First year medical student here. I watched about 75% of this video before feeling compelled to comment my own thoughts on your suggestions. What struck me about many of your tips is how they really cultivate inauthenticity and self betrayal to the students who follow them. Many of your tips, including ones like picking what classes to take and selecting a lab to work in, rely on the students' betrayal of their own intellectual interests. Interested in biology? You won't be after taking upper level courses. Interested in genetic disease? You won't be after studying this one niche gene in someone's lab that won't publish you. Your perspective, while perhaps successful in getting students admitted to medical programs, is exactly the reason why so many premed and medical students suffer from burnout. Decision making like this is the reason why so many people are indecisive when it comes to selecting what medical speciality they are interested in or what academic field they'd like to study. How are you supposed to know what you're passionate about if you don't authentically explore those passions in undergrad? If you let the question of "What will get me into the best medical school?" guide your decision making to this extent, you will eventually find yourself uninspired, exhausted, and burnt out from doing work and taking classes that you don't enjoy and weren't for you in the first place. Medicine is a marathon, not a sprint. Part of what keeps successful medical students going in this extremely rigorous lifestyle is passion and enthusiasm. The best way to snuff these out is by living your life according to what you *think* medical schools want. If you're a good fit for medicine, following your passions will make for a great medical school application. Don't get me wrong, it's important to understand what activities medical schools like to see, but please please please weave your own interests and passions into the schematic you use to get into medical school. Your enthusiasm shines through in writing and interviews, and adcoms will see that, and you'll be living your life more happily and more authentically as a result. If you love biology, major in biology. Most medical students do.
I love this reply! I’m majoring in biology but my biggest fear is not getting into medical school. What then? What would you recommend I do with a bio degree? Continue my pursuit and get a masters or a doctorate? I am also looking into neuroscience but again my fear is it not working out and I sit there time wasted on a degree that I couldn’t even use. Can you give me your input or suggestions. Another consideration was nursing at least I know in a few years I will have a job and then I can ultimately decide if I want to go to med school, if I don’t get accepted then at least I know I can take a step back and maybe go the NP route. My biggest worry is that I’m 32 years old barely in community college a few prerequisites under my belt and have so much more to go but time wasted is my biggest fear. I have kids, I don’t want to look back and say I wasted my time for nothing. Please your input is very much appreciated. Thank you!
I agree with the take that you don’t need to major in biology to be premed but a lot of ppl that do see it’s pretty easy to do premed classes while getting ur major (other majors like biochem is like that), but tbh I did biology because the upper division classes can be medical classes (dependent on universities) so I wouldn’t discourage biology. Also, it’s not really that hard of a major, more of taking the premed classes simultaneously can be hard but everyone has to. I think other stem majors have it harder if they wanna do premed (biochem, chem, phys, math, etc) so just do what you enjoy. I’d rather take tests than be writing essays for history or other humanities classes.
Jesus loves you and wants a relationship with you.he died so that you could go to Heaven.He wants you to live for him and is the way to heaven.Believing in Jesus and what he did is the way to Heaven. If you don't already, you should read the Bible ✝️❤️
Considering that most 4-year degrees have credit-hour requirements that make room for a minor or a couple of certificate programs (which expands even further if you take advantage of summer classes) so it's not really any easier or harder tbh. The only real downside to taking a major outside of college of natural sciences is that it's not as easy to get to know science professors running labs and such. You have to put more effort into finding science oppoortunities.
In my own class, there were engineers, a mathematician and a music major. All were very successful in med. school. When I interviewed applicants for internships, residencies, fellowship and staff positions, there were young docs from Ivy League schools, state schools, foreign schools (London, La Charite, Dublin and Tokyo come to mind). Some were weaker than others but the differences were matters of personality and individual attributes than the schools they attended. Frankly, there is really nothing one learns as an undergraduate that is of any determinative value in medical school.
@@samelmateus7915 If you do, hopefully it is a field in which you are genuinely interested as a career choice. Don't expect it to be of any particular value in med. school.
Jesus loves you and wants a relationship with you.he died so that you could go to Heaven.He wants you to live for him and is the way to heaven.Believing in Jesus and what he did is the way to Heaven. If you don't already, you should read the Bible ✝️❤️
Pre-med is so stressful ughh. I got work-study, a separate part-time job, 15 units worth of courses, volunteering at a hospital on weekends, and it's only my first year. I wanted to add research, but I won't have time :,(
I’m currently pre-PA and about to be a sophomore in college. I’d say this advice extends to us as well! Especially the one about majoring in biology. I started off as a bio major, but I saw that a lot of the classes weren’t even biology related, like I would’ve had to take calc and physics 1 & 2 which felt so unnecessary and looked like it would take me more than 4 years. My gpa would suffer horribly if I had to take all of those crazy difficult classes. I switched to majoring in psychology and minoring in biology and I’m so much happier now, since I love learning psychology and I think it’s important for any healthcare field. And I still take biology classes without the unnecessary math and physics
@@mohamedelmi6450 not for PA school. All of the pa schools I’ve looked at require math up to precalc plus any science based statistics course. Also no physics. The list is usually something like biology I & II, chemistry I & II, anatomy and physiology I & II, organic chemistry I, microbiology, psychology (or other social science), humanities, English, statistics, math up to precalculus, and sometimes biochemistry.
