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Advice for pre-meds
Going to medical school to become a physician is a big decision to make, so make sure
you know what you are in for. Besides 4 years at Yale, there are 4 years of medical school,
4-7 years of residency, 1-2 years of fellowship, and THEN you get to practice medicine.
That’s a long road. Make sure it’s really what YOU want to do. Dean Chang
recommends that you volunteer for at least 2 years in a hospital, and get hands
on experience taking care of patients to make sure you like doing this before committing
to a career in medicine.
Yale undergrads do really well when it comes to applying to med schools, with almost
90% getting into a US medical school. Compare this with the ~45% national average.
This high acceptance rate is INDEPENDENT of what students major in. Our English
majors do as well as our MBB majors. Not all of you will get into Yale Med or Harvard
Med, but getting into any US medical school means that you will receive good training to
become a good doctor. Remember, the secret is that for your future career, the quality
of your residency program counts more than the medical school you studied in. So don’t
stress out, do the best you can in your classes, volunteer in a hospital, and you’ll have a
good chance of becoming a doctor.
To get into medical school, you have to take classes to satisfy the pre-med requirement.
Yale does not have a “pre-med major.” To help you think about when/what you should
take, a typical pre-med curriculum is listed below. Disclaimer: Dean Chang sits on
the MD/PhD committee at Yale Medical School so is familiar with what Yale medical
school requires, but the specific class requirements sometimes vary from state to state.
Below is a guide only, not the final word, but it applies to the majority of med schools in the
US.
You need to decide by end of sophomore year whether you want to go directly into med
school right after graduation from Yale, or will you take a year or more off (a gap year)? If
you don’t take a gap year, you have to finish all your pre-med requirements by the end of
junior year. Many undergrads take a gap year to finish a research project or participate in
clinical research, and med schools like students with gap year experience. Dean Chang
suggests that you take one or two years after graduating from Yale to do something
interesting before going to med school.
The Office of Career Strategy https://ocs.yale.edu/ is the place to get started if you are
considering medical school. This link https://ocs.yale.edu/yale-college/career-options will
help you with begin your medical school application process. Make an appointment to
speak with the OCS health professional folks during the beginning of your sophomore
year, when you are sure medical school is for you. While they are terrific at giving great
advice, they are busy working with current juniors so don’t be surprised if they do not get
back to you with your questions immediately. Look out for Dean Chang's career talks on
“Things to consider to getting into medical and graduate schools” on the SQR website.
Below are some recommendations of when to take specific pre-med classes. This applies
to any major at Yale.