would not try to cram all of the pre-req's in a year. You want to shoot for A's and B's in these courses and you don't want to mess around with your pre-req's. Medical schools look at these courses very seriously. Generally, if you pace yourself over your first few years with your pre-req's, this takes you through your Junior year of college. It is at this point where you can sit for the MCAT.
The MCAT is the dreaded medical school entrance exam. It is composed of three sections: a biological sciences, a physical sciences, and a verbal reasoning component. They no longer (to my knowledge) require a written section of the exam. Each section is scored out of 15 although it is speculated that the verbal reasoning section is scored out of 13. Either way, a 43 would be the highest possible score. I have never met anyone with a 43 and as far as I know it is humanly impossible to score a 43 (or a 45 for that matter), so don't worry about shooting for that score. You don't need to ace the exam to get into medical school, although that would be nice if you did do so well! A good score is anything from a 30 and above. That is considered competitive for most American medical schools. Getting a 30 is easier said than done, however. There are prep courses offered by companies such as Kaplan and test books available for you to use in preparation for the exam. I must say that the MCAT is a difficult exam to study for. The questions were absurd and I thought it was nearly impossible to accurately answer the questions with limited info! In fact, I thought it was harder than either my Step I or Step II boards!! The MCAT is basically the "weeder" test for med school and you should know this coming in. Now, that's not to say that anything less than a 30 won't hack it! I'd say anything above a 20 (seriously) can get you in SOMEWHERE! My MCAT score was close to 20. That may seem low to many, but either way I'll be graduating in June! :)
So...to summarize, we discussed the big stuff - the required courses and the entrance exam. I'd say that is all pretty important information. If you are a non-traditional student, much if not all of the same applies - you have to take the MCAT and the required courses. It's HIGHLY recommended that you have a Bachelor's these days. If you don't have one, I'd suggest getting one. It'll help your chances of admission tremendously. Also, might I add that your work experience could be a tremendous asset, especially if you worked in a health-related field such as an EMT, Radiology Tech, or ICU nurse. I had fellow students in my medical school class that worked in these fields prior to med school and they were better for it. Should you forgo your college education as a chemistry major to improve your chances of admission by working as an EMT or Rad Tech, I don't know that's up to you. However, if you really want to get your degree in chemistry, don't change your major to nursing just because you think it will help! That's not smart. Do what you love first! That's the best advice I can give. I'd also like to add that being from an osteopathic school, I know for a fact that non-traditional students are highly encouraged to apply. I had a PhD, a Veterinarian, two Pharmacists, a few PT's, a lawyer, EMT's, and nurses in my class. You may want to consider osteopathic schools as a non-traditional applicant. You'd be pleasantly surprised with how well received you'd be!
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Introduction to pre-med students
Greetings! I am graduating from a D.O. medical school this June and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to help educate pre-med students on the tactics needed for admission to medical school. There is much to discuss on this topic and I'd like to open it up to others who may be interested or thinking about medical school. I have spent countless hours online and reading various books on medical school admissions and I'd like to share my cumulative knowledge with you through this blog. There are many misconceptions regarding admission to medical school and I'd like to dispel as many of those as I can as well as open your eyes to other avenues for your future medical education.
Medical School admission is a difficult process - no doubt about it! Nobody said becoming a doctor was easy. I must preface this blog with if you are thinking about medical school for the glitz and glamour and high paying pizazz, you'd betting look elsewhere! Might I suggest Law school or better yet Business School where you can command six figures to start and then some. Let's face it, being a doctor today is not what it was 10, 20, or 30 years ago. Heck, even going back 4 years, you can see the changes (e.g. Medicare National Identification numbers, etc.). So, in the field of medicine with ever-increasing malpractice, overhead costs, and decreasing reimbursement payments, you need to make sure this is something you really WANT. You had better love it!
Before I begin my "free medical school admission consultation", let me tell you a little about myself. I am a 26 year old fourth year osteopathic medical student who will be starting an internal medicine residency in July. I love talking to pre-meds, such as yourself, about getting accepted to medical school and I will try to offer what I can in order to help you succeed. I find it very satisfying and somewhat entertaining hearing what many pre-meds have said or had questions about. What I want to discuss through this blog is not "classified" information although maybe it should be because I will discuss what "really" happens and not what is traditionally found through the various array of internet forums.
Medical School admission is a difficult process - no doubt about it! Nobody said becoming a doctor was easy. I must preface this blog with if you are thinking about medical school for the glitz and glamour and high paying pizazz, you'd betting look elsewhere! Might I suggest Law school or better yet Business School where you can command six figures to start and then some. Let's face it, being a doctor today is not what it was 10, 20, or 30 years ago. Heck, even going back 4 years, you can see the changes (e.g. Medicare National Identification numbers, etc.). So, in the field of medicine with ever-increasing malpractice, overhead costs, and decreasing reimbursement payments, you need to make sure this is something you really WANT. You had better love it!
Before I begin my "free medical school admission consultation", let me tell you a little about myself. I am a 26 year old fourth year osteopathic medical student who will be starting an internal medicine residency in July. I love talking to pre-meds, such as yourself, about getting accepted to medical school and I will try to offer what I can in order to help you succeed. I find it very satisfying and somewhat entertaining hearing what many pre-meds have said or had questions about. What I want to discuss through this blog is not "classified" information although maybe it should be because I will discuss what "really" happens and not what is traditionally found through the various array of internet forums.
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