Is PA school as competitive medical school? The advise addresses how to make your medical school application competitive, otherwise, it's apples and oranges.
@@ttm387 PA schools are actually more competitive than med schools, so it’s not apples and oranges. PA schools generally have lower acceptance rates than medical schools.
I found your videos earlier this year when I was stressing about my Ervin interview and now as I'm getting ready to start my premed journey I find this as well! This is very very helpful :)
Glad you mentioned not being a Bio major to get into med school. I'm a software engineer and I know a lot of EE graduates who worked at Intel, etc, and then went into med school after taking the pre-reqs. A lot of times, you won't know what you want and don't want until you're in the workforce.
As a surgeon with a HS student wanting to go to med school, I think this is great advice. Though difficult, you can find interesting research. I did basic gene therapy research that became FDA-approved years later. My 16yo was trembling with excitement just talking to the PI about the project. Sometimes having a front row seat in innovation can be exhilarating.
@@lexie2625 If you are a high school student: start by Googling something like “summer research in (enter your city).” Ask the curriculum/outreach person at your school. They should have some idea or be able to direct If not, find a large university in your area. They should have a liaison for high school student. My kids are next to UW-Madison, which is a huge research university. They did not have something with my children’s high school, so we are working with the assistant principal and a few people at UW-Madison to create a program.
Omg thank u for the advice. I was on the verge of choosing bio over psych as a pre-med because my parents disapproved of psych. I’m actually more passionate about psych though.
The main keys to get into a medical school are GPA and MCAT scores. Of course, if you are a little weak on them, you need other help like research, volunteer... I had 4.0 GPA in mechanical engineering and did great in MCAT and I didn't have any trouble getting into a good medical school. Your undergraduate major does not matter nor it help you in medical school. You do need 1 year of biology, organic and inorganic chemistry and physics(I had engineering classes which helped me in physics and quantitative parts of the MCAT, MCAT was a little different than today's MCAT).
I think that's accurate. My own application got a lot of attention just because I aced the MCAT. It is the great equalizer. I don't think it's possible to really study for the exam. Your whole educational experience in life is the prep. I later taught cardiovascular medicine in one of the country's great med. schools and ran a post-doc. training program for years.
Hi Sophia, please let me know when is the earliest we can schedule an initial consultation w you. Tried to email you, not sure if you had a chance to see it. Look forward to hearing from you. Thank you!
heavy on that first point, rn im a pre-vet bio b.s. major (senior) with a passion for chemistry. i'm part of the chemistry club in my school, and i've also been a teaching assistant for the past few semesters. i thought of switching my major to chem/biochem on my 2nd sem as a junior. never rly went thru it cuz it was a hassle and it would delay me for like a sem or two. i cant lie i still love my major but i just wish i couldve minored in chemistry. my school doesnt allow it bc bio bs its too heavy of a major already
I know it's easier said than done, but don't let your major choice stress you out! Meet with your pre-med advisor, join your school's pre-med club, ask upperclassmen for advice...you shouldn't have to figure everything out on your own!
hi sophia! incoming premed @ rice and i was just curious as to what year you took organic chemistry in? i wanted to take my MCAT after my freshman year like you, but that seems to be the only topic i didn't already cover in high school. thanks and congrats on colubmia!
Typically you begin taking O-Chem as soon as you're done with Gen. Chem I & II. For most undergrad students this will be in sophomore or junior year. Also: even if you're not planning on taking any gap years, you really have until junior year to take the MCAT. Nothing wrong with taking it early though.
I agree with most of your tips especially the study abroad. But I do take umbrage at #8, not taking hard classes even if they interest you because you’re so worried about your GPA. Playing the grade game is a cop out. Learn to challenge yourself, get used to working hard because med school and real life aren’t a piece of cake, and demonstrate the strength of character not to take the easiest path. You will need a backbone to stand up to the system someday so don’t just be a follower.
I chose one of the hardest pre-med majors given at my university. I have a 3.75, and I was told that a 3.2 in my major was equivalent to getting a 3.8 in biology. I don’t regret my decision but didn’t feel great knowing that 😂
What these people don't realize is that the real game is the Steps and matching into residency. Attitude counts as much as anything. If your attitude is "I'm not going to challenge myself because it might hurt my GPA" then have fun in Family Medicine. But if your attitude is "I'm going to push hard in undergrad because I have confidence in my ability and need to prepare myself for the rigor of Med school" then you'll be a great fit for the competitive specialities. When I was preparing my Ortho application I had 3 weeks of dedicated before Step 2 before months and months of aways. You can't optimize everything and the people who can work well under suboptimal conditions are the ones who will thrive.
@@evanmarshall3487as someone interested in FM your comment rubs me the wrong way. Makes it seem only unmotivated premeds or medical students are interested in family medicine. Maybe some people out there actually want to help their community or are passionate about the field? Food for thought.
