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What should I do to prepare for medical school ?

I’m starting college this fall on premed track.

college premed
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Raquel’s Answer

You've already gotten several great answers. To add onto them though, there's a lot that goes into building a good medical school application. Some things you should start looking into are volunteering, joining organizations to get leadership experience, and research. Obviously it's important to do well in your classes because GPA is important and you will need the knowledge from your courses to do well on the MCAT. School's look for well rounded applicants who put in time in various settings, so starting with a volunteering organization at the start of school and continuing with it throughout your undergrad years will look great. Some schools have research electives that you can take where you get credit for doing research, or you can reach out to professors to see if they have any openings available. You're already on a good track with thinking about what you need to be doing, best of luck!
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Phoebe’s Answer

Hi Dayeon,
You are already on the right track by planning ahead for medical school, it can be overwhelming to wait until last minute. I would recommend starting to get clinical hours right at the start of college! Reaching out to a physician for shadowing, becoming a medical scribe, volunteering at a hospital, or becoming a CNA are all great ways to get those hours in. Med school love applicants that have taken time to be in a clinical setting and getting all the required hours at the end of your undergrad can be extremely challenging. I am currently a CNA so let me know if you have questions about that at all. You are gonna do great! Good luck!
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Suzanne’s Answer

Congrats, Dayeon, on the first step in a very exciting, rewarding career path! My advice is to be sure to connect as early in your freshman year as possible with the pre-med advisor at your college to be sure you are taking the correct classes for the pre-med track. If you have a general advisor also, be sure that person also knows of your pre-med aspirations. It is important to do well in your classes, both science and non-science. I wish I had known to speak up early when I struggled in chemistry classes. In retrospect, I should have sought help from the professor, asked for tutoring and help in study techniques. This would have saved me time later spent in re-taking classes, etc.

You can major in any field which interests you as long as you also take and do well in the pre-med requirements. Your major does not have to be in the sciences...so if you want , for instance, to be able to communicate with future Spanish-speaking patients and you enjoy languages, by all means be a Spanish major.

Connect with the pre-med/pre-healthcare club at your college. They will have interesting speakers, activities and ideas for how to shadow physicians, how to get healthcare jobs in the summer, how to find research opportunities, etc. Plus you will be able to connect with others with similar interests as yourself. You will want to have some friends who are also serious students (as you will need to be, most of the time) and that will be a good place to make such friends. Good luck and write back with more questions when you have them.
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