As a pre-med student you’ll take a series of classes in organic and inorganic chemistry, biochemistry, biology, calculus, physics, and possibly genetics—the list, though pretty uniform, might vary slightly by school. That’s it. You aren’t obligated to major in biology or chemistry, in fact, Stanford’s Premedical Association states on its website: “It is ‘convenient’ to major in Biology (sic) because many of the premed requirements are also requirements for the Biology (sic) major, so it requires less time to complete both. However, medical schools also like to accept premed students, who have broad interests and have chosen a non-traditional major, so do not be deterred if you are passionate about Art History (sic). In conclusion, you can major in any subject you want!” (http://www.stanford.edu/group/spa/choosemajor.html, 15 January 2011).
The best preparation for the demands of pre-med is to take, in high school, a generous dose of AP biology, chemistry, calculus (AB or BC), physics, history and English. You will, without a doubt, be competing against the best students you encountered in high school. In any case, in high school, do some job shadowing in a hospital. Probably the best place is in the emergency room, as you’ll see a lot of things come in the door, and you’ll learn if you can stomach doing tracheotomies or other such surgical procedures. Additionally, such programs as the Orange County ROP emergency medical technician (EMT) is a good way to gain medical experience in high school (though you do have to be 18 to enroll).Taking this yet one step farther, some high school students do basic research through fellowships during the summer. (If you’re angling for 7-year bachelor/MD programs, anything you do to evince a strong interest in medicine is advantageous.)
Should you, after having a taste of medicine, be unwaveringly set to become a doctor, it might behoove you to consider the BMD (6, 7 or 8 year combined baccalaureate medical programs) offered at such places as Boston University or USC’s Keck School of Medicine. As an aside, the only 6-year program is at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, School of Medicine; if you’re in a rush, this is the one to consider. You can find a previous article on these combined programs at the Ivy College Prep, LLC blog at /wordpress/?s=MD. Not surprisingly, the competition to get into such programs is, in a word, intense. For Brown’s Alpert Medical School program, Class of 2010, there were 1,972 applicants, 106 were offered admission, 57 matriculated. This makes for an admissions rate of 5.3%. Of those admitted, average SAT score was 2215, and all were in the top 10% of their high school class.
An invaluable source for reviewing the various medical schools and their admissions requirements is from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR). (SRP $25) If you’re serious about getting into medical school this is an invaluable source for devising your roadmap. If, for example, you want to attend UCI Medical School you’ll find detailed information on its pages about: Premedical Coursework, Selection Factors (e.g. % of those admitted with experience in research, medical work, and community service), average GPA and MCAT scores, total number of applicants (4,695), number interviewed (499), and number matriculated (104). The information in Chapter 9, on financing a medical education, alone, is worth the price of the book.
The best path to becoming an MD, DO, or DPM (with DO being a doctor of osteopathy, and the DPM, being a degree in podiatry, which are considered not as competitive as the MD route) is your own. Take all the science and math courses you can in high school, study a major you enjoy while taking the critical pre-med courses in college, perform well on your MCAT, and do as much undergraduate research as you can stomach, and you should be ready for medical school. That’s a lot to digest. Now just say ahhh.