I'm not a STEM student, but I really do appreciate this video Sophia. Columbia University is lucky to count you among their ranks. I am reminded of someone I knew from university who did music as a major. It wasn't until years later he told me he wasn't doing it for his degree, but as a stepping stone to get into med school. That's how I know you're legit! 🙏 All the best in your studies Sophia
We had a music major in my med. school class and he was just as successful as anyone else. The undergraduate experience is not at all useful in med. school per se but certainly can affect the quality of your life thereafter.
Thank you for this video! I would love to see one that goes more in depth on the four-year plan. I'm an incoming first year, and I am still a little confused about what all I need to do.
As a freshman, your goals for your first year are to learn about medicine (join your school's pre-med group!), get good grades in your science classes, and get used to being in college. Maybe shadow a doctor or two if you feel up to it.
Unfortunately this can be so true. I had terrible advising throughout college, and had to figure out most pre-med stuff by myself. Try joining your school's pre-med club and talking to upperclassmen pre-meds!
I had very bad pre-med. advice, too. Med. schools are very much aware of that sort of variable and how it can affect the applicant's background. That's one of the reasons that the MCAT is the great equalizer.
The thing about majoring in something else than bio is that I don’t have the money to pay an additional set of courses for the pre PA prerequisites. I also feel like everyone tries to tell me to do something else other than biology, but I want to just ask.. can u pay for my classes then 😂😅
I also have a good amount of interesting aspects about myself. I want to minor in marketing because I own a small business! I also volunteer as an EMT and do research in my school’s STEM program. I think majoring in bio in my case would be fine.. Hopefully it’s enough 😭
Assuming all this is very good undergraduate advice in prep for medical training, I get the feeling that medical school is quite different from training to be an engineer, or a computer scientist, or a straight physics, chemistry, biologist who is going to do a post-graduate degree. Even then, I have some doubts about how anyone can be well prepared for medical school without a fairly heavy undergraduate workload in the sciences and at least statistics from the math side.
In general, the first two years of med school are heavily academic, while the last two are heavily patient-care focused. As long as you complete the required pre-requisite classes in college and take the MCAT, you should be academically prepared for med school, no matter what your major is.
recently graduated and i am going to be attending unc charlotte, not the best school but its close to home and I didnt do good in hs at all... but the last semester I started taking my academics serious, do you think id be able to make it :D
I’m a high school senior going into pre med, goal is to be a psychiatrist. Should I major in something like psychology that would help my career, or should I choose a “safe” major like business if I change my mind later on and don’t decide to go to med school.
I mentioned before that I never did an interview for college. This is probably a silly question, but, why do they care how much of a life you have outside of studying? Do they just want to avoid admitting anti-social freaks who will harm the vibes on campus or something? 😛
Would you recommend one to major in bioengineering during undergrad while meeting premed prerequisites or an interdisciplinary section within bioE as a pathway to med school? I've heard bioE it's hard to maintain a high GPA so it's risky; however, it's far less common than others and since med schools want diverse student body, majoring in bioE would offer its benefits of being less common than biology majors.
I would say if you're really interested in bioengineering and you feel like you can maintain a good GPA, then do it. However, don't just major in it to look "different" to medical schools. Med schools are going to prefer seeing a high GPA bio major vs. a mid GPA bioengineering major.
@@mattGPT1 Yeah you're right, but I truly am interested in bioengineering and I actually wanted to do bioE before I considered wanting to be a doctor as well :)
It depends on if you want to take a gap year after college or not. If you don't take any gap years, you're referred to as a "traditional" pre-med, and you'd typically take the MCAT either in the summer before your junior year or during your junior year. Then you'd apply in the spring of junior year.
I'm glad someone said it. Many people do pre med route and don't go to medical school like me...once you're out of undergrad you realize you can't do anything with a biology major.
wtf what year did you take mcat if you studied the summer after freshman year. i'm a current freshman who wants to do that but everyone tells me i'm crazy
Have majored in bio and minored in chem, the bio major gig is a double edge sword. It can tank your time and grade- if I didn’t major bio, I might have applied to med school with a 3.75 and not a 3.6. Granted I did so much better in pre-clinical courses than most of my peers, so I guess it’s a pay now/pay later gig. Now whether one’s type of major matters in the application process is controversial and debated heavily.
This is bad advice. If you are the type of person that is worried about how competetive your classmates are, you don't belong in medicine. The people that optimize everything in stack the deck in their favor in premed are the people that can't keep their shit together during clerkship and residency when they have less control. Trust me, everyone knows that point-for-pount a chem major is much better student than psych
Do you have a video on your stats and what extracurriculars you did and when? If not could we get a video on that? I’m so confused on how to organize it lol and I have only the internet to guide me😅
Lilian: get involved in your school's pre-med club, and ask your school's pre-med advisor! You shouldn't have to do this alone. If you need extra help, I have a free online pre-med club with some other pre-meds and we'd be happy to answer any questions you still have (link in my bio).
