What is the difference btwn a premed prgm in a college vs a non premed pgm in college...plse read (bachelors, doctors)

[deeds]

my child wants to go into medicine maybe a md coroner.....very serious student....would consider nursing if they can't make the dr program.......plse explain to me what it means that a college has a pre med vs a college that doesn't have a pre med program but hs student wants to go into medicine

Originally Posted by deeds

my child wants to go into medicine maybe a md coroner.....very serious student....would consider nursing if they can't make the dr program.......plse explain to me what it means that a college has a pre med vs a college that doesn't have a pre med program but hs student wants to go into medicine

"Pre med" just means they have degree programs (usually biology or chemistry, but some also have physics even) that ensure students check off all the requirements for med school. There doesn't seem to be anything particularly special about pre med programs. She just needs to make sure she looks at the requirements to get in to med school and takes all the required classes. Any school with decent science departments should be okay.

[theoldnorthstate]

and at my daughter's med school the admissions committee liked students with other degrees than premed as long as the prerequisites were met and grades were top.

[golfgal]

For about the 20th time here...pre-med is just some classes you need to take to prepare you to take the MCAT. You could MAJOR in anything--underwater basketweaving if the college has it, take these pre-med courses as electives and still go on to medical school.

The idea is to major in whatever classes you can get the highest GPA because the first round of med school admissions is ALL about your GPA and MCAT score..that is IT. It's computer scored and if you get the "right" GPA and the "right" MCAT score you move on. It doesn't matter what your major is, it doesn't matter what school you went to. After the first round, it's all about what you DID while you are in college.

Stop worrying so much. Let your child find a school SHE likes, where she will stand out and where she will enjoy her years....that is ALL you need to worry about.

[deeds]

Thanks for your insight and for pointing out things to me......your kind of support is awesome

[Katarina Witt]

As for nursing as a "fallback" position, none of these "pre-med" programs will prepare a person to become a nurse. If the student does not get into med school, s/he will have to do a nursing program. There are programs for students who already have a degree such as this one: UCAN | UC College of Nursing | University of Colorado Denver Nor does a BS in nursing prepare one for med school. They are two parallel pathways.

[nifear]

Originally Posted by Katiana

As for nursing as a "fallback" position, none of these "pre-med" programs will prepare a person to become a nurse. If the student does not get into med school, s/he will have to do a nursing program. There are programs for students who already have a degree such as this one: UCAN | UC College of Nursing | University of Colorado Denver Nor does a BS in nursing prepare one for med school. They are two parallel pathways.

Completely agree. Nursing is a different career all together.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by nifear

Completely agree. Nursing is a different career all together.

Plus--it's a negative to have a major that leads to another career for med schools...that doesn't mean that it's impossible but it doesn't show commitment to the med school process.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by golfgal

Plus--it's a negative to have a major that leads to another career for med schools...that doesn't mean that it's impossible but it doesn't show commitment to the med school process.

That doesn't seem to be much of a problem these days. There are lots of doctors with engineering undergrad majors. One of the docs I work with has an engineering degree, another has a degree in medical technology (laboratory). I know at least one doctor who has an undergraduate nursing degree. The bigger problem is that a nursing degree will not fulfill the pre-reqs for med school. This first link is an overview:

https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/requirements/

Here are the specific requirements for one medical school:
Prerequisites for Medical School - University of Minnesota Medical School - Medical School - University of Minnesota

Here is the curriculum for one nursing school:
College of Nursing - Valparaiso University

[rohirette]

Your undergrad can be a BSN and still get into med school - you will just have to make sure you have some electives to play with to fulfill o-chem and physics. You may also have to pay attention to whether the biology and gen chem sections are the right "level."