pre med requirements

Sep 10 2016

How to get great recommendation letters for medical school

Pre-Med Guide: How to get great recommendation letters for medical school

One thing which is often underrated when it comes to getting accepted to medical school is the recommendation letter. Many pre-meds are too focused on maintaining that good GPA and getting a high MCAT score that they can sometimes forget the other aspects of application. A good recommendation letter can be the difference between you or someone else getting called up for an interview. Between applicants of similar GPA and MCAT, things like recommendation letters can be what make the difference. Just imagine if you are one of the people on the admission’s board for a medical school. You get two applicants who have almost identical GPA and MCAT, but one of them has a powerful recommendation letter that paints you in a great light. You will probably choose the one who has the powerful recommendation letter! In this article, we are going to go into: Who to get a recommendation letter from, how to ensure you get a good one, and how to ask.

What are the recommendation letter requirements for most medical schools?

Each medical school has its own requirements for letter of recommendation. So make sure you learn the specifics when it comes to who your recommendation letters should be from and how many you will need. Typically most medical schools want around 3-5 recommendation letters. These should normally come from a science professor, non-science professor, pre-med committee, and a physician. Make sure you check the requirements of the school you are applying to ahead of time for its recommendation letter requirements!

Who do you want recommendation letters from?

When it comes to recommendation letters, quality and diversity is everything. You have to check for the specifics for your school, but usually they want something like: two recommendation letters from science teachers, one from a non-science teacher, one from your pre-med advisor, and one from a physician. Each school has their own requirements. But in general these are the people you should be asking for a recommendation letter. Each can add something different they can say about you and help paint a better picture overall for the people reviewing your application. You want to make sure those who are going to ask for a letter of recommendation are knowledgeable about: The demands of medical school and the medical profession, and your unique characteristics and credentials that would make you a good fit for being a physician.

People you want recommendation letters from:

Physician
From a manager in a job or volunteer work related to school or medicine
Teacher(s) (Science teacher ideally)
Research Professor
Pre-med advisor (If your school has it)

How to ensure you get a good recommendation letter:

The most important part to getting a good recommendation letter is having a relationship with the person who is writing it. You want them to get to know you well and be able to have a lot to say about you. Let them know your dreams, aspirations, and how much getting into medical school means to you. You should have spent building a relationship with them for atleast a few months before asking for a recommendation letter. It is important that they have had enough time to get to know you and can say many great things about you. Before asking someone for a recommendation letter, ask yourself this. “If I ask them for a recommendation letter, would they be able to speak well about me personally? Do they have any personal examples that showcase well my characteristics and abilities?”

Specific tips:

Professor/Teacher: Spend extra time going to their office hours. Talk to them after class. Ask more questions in class. And obviously make good grades.

Physician: Get there early. Be prepared before shadowing. Ask many questions. Show your enthusiasm for learning. Try and get to know them more personally.

Job/Volunteer Manager: Make sure you overperform at your job. Others have good things to say about you. Good feedback from co-workers or customers.

The specific characteristics that most medical schools want to see in an applicant:

adaptability
critical thinking
integrity
logical reasoning
oral communication skills
personal maturity
reliability
self-discipline
work habits
compassion
cultural competence
intellectual curiosity
motivation for medicine
persistence
professionalism
resilience
teamwork

Make sure to consider these characteristics when interacting with your potential letter writers!

The key to a great recommendation letter is finding someone who can speak on behalf of you personally and can emphasize your individual characteristics that make you shine. Start building relationships with those you might want a recommendation letter from now!

I hope this helps! Please share this article with a fellow pre-med!

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Apr 22 2016

Pre-Med 101: What is the best major for getting into medical school?

Pre-Med 101: What is the best major For getting into Medical school?

This is a common question that many new pre-meds have. What is the best major for getting into medical school? As mentioned in our other premed 101 article (Is there a premed major?) , you don’t need to major in any specific degree as long as you get the premed required classes done. But even though you don’t need a specific major to get accepted into medical school there still might be some things worth looking into before deciding what you want to major in. There isn’t a “best” major but there are pros and cons to the different types of majors you can take. So let’s take a look at that, and you can decide for yourself what the best major for YOU is!

Generally speaking there are two types of majors you can major in if you are a premed. Science major or non-science major. So I will discuss the benefits of both.

