I am posting this in the hopes that I can get a quick reply. I am a recent high school graduate, I start college FOR THE FIRST TIME in 2 weeks. I am enrolled in a four year registered nursing/bachelors of science of nursing program. I go to Texas A&M University Corpus Christi. I have no college credits whatsoever. I had good grades in high school, but I was not in the top 10% or anything. I want to go to medical school after I become a nurse, as soon as it is possible. I need answers to all of these questions.
1.) What are the prerequisites for any med school?
2.) Does the nursing program cover any of those prerequisites?
3.) How long after those four years will it take to cover any remaining prerequisite classes?
Those are just my first three questions. I just need to explain something else. I want to go to a top medical school, in the U.S. preferably. One of the med schools like Harvard or John Hopkins. I know that I haven't even started college yet, and I know that I'm reaching pretty far here. But I am a dreamer and I do have the will, or stubbornness, to try. So I do have a couple of other questions to go along with this.
4.) What do I need to do to get into a top med school like Hardvard or John Hopkins? (It's pretty general I know)
5.) Is Texas A&M University Corpus Christi a good university that a top med school, or any med school, will recognize and accept the prerequisite courses from here?
6.) Besides the normal academic requirements, what social or volunteer work is required to go to Harvard or John Hopkins etc.? (like volunteering, research, work experience etc.)
7.) What can I do during these four years to make my application look better to a top grade medical school? (I want to look VERY appealing to those admissions board memebers)
More questions on the way! Sorry! I just wanted to explain some more. I am a very poor person. I had to get 2 federal grants and a state grant to pay for my tuition and books here. My entire childhood really I have been poor. I recently bought a house for my family with a trust fund I received. I am now supporting my mother and my brother while they go to college themselves. I also have work study so I am going to be working and going to school. I just needed to know if someone as poor as me could go to Harvard or John Hopkins.
8.)So, is there any scholarships or grants available to med students? Either offered by the universities themselves or is there a federal grant program or even an organization that gives these out? This one is very important! 😀
Those should be all of my official questions. Just a couple more things to say and then this long post/questioning is over, I promise! Like I said before I am a very poor person, that is why I am going to become a nurse first instead of pre-med then med school. I intend to work while going to school, and registered nursing is very well paid. I was actually the first to graduate in my family. My mother didn't exactly have the opportunity and my brother joined the army first. But as luck would have it they are both enrolled in college now and soon they will be supporting me while I go to college! I am the first in my family to attend a university as well, my family basically is overwhelmed with pride at this moment for me! I do work for a living but now I am transitioning from worker to student. I am only 18 years old, I'm a fresh high school grad, and I am a clean slate. All I need right now is some direction and advice, and I will be able to fulfill my dream of becoming a doctor! My name is Chris Shoemake.
Thanks for any replies, thanks for all advice! Please do not be discouarged from reading this long post, I do need help and I have a lot to say! Thanks to all! 😀
chrisshoe1, 1. Requirements for medical school - see the first post in this thread 2. I'm not familiar with nursing school curriculum, but you can compare what you are required to take with the medical school requirements. 3. Most people would spend around 2-3 years completing the pre-med requirements, but hopefully you'd be able to take most of them during your electives during your undergrad degree. 4. You have to be an exceptional student on multiple levels to get into a medical school like Hopkins and Harvard. Top grades, top test scores, and something else unique and special to make you stand out from the thousands of other top students who apply. 5. I'm not familiar with Corpus Christi, but according to Forbes, they are ranked 575 in the nation. I know top students (good grades and test scores) who went to a top 50 college who didn't get interviews at Harvard Medical School. As for more typical medical schools, they would probably accept your pre-med courses, assuming that college offers undergraduate degrees in chemistry, biology, and physics. The pre-med level courses should be at the level of someone who is majoring in that field. 6. For Harvard, I couldn't find any requirements for volunteer, research or prior work experience, but based on their website, they do recommend "Courses and extracurricular experiences and activities that prepare candidates to understand human behavior, to appreciate societal structure and function, and to achieve cultural awareness provide valuable preparation for the study and practice medicine." I couldn't find those experiences required by Hopkins on their website either, but they do list a requirement for demonstrating ability in teamwork. I would think that almost all applicants to those schools would have volunteer and research experience. Work experience is probably not nearly as common except for older applicants who took time off before applying to medical school. 7. I think you should be much more realistic about your chances of getting into medical school rather than focusing on a top medical school. While it is possible, I think you first will need to demonstrate that you can get excellent grades in the pre-med classes to be on the radar for any medical school. Assuming you get great grades, the next step would be getting a great score on your MCAT exam. As for being poor - that definitely shouldn't be seen as a negative when applying to medical schools, and if you can excel in college while supporting your family, that will be a great topic for your application essays.
Thanks for the quick reply...and sorry for posting the same question twice, I didn't know whether my account was working so I posted it under another name. I just needed to know what I would have to do in my next four years of college besides excelling academically. I know it will be hard enough to just get into a regular med school, but I will still try to get into one of the top ones anyway. But thank you Dr. Dave for your advice! If I have questions in the future I hope I can come back to this forum with them 😀
Hi Chrissoe1,
You should pay heed on good medical rather just focussing on the top ones. Moreover, it is pre requisite to clear entrance and get good grades to get admitted to any medical school and also a good score at MCAT exam.