Welcome to the Medical Sciences Information Meeting for First Year Students

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Welcome to the Medical Sciences Information
Meeting for First Year Students
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No need to take notes!

• This will be available on the Pomona Medical
  Sciences web soon www.medsci.pomona.edu
• Please feel free to just listen and think. You
  might want to jot down questions for later.

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Pre-medical Students

• Entering professions related to health
  constitutes the single largest career goal stated
  by students at Pomona College.
• At Pomona, pre-medical refers to preparation
  for any of the health professions. Many exciting
  possibilities await you medicine means more
  than M.D.!

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MD may not be the Best Choice for you

• Osteopathic Medicine
• Public Health
• Podiatry
• Optometry
• Veterinary Medicine
• Dentistry
• AND MORE

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Purpose of this meeting

• This meeting is to provide you with some
  information about the medical sciences program at
  Pomona College, and to eliminate some myths about
  the process of getting into health professions
  schools. In brief, there is not any one way you
  must follow to enter these professions -- there
  are many paths toward your goal.

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• This meeting is intended to be informal -- To
  make best use of our time, unless something is
  unclear, please hold questions until the end.

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Medical Sciences Office

• Located in the back of 148 Smith Campus Center
  (Career Development Office is up front).
• Medical Sciences Coordinator Paula Goldsmid
• Administrative Assistant Brenda Reynolds

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Medical Sciences Committee

• Nicole Weekes (Chair), Psychology and
  Neuroscience Program
• Roberto Garza-Lopez, Chemistry
• Frances Hanzawa, Biology
• Neil Gerard, Associate Dean of Students
• Paula Goldsmid, Medical Science Office
• Kirk Jones, Physical Education
• Eric Lindholm, Music
• Sarah Raff, English
• Victor Silverman, History

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Pre-Med Liaisons

• Seniors
• Gabe Klapman
• Amitha Prasad
• Dan Holtzman
• Katrina Spaunhurst

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Pre-Med Liaisons

• Juniors
• Ellie Tokar (studying in Prague fall 2005)
• Jon Lee
• Samantha Nadella
• Mary DeBoer

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Pre-Med Liaisons

• Sophomores
• Christa Lovett
• Alice Yoo

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Academic preparation for health professions

• What should I major in?
• What courses do I need to take?
• When should I take these courses?

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What should I major in?
No One College Major is best!

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What should I major in?

• No health professions school requires that
  applicants major in particular subjects to the
  exclusion of others. Schools are interested in
  broadly-educated students, which is what Pomona
  College provides with its liberal arts education.
  Your chance of acceptance is not increased if
  your major in science, or if you choose not to
  major in science. We advise you to major in the
  academic area in which you are most interested.

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What courses should I take?(and when should I
take them?)
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Science Subjects Required by 10 or more U.S.
Medical Schools

No. of schools
(Total approx. 120)
Pomona courses ________________________________
____________________________
Biology 2 semesters 119 Bio 40,41M/C
Physics 2 semesters 119 Physics
51 a,b Gen Chem 2 semesters 118
Chem 1a,b or 51 Org Chem 2
semesters 113 Chem 110 a,b
Calculus/Math 1 or 2 sem 15
Math 30, 31 College Math 1 or 2 sem
17 Stats/other math Biochemistry 1
semester 10 Chem 115
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Non-Science Subjects Required by 10 or more U.S.
Medical Schools

No. of schools
(Total N120)
Pomona courses ______________________
______________________________________ English
1 or 2 sem 81 Many
possible Behavioral Sci 1 or 2 sem 10
Many Possible Social Sci 1 or 2
sem 10 Many possible Humanities 1
or 2 sem 13 Many possible
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Familiarize Yourself with Requirements Early

• Requirements for each allopathic (M.D.) medical
  school, plus a lot of other useful information,
  are described in the book Medical School
  Admission Requirements, which may be purchased
  from the Association of American Medical
  Colleges, 2450 N Street, N.W., Washington DC
  20037-1126, for about 25 on www.aamc.org . Also
  available in CDO library.

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Familiarize Yourself with Requirements Early

• More information on osteopathic medical school
  is in the Osteopathic Medical College Information
  Book, available online or free in print on
  http//www.aacom.org/
• Requirements for other health professions
  schools are on their respective websites. See
  www.medsci.pomona.edu for links.
• The Career Development Office library has a
  huge amount of information about careers in
  health-related professions.

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Typical" Application patternfor pre-medical
students

• Most pre-meds apply to medical schools in
  summer between junior and senior year, and take
  the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) or its
  equivalent in spring of junior year. These tests
  include material on general biology, general and
  organic chemistry, and general physics, as well
  as testing reasoning, verbal abilities, and
  writing skills. The usual pattern of taking
  these required courses is as follows, with math
  and English fitting in where convenient.

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Typical Schedule
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Non-typical patterns may be best for you!

• An increasing number of applicants do not follow
  this typical" pattern!
• If you are under prepared in the sciences, you
  might seriously consider stretching out taking
  these pre-med courses.
• Consider taking Math 29 (Problem Solving in the
  Sciences) first rather than Math 30
• Take only one science course per semester rather
  than doubling up. Many health professions schools
  actually prefer their first-year students to be a
  bit older and more mature. The average age of
  first-year students in medical school is 23-24
  years.

