Late start pre-med...

[ashhleynicole]

Hey everyone, I came across this site a few weeks ago and finally decided to join. I have a lot of questions as I just recently decided to persue medicine. I have always been interested in health care, but I have been held back many times for various reasons. I attended a community college right after high school since I was unsure of what major to decide on. After that first year, I was back and forth between my home state of New Jersey and my current state (Florida). Because I was back and forth, I was forced to take a few online courses. I took the last year off since I was in the process of moving. Now, I'm finally ready to get everything back on track. In the past year, I have been researching many career fields and trying to figure out what is right for me. Finally, I decided on medicine. I know it's not going to be easy, but I'm ready for it.

Anyway, I just don't know where to start. I feel lost and confused. Part of my problem is declaring a major. When I first started at the community college, I chose Biomedical Science. I had someone tell me I would be better off choosing Biology or Chemistry/Biochemistry. I know technically the major I choose isn't that important. I just need to make sure I complete all the medical school pre reqs. I just need a little bit of guidance. How do I begin this journey to medical school? Is the fact that I started out at a community college going to look bad?

A little bit about me...In high school I was an average student. Didn't really care much about anything. I attended a very prestigious private school, but didn't always get the best grades throughout high school. Finally during my senior year I decided I should probably try a little harder and ended up graduating at the top of my class. In my time at community college, I was able to achieve and maintain a 3.8 GPA. When I moved down here to Florida, I took a CNA/PCT course, but I haven't taken the test yet. However, I plan to do that within the next few weeks. I'm hoping to gain a good amount of clinical experience by doing this.

Sorry for the long post, I just don't know where to go from here! Thanks guys!

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[Dagrimsta1]

At the end of the day you will need

English 1 year
Bio 1 year
Chem 1 year
Orgo (1 semester should be sufficient) but I recommend taking the full year for good measure
B/C 1 semester
Psych/Soc 1 semester or year if you like it
Math 1 year (this is highly recommended B/C schools like a full year)
Physics 1 year

These are the only requirements you need to get into med school. (Only seems like the wrong word..)
I was a bio major in college and it covered most of these courses + some extra (genetics, histo and others) I think it helped me out alot in terms of thinking like a scientist which is what is needed for the MCAT..

In terms of what you should do, pick a major you like, commit, and schedule in those courses into a rough 4 year plan of courses. Sound like a lot of work b/c it is. Pre-med aint easy and it requires a lot of due diligence. This is also not to mention the EC you'll need like research, volunteering, etc..

Take it one semester at a time and try to keep your GPA high. If you're serious there are ALOT of awesome resources on this site that can definitely help you out. Take a look at Lawper's essentials to SDN or whatever he calls it.

Good luck!

 

[DrTheory]

Here's the link to what the above poster recommended.

I cannot give you any real advice from experience, but from what I've seen, it's good that you've already started looking to get some clinical experience with the CNA/PCT course. Another common thing that people on SDN do for clinical experience is becoming a Scribe (primarily in the ER) and you can make a little bit of cash on the side. Another thing you should really start early is Physician Shadowing, if you start now then your LORs will be much better and more personalised.

I really do wish you good luck!

 

[ashhleynicole]

Thank you both for the replies! I really do appreciate it.


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