UMD vs UCSC for premed

mikemac
Mon, 26 Jul 2021 17:06:39 +0000

the post from @WayOutWestMom covers all the relevant info for premed.

What I’ll add is a question – why premed? Many HS kids aren’t aware of more than a handful of career fields, and medicine is an attractive one out of the bunch because they think they need to pick something as they enter college. And even within medicine many kids are probably only aware of becoming a doctor or nurse but these are far from the only ones in the health field that help people. Physical therapists, radiology techs, speech pathologists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, to name but just a few as shown on http://explorehealthcareers.org – careers that take less than 11+ years of education and training and the immense debt that comes with a M.D.

Callling oneself “pre-med” is often a snap decision that doesn’t take a lot of effort (such as filling out supplemental apps the way you do in nursing) or have a lot of commitment; sign up for calculus and chem frosh year and you’re on your way. The flip side is the attrition rate is tremendous. Only about 40% of those actually completing all the requirements and taking the MCAT get in, and for every one that goes that far there were probably 2 or 3 others that started frosh year thinking of pre-med at many colleges.

If she doesn’t already have exposure to medicine thru volunteering then I suggest thinking of her as just considering medicine and not basing any decisions on what may be a passing interest. Instead pick the school that gives her the best opportunities no matter what her eventual career.