Guest hockeyrocksca Posted January 4, 2004 Report Share Posted January 4, 2004 I am a grade 12 student who will be attending the University of Victoria or Alberta next year. I have acceptance from Alberta already and am waiting to apply for UVic. I am thinking of attending medical school later down the road and therefore concerned about the following? I would like to take chemistry or biochemistry at University. Are these the “right subjects” for me to take? Are there any subjects that are “more right” than others he should consider at university for entrance to medical school? Also, is a major or specialization better to take? If you go to a school (Alberta) that has a medical school vs one that does not (Victoria), does that improve your chances? How important is the Co-op program and the experience you gain from it in the med school admissions process? Right now, I'm heavily involved in St. Council, community volunteering, and intramural sports....should i continue this heavy involvement in university...or are marks really the main criteria? Thank you very much for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jackiedirks Posted January 4, 2004 Report Share Posted January 4, 2004 Hey Hockeyrocks- I think a lot of the answers to your questions depends on which med schools you are looking to apply at. The schools you have the greatest shot of getting into are within your home province- I'm assuming you are from Alberta or BC- so take a look at their admissions websites for some of their stats and rules. I am fairly sure that where you attend undergrad doesn't really matter in the long run (unless you attend Bill's College of Bartending)- your grades are what's important. Get as many As as you can- be sure to take a full course load. As for your major- everyone says that you should take whatever you want to take- I'm in my first year and I am constantly thankful that I have a microbio background to get me through the MCAT and the early parts of first year. Saying that, I really enjoyed science- if it's not your thing- take whatever interests you and get As. Keep going with the extra-curricular stuff- do a lot of volunteering- espcially somewhere where you will be exposed to some aspect of medicine. Hospitals usually run a volunteer program- call them and ask. I have nothing to offer about Co-op- The U of WInnipeg wasn't big on it although a program did exist- I don't know anyone from my school in the pre-med stream who did it- although it probably varies from school to school. Good luck and have a great time in undergrad! Jackie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cutieyellow Posted January 4, 2004 Report Share Posted January 4, 2004 Do not enter a program because it is 'right' for medical school entry. Enter a program that you know you will fully enjoy (it is 4 yrs of one's life after all) and in which you will be able to perform. In other words, don't 'conform' to the typical premed student who only does micro or biochem because they are aiming medical school. Be the student that's in biochem or in art history because he wants to be there and fully plans on having a blast. University is supposed to be fun times...hope you enjoy it. CY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest justanotherpremed Posted January 4, 2004 Report Share Posted January 4, 2004 hey there: I'm not in med, but am hoping to start the interview process this march. I agree and disagree with some of the things that people are posting in response to your post. Here are my thoughts: My opinion is that undergrad is the time that you will find out who you are, what you are interested in, and what you want to do with the rest of your life. You've got four years... and if you find it now... you won't be finding it when you are 45... which I see quite often. This may or may not be in medicine... KEEP AN OPEN MIND With this in mind.. your major in first year will only be of minor importance.. I was lucky because at my uni you could easily get overlap between many majors after first year... Just make sure you take a huge variety of courses in first year... then see what you like... and specialize from there ( i don't understand your distinction between a specialization and a major, by the way ). Personally, I found myself fascinated with cell biology. I also found myself fascinated with healing ( if you are interested in this as well, you should check out spontaneous healing by andrew weil ). i hope you find what you are looking for, and I hope that you enjoy doing what you end up choosing to do peace :hat :smokin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jackiedirks Posted January 4, 2004 Report Share Posted January 4, 2004 Maybe I came across as too harsh in my previous post... Undergrad is a huge part of your life- you do learn a lot about yourself- (although the big moments in my life have not occured during intro philosophy, art history 101, or other such a cliche- and I even took these two classes along with some others in the same arena) I should have divided my answer into two sections: 1) to become a better PERSON, get out in the world, volunteer, travel, make new friends, go to parties- do all of that fun stuff. You'll change a lot in between 18-22 and really develop as who you are. 2)to become a better applicant to MED SCHOOL- get good grades, take a full courseload, market yourself, and get into a program that you enjoy; one that you will be glad you took if you don't become a doctor. Its great that you are focused on a goal- but perhaps what these other posters are suggesting is that a lot of people change their minds about their career choices partway through school. I can remember an intro biology class I took where the prof asked how many of us were pre-med and 3/4 of the room put up their hands. There are a lot of careers out there- its good to give some thoughts as to what other options you might have. (but saying that- i love love love medicine and have never been more happy than i am right now- Medicine is a fantastic career if it is right for you-.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hockeyrocksca Posted January 4, 2004 Report Share Posted January 4, 2004 Thanks for your help....my home university is UVic..i'm from victoria....so costs are down signifcantly if i stay here...I'm still stuck on this co-op program though.....is it easier to get jobs via co-op or research with professors? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest blinknoodle Posted January 4, 2004 Report Share Posted January 4, 2004 There are some old threads about co-op. Check out this one: pub125.ezboard.com/fpreme...D=94.topic -blinknoodle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest summerfuntimes Posted January 6, 2004 Report Share Posted January 6, 2004 you know, being a pre-med these days is hard. there are so many negative stereotypes associated with 'the pre-med' - brown-nosing, trying to coast along undergrad years with easy courses to get high marks, obligatory volunteering. we've all seen it. we've all heard talk. to counteract these 'typical pre meds', people often say to 'follow your heart,' 'travel' and 'do what you feel is right.' it seems like the general trend among applicants these days. it is all very vague. it is easy to get lost when you are trying to 'find yourself' - you may run into the danger of further losing yourself when your goal becomes self-discovery for the cv. like when you go to a third world country to help others with the very real intention of the expidition resulting in huge bonus points on a cv. i've seen it happen before. being a pre-med today as opposed to 20 or even 10 years ago is a very different game. but whatever the game is, i stronly feel that you should play with integrity. the ends does not always justify the means. good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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