PrincessND

AHHH!!! I've been doused in private messages. Give me time...I promise I'll get to all of them.

PrincessND

Hi Kirss1024,
Congrats on being half way done with college. Can you believe you only have 2 more years of being able to sit in the student section?

The best electives for SCPP, I would say, are human/vertebrate physiology (take this with Sunny Boyd if you can), genetics, biochemistry, and cell biology. Some med schools also require a course in biochemistry.

I'm not exactly sure when you can take the MCAT, because it's offered more frequently now; when I took it, it was offered twice a year, April and August. I would say it's probably best to take it as soon as you're ready. That way you'll get your scores before AMCAS (the med school application) goes live and hopefully have time to retake it if necessary. Basically, there is a day that the AMCAS application becomes available for submission and almost every med school applicant presses the submit button on that day because med schools usually read applications in the order they receive them. You are at somewhat of a disadvantage if you don't submit it on that date. Of course if you don't plan to apply for the 2009-2010 medschool class you could take the MCAT as late as you want to.

PrincessND

Hi everyone,
I finished my first year of medical school on June 11. It was a great year, and I never thought it was possible to learn as much as I did in such a short amount of time. After my first year, I can again say, unequivocally, that my Notre Dame education really helped me to succeed during this difficult first year. Get the most out of ND because you will really appreciate it during med school when you don't have to prepare as long for a cell biology or biochemistry test because you have a strong background in them, and can instead focus on memorizing the 300+ anatomy terms you have to know for the next day.

And medical school is an amazing experience. Everyday you become more and more fascinated with the human body and medicine. You get to do cadaver dissection and see how beautifully and intricately crafted the body really is. You watch live videos of laparoscopic surgical procedures like gastric bypass and gall bladder removal. You meet patients and learn what a heart murmur sounds like. Your vocabulary expands rapidly and you have no problem using words like "acetabulum" or "hematemesis" or "anastomosis" in everyday conversations. You actually get real-world contexts for all that "cell stuff" you've spent so many years learning. Instead of drawing diagrams of the heart, you actually get to hold a real, human one in your hands and trace the path of blood through it. I hope these anecdotes keep you motivated for what's to come and give you at least a little inspiration for MCAT preparation or that next orgo or physics test.

I just wanted to say thanks to all of the nice people I've gotten to chat with on this message board over the past year and a half. It has truly been an honor to help you all with your medical school-related questions, and I'm excited that we'll have so many fabulous doctors in the future. I'll continue to answer questions for as long as I have time and you still have questions.

indiejimmy

princess, you are amazing. thank you.

PrincessND

Hi Kids,
I've gotten a lot of private messages in recent weeks of students asking what they should be doing during their summers to increase their chances of gaining acceptance to medical school. The answer: you should be doing something. Yes, my friends, that means no more sitting in your pajamas until noon watching reruns of 90's sitcoms. You must be doing something. Here's some options:

1. Doing summer research in science or some other field that relates to medicine is an excellent choice. There are many programs that give you a stipend (and even room and board if you're from out of state) to participate in clinical or basic science research. For these, you're going to have to start preparing to apply in November. Some have early application deadlines and require letters of recommendation, so get an early start. Here's some websites with lots of programs you can apply to:

-http://www.columbia.edu/cu/biology/ug/intern.html
-http://people.rit.edu/gtfsbi/Symp/premed.htm
-For URMs: Minority Summer Opportunities
-Of course you can also find some other really good programs by doing a Google search.

ND also has a program through the College of Arts and Letters where you can design your own project with a faculty member, so look for emails about this. Usually sophomores and juniors win these fellowships.

2. Get a job/non-research internship. A great place to start is going to ND's career and internship fairs (don't be too put off by all those Goldman Sachs-seeking business majors). Even if you don't wind up landing something there, you will get some ideas for things to apply to. There's also the career center website. Here's some interesting internships that could definitely come in handy on a med school application:
-http://www.hrw.org/internships/undergraduates/undergraduates.html
-Camp Sweeney: Summer camp for diabetic kids seeks counselors every summer (Contact Us :: Camp Sweeney 2008)

3. Volunteer at a hospital or set-up a regular shadowing schedule with a physician. Let's face it, you should probably do this anyway. Don't know any physicians? Look for doctors in your area on Google and email them or call their offices and leave them a message. Tell them about yourself, that you're interested in their field and that you'd like to shadow them. If you live near an academic medical center, I'd recommend starting with those docs because they like to teach and will likely be thrilled that you're interested in their field.

4. Go abroad. Med school like to see this because it's one of those things that shows that you have "life experiences". ND has a wide variety of summer abroad program options.

5. Do a service project. Although I list this last, these are really great opportunities to help in the community, gain life experience, and show that you care about others (all things med schools LOVE). Luckily for you, ND has the Center for Social Concerns which maintains of list of both domestic and international (I know someone who did a summer service learning project in Fiji) service programs. Some pay, others don't. You could spend your summer rebuilding homes in New Orleans or teaching English to kids in Thailand. If this sounds interesting to you, visit the CSC in November-ish to see about how applying works.

academy09

Hi, I was just wondering what path to becoming a doctor would be the most beneficial or efficient. Should I go into college and major in psychology then go on to med school, or would it be in my interest to find a pre-med program starting out. I am a good strudent, but I know how competitive med school is, so any suggestion would greatly help! thanks so much