ditde Posted April 2, 2012 Report Share Posted April 2, 2012 I was talking to two 4th years today who were applying to med school and both of them were talking about how they would've chosen easier majors and tried to get involved more in their first year. How about you guys? EDIT: I now realize this is kind of a weird thread because you guys obviously did awesome to get into med school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerkstore Posted April 2, 2012 Report Share Posted April 2, 2012 More involved like not waiting until 2nd+ year to start their EC's? What did they deem "easier majors"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future_doc Posted April 2, 2012 Report Share Posted April 2, 2012 I would absolutely repeat everything I did in undergrad, program, courses, ECs & volunteering. I loved it all despite the very hard work required and no social life for years. Moreover, it got me exactly where I was aiming. No regrets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhoenixFlare500 Posted April 2, 2012 Report Share Posted April 2, 2012 I honestly wish I hung out and did more fun stuff in undergrad. Made better use of my free time to enjoy life. For school: I wish I had chosen to study for a chem test instead of eating right before. Yes, that did make a difference in my overall mark and consequently my GPA. I wish I had actually focused on a summer class I took instead of playing video games all day and watching Colbert at 1 in the morning. I wish I had studied anatomy more thoroughly in undergrad so life would be easier in med. Other than that, I wish I had skipped more in high school to hang out with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apache Posted April 2, 2012 Report Share Posted April 2, 2012 two, thousand word posts i made got deleted, thanks god... too much self disclosure for a professional. applying right after undergrad was my mistake, it's ok though... i can always go back when i'm a bit older, there's always an original means to an ends, at least to severe, inattentive-add's, creativity is our middle name, and managing the weaknesses leaves you with such strengths i wouldn't trade it away for anything in the world... so i guess maybe starting first year next year instead of right after undergrad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeman101 Posted April 2, 2012 Report Share Posted April 2, 2012 Would've done a joint BSc/paramed degree, took a year off and worked as a paramedic, then went into med school. My useless HBSc is very much useless otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Checkmate Posted April 2, 2012 Report Share Posted April 2, 2012 Going into my 4th year, Looking back, I would have done more ECs in my first two years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted April 2, 2012 Report Share Posted April 2, 2012 I would have chosen a slightly different major (more in line with my interests) if I had known that I would wait until my final year of undergrad to apply to medical school. But the route I took made it easy to fit in all the prerequisites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inspiring-curmudgeon Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Taken more interesting courses instead of taking bird courses. Of course that's easy to say now when I'm in med. I would've loved to take some developmental biology and some evolutionary psych or anthro courses as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerkstore Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 I would have chosen a slightly different major (more in line with my interests) if I had known that I would wait until my final year of undergrad to apply to medical school. But the route I took made it easy to fit in all the prerequisites. Different major such as? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Psychology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy_happy Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Is it everyone's belief that easier majors are better than harder, more prestigious majors when your goal is med school? What are the benefits of selecting harder prestigious majors? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhoenixFlare500 Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Is it everyone's belief that easier majors are better than harder, more prestigious majors when your goal is med school? What are the benefits of selecting harder prestigious majors? I don't think there's really such a thing as a prestigious major in undergrad. The only benefit I can really see in taking a harder program would be if that program were to lead you to job opportunities right out of university. I don't know if you count pharmacy as an undergrad major but you don't need a full degree to get in (it would also be pretty useful to have that knowledge in med school). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 always a dangerous concept - I mean in hindsight it looks like you can change something, but it risks unraveling the tapestry of success that got you into medical school. What would I change? Nothing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerkstore Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 always a dangerous concept - I mean in hindsight it looks like you can change something, but it risks unraveling the tapestry of success that got you into medical school. What would I change? Nothing What was your undergrad G-money? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 What was your undergrad G-money? I have a B.A. in Economics and Psychology, minor management studies concurrent with a Joint Honours Biomedical science, minor biology Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markov79 Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 I have a B.A. in Economics and Psychology, minor management studies concurrent with a Joint Honours Biomedical science, minor biology lol am i also correct in thinking i've read you did a masters, too? so... are you gonna end up signing your name "rmorelan, ba, bsc, msc, md"? LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 lol am i also correct in thinking i've read you did a masters, too? so... are you gonna end up signing your name "rmorelan, ba, bsc, msc, md"? LOL. Yeah I also did masters work and have a degree in computer science (BComp). It is going to get silly really fast - particularly when I do whatever other research in my residency - probably a Phd I guess or at least a M Ed. That is just the nature of the game - you just pick things up over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vitaminD Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Is it everyone's belief that easier majors are better than harder, more prestigious majors when your goal is med school? What are the benefits of selecting harder prestigious majors? not for prestige, that's for sure. easier majors are better if your *only* goal is med school. For me, I really wanted to come out of my undergrad having learned a lot about what I was interested in, and some of that happened to be in a "harder" major. It's satisfaction, I guess, at something that's worth your time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 My only regret was not switching out of my boring Economics major earlier. Didn't like it, did not really have any friends in my Econ classes, and didn't do that well, either. Unfortunately, my major didn't become available until after my 2nd year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhoenixFlare500 Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Oh I got one, don't take psych. Don't minor in psych. That was a mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larrivee Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 I wouldn't change much. My uni didn't have tons of degree options... physiology or pharm would both be sweet backgrounds to have. I am wondering if it will bite me in the tush when CaRMS comes around that I only did three years of uni before meds... would they take someone with a bachelor's over someone without given all else equal? maybe! so that might be something I would rethink.... but I got out of taking to really dumb classes so at the moment I don't regret doing what I did there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 not for prestige, that's for sure. easier majors are better if your *only* goal is med school. For me, I really wanted to come out of my undergrad having learned a lot about what I was interested in, and some of that happened to be in a "harder" major. It's satisfaction, I guess, at something that's worth your time. yeah often people are not interested in whatever they think is "easy". It is a balance - it is hard to do well over 4 years in something that bores you to tears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 I am wondering if it will bite me in the tush when CaRMS comes around that I only did three years of uni before meds... would they take someone with a bachelor's over someone without given all else equal? Nope. If anything, people will think you were better qualified in order to have gotten in early to med school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerkstore Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Can you apply the U.S and Canadian residency matching at the same time? Would suck if I couldn't get the residency I wanted here, but could have (much more likely anyway) in the states. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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