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What is some advice would you give to do go into a good medical school?
I still have many years left before going to college, I am not sure what I still need to do to go into a good medical school. I am not sure what career field I am interested in. Is there any recommendation you recommend. Thank you
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Shelia’s Answer
Looking into medical school is an exciting journey you might want to embark on, especially if you have a deep love for the sciences. Have you ever considered volunteering at a hospital? It's an excellent opportunity to experience first-hand what being a doctor involves and to discover what kind of doctor you might want to be.
As you move through high school, aim to build solid study habits, engage in extracurricular activities, and shine in your academics. Also, don't forget to make time for your friends to support each other as you navigate through high school. These habits will server you well in college and medical school.
When you are ready to check out colleges. you may want to choose one that offers a biomedical sciences program. This major will expose you to most of the diverse subjects you'll need to tackle in medical school. You'll need to shine in your studies, take up leadership roles and clock in hours at a hospital, clinic or doctor's office. My daughter, for example, worked as a medical scribe during her undergrad degree. You'll need to study for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and aim to score 510 or higher. Applying to multiple medical schools is a good idea. The application process involves writing a stellar personal statement, getting letters of recommendations, completing both a primary and secondary application and nailing the interview. Hopefully, you will receive multiple interviews where you'll have the opportunity to impress and stand out from the other applicants.
Once accepted into medical school, you'll spend two years of learning everything there is to know about the human body and how to diagnose patients (actors). Next, you spend the next 2 years on clinical rotations. You'll have to pass Step 1 to start third year and pass Step 2 for your fourth year. Passing the medical boards is key to kickstart your residency. A general surgeon residency is 5 years. Wishing you all the best on your journey!
As you move through high school, aim to build solid study habits, engage in extracurricular activities, and shine in your academics. Also, don't forget to make time for your friends to support each other as you navigate through high school. These habits will server you well in college and medical school.
When you are ready to check out colleges. you may want to choose one that offers a biomedical sciences program. This major will expose you to most of the diverse subjects you'll need to tackle in medical school. You'll need to shine in your studies, take up leadership roles and clock in hours at a hospital, clinic or doctor's office. My daughter, for example, worked as a medical scribe during her undergrad degree. You'll need to study for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and aim to score 510 or higher. Applying to multiple medical schools is a good idea. The application process involves writing a stellar personal statement, getting letters of recommendations, completing both a primary and secondary application and nailing the interview. Hopefully, you will receive multiple interviews where you'll have the opportunity to impress and stand out from the other applicants.
Once accepted into medical school, you'll spend two years of learning everything there is to know about the human body and how to diagnose patients (actors). Next, you spend the next 2 years on clinical rotations. You'll have to pass Step 1 to start third year and pass Step 2 for your fourth year. Passing the medical boards is key to kickstart your residency. A general surgeon residency is 5 years. Wishing you all the best on your journey!
Updated
Yasemin’s Answer
Hi Sweet! There's definitely a lot of moving parts in applying to medical school. The process is very tedious and does take time to build a good application but it isn't as bad as it seems. First, you have to complete four years of undergraduate before attending medical school. I think the most important time is to decide for sure that you want to do medicine. Being involved in your science club, shadowing physicians, volunteer work in hospitals or even certain programs in medical school can get you more exposure to the field of medicine. In terms of a university there are a lot of factors at play, tuition cost, close to home or out of state, how you feel about the campus, and what their programs look like - such as what are their premed opportunities.
I also wanted to add my previous answer here about medical school for another student:
In terms of being a premed, it is important to do well overall, you undergrad major or college is not as effective as your grades, MCAT score, clinical hours and service. I would strongly recommend to check out Dr.Gray on YouTube (I wish I had known about him sooner) he is amazing in giving premed advice, especially on how to be a strong applicant and this is the most important part. His podcasts and videos are very helpful and the best part is they are free-having good advice is important when applying to medical school because different individuals can give different advice and it can be confusing. I would recommend to check out AAMC/AACOMAS for more information as well in how to apply to medical school.
When you get to college make sure to connect with your professors and get them to know you-research opportunities and office hours are a great way to interact with your professors. When the time comes to apply to medical school, all medical schools will require recommendation letters and most if not all will require 2 science professors and one non-science professor (such as a psych professor or sociology professor or any other professor that is not teaching your hard science classes), so it is important to start building relationships.
I wish you the best!
Please ask more questions if you have any!
I also wanted to add my previous answer here about medical school for another student:
In terms of being a premed, it is important to do well overall, you undergrad major or college is not as effective as your grades, MCAT score, clinical hours and service. I would strongly recommend to check out Dr.Gray on YouTube (I wish I had known about him sooner) he is amazing in giving premed advice, especially on how to be a strong applicant and this is the most important part. His podcasts and videos are very helpful and the best part is they are free-having good advice is important when applying to medical school because different individuals can give different advice and it can be confusing. I would recommend to check out AAMC/AACOMAS for more information as well in how to apply to medical school.
When you get to college make sure to connect with your professors and get them to know you-research opportunities and office hours are a great way to interact with your professors. When the time comes to apply to medical school, all medical schools will require recommendation letters and most if not all will require 2 science professors and one non-science professor (such as a psych professor or sociology professor or any other professor that is not teaching your hard science classes), so it is important to start building relationships.
I wish you the best!
Please ask more questions if you have any!