Colbert_fan

more questions:

You talked about using the surgery seminar to substitute for PWR2...when I looked over the bulletin, that seminar had a WRITE-2 written on its description...does that mean whenever I see a WRITE-2 as part of the course description, it can be a PWR 2 substitute?

What type of lab experience is required by med school? For instance, the orgo chem series also has a lab series accompanying it. Do we HAVE to take that to fulfill lab requirement? Or can we just do whatever research/lab we want and be ok with stanford/med school requirement (what is the requirement, anyways)? What about for the other med school requirements (biology)

I heard rumors that most introsems have less workload and other stuff than regular pre-med classes...true?

If I can't get all the organic chem series finished before doing bio courses on second year, is that ok? Will I be prepared for bio material?

Thank you!

current_student

write-2 = pwr 2, so any introsem with that means it satifies the pwr 2 requirement.

pre med requirements...http://www.stanford.edu/dept/undergr...ingstarted.htm

introsems are only 3 units, as oppose to many premed classes that are 4 and 5 units, and so usually they are less work. but they are techinically less work than any class that's more than 3 units, including eng and humanities classes. i'm not sure if you were implying that introsems can subsititute any pre med required classes, because they can't. intro sems can only subsititute pwr 2 if they are write-2, and also some GERs.

most people don't finish all the required orgo chem classes by sophomore year. so you're fine if you haven't finished yet by your second year...i haven't. i doubt you need all your orgo chem to understand bio, but i haven't taken bio core yet.

celestial605

Yay current_student, thanks for finding that link.

All of o-chem is not necessary for bio core. I think knowledge from 33 is sufficient. Even then, it's not a big deal if you haven't taken any o-chem by the time you get to bio-core; you aren't tested on chemistry, but concepts make more sense if you had o-chem.

I think using introsems to satisfy GERs or PWR/WRITE is a great idea. Both introsems that I took (Art of Structural Engineering and Current Concepts in Structural Engineering) were rather chill. The engineering class (which was applied science or something) had weekly problem sets that were basic mechanics, and a project where we built a bridge out of dry spaghetti noodles and glue =] The organ transplantation class (which was WRITE) had 1 8-page paper and 1 oral presentation on the paper topic, and 2 little paper critiques (1 page each). I found them interesting and relatively easy. On the other hand, Cellular Neuroscience was 3 units and it was a B**CH. Really interesting, but very hard. That class should have been more units ::grumbles:: Also, this could just be a personal thing - I learn better in seminar settings than in lecture settings. Anyway, I do think that seminars can be easier than other GER classes, but introsems can be very competitive; only 13-20 students are accepted into each seminar, I think.

Colbert_fan, if you still have questions about premed requirements after reading that website, feel free to ask again, but I also recommend you talk to a premed advisor at Stanford; Patricia Lewis is great. Getting an appointment is not hard, and I believe she has walk-in hours as well.

As for how to become a TA, I believe you first have to have taken the class. Secondly, depending on the class, you may be invited to apply to be a TA if your performance was exemplary, or the professor may just give an open invitation for anyone to apply. There will typically be a paper application and an interview. If you really enjoyed a class, by all means talk to the professor about the possibilities of becoming a TA, whether or not there was an invitation. Can't hurt to ask. I wasn't invited to apply to be a Psych TA, but I really wanted it so I just asked the professor for the application. She gave it to me, and I ended up getting a position.

Many classes, especially in bio/math/chem for example, have graduate student TAs. I am not sure if they allow undergraduate TAs because I don't know anyone who's ever asked. Again, professors love to hear from students and they love enthusiasm, so don't be afraid to ask.

current_student

TA QUESTION...

One of my chem 31 TA's was a senior, but she was the only one. all the others were grad students

qscgy

Celestial605, Are you taking any other Math course beside 51? I thought Med school requires a year of Math courses.
Do you take Physics during your junior year? how many quarters of Physics will you take?
Are you a junior? I was surprised to hear a junior can be a TA.
Are you going to take BioChem?
How realistic to have a GPA > 3.80 at Stanford.

celestial605

Meh.... I haven't really decided whether or not to take any more math. I'm going to discuss that with an advisor soon. The reason is that Stanford says that some calculus (40 series, for example) is sufficient, or you could also do Math 51 and Stats 60 (I plan to do this). Plus, I'm a bio major and Math 51 is sufficient for the major. However, I'm going to talk to the advisors again because UCLA, my ideal med school, asks for a year of math including calc and stats. Sorry I don't have a straight answer on this one.

Physics can be taken whenever you feel like it... I know people taking it fresh/soph/jun year. I am actually taking physics this summer at UC Irvine because honestly, it's easier. Many people do it at Santa Clara. It is possible to complete all the physics in one summer; I have 3 lectures and 2 labs, and it really wasn't that much work.

