Managing Your Transfer To Medical School

by Chad Agrawal

med-schoolYour transfer to medical school from college or university requires planning well in advance of the fact. Ideally, you would have thought of going into medical sciences before entering college, not just months before the end of your undergraduate education. There are many prerequisites to consider, and some medical schools have stiffer requirements than others if competition is fierce. It might be necessary to take a further year of college to satisfy requirements.

Planning Early for a Satisfying Career

Medical schools suggest thinking about your transfer at least one year ahead of time. This gives you the chance to enroll in the necessary college classes and achieve the credits you will require, unless you already have. It also reminds you to keep your grades up, knowing the average required of you will be well over 3.0, perhaps even 3.3 or 3.5.

Also, you will have to write an MCAT to get into medical school, and not during the early weeks of enrollment. The test should be written the previous autumn or earlier, but not too much earlier. Transfer brochures explain these details in full so you have plenty of time to get ready before leaving college.

Ask for transcripts from high school and your college in preparation for the inevitable interview. Look carefully into funding and housing options so you know living accommodations will be convenient. Living too far away is impractical during the grueling, exhausting months and years ahead of you. Many students will drop out, but do not let something as simple as living arrangements be the thing which holds you back.

Undergraduate Courses

You will be expected to have studied relevant courses prior to enrolling in medical school. These include several sciences and math, with particulars such as biochemistry, etc., listed by schools of medicine.

A medical school will expect applicants to have achieved their Bachelor's Degree as of June the summer before school resumes and no later, but possibly earlier. This degree must have been achieved within a certain length of time or it is considered outdated.

Application or Resume

In some ways, your application for medical school is much like a resume. Although you are not applying for a job, the board choosing medical students from their pool (of which there are usually more pupils than spaces) picks not just the smartest but also the best-suited applicants. These are students who have done more than bury their heads in science books. Pupils are not just filling in the blanks but are composing essays in a sense. These have to be enjoyable and factual. If writing is not something you enjoy or are very good at, ask someone to help you compose your CV without allowing this person to write it for you.

Well-Rounded People

Pupils most likely to stand out and gain attention from the selection committee are students who became involved in clubs, had hobbies, and volunteered with various organizations during college and before. They have shown a genuine interest in topics beyond medicine, science, and math.

These could have been after-school programs for kids, visiting elderly people in nursing homes, tutoring college students, or helping the local Red Cross during blood drives. Wherever a student donated his time, he learned something valuable about leadership, working in teams, and more.

Notably, professors are looking for the qualities, which create a well-rounded, approachable doctor who will see people as more than specimens to be examined. Moreover, with this range of interests and experiences, a college student transferring to medical school also learns to think from different angles and view problems creatively.

Applicants should have taken advantages of opportunities to grow by attending seminars, conferences, and other learning sessions beyond the college environment.

About The Author

Sarah Daren is a writer who creates informative articles relating to the field of health. In this article, she offers tips to medical students and aims to encourage further study with a UC Clinical Laboratory Science Degree Online.

This post was written by Chad Agrawal

Chad Agrawal is the founder of CCTS, helping students transfer from community college to Ivy League, tier 1 or anywhere else by following this community college guide.

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