Science major:

Pros:

– Helps prepare you better for MCAT and the rigors of medical school

– Will give you a headstart in medical school

Cons:

– More difficult curriculum, can hurt your GPA

– There are many science majors applying to medical school

Non-science major:

Pros:

– You can take a major on something you are really interested in and enjoy
– Will be better for your GPA
– Shows well roundedness and helps make you more unique on your application

Cons:

– Won’t prepare you as well for MCAT or rigors of medical school

These are the general pros and cons associated with either being a science major or non science major when it comes to being a premed. Science majors are better trained for doing well on the MCAT and in medical school because of the rigor involved in a science curriculum. However that same difficulty involved in studying the sciences can make it harder to maintain that great GPA. But it will prepare you best for medical school. On the other hand taking a non-science major might be a bit easier academically and thus be good for your GPA. But also it will not prepare you as well for the rigors involved with medical school and taking the MCAT. That being said its also important for you to consider what you would enjoy studying. And if medical school doesn’t work out and you chose a science major even though you don’t actually like science, that would be a bad position to be in. So you also have to consider what happens if you don’t get into medical school. But that won’t happen because you got premed community here!

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Apr 18 2016

Pre-Med 101 : Is there a premed major?

Pre-Med 101: Is there a premed major?

Welcome to our Pre-Med 101 series! Here we will go over all the basics it means to be a premed , answer common questions, and debunk premed myths.

Todays question is : Is there a premed major?

This happens to be a common misconception about being a premed. Many people think that you have to major in “premed”. But actually the term premed simply refers to your intention to go to medical school, it doesn’t say anything about what undergraduate major you are pursuing. In fact you can major in anything and still be a pre-med! Being a pre-med does require you to take certain classes and take the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test). These are whats known as the general premed requirements because almost every medical school requires them for admission. No matter what major you are you must still fulfill all of the premed requirements before applying to medical school. So what are the general premed requirements?

English (2 semesters)
Biology (2 semesters)
General chemistry (2 semesters)
Organic chemistry (2 semesters)
Physics (2 semesters)

These are the courses you need to apply to medical school. However, some schools may also require you to take biochemistry, calculus, genetics, or some other class. But the classes mentioned above are standard for almost all medical schools.

You can be any major as long as you take those classes. And sometimes being a non science major can be beneficial to your medical school application. It helps make your application standout and shows diverse set of interests. Medical schools want applicants that are well rounded. On the other side of the coin, being a science major gives you an edge for the MCAT and might better prepare you for the rigors of medical school. Whats important to know is that you can be any major you want and still apply for medical school! Just make sure to take the required pre-med classes and complete the other aspects of the application (volunteering, shadowing, MCAT, extracurriculars, letters of recommendation, etc.).

I hope this helps! If you haven’t already click here to sign up for our free membership and download our e-book , “The Pre-Med Beginner’s Guide” and get our comprehensive list of medical school rankings! Sign up and download your free ebook now! We post new content regularly, so make sure to follow us on Facebook or Twitter to stay up to date! Thank you for reading! Check back later for more content to help you on your journey to medical school!

Nov 18 2015

How to choose classes for next semester as a pre-med

As a pre-med knowing which classes to take the next semester can be confusing. There are many factors to consider when trying to create that perfect schedule. Will I be able to handle this course load and still make good grades? Will these courses look good to medical schools? Am I doing the courses in the right order? Timing of courses for MCAT? Well we will cover that to make sure you have the best semester you can!

As I mentioned there are alot of things to consider when scheduling for classes. I will go over the steps involved in making a schedule that accomplishes what you need as a pre med. But before we go over the steps, lets talk about what our priorities are when it comes to making an awesome schedule for next semester.

Scheduling priorities:

1. Making sure that you can still maintain a good GPA

2. Maintaining steady progress through pre-med requirements

3. Preparing you for MCAT

4. Doing courses in the right order (Important for getting your degree on time!)

5. Class times

Making sure you can still maintain a good GPA: This should be the most obvious priority in the list, however many pre-meds make the mistake here of either scheduling too many hard classes in one semester or not enough. Its important to find a balance and know your own limits. Trying to take Organic Chemistry II, Physics II, Biology II, and Calculus all in the same semester is a great way to NOT make the grades you want. That is just putting yourself in a situation to fail, and we want all of the odds on our side when it comes to getting a good GPA. At the same time if you only take one hard class, lets say Organic Chemistry. Then you will not be making enough progress to graduate on time or take the MCAT on time. The key is finding a balance and that depends on you. In general, I say that taking a minimum of two of your hard science classes/pre-med requirements per semester is good. But depending on you three can be a good number. Don’t forget that for every science class you take, you usually have a lab that goes with it. Don’t sacrifice your GPA to graduate faster. Know your limits and choose your classes according to that.