Yes, I am a junior. I actually know that one psych TA is a sophomore. So, it's unusual, but not unheard of. The bio labs also have many junior TAs.

I am taking a quarter of biochem this fall =] Many schools recommend it, so I'm going for it. Just going to do one quarter though, not two. I discussed this with a premed advisor.

As for the GPA thing... I really can't answer that because I don't know you. A lot of people float in the 3.6 area... and of course there are people above and below. I think most people at Stanford got all A's in high school, and now some of those people still get all A's, some get A's and B's, some get C's. So it really depends.

By the way, I hope you all don't panic about planning every nuance of your college career. (I occasionally do that and it drives me nuts. I need to stop stressing out.) While as a pre-med it's important to get your requirements fulfilled, don't worry if you do something off-track or "not according to plan". Stanford is very flexible and will help you. I know juniors who are just deciding to be pre-med, and they're going back to star their chem (they've already done some of the requirements, but not consciously). Remember that amidst all the planning and the requirements, you have time to explore; I thought that I would be a chem major coming in to Stanford. But first quarter, I took Brain and Behavior, and I fell in love with the intersection of psychology and neurobiology. You can probably tell from my list of classes that I don't like to take time to include 'fun' classes like pilates or photography or cooking, but many people do that and say that it keeps them sane. Remember that pre-med is part of you, but there is more to think about too =]

qscgy

How difficulty is the Phys 20s at Stanford? Any benefits to take Phys during summer? What did you do last summer? And what do you plan to do for your junior - senior summer? Are you involved in any undergraduate research during school year or summer break?

Is it common for pre-Meds to take Math 51, Chem 31X, IHum and one other course for their fall quarter?

Besides helping young students science courses for community service, are you involved in any other extra curriculums activities? Orchestra? Sports?

current_student

since celestial605 has already been through two years of pre med, and i only one, i'll let him answer the rest. haha.

but i have question about the physics series as well. there's a 20, a 40, and a 50. i'm def not taking the 50. but if i'm gonna be on campus during the summer, do you think it's wise to take physics over the summer at stanford as well? and which series do you recommend? the 20 or 40. i've only taken one physics class in HS, so i'll probably suck at it. BUT i will only have that class to worry about if i take during the summer. thanks.

celestial605

I can't really quantify how hard the 20 series is... I haven't taken it, but my friends seem to say it's not too bad. I would advise taking the 20 series, which is recommended for pre-meds; there's no reason to go through a tougher series unless you REALLY like physics, and in that case I would shop it first.

I'm not sure about doing physics at Stanford over the summer... I don't actually know anyone who's done that. Everyone I know did it at Santa Clara or a school lclose to their home. Perhaps you can email patlewis@stanford.edu who is a great premed advisor.

P.S. I'm a she =]

current_student

haha. my bad. everyone seems to think i'm a he and i always correct them. so i should've been more careful.

yeah i'll email her for sure. thanks.

superwizard

lol I always thought you were a he. I should have been more careful myself people seem to think I'm a girl!

celestial605

To answer qscgy's questions...

I found physics pretty easy at UC Irvine. The way courses are taught is significantly than at Stanford... test problems are a lot like homework problems, concepts aren't explored in great detail, and barely anybody participates =[ I think it was a great decision to take physics there and not at Stanford, but I don't like physics very much and I wanted to spend my time at Stanford doing things I like. Some people enjoyed physics at Stanford and liked the professors, so don't take my opinion as gospel =]

Last summer, I volunteered at a hospital at the nurses' station (boring... mostly answered phones and filed papers =[) and was the head woodwind instructor at my high school's marching band (which was a lot of fun, and very rewarding). This summer, in addition to my classes, I'm volunteering at a children's science museum and a center for tutoring low-income kids.

Next summer I don't know what I'm going to do... I want to volunteer at a free clinic like Arbor or Pacific because the waiting lists are really long during the school year. I may also stay and do research in case I get a major grant from Stanford (= $$$$) and I need to finish my honors thesis work.

The research I do during the school year is in the Neurosurgery department at the medical school. I work on brain tumors. My favorite part is not really the research but rather the procedural stuff... learning to anesthetize animals and implant tumors and suture, things like that.

By the way, whenever you're thinking about getting into research, you can ask a professor you like, or you can mass email everyone in a certain department (I did this; I emailed everyone in the neurobiology and neurosurgery departments).

current_student

superwizard,

i actually couldn't make up my mind if you were a girl or a guy. never put a sex to you. haha. but now i know.

superwizard

^that's the problem with boards you can't really tell

qscgy

Was it very challenging with the courses load you had during your first quarter at Stanford?

How difficulty was Biosci 20 - Brain and Behavior?
How much work was Introduction to Psychology? Was it graded with curve?
Have you heard any comments about “Spanish 1 first quarter” course load?