That’s such bad advice to not major in bio when you’ll take all those classes in med school and even then, when you have to take the mcat. If you’re of the working class, I’d be a nursing major so i can at least make a decent living(when i graduate) while applying because all of this is so expensive.
I said Biology/ chemistry or math is the best major for pre-med. Don't major in stupid thing like history and psychology or alike. Medical school is too competitive even for the brightest students. When you major in science related subject, and med school don't work out for you.. you still have the option to pursue a science related career. Choose a other major other than science only if you super passionate about the topic or you can guarantee yourself med school will take you.
@@irene3694 honestly just major in what you enjoy if I adopted better study strategies earlier on it probably would have been fine. I didn’t learn how to study efficiently until I started studying for the mcat
@@Liv4u-m3m NOTHING WRONG with majoring in bio. Focus on getting good grades and paying attention in your science classes so you're prepared for the MCAT down the line. By far the top three criteria in your med school application are your GPA, your MCAT score, and your extracurricular involvement (research, volunteering, clinical experience, clubs, etc.)
@@Liv4u-m3mmajor in something else you're interested in but do the premed requirements! I'm not trying to put this on you but many people who do pre med change their mind about med school. Once you graduate your left with a useless biology degree.
Is it just me or she literally scheme and plan everything she does to standout? I have an interview with Columbia soon, I hope my classmates are not as calculated as she was
You really should learn the difference between "is" and "are". As one who interviewed post-docs., some of us really do care and note sloppy grammar. Frankly, I don't know why med. schools make the application process so difficult. Medical school is not really difficult but it is tedious, and overall, it's a really great experience. There is nothing that a student learns in the pre-med. curriculum that is of any real value in medical school. Since students with often vastly different backgrounds matriculate, the faculty cannot assume that any given student knows something specific upon which to build. Everyone must start at the same point.
Personally, I think it’s better to pick a major that you’re passionate about. If you end up not being able to get into medical school on the first try, that’s ok! You can always try again or reevaluate your options. Plus you can take premed courses at a community college after or during your undergraduate career. (Ie if you’re not a huge fan of biology or something, you’re not sinking thousands into something that isn’t enjoyable for you)
@@JazzyyB Do most college students with the biology degree have a plan of what to do with that degree if they do not get into medical school? If they take, let's say, finance, economics, computer science, there would be more potential.
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First year medical student here. I watched about 75% of this video before feeling compelled to comment my own thoughts on your suggestions. What struck me about many of your tips is how they really cultivate inauthenticity and self betrayal to the students who follow them. Many of your tips, including ones like picking what classes to take and selecting a lab to work in, rely on the students' betrayal of their own intellectual interests. Interested in biology? You won't be after taking upper level courses. Interested in genetic disease? You won't be after studying this one niche gene in someone's lab that won't publish you. Your perspective, while perhaps successful in getting students admitted to medical programs, is exactly the reason why so many premed and medical students suffer from burnout. Decision making like this is the reason why so many people are indecisive when it comes to selecting what medical speciality they are interested in or what academic field they'd like to study. How are you supposed to know what you're passionate about if you don't authentically explore those passions in undergrad? If you let the question of "What will get me into the best medical school?" guide your decision making to this extent, you will eventually find yourself uninspired, exhausted, and burnt out from doing work and taking classes that you don't enjoy and weren't for you in the first place. Medicine is a marathon, not a sprint. Part of what keeps successful medical students going in this extremely rigorous lifestyle is passion and enthusiasm. The best way to snuff these out is by living your life according to what you *think* medical schools want. If you're a good fit for medicine, following your passions will make for a great medical school application. Don't get me wrong, it's important to understand what activities medical schools like to see, but please please please weave your own interests and passions into the schematic you use to get into medical school. Your enthusiasm shines through in writing and interviews, and adcoms will see that, and you'll be living your life more happily and more authentically as a result. If you love biology, major in biology. Most medical students do.
I love this reply! I’m majoring in biology but my biggest fear is not getting into medical school. What then? What would you recommend I do with a bio degree? Continue my pursuit and get a masters or a doctorate? I am also looking into neuroscience but again my fear is it not working out and I sit there time wasted on a degree that I couldn’t even use. Can you give me your input or suggestions.
Another consideration was nursing at least I know in a few years I will have a job and then I can ultimately decide if I want to go to med school, if I don’t get accepted then at least I know I can take a step back and maybe go the NP route.
My biggest worry is that I’m 32 years old barely in community college a few prerequisites under my belt and have so much more to go but time wasted is my biggest fear. I have kids, I don’t want to look back and say I wasted my time for nothing.
Please your input is very much appreciated. Thank you!
I agree with the take that you don’t need to major in biology to be premed but a lot of ppl that do see it’s pretty easy to do premed classes while getting ur major (other majors like biochem is like that), but tbh I did biology because the upper division classes can be medical classes (dependent on universities) so I wouldn’t discourage biology. Also, it’s not really that hard of a major, more of taking the premed classes simultaneously can be hard but everyone has to. I think other stem majors have it harder if they wanna do premed (biochem, chem, phys, math, etc) so just do what you enjoy. I’d rather take tests than be writing essays for history or other humanities classes.
