MCAT scores. This information will allow you to
put your own performance in perspec-
tive as you progress through college. If such a
self-evaluation raises concerns on your
part, discuss them with your advisor as early as
possible so as to not be negatively
impacted psychologically and filled with
self-doubt.
TIP 3
Obtain publications
Determine if your premed society or advisory
office has prepared a student hand-
book or has a file with current admissions
information, charts, and tables. This will add
to your knowledge base.
TIP 4
Attend meetings
Many premedical groups organize "career nights,"
where speakers, frequently
alumni, discuss different career options in the
health professions. This may be supple-
mented by field trips that may involve visits
to local medical schools. Additional infor-
mation can be obtained by attending meetings
where medical school representatives
report on their admissions policies and
procedures.
TIP 5
Seek advice
Arrange to meet with your advisor periodically
so that he or she can assess your
progress and get to know you. Your meetings can
be both formal and informal, as an
individual and as part of a group. It is
important, especially at a large school, that you
lose anonymity and become known to your
advisor, who, in due course, will be writing
recommendations on your behalf.
Another set of factors associated with your
success as a premed student involves
academic components (such as GPA and science
cum). The following additional tips are
relevant to this important area:
TIP 1
Plan well
Work out for yourself a basic four-year
curriculum that fulfills the college's general
prerequisites as well as those in your major
(and minor) and premed course for gradua-
tion requirements. Discuss your plan with
students who may have followed a similar
program as well as with your advisor, to see if
it is realistic.
TIP 2
Schedule appropriately
Once your overall college program is in place,
structure your semesters' schedules
so that there is a suitable balance of time
blocks allotted to lectures, laboratory sessions,
study, and relaxation intervals, as well as
extracurricular activities.
TIP 3
Select carefully
In choosing the course section, bear in mind
that more demanding courses such as
chemistry or physics might best be taken
earlier in the day, when you are more alert and
receptive. In addition, ask other students
about the different faculty members offering the
same course, to determine their teaching
characteristics. Are they devoted to educating their
students? Do they mark their exams excessively
hard? Are their exams aimed at eliciting
what you really know? Are they reasonable to
deal with? Avoid being influenced by students
who may be biased because they feel that they
were unfairly treated by a professor, unless
there is a consistent pattern to this teacher's
actions. In other words, you are seeking to
obtain information to ensure that your chances
for succeeding in your coursework are good.
TIP 4
Improve your average
To meet the credit requirement for graduation,
you usually have to take electives.
These should be carefully selected in terms of
your general interest, rounding out your
educational background, how the course fits in
your schedule, time demands of the
course, and the projected grade for the course.
By selecting wisely, you can help boost
your grade point average, since the computer
does not distinguish between elective and
required courses in automatically computing
your GPA.
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