University of Washington has reputable premed program OPINIONS WANTED

[cookderosa]

Here are the facts Jack.

MCAT and GPA tables based on ACTUAL admissions from aamc data - https://www.aamc.org/data/facts/applican...lea24.html

The earlier question was if you could score a perfect 45 on the MCAT and get in with a 2.7 GPA. (answer: unlikely) Even with a perfect score on the MCAT (which by the way- uhhh hello?) you're still needing something north of 3.0 to be a contender. Only half of the perfect scoring MCAT applicants even got in with a 3.0 GPA.

It's not worth debating- you can do that over on student doctor forum until your fingers fall off. If you're not exceptional academically, your chances are slim.

I know the nurses will all flip, but the other option is nurse practitioner or even physician assistant. Mid-level providers earn a nice living and are growing at a rate much faster than doctors. HOWEVER, as such, competition is just as stiff. My suggestion is to make a nice list of all the MD, DO, and PA school requirements. Fill them all.

[jadae@wgu.edu]

I just wanted to clarify for future readers, and I think some touched on this part of the thread. While there is not a pre-med major, there are pre-med programs, and they are under a major. Most schools are different in how they do this, or they will advise you of a program for yourself under the banner of a major. I have seen many different versions of this, some time ago, when considering Occupational Therapy.

So, long story short, there is such thing as pre-med programs. And they can differ, depending on end-goal.

[jadae@wgu.edu]

Here is a copy and paste example from somewhere local to me:

"Students at the McMinnville Campus may choose courses to prepare for further study in health-related fields such as medicine, dentistry, optometry, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy.

Linfield has a long tradition of preparing students for the health professions. A large number of practicing physicians, surgeons, and dentists serving in all parts of the world began their scientific and liberal arts work at Linfield, and continued through some of the finest health professions training programs.

Students interested in health professions may declare any major. Students will work with the pre-health advisors to ensure they are also working towards completing the appropriate prerequisites for their chosen field. The basic science courses required for entrance to the health professions listed are offered at Linfield. These requirements are slightly different for each profession, but generally include one year each of biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, and mathematics."

[cookderosa]

I am so confused, I don't even know what the question is anymore. I think I've contributed to the best of my ability.

[bjcheung77]

Here are the facts Jack.

MCAT and GPA tables based on ACTUAL admissions from aamc data - https://www.aamc.org/data/facts/applican...lea24.html

The earlier question was if you could score a perfect 45 on the MCAT and get in with a 2.7 GPA. (answer: unlikely) Even with a perfect score on the MCAT (which by the way- uhhh hello?) you're still needing something north of 3.0 to be a contender. Only half of the perfect scoring MCAT applicants even got in with a 3.0 GPA.

It's not worth debating- you can do that over on student doctor forum until your fingers fall off. If you're not exceptional academically, your chances are slim.

I know the nurses will all flip, but the other option is nurse practitioner or even physician assistant. Mid-level providers earn a nice living and are growing at a rate much faster than doctors. HOWEVER, as such, competition is just as stiff. My suggestion is to make a nice list of all the MD, DO, and PA school requirements. Fill them all.

Thanks, there's no need to be confused. This post is what the OP is looking for. I like that info!

[bjcheung77]

Here is a copy and paste example from somewhere local to me:

"Students at the McMinnville Campus may choose courses to prepare for further study in health-related fields such as medicine, dentistry, optometry, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy.

Linfield has a long tradition of preparing students for the health professions. A large number of practicing physicians, surgeons, and dentists serving in all parts of the world began their scientific and liberal arts work at Linfield, and continued through some of the finest health professions training programs.

Students interested in health professions may declare any major. Students will work with the pre-health advisors to ensure they are also working towards completing the appropriate prerequisites for their chosen field. The basic science courses required for entrance to the health professions listed are offered at Linfield. These requirements are slightly different for each profession, but generally include one year each of biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, and mathematics."

This is helpful, essentially what I was thinking, it requires a year of undergrad sciences and the mcat.

[sanantone]

While it's extremely rare, I did come across a premed major (or concentration) at a community college. I can't remember which school it was. I normally see premed as a track. You tell your advisor that you want to be premed, and he or she will advise you on which courses to take. That's what my sister did, and she was a psychology major. She ended up with a minor in biology, but she took a couple of biology courses she didn't need just out of interest. The premed courses, alone, wouldn't have fulfilled the requirements for the minor.

I think the quality of the science course you take depends on the quality of the department. A school can have a good biology department, but a mediocre or poor chemistry department. Also, the quality of individual courses can vary based on who is teaching them. There are courses in my PhD program that are great when taken with one professor, but bad when taken with another.

[Life Long Learning]

Community Colleges generally are NOT looking to fail students. My daughter is taking CH 227, 228, and 229 (6 credits each with Lab) three straight at the University of Oregon and they BRAG about flunking 400 students this year in Sophomore CHEM alone.:ack: University does NOT mean a better education. It just reinforces my opinion that the UofO is a waste of time the first two years.banghead

While it's extremely rare, I did come across a premed major (or concentration) at a community college. I can't remember which school it was. I normally see premed as a track. You tell your advisor that you want to be premed, and he or she will advise you on which courses to take. That's what my sister did, and she was a psychology major. She ended up with a minor in biology, but she took a couple of biology courses she didn't need just out of interest. The premed courses, alone, wouldn't have fulfilled the requirements for the minor.

I think the quality of the science course you take depends on the quality of the department. A school can have a good biology department, but a mediocre or poor chemistry department. Also, the quality of individual courses can vary based on who is teaching them. There are courses in my PhD program that are great when taken with one professor, but bad when taken with another.

[jgbenjamin]

Who is Jack??
Please interpet what the main idea on this table/graph is. It's a bit confusing to me (cookderosa).

[jsd]

the main idea of the table is that GPA is as important as TrailRunr and Jennifer told you, and that you can't MCAT your way out of a bad GPA.