Help for a new college student...?

Question

I am enrolled in Texas A&M, the first semester of the freshman year will start this fall... i am currently enrolled in the general studies department because i was not sure what i wanted to study... right now, i am very interested in doing pre-medical.. however the problem is that i have not quite concentrated in my science classes during my high school, focusing on other subjects instead... i have not taken a single science AP class... can you give me some good advice on how i can compensate my lackings and recuperate... any help would be greatly appreciated...

Answer 1

My high school was too small to offer AP science classes. However, I did quite well when I got to college. You will find that there are plenty of students in the same boat as you. In fact, those students who did well at AP won't be in your fall semester classes anyway, because they probably passed the test and got credit. They'll join in 2nd semester, and it will be that much more difficult for them, as it will have been a semester since they had science. Here are some tips for success:

1. Form a study group. It always helps to have a little extra motivation.

2. Do all of your homework. Homework isn't for the prof, he/she probably won't even grade it. It helps you learn the material.

3. Do EXTRA problems. My profs bought the solutions manuals (if yours don't, you could buy it yourself) and put them in the library so that we could check all of our work.

4.Tutor. It is when you can teach the material to another person that you begin to truely understand. I tutored my way through college, and found that it was not only a great money maker (and I could set my own hours), but it helped me learn the most. Now of course, this one will only work as long as your grades are kept up...but again, its extra motivation.

Good luck! You will do fine.

Answer 2

Every undergraduate school works differently, but you don't have to complete a pre-med program to go to med school. You can have any major you want. All med schools require is that you have at minimum two semesters of biology, four semesters of chemistry (2 semesters of gen chem, and 2 semesters of o chem), two semesters of physics, and depending on the school, one to two semesters of calculus. If you feel intimidated by science, this is a great approach to take, especially if you have a lot of different interests. In fact, a lot of med schools these days like it when you have a non related major because it gives you a more rounded education. But, if you want to go to med school, there are a few things you should do besides taking the required courses.
1) Get Experience. The best way to do this is to either volunteer at a hospital or clinic and to shadow a doctor. Med schools want to see that you are truly interested. It's not too late to start this summer.
2) Get Involved in school. Make sure that you are active in some organizations on campus once school starts, but make sure that you can keep your grades high. Be involved in a few things, but don't spread yourself so thin that you don't have time to study. Being involved in off campus organizations is fine also.
3) Get good grades. If you want to get into the best med schools, then you have to be better than most applicants. Make sure that academics are a priority. An easy way to do that is to get all of your school work done during the week so that you can have fun on the weekend.
4) Get a good MCAT score. Doing well in your chemistry, biology, and physics courses will definitely help you do well, but study guides and tutoring are also well worth the money. Companies like Kaplan and Princeton Review have very good success rates on students receiving better scores.

Don't be intimidated and work hard. If you want to go to med school, you can make it happen. If you find yourself having trouble in one of your classes, make sure you get help from the professor, TA, or departmental tutor quickly before you fall behind. Professors want you to succeed, but you have to put forth the effort to do so. Don't be afraid of asking for help.

I hope this information helped! Good Luck!

Answer 3

Agreeing with the above answer, you do not need to take Ap courses to do well in college. I have a few friends that were pre-med that did not go to med school ( I was one-I am a chemistry teacher now). One of them did not major in science at all. He was a history major. So don't stress, often med schools look for people with some science background (basics and a few upper level science courses). They also look for people that are well versed in life, and have a solid background of knowledge. You may want to look at a few pre req's for some med schools. Also compare MD to DO schools. Start to get a grip on what you want to do, but keep in mind most people change their major a few times in college. That is ok as well. Good luck!

Answer 4

Just jump right in. Get enrolled in Bio, and maybe even Chem, or at least pre-calc or calc right away this first semester. Study your butt off, and get an A. Med schools won't look at your high school grades, but rather, your college grades. So don't worry, and good luck!

Answer 5

You don't NEED to have taken AP classes in high school to keep up. Any classes that you need can all be accomplished while in college. Just choose classes carefully. Double up whenever you can (maybe you can find a history that counts as a philosphy too, or a psychology that counts as a general humanties too, etc). And that will give you a little extra space in your busy schedule. Good luck!!!

Answer 6

You could also limit the amount of time you spend on the computer for non-school projects.