Can I handle the work of medical school?
If you were able to handle the grind of premed requirements and the requirements for excellence, you can handle medical school. Keep in mind that it is analogous to drinking water from a fire hydrant. You can’t swallow everything that is coming at you all at once. It’s a marathon not a sprint.
Even though you have been successful as an undergraduate, study habits like cramming and pre-finals all-nighters won't work now. It's a massive volume of data and you need to keep up with daily study. Grades don't matter too much unless you want to get into very competitive specialties for residency (orthopedic surgery, ophthalmology, ENT; the list keeps changing) and for them, Board scores are the most important.
How is my schedule going to change?
Study habits are just one thing that may need to change. As an undergraduate, you probably had more free time even though you were in class a lot and were involved in a large number of extracurricular activities.
Although you’ll be in class less time, you’ll have a lot of other commitments at school and much more time devoted to studying every day. If you want to help yourself become a more well-rounded physician, you should take advantage of opportunities to go to conferences, work at student clinics, and do volunteer work. These can easily fill your time.
One medical student wrote: “I find that most days I don't get home until dinnertime and then my fiancé and I make dinner together and I will study for a while before bed. I also wake up early and study in the morning and I also take days off occasionally and make up the time on the weekend.” With a schedule like this, it’s important to keep up with the material and budget your time appropriately.
How do I decide what's important and what can be put aside when I need to study?
Most medical school work is just studying. It may not seem possible that it could consume your life but it can be overwhelming when you start school and see how much studying you will have. It’s easy to bury yourself in studies and feel like you’re wasting your time if you aren’t studying.
But it’s important to plan ahead and budget time for studying and for your family and friends. If you learn how to do this now, it will be much easier to achieve a balanced life as a resident and practicing physician. Know when to take a night off to watch a movie with friends and making sure to take time every day to exercise, cook and eat a good meal, and rest.
What is involved in the transition?
Medical school applicants are usually in the top of their class, very hardworking, and driven individuals. Medical school is, therefore, a class made up entirely of students like this. It can be hard at first to deal with this.
But it's important to realize that everyone coming into this group has their own special qualities that makes them unique. It can take a while for you to find your own niche in the class but as long as you remind yourself how hard you've worked to get there, and not let the little things like a bad quiz grade or a difficult patient get you down, you'll be able to make the transition. Look to your family and friends for support and be sure to continue to cultivate these important relationships to help build your own support network. Just keep the end goal in mind and you’ll do well.
What are the major differences between medical schools that I should consider when choosing a school?
Just like colleges, medical schools are very different. They approach medical education differently, their faculties are unique to each school, and the type of student varies from school to school. Selecting the "best" medical school for you can be challenging.
The American Association of Medical Colleges offers a list of questions to help you evaluate various schools. Ask these and other questions when visit the school. Don’t be bashful or think that a question is not worth asking. You may never have another chance to ask.
What can you tell me about osteopathic medical schools?
In Pennsylvania, there are two osteopathic medical schools in addition to the six allopathic medical schools. All the answers on this page are applicable to any medical school.
The biggest difference is that you will graduate with a Doctor of Osteopathy (DO) degree rather than a Medical Doctorate (MD) degree. DOs do the same things as MDs, but there are fewer of them. There are subtle differences in training curricula and areas of emphasis. To find out more, visit the website of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine.
How much does your undergraduate institution matter in the admissions process?
It matters a bit because earning a good GPA and graduating from a more demanding school might impress some admissions officers. What’s really important is not where you get your degree, but what you’ve accomplished both in the classroom and in extracurricular activities. It’s isn’t so much where you go to school as it is what you’ve done. The AAMC offers the following key factors affecting acceptance to medical school:
- Successful completion of required undergraduate courses
- Grade point average
- Performance on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)
- Extracurricular activities especially those reflecting public or health-related service
- Letters of recommendation. Letters from your college’s health professions advisors and faculty members as well as physicians and other members of the health professions are best.
- Interviews with medical school admissions committees.
What is the MCAT?
The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) exam measures your knowledge of biological and physical sciences, including chemistry. You have to be knowledgeable in these subjects in order to handle science studies in medical school. The MCAT also tests your ability to read and interpret information and your communication skills. You can find out more on the AAMC website or talk to your health professions adviser.
How much does medical school cost? How do I pay for it?
The AAMC reports that average medical school tuition for the 2008-09 academic year ranged from $18,748 for public medical schools (in-state residents) to $38,337 for private medical schools (nonresidents). Most medical students take out loans to pay for medical school. As a result, average student debt is now about $120,000 when the four years are finished. That’s a hefty piece of debt and is a major reason why many medical students are seeking residencies in higher-paying specialties.
Contributors: Brittany Massare, Tamara Jarrett