Charting a Course to Medical School: The AMSA Map for Success

Information for:

• Freshman Year
• Sophomore Year
• Junior Year
• Senior Year

Welcome, Freshmen!

If you are a freshman reading this booklet, then we must offer our congratulations. By taking the time now to start thinking about how you are going to get into medical school, you are a step ahead of most other freshmen. If you're not reading this until your sophomore, junior, senior, or post-bac years, don't worry. There have been many others who didn't decide to start pursuing medicine until "late," and many of those are today called "doctors."

Perhaps the most important thing to remember during your freshman year is: don't panic. I know, I know, easier said than done. Making a successful transition to college is definitely not an easy task. You may have to take care of all of the following: living on your own for the first time, making new friends, learning a new town, dealing with cafeteria food, and much more. And, on top of all that, your parents (and medical schools) expect you to make good grades! But, as I said before, don't panic. Making the adjustment is tough, but it can be done.

So what should you be doing during your freshman year to help prepare you for medical school? Well, you should obviously start taking some of the required classes for medical school. Almost all medical schools will require the following:

• 1 year of general chemistry with lab
• 1 year of biology with lab
• 1 year of organic chemistry with lab
• 1 year of physics with lab
• 1 year of mathematics (most want at least 1 semester to be calculus)
• 1 year of English (most want some writing course)

The timeline for taking these depends on a number of factors: your major (engineers should definitely take physics as early as possible), your school (check to see when your school offers part a of 2-semester courses), and your interests and skills. As a general rule, the sooner you get these core courses out of the way, the better (but don't take more than 2 of these rigourous basic science courses at once!). Also, for those of you with AP credits, most schools will not accept AP credit for the basic science courses: general chemistry, biology, organic chemistry, and physics. Furthermore, the class requirements vary from medical school to medical school. Check the latest edition of the AAMC's "Medical School Admission Requirements" to make sure that you will at least be eligible to apply to the schools you want. Also, for your first year, don't overdo things. Remember, you. ve got a lot to do in order to make a good adjustment to being a college student. Save the heavy courseloads for your sophomore and junior years, and try to take between 12-14 hours each semester in your first year.

Now that you've taken care of what to do inside the classroom, what should you do outside of it? As important as grades are, they are not everything. You're in your college years, a time that many call "the best years of my life." So, get involved in your school and community! Your freshman year is a time for you to start looking at all of the organizations your school has to offer and decide which ones interest you the most. Medical schools aren't interested in the quantity of activities you're in, but rather the quality. And when I talk about quality, I mean your dedication and level of involvement. Choose organizations or activities that YOU want to do, not ones you think medical schools want you to do. Trust me: medical schools will be able to tell the difference. Also, during the second semester of your freshman year, look for ways to step up your level of involvement in those organizations. Perhaps you'd make a great officer?

Sophomores: Wise Fools

So, you made it through your freshman year and you still think medicine is for you. What do you do now? Well, make sure you're still on track to get all the core courses taken care of. They don't need to be finished by the end of your sophomore year, but they should definitely be done by the time you take the MCAT. Also, I hope that you were able to develop some good study habits during your freshman year. For many, the sophomore and junior years are by far the hardest years of college. There's no universal "best way" to study; you have to find out what works best for you. Do you like to study in groups or alone? Do flashcards help you? Do you do better work during the day or at night? These are some of the questions that you must answer for yourself. As far as when to study, we'd highly recommend that you NOT get into the habit of cramming. Sure, it might help you for that one test. But cramming doesn't help you remember things in the long-term, and your long-term memory becomes of critical importance during final exams, which often constitute as much as 50% of your grade. Also, if there are copies of old tests available, by all means use them. Just like you, professors can often fall into the trap of being lazy. Some may think, "Why write an entirely new exam when I can just change around the old one?" Professors know that students are lazy, too. Don't be like most other students! Take the time to go to the library and look up the old exams. It will be well worth your time.

If you haven't chosen your major by the spring of your sophomore year, be sure to take care of that. There are many theories out there concerning which majors are the best ones for medical school. On the one hand, majoring in a science may help you in your first 2 years of medical school, but you'll look like many other premedical students when you're applying. On the other hand, not majoring in a science may help separate you from the pack while applying, but you may be at a disadvantage while in medical school. So, what should you major in? Our advice is simple: forget about what you think a medical school wants you to major in, and instead major in whatever you're most interested in. Obviously, premeds are interested in science, so many major in one of the sciences. However, if you love history, why not major in history? After all, once you enter medical school, there won't be much time for classes covering the humanities.

Another academic note we'd like to touch upon is your relations with your professors. Almost all professors hold office hours. Please, by all means, take advantage of that. If you don't understand a concept, visit your professor. If you want to find out more about a certain topic, visit your professor. We cannot stress how important it is to develop a good relationship with your professors. Why? 1) If your grade is on the borderline between 2 grades, a professor is more likely to "bump up" your grade if he/she knows that you've been working hard; 2) When it comes time for you to ask for recommendations, it's much better to have a professor that knows you write a letter; and 3) You might just realize that your professor can be a pretty cool person.

As far as extracurriculars during your sophomore year, try not to spread yourself too thin. Remember to get a large amount of involvement in just a few activities, i.e. quality, not quantity. Also, try and get some leadership experience and become an officer in 1 or 2 activities.

If you are thinking about applying to an osteopathic medical school, now is the time to start volunteering for a D.O. Most D.O. schools require a letter of recommendation from a D.O.

Juniors: Time to get on the ball

Whew! You're halfway through your undergraduate coursework, and you're still standing. Good job! For the first semester of your junior year, just continue what you did your sophomore year. Remember to keep those grades up, because your junior year grades are the last grades that go to AMCAS (application service for allopathic schools) and AACOMAS (application service for osteopathic schools). However, during the second semester of your junior year, the application process for medical schools kicks into high gear. Be sure to stay organized and focused, and follow the timeline provided to stay on top of things.

Seniors: Almost done!

You should know by now how to handle your coursework and your extracurricular activities. Don't stop striving for good grades and participating in clubs just because your applications have already been sent out. After all, you didn't go to college just to get into medical school, did you? Be sure to follow the timeline in this booklet to stay on track. And, finally, relax and enjoy your senior year. You've earned it!

Introduction

Timeline