3 answers
Richard’s Answer
Pick a major that interests you so you don't mind devoting a majority of your hours to studying. 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.
My son used MCAT Complete 7-Book Subject Review 2019-2020: Online + Book + 3 Practice Tests (Kaplan Test Prep) Kaplan Test Prep
It was about $140 and he achieved his goal score.
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.
Irene’s Answer
You don't really transfer to medical school. First, you graduate from college with a bachelor's degree, usually 4 years.. During college you apply to medical school which is 4 years. Years ago you used to be able to finish 2 years of medical school and then attend medical school, but this almost never happens anymore. There are a few programs where you apply from high school and are accepted to both college and medical school and attend one after the other for 7 years. However, I think one should attend 4 years of college because you will be able to obtain a broader education including art, music, and liberal arts courses.
In order to apply for medical school, you need to take some very specific courses in college, usually at least one year of general chemistry, one year of organic chemistry, one year of physics, and one year of biology. Because those requirements are very specific, most people applying to medical school major in science such as biology or chemistry, but you can major in anything you want as long as you meet the medical school requirements. I have seen people major in engineering, art, classics and music and many others, so you are not required to major in science.
There are some elective courses you can take in medical school, but there is no specific preparation to apply for a residency in neurosurgery although almost everyone who does so takes a "rotation" in neurology and neurosurgery, about one month each. To specialize in neurosurgery you take a residency after medical school for 7 years which means by the time you are done with all of your training, you are about 32 to 33 years old. There is no way to shorten the time in residency and some people take extra specialty training so if you wanted to specialize in the treatment of children in neurosurgery, this could add 1-2 years. Neurosurgery is the longest residency or specialization training there is and others such as pediatrics and internal medicine are as little as 3 years.
There are resources available to you at the Association of American Medical Colleges at https://students-residents.aamc.org, Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_school and at the American Medical Association at https://www.ama-assn.org/education, but I think the first reference is the best.
Irene’s Answer
Dear Peter:
You don't really transfer to medical school. First, you graduate from college with a bachelor's degree, usually 4 years.. During college you apply to medical school which is 4 years. Years ago you used to be able to finish 2 years of medical school and then attend medical school, but this almost never happens anymore. There are a few programs where you apply from high school and are accepted to both college and medical school and attend one after the other for 7 years. However, I think one should attend 4 years of college because you will be able to obtain a broader education including art, music, and liberal arts courses.
In order to apply for medical school, you need to take some very specific courses in college, usually at least one year of general chemistry, one year of organic chemistry, one year of physics, and one year of biology. Because those requirements are very specific, most people applying to medical school major in science such as biology or chemistry, but you can major in anything you want as long as you meet the medical school requirements. I have seen people major in engineering, art, classics and music and many others, so you are not required to major in science.
There are some elective courses you can take in medical school, but there is no specific preparation to apply for a residency in neurosurgery although almost everyone who does so takes a "rotation" in neurology and neurosurgery, about one month each. To specialize in neurosurgery you take a residency after medical school for 7 years which means by the time you are done with all of your training, you are about 32 to 33 years old. There is no way to shorten the time in residency and some people take extra specialty training so if you wanted to specialize in the treatment of children in neurosurgery, this could add 1-2 years. Neurosurgery is the longest residency or specialization training there is and others such as pediatrics and internal medicine are as little as 3 years.
There are resources available to you at the Association of American Medical Colleges at https://students-residents.aamc.org, Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_school and at the American Medical Association at https://www.ama-assn.org/education, but I think the first reference is the best.