Key Factors for Selecting a Pre-Med Program: College Prep Guide

Summary:

For high school students who aspire to pre-med, here are key factors that will help you align your aspirations with the right program. Your GPA and MCAT score are just part of the picture.

Key points:

Five key factors that make for a great pre-med track:

1. Curriculum counts; not the size of the school
2. GPA
3. MCAT 
4. Extracurriculars
5. Research

Are you a high school student with pre-med aspirations? Do you have questions on how these aspirations can lead you toward a career in this thriving industry? This article will touch on what makes for a strong premed application. 

The two common metrics that virtually all med schools review when you apply to a pre-med program, according to the AMA, are your score on the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) and your grade point average (GPA). Beyond that, pre-med programs seek out people who know they want to become doctors and, most importantly, have taken steps to prove their worth. This can include physician shadowing; hands-on, supervised patient care; research experience; and volunteerism. Of course, an essay that hits it out of the park is always a big plus.

As we covered here pre-med is not a college major, but a track that includes courses that prepare you for medical school. These courses commonly included in this track are:

• One or two semesters of biology, chemistry, and physics
• One year of organic chemistry
• One semester of biochemistry
• Organic chemistry with lab
• One year of English
• One year of math
• Behavioral sciences (not required by all schools — make sure to check requirements of the schools to which you’re applying)
  

4 key factors that make for a great pre-med track

There are four key factors that universities consider while reviewing your college application: your GPA and MCAT score, your essay, your extracurriculars, and your exposure to research will make all the difference. Remember, the competition is fierce. Let’s take a look.

1. Curriculum is what counts; not the size of the school

When students think about pre-med, the first names that often come to mind are Harvard, MIT, or Stanford — big names with big reputations in the field of medicine. However, there are many smaller liberal arts colleges — including Amherst College and Williams College — that offer the sciences as well. Prelum partners with leading universities that also offer pre-med programs. These include Georgetown University, Northwestern University, University of Notre Dame,  Rice University,  Wake Forest University, Case Western Reserve University, and William & Mary University.

1. Grade point average (GPA)

Admissions officers look at the MCAT and GPA first. But GPAs are often weighted, depending on the perceived prestige of the institution where these undergrad grades were earned. 

1. Extracurriculars

In the words of Robert Cannon, Ph.D., professor emeritus in the biology department of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG), “These days, all colleges and universities know that they have to do more than just deal with students in the classroom; the key is the whole experience.”

He advises against having a large quantity of volunteer experiences. “Medical school admission deans aren’t looking for dabblers.” You will need to check in with your university’s community service office for the kinds of volunteer activities that align with a future in healthcare.

1. Research

Research, while not mandatory when applying to medical school, can be an impressive resume builder if you're looking to stand out from the competition. According to the U.S. News & World Report, being involved in a research project trains premeds to think critically about an unresolved problem.

It is a common misperception that the research you conduct be in the field of medicine. But, anything worth analysis and data collection is worthy. However for pre-med students interested in industry-specific research, here are six health-related projects for you to consider:

1. Basic science research: typically covers cells, viruses, bacteria, and genetics.
2. Clinical research: tests the safety and effectiveness of diagnostic products, drugs, and medical devices on humans.
3. Public health research: studies the health of communities and populations for the purpose of improving the health of the general public.
4. Health public policy research: study of how laws, regulations, and policies can influence population health.
5. Narrative medicine research: leverages stories from patients and caretakers in order to better understand the patient experience.
6. Artificial intelligence research: AI is having its moment in most industries, including healthcare. This type of research is used to analyze large amounts of data to uncover medical discoveries.

As a high school student, this portion of your professional journey may seem far off, but planning ahead is tantamount to success. So what can you do in high school to prepare? Pre-college online courses in medicine might be the best solution. 

Your guide to the right pre-med future starts in high school

Prelum partners with some of the most renowned universities in the nation to offer college prep programs that are second to none, including high school classes for pre-med. One school with great options is 

Wake Forest University, which offers a women’s health high school program. In Women’s Medicine: An Inside Look at Treatment, Intervention, and Surgery, you’ll review the various methods of contraception, the menstrual cycle’s role in fertilization, and the many careers associated with women’s health.

Wake Forest also offers a summer pre-college medicine course, Cancer: An Inside Look at Caring, Curing, and Treating. This dynamic course delves into the field of oncology, where you’ll accompany a patient on their cancer journey, and review some of the groundbreaking advances in the field.

The University of Notre Dame offers a course for high school students interested in psychology. Psychology: Understanding Our Self and Our World delves into social influences like the internet, how we judge others and ourselves, and the knowledge between self and wellness. According to the American Psychological Association, the Veterans Administration (VA) is the largest employer of psychologists in the U.S.; many of the nearly 12,000 job openings are in hospital settings.

Another option is Rice University with their medicine course: Medicine: Diagnostics, Treatment, and Patient Care. Here, you will explore the patient-care procedures, and study diseases of the heart, the lungs, the brain, and the endocrine system.

And you’ll want to check out Georgetown University’s online medical programs: four intriguing courses that include: Medical Research: Clinical Trials Resulting in Medical Discoveries, where you’ll  learn the process researchers use to formulate, conduct, and evaluate the evidence they gather.

Georgetown also offers Medicine: An Inside Look at Treating Patients, where you'll explore treatment plans for three cases; a kidney transplant, vascular disease, and cancer.

For details on all Georgetown has to offer in medicine, visit this page.

If pre-med is calling you, don’t wait! Start your medical education now with Prelum, powered by Kaplan.