Maintaining steady progress through pre-med requirements: This goes along with what I was saying in the last point. While you do want to make sure you are able to maintain a good GPA and get the grades you want, you have to make sure that you are still making steady progress through your pre med requirements. This is essential to getting accepted into medical school immediately after college. If you want to start medical school right after graduating then you must get your pre-med requirements done as soon as possible. Remember, that alot of medical schools don’t even require you to have a degree to get accepted. Just the pre-med required classes and your MCAT. So this means that you can apply to medical school once you have completed those. In order to do that, you must prioritize completing your pre-med requirements (Gen Chem, Biology, Physics, Organic Chem, English, sometimes Calculus) before your general education classes and other classes.

Preparing you for MCAT: One of the most important things your college classes can do for you is prepare you for the MCAT. The MCAT is based off of what you learn in your pre-med required classes for the most part. Although there are now sections on it in Biochemistry and Psychology/Sociology. This is another reason why its important to focus on getting your pre-med requirements out of the way as soon as possible. You will do much better on the MCAT if you actually took the courses that cover what the MCAT is covering. You want to try and take any class that can help you for the MCAT. So this means you should be focusing on taking your pre-med required classes and if you have room for another then maybe take Psychology. Remember, you are doing yourself a big favor by taking these classes before taking the MCAT. You will be thankful when you have to only review for the MCAT instead of learn everything at once.

Doing courses in the right order: This is super important if you are trying to get an undergraduate degree and also still really important for being able to get into medical school on time. As a Biochemistry major, I have some classes that have multiple requirements to be able to register for them. And often these classes are requirements for other classes. For example, for me to take physical chemistry I have to have first done Physics I and II, as well as calculus. This is why its important to know what your upper level classes require for registration. In this case, I have to make sure I get calculus and Physics done as soon as possible. Otherwise I won’t be able to register for physical chem. If I can’t register for physical chem I won’t be able to take inorganic chemistry. If you wait around to take important classes that are required for registration then you might not be able to take the courses you want during the semester you want!

Class times: This is the last of things to consider when it comes to creating the perfect schedule. While it is nice to have all your classes on the same day or at the right time, that is not the biggest priority. First make sure you take the RIGHT classes and then worry about getting the right times for it. If that means you have to come to school on monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday instead of just MWF then so be it. Its a bigger priority to graduate on time, be ready for the MCAT, get good grades, and make progress through your pre-med requirements. With that being said, I always try to schedule classes on the same day. It can save you gas money and time that you could spend studying or working instead. This might not always be possible if you don’t have class registration priority. Always try to get the classes consecutively, the more free time you have the better! That means more time for working, shadowing, studying, relaxing, and volunteering!

Making it practical:

Here I will go over an example of how I would schedule for classes and why I’m doing what I am.

Example: I am a Sophmore who will take the MCAT next year.

1.Pick the classes you want to take:

Organic chemistry II and lab
Biology II and lab
English II
Easy general ed class

– I chose to take just Organic Chemistry II and Biology II in the same semester since they are kind of related. These classes are also pretty hard and I don’t want to risk getting a bad grade, so I won’t take a third science class. This is why I chose only two science classes. This still keeps me on steady progress through my pre-med requirements and helps prepare me for the MCAT next year.

– English II is not too difficult of a class and also is a pre-med requirement. So I will be getting another requirement out of the way.

– Easy general education class to make sure I have enough hours. This is important if you are on scholarships. This class is easy and shouldn’t take away from studying for the harder classes like Organic Chemistry or Biology.

2. Get the best times you can for them.

– Try to get them onto the same day if possible.
– Avoid early morning classes if possible.

I would go for taking these classes on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule. This gives me enough time to not be overwhelmed by them but also enough for extracurricular activities.

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