Even though med school is still a long time away, there are several things that you should be doing at the beginning of your education to ensure your success later on. Get off to a good start by doing the following during your freshman year:
Become involved in the Pitt Pathway.
The Pitt Pathway is a 4-step, self-development program that is designed to assist you in choosing and implementing your career. Many of the offices on campus participate in the Pitt Pathway and are available to help you in all of the stages of the Pathway: Self Discovery, Career Exploration, Gain Experience and Implement the Plan. Although you may be certain that you want to pursue a career in medicine, it makes a lot of sense to confirm your decision by working through the Pitt Pathway, starting in your first year.
Establish good study habits.
Your grades will be one of the most important factors in determining your acceptance to medical school. The only way to earn good grades is to establish good study habits, right from the beginning. If you need some help, contact the Academic Support Center or find a tutor.
Develop a close relationship with your academic advisor.
Your academic advisor is one of your best resources on campus; he or she can help you to outline your academic curriculum, can make course recommendations, can point you to important campus resources and can act as your guide throughout your education at the University of Pittsburgh. Because your advisor is so important, it is crucial that you get to know this person! Be sure to keep regular advising appointments, and feel free to turn to your advisor when you have questions.
Get involved in campus organizations.
Although medical schools first look for applicants with good grades, they also want to see that candidates are well-rounded. Getting involved with campus organizations and activities is a great way to round out your education, get leadership experience and meet new people. Contact the Student Life office for a complete listing of campus organizations.
Enjoy learning for learning's sake.
Your undergraduate education should not just be preparation for graduate school. Be sure to take advantage of all of the learning opportunities available to you, even those that are not related to medicine. Because you will use almost half of your credits to fulfill general education requirements, you have lots of room to take courses in the arts, humanities and social sciences. Work with your academic advisor to plan your class schedules around your interests, as well as your requirements. Also, get in touch with the Study Abroad and Semester at Sea offices to explore opportunities to give your education an international perspective.
Get to know your professors.
Your professors are outstanding resources for information in their chosen fields. Many of them are doing cutting-edge research and have years of experience working in the sciences or humanities. Take the time to get to know your professors, stop by their office hours or talk to them after class. Developing a relationship with your professors is also important because you will need them to write letters of evaluation for you when you are applying to the Pre-professional Health Committee; you will get a much better letter from a faculty member who knows you personally and is enthusiastic about your application than a professor that barely remembers you and can only write about your grade in his/her class.
Participate in pre-med workshops.
The Health Professions Counselor offers several workshops each term for students who are interested in a career in medicine. There are always a few that are designed especially for freshmen, so be sure to attend one of these workshops if you get a chance.
Begin to take courses in the required sciences.
Because you will need to complete all of your required math and sciences (biology, chemistry, physics and calculus) before the end of your junior year, it is important to start to take these courses in your first year. It is especially important to begin the course sequence in chemistry, as you will need to complete a minimum of 2 terms of general chemistry and 2 terms of organic chemistry before applying to any medical school.
Please remember that your performance in these courses is VERY IMPORTANT, and will play a significant role in your acceptance to medical school. It is also important to do well in these courses the FIRST time you take them, as medical schools average all of your grades in these courses, not just your most recent grades.
The poor sophomore, no longer a new student, and not quite an applicant, the sophomore is often overlooked in the world of pre-med advising. Well, not anymore! Sophomores, this section is for you!
All kidding aside, there are some important things you should be doing during your sophomore year. In addition to continuing to take courses in the required sciences and earning good grades, this is the year when you should begin to VOLUNTEER. It is through volunteering that you demonstrate to the medical schools that you have a realistic idea of what medicine is (and is not); volunteering also allows you to become familiar with the hospital environment and to develop your communication skills with patients. Because the University of Pittsburgh is close to so many hospitals, opportunities abound and are easily accessible. Most hospitals will allow you to choose the unit in which you volunteer. You may want to spend some time in the Emergency Room or the Operating Room, in addition to working in one of the general Medical-Surgical units.
Regardless of where you choose to volunteer, be sure that you spend some quality time interacting with patients. This will not only give you the opportunity to develop your communication skills, but will also give you exposure to a variety of diseases and disorders. There is not a "required" number of hours that you must spend volunteering, but it's a good idea to spend at least 3 to 4 hours per week for a couple of years in the hospital.
In addition to volunteer work, you may also want to gain some experience by participating in RESEARCH. Although designing and implementing your own research project is a very valuable experience, you will probably need to start out by working in someone else's lab. This is where it's helpful to know your faculty; many professors are not only teachers, but also researchers and have their own labs where they are carrying out their own projects. Talk to your professors to see if they need help in their labs. Many of them do, and some of their student positions are paid. Also check out this website: www.pitt.edu/urop. The UROP site was designed to highlight undergraduate research opportunities and links to many of the academic departments that have projects underway. If you have a special research interest in the health sciences, you may also want to log on to www.health.pitt.edu the webpage for all of the schools of the health sciences here at Pitt. This page has a great search engine that will allow you to search for faculty by department or by area of interest.
Also take some time during your sophomore year to assess where you are in the application process: are you doing everything that you can to make yourself a competitive candidate? How does your QPA look? Do you have a plan that will allow you to complete all of your required sciences by the end of your junior year? Have you been volunteering? Have you been making the most of your educational experience? These are important questions to ask yourself. Also, this may be a good time to make an appointment with the Health Professions Consultant. In your appointment, you will have the opportunity to ask any questions you may have, and will get a good idea as to what you still have to do to prepare for the application process.
In addition to continuing to fulfill your requirements for graduation, you will need to spend your junior year making sure that you are prepared to apply to medical school. This is your last opportunity to make yourself the best-looking candidate that you can be, so be sure to complete everything on this list by the end of your junior year:
Finish your required courses. Remember that the medical schools will be making a decision based on the grades from the classes that you have completed by the end of this year, so make sure that all of your required courses (science, math and English) are done. It's also a good idea to have biochemistry and human physiology done by this time, so that you'll have some background in these subjects before you take the MCAT.
Make sure your volunteer and research experiences are in place. Although you should have done both of these by now, if you have not had a chance to volunteer or have not tried a research experience, this is your last opportunity to do these things before applying. Prepare for and take the MCAT. The MCAT is only offered twice each year: in April and in August. We'll talk more about the MCAT later, but preparing for this test is very important and should take up a significant amount of your time and energy this year.
Meet with the Health Professions Consultant. Even if you've done so already, it's a good idea to meet with the Health Professions Consultant during this year, just to make sure that you've finished everything that you need to have done. It's helpful to get some feedback about how you are stacking up against other candidates and about the timeline for the application process. You will also need to see the Health Professions Consultant to get the application materials for the Pre-professional Health Committee.
Gather your materials for the Pre-professional Health Committee. Again, we'll talk more about this in a later section, but you will need to apply for review by the Pre-professional Health Committee during this year. Because all materials are due by the middle of May, you'll need to spend time during your junior year making sure that your Committee application is complete.
Making sure that all of the items above are finished by the end of your junior year will help to ensure that you won't encounter any surprises during your review by the Pre-professional Health Committee or during the actual medical school application process.