Med school tips

Advantages of CHE as med school preparation:CHE is marketable if you don’t get accepted to med school. CHE has a bioscience option that allows you to take necessary prerequisites. CHE prepares you to handle a rigorous curriculum. CHE teaches you to solve problems (i.e. clinicals). Some med schools give credit for tough curriculum.
Disadvantages of CHE as a med school preparation:CHE is a tough major and your GPA might be higher in other disciplines. Some med schools don’t know what CHE’s do or question whether you are serious about medicine.
You should demonstrate a significant commitment to the medical procession.For example, volunteer work or a medically-related job over a long time frame. Shadow a doctor or other medical professional.
Med schools are looking for well-rounded individuals.Be prepared to answer questions like “Who’s your favorite author? What’s your favorite painting? What’s your opinion on a current event?”
It is more important to get involved in a few activities but to take a leadership role or have a significant impact in a few organizations rather than just being a joiner. Pick something that you are passionate about so that during interviews that passion comes through.
Go beyond engineering and get involved in service, athletics, etc.Join the pre-med society on campus. Assume leadership roles in the organizations you join.
Take advantage of the bioscience option and/or the biotechnology minor.
Work in the bioscience area (pharmaceuticals, biochemicals).
Educate yourself about current issues in medicine:cloning, abortion, stem cell research, euthanasia, etc.
GPA is important (shoot for an overall GPA of at least 3.5).If you are not at 3.5, show that you are improving during your junior and senior years.
Spend time preparing for the MCAT – don’t go in cold or prepare the week before.There are review classes, books, CDs, etc. available. There is a significant advantage to taking it in the spring (schools generally won’t schedule interviews until MCAT scores are back).
Letters of recommendation are important, especially from faculty.Develop relationships with faculty so they can write you a strong letter of recommendation. If possible, do research with a professor so he or she can comment as to your intellectual capacity for independent work.
Be realistic and have a back-up plan.Often applicants may get accepted their second or third time around. Recognize that it may be more than a year-long process. During the interim, if you are waiting to be accepted, get a medically related job, volunteer, take additional classes, do research, start grad school and get a masters, etc.
Cast a wide net and apply to multiple schools. Medical school acceptances are very subjective and don’t always make sense.
Paying for med school:the cost may be as much as several hundred thousand dollars. It’s an investment in your career. Consider military funding (and the corresponding service obligation), MD/PhD programs, NIH fellowships, etc.

Advice from Justin Bennett (gradate of ECU med school)

