bobsmith

None of the lecture times overlapped?

celestial605

Actually, they did. Luckily, one professor gave chapter notes that were extremely clear. I know of a couple other students who did the same thing this summer. I also saw a handful of Stanford students who just took Physics 3A and 3B.... I guess they plan to do the rest next summer.

Jo.InC.

what're your extracurriculars?

celestial605

I'm not sure how helpful this will be since I haven't gotten into medical school yet So who knows if my ECs are good enough? I'll post them anyways in case it gives you all some good ideas. I think the number of activities I do is probably about average compared to other premeds I know.

I actually didn't start any extracurriculars until Spring quarter of freshman year; I did research at Bing Nursery School with the developmental psychology department. Basically I got to play with little kids I only did that for one quarter.

The summer after freshman year, I volunteered at the hospital (boring) and was the head woodwind instructor for my former high school's marching band. (SCSBOA State Champions!)

Sophomore year... the whole year I worked in a Neurosurgery research lab at the medical school. I also joined Henry's Place http://www.stanford.edu/group/henrysplace in which students pair up to do science experiments one-on-one with elementary school kids. I am now the co-president. I also joined Organ Donor Education http://www.stanford.edu/group/ode which aims to inform the community about organ donation; we have a shadowing program (you could see a kidney transplant!) and we present info to kids in the community, among other things. I am the vice president. I am also part of the Stanford Pre-med Association, which holds events to inform and prepare pre-meds. I am on the executive board.

This summer I took physics, and I volunteered at the Discovery Science Center, which is an interactive science museum for kids.

The things I like least about my resume are that I have little clinical experience, and I don't have much "teamwork" type experience. Most of what I do involves working with people one-on-one. So this year I'm trying to get a volunteer spot at Arbor Free Clinic http://arbor.stanford.edu or Pacific Free Clinic http://pacific.stanford.edu/home.html but they always have a long waiting list. I'm also hoping to volunteer at the Packard Children's hospital on campus. I wish I had time to be in the Wind Ensemble... but I don't. Studying for MCAT this year.

pianoisland

im trying to decided whether to declare my major as biology or biochemistry because i want to go into pre-med or pre-pharmacy. i want to be a doctor, surgeon or pharmacist. do you have any suggestions or info about either?

celestial605

Hmm.... I don't believe biochem is a major - is it a specialization within chem? I am looking in the Bulletin and I see "Biological chemistry option"; I believe they added that just this year or the end of last year. Thus, I know nothing about biochem; if you just contact the department, they will answer your logistical questions.

Can you be more specific about what you want to know about the bio major? One thing that comes to mind:

The biocore is scary, and I know of many people who get worse grades in the bio core than in upper division classes. So, if you don't do superbly in core, don't take that as a cue to give up.

qscgy

Rumor says that “Psych 1” is under course revamping this year, Math51 is also under revamping. I remember you are a "Psych 1" TA for the autumn and winter quarters. From your experience and a TA point of view, is the new revamped “Psych 1” required much more study compared to the year you took it? How much study you would suggest in order to get an “A”? Do you think taking Chem 33 (Structure and Reactivity), Math 51, IHUM and Psych 1 for the coming winter quarter will be very hard to handle them well?
I appreciate very much your insights.

celestial605

Psych 1 is quite improved, in my opinion. It requires less busy work - we used to have weekly assignments that were kind of useless (i.e. write a page about the sensations you have during the day, like waking up and feeling the sheets on your skin and getting up to have your feet touch the cold floor). However, there's more useful work - students actually have to read the textbook because there are terms from the book that will be on the exam (even if they weren't explicitly mentioned in class). However, it is my experience that skimming the textbook and looking for the major concepts is enough; you don't need to memorize all the details in the textbook to do well.

There have also been improvements in the Research and Writing requirement, in which students actually design their own psychology study and write a paper on it. The format is exactly like a real, published psychology paper, but the students don't actually carry it out (they just make up data; the important part is learning how to write and think like a psychologist).

The exams are also better written this year, in my opinion. They are more focused on broad concepts and examples of those concepts (versus little details).

To answer your question, no, Psych 1 does not require much more study. I don't know how to quantify how much studying you need to get an A... like I said, just skim the textbook and look for main ideas/terms, and attend all the lectures. This is important because there will be examples given in lecture that appear on the exams. It's not that hard to get an A, I think, especially when compared to a chem class, for example.

I think your proposed schedule for next quarter is plausible, but not easy. I did something very similar, so I know it's doable. If you take Psych 1, let me know and I'll tell you who I am =p

Kiora

Hello,
Could you tell me if there are any rankings for colleges that are especially successful in getting their pre-meds into medical school? Also, are there any especially good areas in the USA where these colleges tend to be located - if this sort of information is available on the internet that's great, but if it is only accessible in book/journal form that's ok as well. Basically, I just need as much information as possible about good pre-med colleges (especially those that aren't in the Ivy League!). Hope you can help,
thank you

celestial605

Unfortunately, I'm not aware of any such list. I can tell you that in 2005, at Stanford, 74% of the students who applied to medical school were accepted somewhere. This is much better than the national average of only 46.7% being accepted anywhere. I did a Google search "medical school acceptance rate undergraduate" and found a bunch of undergraduate institutions that state their overall acceptance rates. A few examples are Tufts (85-90%) and Binghamton (61%). Perhaps if you do searches for specific colleges, you can find the stats. Again, I don't know of a site or book that lists these numbers.

You might also check out this thread Good Pre-Med Schools which has some potentially helpful information. Good luck!

Kiora

Thank you,
I will look into this. Can you tell me where you got that national average statistic from please? Also, is it worth pursuing a year abroad to improve your general image as a student (and to gain valuable cultural experience of course) if you are intending on applying for a BS/MD or MA/MD programme?
Thanks

celestial605

I'm looking at a packet of information that I got from the Stanford Undergraduate Advising and Research center. That's where I got the Stanford and national averages.

As for the year abroad... do you mean a year between high school and college, then into a BS/MD or MA/MD program? Unfortunately, I am not familiar with this, as neither of these programs exist at Stanford as far as I know. A lot of people take a year off between undergrad and medical school, often to work, do research, or travel. I suppose it's up to you - is there something else you want to do? Do you feel that you need to do something to strengthen your resume? Or do you want to hurry up and finish all that darn school? Maybe asking yourself these questions will help you find your answer.

Kiora

Actually, I'm from England and trying to get abit more insight into the American education system. I'm just a little confused by all the programmes out there, and am really interested in the new tendency for students to go abroad for a year (usually the third). I'm particularly confused by these combined BA/MD BS/MD programmes - I don't understand how they work - whether they secure entrance into medical school or whether they are like a medical qualification in their own right. Sorry to burden you with all these queestions but you do seem like a model student and the person to ask about such matters!
Thanks

qscgy

Any advice on a Bio major with Creative Writing minor?
Amount of work for English 90 "Fiction Writing"?

celestial605

I think I've known a couple Bio/English double majors, but I do not know anyone with the combination you've mentioned. Are you wondering if it's possible, or just looking on insider input in general?