Jesus loves you and wants a relationship with you.he died so that you could go to Heaven.He wants you to live for him and is the way to heaven.Believing in Jesus and what he did is the way to Heaven. If you don't already, you should read the Bible ✝️❤️
Considering that most 4-year degrees have credit-hour requirements that make room for a minor or a couple of certificate programs (which expands even further if you take advantage of summer classes) so it's not really any easier or harder tbh. The only real downside to taking a major outside of college of natural sciences is that it's not as easy to get to know science professors running labs and such. You have to put more effort into finding science oppoortunities.
As someone who interviewed medical school applicants for decades, I always gave preference to biochemistry and biology graduates over all others.
In my own class, there were engineers, a mathematician and a music major. All were very successful in med. school. When I interviewed applicants for internships, residencies, fellowship and staff positions, there were young docs from Ivy League schools, state schools, foreign schools (London, La Charite, Dublin and Tokyo come to mind). Some were weaker than others but the differences were matters of personality and individual attributes than the schools they attended. Frankly, there is really nothing one learns as an undergraduate that is of any determinative value in medical school.
Narrow minded
I’m glad you said this bc I have bs degree in Bio and plan to apply to medical school
i was thinking of majoring in biochemistry
@@samelmateus7915 If you do, hopefully it is a field in which you are genuinely interested as a career choice. Don't expect it to be of any particular value in med. school.
Yay just majored in biology
Jesus loves you and wants a relationship with you.he died so that you could go to Heaven.He wants you to live for him and is the way to heaven.Believing in Jesus and what he did is the way to Heaven. If you don't already, you should read the Bible ✝️❤️
@@Cmhrjkyg Who asked?💀
If you're just starting out , its not too late to change your major!!
@@kyleejoaquin9987 what major would you recommend?
Changing the first year wouldn’t matter since most classes should apply to other similar majors!
Pre-med is so stressful ughh.
I got work-study, a separate part-time job, 15 units worth of courses, volunteering at a hospital on weekends, and it's only my first year. I wanted to add research, but I won't have time :,(
Same but now I’m entering my second 😭
what type of research do you wanna do?
Is it really that bad?
@@RappRelevant333it’s not that bad you’ll be fine with a good time schedule and discipline
@@joaquinvazquez43 better get used to it. Being a medical student, resident, and attending physician will consist of constant 40+ hour work weeks.
I’m currently pre-PA and about to be a sophomore in college. I’d say this advice extends to us as well! Especially the one about majoring in biology. I started off as a bio major, but I saw that a lot of the classes weren’t even biology related, like I would’ve had to take calc and physics 1 & 2 which felt so unnecessary and looked like it would take me more than 4 years. My gpa would suffer horribly if I had to take all of those crazy difficult classes. I switched to majoring in psychology and minoring in biology and I’m so much happier now, since I love learning psychology and I think it’s important for any healthcare field. And I still take biology classes without the unnecessary math and physics
Physics and calculus are prerequisites for med school thought.
@@mohamedelmi6450 not for PA school. All of the pa schools I’ve looked at require math up to precalc plus any science based statistics course. Also no physics. The list is usually something like biology I & II, chemistry I & II, anatomy and physiology I & II, organic chemistry I, microbiology, psychology (or other social science), humanities, English, statistics, math up to precalculus, and sometimes biochemistry.
Is PA school as competitive medical school? The advise addresses how to make your medical school application competitive, otherwise, it's apples and oranges.
@@ttm387 PA schools are actually more competitive than med schools, so it’s not apples and oranges. PA schools generally have lower acceptance rates than medical schools.
@@odeleya1768 oh my goodness...here we go again.
I found your videos earlier this year when I was stressing about my Ervin interview and now as I'm getting ready to start my premed journey I find this as well! This is very very helpful :)
The thing is, people love biology because human anatomy and physiology is endlessly fascinating. That's why they major in biology.
i remember when i followed you like 4 years ago during covid when you were making videos, congrats on graduating and best of luck at columbia!!!
Glad you mentioned not being a Bio major to get into med school. I'm a software engineer and I know a lot of EE graduates who worked at Intel, etc, and then went into med school after taking the pre-reqs. A lot of times, you won't know what you want and don't want until you're in the workforce.
As a surgeon with a HS student wanting to go to med school, I think this is great advice. Though difficult, you can find interesting research. I did basic gene therapy research that became FDA-approved years later. My 16yo was trembling with excitement just talking to the PI about the project. Sometimes having a front row seat in innovation can be exhilarating.
Hi! I'm a little confused on how you can find research. Do you find research opportunities online, or in school, how does it work?
@@lexie2625 If you are a high school student: start by Googling something like “summer research in (enter your city).” Ask the curriculum/outreach person at your school. They should have some idea or be able to direct If not, find a large university in your area. They should have a liaison for high school student. My kids are next to UW-Madison, which is a huge research university. They did not have something with my children’s high school, so we are working with the assistant principal and a few people at UW-Madison to create a program.
Omg thank u for the advice. I was on the verge of choosing bio over psych as a pre-med because my parents disapproved of psych. I’m actually more passionate about psych though.