I would emphasize the advantage that a CHE degree shows med schools that the student can handle rigorous studies and teaches important skills of problem-solving and multidisciplinary thinking that is important to the practice of medicine.
In the disadvantages, I would add that I had quite a bit of an adjustment time my first semester of medical school because of the emphasis on pure memorization (ie gross anatomy) in order to do well.I had not strengthened my memorization skills enough from CHE open-book exams where the emphasis was not on memorizing but actually having the ability to use tools to solve problems. But overall, the problem solving skills will make people better clinicians because anyone can memorize but great physicians are great problem solvers. There might be a bit of a transition period in the first few months of med school of figuring out new study skills for memorization.
Applicants need to have strong GPAs even if it comes from a more rigorous curriculum.I agree that lower GPAs from a CHE background will hurt an applicant. Lower GPAs from whatever degrees will always hurt a student.
Showing commitment to the medical profession is essential.Having good grades, diverse extra-curricular activity involvement, and leadership are essential these days to getting into med school but if you haven’t spent time specifically in a health care setting, it will be a big detractor to the student’s application. Admissions boards really need to see the commitment to medicine. I saw that in my admissions interviews.
Doing well on the MCAT is very important.It takes months to prepare for. I used a review class which I found helpful. Applicants should take the exam very seriously because it helps admissions boards standardize applicants with non-traditional majors like CHE on the same level as the bio majors. They really need to see that applicants can study well and take standardized tests well – ultimately students will need to pass medical boards and doing well on the MCAT shows that they can handle test-taking even if the MCAT scores are not the best prognostic indicators of how good of doctors folks turn out to be in the long run.
Taking time off between graduation and medical school is a great option and is something I regret not doing.Half of my colleagues in my residency program worked in other professions before starting medicine. They were journalists, consultants, engineers, professional atheletes, and some got a PhD, JD, or MPH. Others volunteered in the Peace Corp or Teach for America. These things makes them stand out from the rest of the applicants and really worked for them. Taking time off can really help boost a medical school application, especially if the GPA is not as strong.
Not getting in to medical school the first time around is not the end of the world. It actually turns out to be a blessing in disguise for some folks. I would encourage students to be persistent and show interest that medicine is the one thing they are committed to at that time when they apply. They need to bring diverse interests and strengths because physicians need to be well-rounded individuals but smart and willing to work hard because that’s what it will take to get to the end of medical training.
The road isn’t easy and medical schools will be investing a great deal in their students so applicants need to show without a doubt that they are worth the large investment and a sure deal that they’ll see the training to completion. The last thing a medical school needs is an applicant showing doubt about his/her commitment to medicine or showing signs that the applicant might not be able to handle the training academically.
I’m uncertain about CHEs being accepted more at research focused medical schools.In hindsight, I don’t think ECU undervalued my CHE degree when being considered for medical school (I had 2 fellow students in my class of 75 who had CHE degrees as well as another who had a biomedical engineering degree) in my application. It is great that Duke seems to like CHE grads. But outside of NC medical schools, I don’t know if CHEs do better in research focused medical schools.
I graduated with a second degree in CHASS (multidisciplinary studies dept while in the Ben Franklin program) in which I studied health care and medicine through the the humanities and social sciences.I would encourage applicants to be creative with their studies to make them stand out. NC State has plenty of opportunities for students who want to take the initiative to create a plan of study outside of traditional ones. I would encourage folks to do that.
Paying for med school: Another opportunity is to do one of the federally funded programs which commits students to practicing in an underserved area in the nation for a certain period of time.The government pays for tuition in return. It’s a great deal and many med students wish they knew about it earlier.

Advice from Remy Roque (graduate of University of Maryland medical school):

Apply early. The earlier you apply, the earlier the schools get your information. This can be an advantage for a few reasons. First, the sooner your file is complete, the sooner you can be reviewed and get the ball rolling. Also, if you apply earlier, there are fewer candidates that will have already been reviewed for you to be compared to. So, especially if your stats aren’t stellar, applying early is a good idea. And of course, the sooner you apply, the sooner you are through with the stressfulness 🙂 (in theory)
As an NCSU student or alumnus, you should use the HealthPAC review committee. Most schools want this type of letter in your file, and if you don’t use the committee, you will have to explain why. Keep in mind that there is a lot of information that must be submitted in order for you to be reviewed. Aim to be reviewed in the earlier groups.
Applying is VERY time-consuming and expensive. In order to send your primary AMCAS application to schools, it will cost at minimum $160. This is the price for one school. Each additional school will cost $30. It adds up quickly. For those schools that send you a secondary application, the cost will vary from about $60 to as much as $130. On average, I’d say to expect about $90/school. And if you are lucky and receive interviews, it will cost money for transportation and hotels for the trips.
Interviews: These are also time-consuming. Keep in mind that you won’t have much flexibility in scheduling interviews. Some schools will give you a few set dates to choose from. Others will just provide you a date to interview on. It is tricky to reschedule interview dates simply because of the high demand. And not all schools interview on Mondays or Fridays. Many schools only interview candidates in the middle of the week, meaning that you may be missing work/class more than one day for a single interview. You may want to try to keep a day “open” in your schedule, but realize it may still be unavoidable to miss class/work.
Secondary applications: Many take considerable amounts of time. Others aren’t so bad. It just depends on the amount and topics of essays and questions you may be asked to answer. Again, remember that if you are still in school, this work will have to be done in addition to all the work you’ll be doing for classes.
Make sure you have a clean credit history. This will affect your loans and financial aid.
Apply broadly but realistically. The process is very unpredictable. Not only are you looking for schools that you would like to attend, but the schools are also looking for certain qualities in their incoming classes. This means that even if you are a strong candidate, you may be turned down by some schools. It doesn’t mean you wouldn’t be a good doctor, but it means they think you’d fit better in another program. Likewise, a program you think is a “long-shot” might really like you.
Don’t feel like you have to aim to start med school immediately following undergrad. Taking a year off isn’t a big deal and may allow you to become a stronger candidate.