[RenaultOne]

I am thinking about attending Stanford University (in Palo Alto, CA) or Brown University (in Providence, RI) for pre-med studies. Can any of you (assuming your a physician or in the process of becoming one) tell me about some of the highlights of the path to getting an MD.

Thanks for the responses!

[nabutes]

The path?? IT SUCKS...

I guess what did it for me was that I graduated college with a business degree, worked for two years, and THEN decided that I wanted to go to med school. With no significant income, constantly having my face in a textbook for hours-a-day, and always being someone's (for lack of a better word) bitch, I definitely thought about dropping out about 15 times a day.

But I'm glad that I stuck with it, and now that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, I'm feeling a lot better about my career change.

Let me give you a piece of advice. If you want to do medicine, don't major in "pre-medicine" or pre-health. Major in something that allows you to challenge yourself while leading to your own personal development; whether it be engineering, economics, history, philosophy, spanish, etc... You don't need a science degree to get into med school, nor is it expected.

[Neurorad]

If you know you want to be a physician, do pre-med undergrad, double-major, or science major with a minor in whatever.

People who did 'something else' before med school didn't make up their mind until it was too late. Although there is a lot to be said about doing something else for a few years between college and med school, it rarely works out. And what's the reason for waiting? So you can go get an engineering graduate degree, or Masters in zoology?

Start college 'pre-med', and switch if you don't like it.

Whatever you choose to do undergrad, make sure you get very good grades - most important factor for med school admissions (that and MCATs). If you go to Brown or Stanford, it will be harder to get good grades than if you go to Oberlin or Auburn or Podunk.

[CnoteMD]

I think that everyone has made good points so far. In general, grades and MCAT scores weigh very heavily on getting admitted to med school. There is a slight problem with the comment about Brown and Stanford. True, you may not get as high grades at such a school compared to the less competitive undergrad institutions, but many med schools DO take that into consideration.

I know a few people who sat on med school admissions boards, and they told me about a scoring system that added GPA and MCAT scores to a "school selectivity/competitive" factor. I'm sure this had some impact when I was applying to med school (relatively average GPA, but competitive undergraduate school with a double major).

The biggest problem with the "path" to medicine is that the MCAT and med school is just the begining. While you are in school, you will be taking the first 2 parts of the Unites States Medical Licensing Exam (the 3rd and final is taken after you graduate). Then you get to residency, which is often MUCH longer than med school, and much more time consuming. This is what someone very appropriately called the "B$^&" period. Once you finish you will have a decent income, but also a 6 figure student loan debt, you'll realize you missed out on about 10 years of your life, and still have a board certification exam (or in my case, 3) coming up.

I would say that 99% of the people I know in medicine considered quiting at some point, but in the end I am glad I stuck with it.

[Kiemyster]

Originally Posted by nabutes

But I'm glad that I stuck with it, and now that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, I'm feeling a lot better about my career change.

better hope that light isnt an oncoming train

[Neurorad]

Originally Posted by Kiemyster

better hope that light isnt an oncoming train

good one

[btinl]

My advice: get accepted to Stanford or Brown before you consider attending one of them.

[ksfrogman]

Lots of good points made above. If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't have chosen Bio/Math as an undergraduate major. Had I not gone into Medicine, that background would have been "practically" useless to me. When's the last time you heard of a Biomathematician landing a hot job? I probably would have chosen business or accounting, since I still could have used that knowledge in the daily operation of my practice. The only disadvantage to doing this would be that you would need the prerequisites to satisfy medical school admission requirements, and that of your major. Therefore, there would be less course overlap between the two.

Preparing for becoming a physician is a tremendous sacrifice of time and money, so I hope you know what you're getting yourself into. The fruits of your labor can be very rewarding though, and I'm not talking financial.

[ChaneRZ]

big responsibility too! gotta think of your patients eventhough you're home already. for me, i work 8 hours go home and no worries.

[aequitas330]

Good luck, OP.... I have nothing but respect for those in the medical (and military, but that's off topic) lines of work.

[Kev]

My situation is a little different because I'm on an F-1 student visa going to medical school for my 3rd year right now.

First of all, ask youself if it is really worth the time and money to become a doctor. As others have pointed out, it's at least 4 years of college + 4 years of medical school (unless you are in one of those fast track 7 year program) + a minimum of 3 years in residency (could be as long as 7-8), & +/- fellowship. By the time you finish school, unless your parents pay for your tuition or you have some scholarship / loan repayment program, you will be facing a sizeable amount of debt (over 200K for some of my classmates).

If you're just in for the money or if you've been told by your parents that medicine is what you should do, think again about going into medicine.

Basically from the time you start college, you have to be taking prereq classes for med school no matter what major you're going to be:
1 year of general chemistry
1 year of organic chemistry
1 year of biology
1 year of English is required by some top tier schools
some schools do require you take Biochem prior to application / admission

Despite what others have said, I think you should shoot for a good GPA no matter which school you attend. Personally I say 3.8 or above is a safe zone for most American citizens applying to medical school. (just a ref for you, I went to UW-Madison and graduated with a 3.9)

On top of all these prereqs, you also need to pick a major, a useful one if I might add. I was stupid to pick dbl major in microbiology / immunology coz I can't find a decent job if I couldn't get into med school.

Then you have to face the MCAT, which is an 8 hour long, physically demanding test. You'll be taking cram courses in your junior year on top of your regular classes so that you can do well in the MCAT. A score of >30 is considered a good score, and anything above a 33 will get you interviews at a lot of decent schools. (my scores were 35 and 34)

After the MCAT, it's time to do your AMCAS application for medical school, ideally before / during your summer break in your junior year so that you can get your app in right away and start doing secondary applications.

Then you WAIT for interviews. Fly / drive out to all the schools that you are interested in, interview, and then WAIT for a decision.

In the mean time, come up with a Plan B if med school does not work out for you. (For me, it was graduate school)

Of course, a little bit of scientific research during your college time does not hurt.

Once you're in, then you can relax a little and prepare to get slammed again in the fall.

First year is pretty much basic stuff, then second year you need to prepare for your USMLE (license exam) Step I that you will take at the end of your 2nd year. Step I will basically govern what type of residency program that you can / can't apply to (220+ is considered a good score, 230+ is a really good score, and 240+ means that you can apply to almost any residency program)

Then your third year start, which is entirely different from your first and second year in med school. I'm at this point right now.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. At every step, you're paying money out of nostrils literally.