Any advice?

[bbbenson36]

I’m new to the site, but it seems pretty useful from what I have read. I’m about to graduate from high school and would like to get a head start on my career (as if that’s possible). At this point I am going to attend CU in the fall with hopes of an integrative physiology major. From there I’m confused. My two interests are pharmacy and ophthalmology. I’m not really sure which to pick. I have been trying to understand how the pre schools work. From what I have read it sounds like most people don’t finish there major at their first college and go to a pre school after the 2nd or 3rd year. Anyone want to give a little explanation of the process? It would be much appreciated.

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[in_translation]

I’m new to the site, but it seems pretty useful from what I have read. I’m about to graduate from high school and would like to get a head start on my career (as if that’s possible). At this point I am going to attend CU in the fall with hopes of an integrative physiology major. From there I’m confused. My two interests are pharmacy and ophthalmology. I’m not really sure which to pick. I have been trying to understand how the pre schools work. From what I have read it sounds like most people don’t finish there major at their first college and go to a pre school after the 2nd or 3rd year. Anyone want to give a little explanation of the process? It would be much appreciated.

I'm not sure I exactly understand what you're asking ("pre school") but I'll give this topic a go. Since you're in high school, you have quite awhile to go (and you'll probably change your mind plenty of times along the way). If you want to go into pharmacy, check into a 5 year program where you can graduate and go straight off to work. If you're interested in ophthalmology, you're going to need an undergrad degree - sciences would be best, like you said you're looking to physiology already, plus you'll find med school students with a variety of majors. Then you'll need to apply for / interview for / get into medical school and do your basic science stuff and then specialize and do residency in ophthalmology (probably 8 years total post-undergrad). If you are interested in optometry, which is different from ophthalmology, and instead involves 4 years post-undergrad in professional school to earn your O.D. degree, then you're on the right board. Some optometry schools also have programs where you can enter after three years of undergrad (no degree) and then start professional coursework toward your O.D. degree while also earning a bachelor's in vision sciences after your first year. Look around through the posts and feel free to ask more questions.

 

[bbbenson36]

Thanks for the fast reply. I realize that I have some time to think about it and that my current ideas may change as I take college sciences. Really I just am trying to get some preliminary advice from actual students to waist as little time and money as possible. High school councilors don’t know anything (At least at my school). I have a few more questions. I have done some reading comparing pharmacy to optometry to ophthalmology. Do you have any experience in these fields? What’s your opinion of each?

As of now ophthalmology seems to be the most attractive of the three. If I was to pursue this direction what should I know in order to be most efficient towards this outcome? Is there a difference in medical schools in regards to ophthalmology? Unfortunately the whole notion and process of this "medical school" seems a bit nebulous to me. Any information regarding the step from university to medical school and the process of med school to residency would be helpful. Thanks

 

[KHE]

Let me make a few suggestions...

At this point in your journey, try not to get "locked in" to a specific career. I know that's sometimes hard to do but right now your best bet is to just concentrate on getting yourself admitted to the college of your choice (if that hasn't happened already) and then just concentrate on doing as well as you can in your first year. That is to say, focus on establishing good study habits and working out a schedule that allows you to succeed at the college/university level. If you haven't noticed already, on SDN there are lots of posts from people that go something like this...

"I really screwed up my first year at college! I got 4 Fs and my GPA is 2.2. Now I want to go to medical/optometry/dental school. Is that going to hurt me?"

Try to avoid that.

Once you get yourself acclimated to college life, then you can start focusing on what specific track you want to take. All of those careers you listed are very very different even though they are all in the "health" area. All of them will have very similar pre-requisites so sign up for your "pre-med" type courses and just concentrate on doing well in your first year.

Thanks for the fast reply. I realize that I have some time to think about it and that my current ideas may change as I take college sciences. Really I just am trying to get some preliminary advice from actual students to waist as little time and money as possible. High school councilors don’t know anything (At least at my school). I have a few more questions. I have done some reading comparing pharmacy to optometry to ophthalmology. Do you have any experience in these fields? What’s your opinion of each?

As of now ophthalmology seems to be the most attractive of the three. If I was to pursue this direction what should I know in order to be most efficient towards this outcome? Is there a difference in medical schools in regards to ophthalmology? Unfortunately the whole notion and process of this "medical school" seems a bit nebulous to me. Any information regarding the step from university to medical school and the process of med school to residency would be helpful. Thanks

 

[in_translation]

As of now ophthalmology seems to be the most attractive of the three. If I was to pursue this direction what should I know in order to be most efficient towards this outcome? Is there a difference in medical schools in regards to ophthalmology? Unfortunately the whole notion and process of this "medical school" seems a bit nebulous to me. Any information regarding the step from university to medical school and the process of med school to residency would be helpful. Thanks

In medical schools, you may not actually get to choose your specific residency, rather you are matched with a program based on certain criteria and then you must accept wherever you are placed. Therefore, even if you have hopes of becoming an ophthalmologist, you may end up heading down a different road in the end. I have heard that medical school interviewers frown upon students who come in and say "I definitely want to do <insert specialty here>" because they haven't necessarily had experience in those specific fields and often spots are limited for such programs. Check out the med school boards if you want to know more about the processes.