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Medical Forum / General / General / April 2007Pre Med Education Confusion
Hello all, I am a first time poster to this group so please tell me if this topic would be better suited for a different group. I have a couple of questions but first let me give some background on me. I'm 25 years old / Male / Married / No kids. I've been attending college off and on for the past 8 years (wow ... that long) and have accumulated enough credits that finally amounts to getting all of my pre requisite class requirements out of the way. For most of my life I settled on the fact that I would major in Computer Science and be a programmer. I have since changed my mind and decided that I would like to become a doctor. Particularly, at this time, I would like to specialize in the area of Neurology. I say at this time, as I am not naive enough to believe that my choice in specialty could very well change as I move through school. I currently have a 2.2 GPA and am starting pre med in the fall. I anticipate that it will take me roughly two years before I will finish my degree, which brings me to my first question. Is there a preference in major for pre med students? I have been told no by my adviser, but wanted the opinions of people who are, perhaps, in the field. I have chosen a major, currently, in Biology with a minor in Computer Science (I would very much like to explore the correlations between computing technology and the brain, thus utilizing my inherent knowledge of computers and programming and applying that to the field of Neurology). Secondly, is my previous history of lackluster grades going to affect how a medical school evaluates me? I know that i need at least a 3.5 GPA or higher to gain admittance to most medical schools, so that is already an undeniable goal. Am I going to be penalized, however, even if I reach that goal? I will, more than likely, think of other questions, but would be most appreciative if someone could touch on those two and perhaps impart some of your experience. Thank you in advance. Paul > Hello all, > [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > roughly two years before I will finish my degree, which brings me to > my first question. A GPA of 2.2? That is awfully low to get into med school. You had better gets lots of As in the next two years. > Is there a preference in major for pre med students? Yes, something that the student likes. In your case, computer programming is fine. > I have been told > no by my adviser, but wanted the opinions of people who are, perhaps, [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > utilizing my inherent knowledge of computers and programming and > applying that to the field of Neurology). Neurology is spelled with a lower-case 'n', not an upper case one. There is very little use of computer simulation in neurology. There is a lot in neuroscience, especially computational neuroscience. You may be better off going for a Ph.D. in neuroscience or an M.D./Ph.D. > Secondly, is my previous history of lackluster grades going to affect > how a medical school evaluates me? Yes. > I know that i need at least a 3.5 > GPA or higher to gain admittance to most medical schools, so that is > already an undeniable goal. Am I going to be penalized, however, even > if I reach that goal? If you were on the admission committee at the med school, would you take a student with a 3.5 who had a 3.5 all through college or one who has had 2.2 and worked up to a 3.5? The medical school will see you had problems in the beginning, but that you learned how to study and achieve as time went on. So, yes, they will look at your grades, but no, it is not a show-stopper. > I will, more than likely, think of other questions, but would be most > appreciative if someone could touch on those two and perhaps impart > some of your experience. Thank you in advance. > Paul >> Hello all, >> [quoted text clipped - 63 lines] >> appreciative if someone could touch on those two and perhaps impart >> some of your experience. Thank you in advance. I agree with that, but it means that you'd better knock the lid off, gradewise, on the medical school required courses you have left to take, such as chemistry, physics, math through calculus and genetics. If you're seriously contemplating such a switch, it's time to start planning the courses you need and get your nose to the grindstone. The other important consideration is MCAT scores. Doing well (VERY well) on the MCAT goes a long way toward mitigating GPA indiscretions in a previous life (you'll have to take the Kaplan course because everyone else is). Likewise, some sort of medically-related service that demonstrates interest and dedication, an excellent personal interview, and excellent letters of recommendation. It's the total package that admissions committees take into account, but I'm confident that a medical school application with a 2.2 GPA, no matter how good the other stuff, will go into the wastebasket in the first round. Get the grades up, you've got a shot, IMHO. HMc Wow, this is fantastic. Thank you both for your responses and encouragement. I am setting up an appointment with my permanent advisor to discuss the grade situation. Do you guys have any opinions or experience with private loans? For example, the Signature Loan from Sallie Mae? Thanks again, Paul btw, just wanted to let you guys know that I've started a blog to chronicle some of this stuff, if you're interested. besides topics i find interesting, i'll be touching on my experiences as I go through premed and into med school ... http://www.ideacandi.com/wordpress is the link to the blog
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