You just made the realist video, you covered so many topics people avoid talking about!
The main keys to get into a medical school are GPA and MCAT scores. Of course, if you are a little weak on them, you need other help like research, volunteer...
I had 4.0 GPA in mechanical engineering and did great in MCAT and I didn't have any trouble getting into a good medical school. Your undergraduate major does not matter nor it help you in medical school. You do need 1 year of biology, organic and inorganic chemistry and physics(I had engineering classes which helped me in physics and quantitative parts of the MCAT, MCAT was a little different than today's MCAT).
I think that's accurate. My own application got a lot of attention just because I aced the MCAT. It is the great equalizer. I don't think it's possible to really study for the exam. Your whole educational experience in life is the prep. I later taught cardiovascular medicine in one of the country's great med. schools and ran a post-doc. training program for years.
Nice blog! Best of luck with med school.
Love this advice! Thank you so much!
THesse are such awesome tips! Thank you for sharing!
How do I study for orgo & biochem? Spaced repetition + practice problems?
yep! heavy on the practice problems for orgo!!
Try reaching out to some of your classmates to make study groups. Talking through concepts with other people can really help sometimes!
What did we do to deserve so many Sophia posts in one week ?? ❤
Hi Sophia, please let me know when is the earliest we can schedule an initial consultation w you. Tried to email you, not sure if you had a chance to see it. Look forward to hearing from you. Thank you!
Great advice. Thank you very much!!!
girl I think we have the same mirror and door LMFAO
ty for the advice though, coming from a high school student
heavy on that first point, rn im a pre-vet bio b.s. major (senior) with a passion for chemistry. i'm part of the chemistry club in my school, and i've also been a teaching assistant for the past few semesters. i thought of switching my major to chem/biochem on my 2nd sem as a junior. never rly went thru it cuz it was a hassle and it would delay me for like a sem or two. i cant lie i still love my major but i just wish i couldve minored in chemistry. my school doesnt allow it bc bio bs its too heavy of a major already
the link doesnt work, been trying to decide between neuroscience (psychology degree) or biology degree for premed... very stressful
Yes me too, let me also know
I know it's easier said than done, but don't let your major choice stress you out! Meet with your pre-med advisor, join your school's pre-med club, ask upperclassmen for advice...you shouldn't have to figure everything out on your own!
hi sophia! incoming premed @ rice and i was just curious as to what year you took organic chemistry in? i wanted to take my MCAT after my freshman year like you, but that seems to be the only topic i didn't already cover in high school. thanks and congrats on colubmia!
hey! congrats on rice :)) I actually took ochem in the summer between graduating high school and starting freshmen year
@@SophiaXuOfficial hey!! that's so unique i've never heard anyone do that before. did you take it at a community college?
Typically you begin taking O-Chem as soon as you're done with Gen. Chem I & II. For most undergrad students this will be in sophomore or junior year. Also: even if you're not planning on taking any gap years, you really have until junior year to take the MCAT. Nothing wrong with taking it early though.
I agree with most of your tips especially the study abroad. But I do take umbrage at #8, not taking hard classes even if they interest you because you’re so worried about your GPA. Playing the grade game is a cop out. Learn to challenge yourself, get used to working hard because med school and real life aren’t a piece of cake, and demonstrate the strength of character not to take the easiest path. You will need a backbone to stand up to the system someday so don’t just be a follower.
I chose one of the hardest pre-med majors given at my university. I have a 3.75, and I was told that a 3.2 in my major was equivalent to getting a 3.8 in biology. I don’t regret my decision but didn’t feel great knowing that 😂
What these people don't realize is that the real game is the Steps and matching into residency. Attitude counts as much as anything. If your attitude is "I'm not going to challenge myself because it might hurt my GPA" then have fun in Family Medicine. But if your attitude is "I'm going to push hard in undergrad because I have confidence in my ability and need to prepare myself for the rigor of Med school" then you'll be a great fit for the competitive specialities.
When I was preparing my Ortho application I had 3 weeks of dedicated before Step 2 before months and months of aways. You can't optimize everything and the people who can work well under suboptimal conditions are the ones who will thrive.
@@evanmarshall3487as someone interested in FM your comment rubs me the wrong way. Makes it seem only unmotivated premeds or medical students are interested in family medicine. Maybe some people out there actually want to help their community or are passionate about the field? Food for thought.
I'm not a STEM student, but I really do appreciate this video Sophia. Columbia University is lucky to count you among their ranks. I am reminded of someone I knew from university who did music as a major. It wasn't until years later he told me he wasn't doing it for his degree, but as a stepping stone to get into med school. That's how I know you're legit! 🙏 All the best in your studies Sophia
We had a music major in my med. school class and he was just as successful as anyone else. The undergraduate experience is not at all useful in med. school per se but certainly can affect the quality of your life thereafter.
Thank you for this video! I would love to see one that goes more in depth on the four-year plan. I'm an incoming first year, and I am still a little confused about what all I need to do.