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Getting into Medical SchoolEnrollment Trends
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Applicants, Acceptees Matriculants 1991-2000
More recent Tables are available
atwww.aamc.org/data/facts/start.htmSource
AAMC Data Warehouse Applicant Matriculant File
as of November 22, 2000
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Grades

• You must maintain a strong GPA in college, in
  both science courses and overall, if you expect
  to be admitted to a health-science professional
  school. Although many factors are taken into
  account in the admission process, grades from
  college are probably the most important single
  evaluative factor.

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Grades

• Introductory Sciences courses are not designed to
  weed you out.
• In 1999, 83 of accepted applicants to medical
  school had an undergraduate GPA of 3.3 (9.9 on
  Pomonas scale) or above.
• Only 4.6 of accepted applicants had a GPA of
  lower than 3.0 ( 9.0)

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Other Considerations

• Study Abroad
• Letters of Recommendation
• Health Care Experience
• Research Experience
• Activities, leadership
• MCAT

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Study Abroad

• Valuable experience
• Will need to plan carefully to fit it into your
  schedule.

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Study Abroad

• Take Physics during the sophomore year (along
  with Bio 41M/C and Chem 110a,b).
• Take Physics 51a during Spring of sophomore year
  and go abroad Fall of Junior year and return to
  take Physics 51b Spring of Junior year.
• Taking a year-long physics or organic chemistry
  course in summer session somewhere else get
  approval in advance from relevant Pomona academic
  department!

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Typical Schedule
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Study Abroad

• Apply to health professions schools after you
  graduate
• take physics/O Chem during your senior year after
  returning from abroad, and take the MCAT (if
  applicable) during your senior year.
• Study abroad in the fall semester of your senior
  year.

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Letters of Recommendation and Advice on your
future

• Get to know a number of your professors well from
  both inside and outside of the sciences.
• Cultivate relationships with your instructors
  early in your academic career.
• Ask questions inside and outside of class.

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Letters of Recommendation and Advice on your
future

• Demonstrate your interest in the course subject
  and activities including labs, discussions,
  writing assignments, and exams.
• Get to know faculty outside of the
  classroom-visit during office hours take them to
  lunch in the dining halls.

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Letters of Recommendation and Advice on your
future

• Dont wait until you have a problem to talk to
  faculty--crisis times arent good for building
  new relationships.
• Keep up the relationships you cultivate early in
  your academic career--you cant expect the
  professor who gave you the A three years ago to
  write a good recommendation unless youve kept
  her informed about your progress.

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Letters of Recommendation and Advice on your
future

• Keep copy of work in each course. Presenting
  this work to faculty will facilitate thorough and
  timely letters of recommendation.

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Health Care Experience

• Most health professions schools look for
  evidence that applicants have first-hand
  knowledge of health care, as part of their
  assessment of the depth of your commitment to
  such careers. You can demonstrate this in a wide
  variety of ways, including, for example, working
  or volunteering in hospitals, in physician
  offices, in health care clinics and screening
  agencies, or in public health programs. Dont
  wait until right before you apply.

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Research Experience

• Many students find it both enjoyable and
  worthwhile to do independent research, during the
  academic year and/or during summers. Research
  experience can enhance your application and
  provide more in depth and distinctive letters of
  recommendation, but it is not required unless you
  are considering a career with more emphasis on
  research than on patient care.

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Activities

• High grades and high MCAT scores alone will not
  get you into medical school. Medical and
  professional schools are interested in
  well-rounded applicants, those who have shown
  interest and ability to work with people.

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Activities and Leadership- Ideas

• Seek internships through the Career Development
  Office. Get involved in on-campus activities
  relating to health care, such as AIDS awareness
  committees, Medical Sciences Society, and
  consider becoming a Pre-Med Liaison. Take on
  leadership positions in student or community
  organizations, or in student and dormitory
  government. Become a Sponsor or RA. Write for
  Student Life or Collage.

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Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT)

• Dont worry about it now.

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What should I be doing now?

• Explore fields you may want to major in and
  follow your passions when you choose.
• Build good relationships with faculty.
• Start the required basic science courses for the
  MCAT, DAT or other exams relatively early in your
  academic career.
• Think seriously about stretching out these basic
  science courses, especially if you do not have
  strong high school preparation in the sciences,
  or if you know you have difficulties with
  quantitative science.

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What should I be doing now?

• Seriously consider Study Abroad, and plan
  carefully for this program.
• Learn very good study habits and excellent time
  management right from the beginning of your
  college career.
• Always keep your grades up -- you will need a
  strong GPA, both in the sciences, and overall, if
  you are going to be a serious applicant.

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What should I be doing now?

• Get involved in College and community service.
• Talk with faculty and family about your career
  choices, throughout college.
• Get involved in first-hand health-care
  experiences.
• Visit the Career Development Office library soon
  to explore the full range of possible
  health-related careers.

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For more information

• VISIT our Medical Sciences web frequently, and
  bookmark it.
• http//www.medsci.pomona.edu
• ( linked under Academics on Pomonas home page)
• JOIN the medical sciences email distribution
  list. Instructions are on the website above.
• CHECK health professions links on this site, and
  explore the range of health professions.

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The End

• Any Questions?