As a freshman, your goals for your first year are to learn about medicine (join your school's pre-med group!), get good grades in your science classes, and get used to being in college. Maybe shadow a doctor or two if you feel up to it.
Advisors 99% of the time give you bad advice. Literally just go on youtube and find someone on here that will give you better advice.
Unfortunately this can be so true. I had terrible advising throughout college, and had to figure out most pre-med stuff by myself. Try joining your school's pre-med club and talking to upperclassmen pre-meds!
I had very bad pre-med. advice, too. Med. schools are very much aware of that sort of variable and how it can affect the applicant's background. That's one of the reasons that the MCAT is the great equalizer.
I majored in Biology and got in with a low gpa and got a decent MCAT. I think Biology is an amazing major, if you have interest in it
Did you ever have to dissect a cadaver?
What was your GPA?
The thing about majoring in something else than bio is that I don’t have the money to pay an additional set of courses for the pre PA prerequisites. I also feel like everyone tries to tell me to do something else other than biology, but I want to just ask.. can u pay for my classes then 😂😅
I also have a good amount of interesting aspects about myself. I want to minor in marketing because I own a small business! I also volunteer as an EMT and do research in my school’s STEM program. I think majoring in bio in my case would be fine.. Hopefully it’s enough 😭
Just curious how you prepared for your MCATs after you freshman year? Did you do organic chem in Year 1?
Would psychology be a good option? For someone wanting to be a psychiatrist
Definitely
Assuming all this is very good undergraduate advice in prep for medical training, I get the feeling that medical school is quite different from training to be an engineer, or a computer scientist, or a straight physics, chemistry, biologist who is going to do a post-graduate degree.
Even then, I have some doubts about how anyone can be well prepared for medical school without a fairly heavy undergraduate workload in the sciences and at least statistics from the math side.
In general, the first two years of med school are heavily academic, while the last two are heavily patient-care focused. As long as you complete the required pre-requisite classes in college and take the MCAT, you should be academically prepared for med school, no matter what your major is.
recently graduated and i am going to be attending unc charlotte, not the best school but its close to home and I didnt do good in hs at all... but the last semester I started taking my academics serious, do you think id be able to make it :D
i think as long as you show commitment in your uni years, you’ll have an amazing med school application!
@@arwa-cb1sc totally agree! Med schools don't care AT ALL about high school.
I’m a high school senior going into pre med, goal is to be a psychiatrist. Should I major in something like psychology that would help my career, or should I choose a “safe” major like business if I change my mind later on and don’t decide to go to med school.
thanks this was incredibly helpful!! just out of curiosity, did your youtube channel come up in interviews?
THX! Send to my kid who will be at JHU this year.
I mentioned before that I never did an interview for college. This is probably a silly question, but, why do they care how much of a life you have outside of studying? Do they just want to avoid admitting anti-social freaks who will harm the vibes on campus or something? 😛
pretty much hahah, physicians still need to know how to talk to patients and coworkers
Yay just submitted my applications 10 mins ago all majoring in bio
So helpful thanks
Would you recommend one to major in bioengineering during undergrad while meeting premed prerequisites or an interdisciplinary section within bioE as a pathway to med school? I've heard bioE it's hard to maintain a high GPA so it's risky; however, it's far less common than others and since med schools want diverse student body, majoring in bioE would offer its benefits of being less common than biology majors.
I would say if you're really interested in bioengineering and you feel like you can maintain a good GPA, then do it. However, don't just major in it to look "different" to medical schools. Med schools are going to prefer seeing a high GPA bio major vs. a mid GPA bioengineering major.
@@mattGPT1 Yeah you're right, but I truly am interested in bioengineering and I actually wanted to do bioE before I considered wanting to be a doctor as well :)
Are these tips also good for pre-vet?
When did you give your MCAT? + When do you recommend we give it?
It depends on if you want to take a gap year after college or not. If you don't take any gap years, you're referred to as a "traditional" pre-med, and you'd typically take the MCAT either in the summer before your junior year or during your junior year. Then you'd apply in the spring of junior year.
I'm glad someone said it. Many people do pre med route and don't go to medical school like me...once you're out of undergrad you realize you can't do anything with a biology major.
how would bioengineering compare to bio
way more unique!!
It is not recommended that you do engineering when aiming for med school.
Wash U Bio Major here- right on (but I double majored in a language and studied abroad a full year)- #gobears
wtf what year did you take mcat if you studied the summer after freshman year. i'm a current freshman who wants to do that but everyone tells me i'm crazy
Have majored in bio and minored in chem, the bio major gig is a double edge sword. It can tank your time and grade- if I didn’t major bio, I might have applied to med school with a 3.75 and not a 3.6. Granted I did so much better in pre-clinical courses than most of my peers, so I guess it’s a pay now/pay later gig. Now whether one’s type of major matters in the application process is controversial and debated heavily.
This is bad advice.
If you are the type of person that is worried about how competetive your classmates are, you don't belong in medicine.
The people that optimize everything in stack the deck in their favor in premed are the people that can't keep their shit together during clerkship and residency when they have less control.
Trust me, everyone knows that point-for-pount a chem major is much better student than psych
Do you have a video on your stats and what extracurriculars you did and when? If not could we get a video on that? I’m so confused on how to organize it lol and I have only the internet to guide me😅
Lilian: get involved in your school's pre-med club, and ask your school's pre-med advisor! You shouldn't have to do this alone. If you need extra help, I have a free online pre-med club with some other pre-meds and we'd be happy to answer any questions you still have (link in my bio).
That’s such bad advice to not major in bio when you’ll take all those classes in med school and even then, when you have to take the mcat. If you’re of the working class, I’d be a nursing major so i can at least make a decent living(when i graduate) while applying because all of this is so expensive.
Solution is a STEM major with humanities minor or double major…
I’m premed and I’m going to major in biochem
Cool off, forget about the stressful stuff. Study something you like. For example, Hamiltonian Operators in Zero gravity..
why does Usa require to do pre med before med school? its weird why not just go to med school
My country does it too. Today is my first day in college taking premed, actually. #panicking
@@J-Cole-u9m you will be okay dont worry
Neuro vs cognitive science major?
no difference, choose whichever’s easiest or more compelling to study for
@@SophiaXuOfficial thanks! one more question: wet lab preferable over dry? currently in a clinical/computational neuro lab
I said Biology/ chemistry or math is the best major for pre-med. Don't major in stupid thing like history and psychology or alike.
Medical school is too competitive even for the brightest students. When you major in science related subject, and med school don't work out for you.. you still have the option to pursue a science related career. Choose a other major other than science only if you super passionate about the topic or you can guarantee yourself med school will take you.
I decided to major in biology because I genuinely enjoy the subject. I did know that I could do different majors as a pre-med but I chose not to.
i did too but the higher level biology courses really kicked my ass and my gpa along w it
@@ugonwigwe5136what other majors do you suggest? i’m a lost hs senior who doesn’t know what to pick 😭
@@irene3694 psychology is a popular one. in most schools the classes are pretty straightforward and memorization based
@@irene3694 honestly just major in what you enjoy if I adopted better study strategies earlier on it probably would have been fine. I didn’t learn how to study efficiently until I started studying for the mcat
I found your channel and I love it!!! 💗
Just bagged my degree in biology & chem 😂😢😂😢😂😢😂😢
If u r a doctor working with sick humans then u need to be a master of BIOlogy. MCB, genetics, virology, immunology, etc.
Med. school teaches the basics of everything you need to know and then you build upon that base as an intern, resident, fellow, practitioner.
You’re a helpful enzyme!
too late 😢
lol I major in biology, and wanna get to med school.
I'm majoring in biology in a few months. Genuinely scared now
@@Liv4u-m3m u will be fine. Don’t get lazy and ur chillin
@@Liv4u-m3m NOTHING WRONG with majoring in bio. Focus on getting good grades and paying attention in your science classes so you're prepared for the MCAT down the line. By far the top three criteria in your med school application are your GPA, your MCAT score, and your extracurricular involvement (research, volunteering, clinical experience, clubs, etc.)
@@Liv4u-m3mmajor in something else you're interested in but do the premed requirements! I'm not trying to put this on you but many people who do pre med change their mind about med school. Once you graduate your left with a useless biology degree.
Bruhh I am passionate about computers, maths and drawing and music I am fucked
Is it just me or she literally scheme and plan everything she does to standout? I have an interview with Columbia soon, I hope my classmates are not as calculated as she was
You really should learn the difference between "is" and "are". As one who interviewed post-docs., some of us really do care and note sloppy grammar.
Frankly, I don't know why med. schools make the application process so difficult. Medical school is not really difficult but it is tedious, and overall, it's a really great experience. There is nothing that a student learns in the pre-med. curriculum that is of any real value in medical school. Since students with often vastly different backgrounds matriculate, the faculty cannot assume that any given student knows something specific upon which to build. Everyone must start at the same point.
U better major in STEM or business…
What's up.
I used to study biology. Lol.
Th
Paul lewis
Or don’t become a Doctor since Physicians are being replaced with mid-level providers and A.I.
Low-level providers...yes. AI...not just yet.
i'm looking in the mirror. get your hand checked. what's wrong with it. it has a bruise.
This is not good advice. If you're unable to gain admission into a medical school, you could be stuck with useless courses like Poli sci and history.
Wait so I want to be a poli sci major and take premed, is that not a good idea ? 😭💀
Personally, I think it’s better to pick a major that you’re passionate about. If you end up not being able to get into medical school on the first try, that’s ok! You can always try again or reevaluate your options. Plus you can take premed courses at a community college after or during your undergraduate career. (Ie if you’re not a huge fan of biology or something, you’re not sinking thousands into something that isn’t enjoyable for you)
@@Zoethetoaster medicine is primarily human biology. If you don't like biology and think it's stressful, you may not survive med school.
Very true, I used biology as an example, just to point out that it’s ok to pick a major that is traditionally way different than other pre-meds
@@JazzyyB Do most college students with the biology degree have a plan of what to do with that degree if they do not get into medical school? If they take, let's say, finance, economics, computer science, there would be more potential.