Pre-Med + Division I XC/Track??

"Pre-Med" isn't a major.

You seriously need to research these careers. The difference between PA and plastic surgeon in terms of competitiveness is like saying you want to work at Apple and saying "I'd like to be a low-level manager or on the board of directors if the opportunity is there."Plenty of people do engineering at D1 colleges and get into top medical schools. It sounds like you shy away from a challenge, which in case PA school and an easy major is the best choice for you.

Yaboy34 wrote:

Is this in anyway a doable match? I really want to run in college because I know I am going to, but I understand that the chances of being a professional runner who makes a respectable earning is pretty much impossible. I'm planning on taking pre-med as my major and possibly ending up as a PA or if the opportunity is there, a plastic surgeon. Anyone ever been through this experience before?

A few years ago the top NCAA scholar athlete was a decathlete from Wisconsin (Brown) who was not only pre-med, he was finishing his first year of med school with a(nother) 4.0 as a 'fifth-year' senior. He was winning the Big Ten decathlon from his teammate Detmer (who was second at NCAAs and eventual winner at Big Tens) until he no-heighted in the vault. Detmer, and engineering student, was also first team academic All-American.

And, while running distances at a high NCAA level, the decathlon is a beast.

Yaboy34 wrote:

Is this in anyway a doable match? I really want to run in college because I know I am going to, but I understand that the chances of being a professional runner who makes a respectable earning is pretty much impossible. I'm planning on taking pre-med as my major and possibly ending up as a PA or if the opportunity is there, a plastic surgeon. Anyone ever been through this experience before?

Sure is, but you should research what you're doing. Like someone else said, "pre-med" isn't a major. You'll likely major in one of the life sciences, or engineering, while fulfilling your med school pre-reqs. That's all pre-med means.

I'm not stupid. I understand they are completely different careers and far apart in the range of medical studies. Honestly i'm waiting to discover where I am socially and financially to see if it would even be a smart move to make the decision on whether or not I would want to pursue med school and beyond or not. (i.e. if it's not in the best interest of my social surroundings: running, family, friends, girlfriend or financially taxing, I probably won't do it)

And yes im quite aware Pre-Med is not a major to the rest of you smart a*ses out there.

Pre med is a major at some schools. Not sure why people constantly claim that it's not.

Totally doable - the two often seem to go well together. I had 2 D1 teammates who majored in, yes, Pre-Med, and went on to medical school. Studied their ass*s off when not running though.

definitely doable, i would say half our team was pre-med (top 30 xc d1 and top 30 academic). Honestly isn't all that bad, engineering is much more difficult as a major comparing what my roommate did ( chem engineer) vs. my pre-med major though i would be loath to say that in front of him at the time. Biggest thing is not dicking around the first two semesters, only 6 count if you go straight through so frosh year is 1/3 of your GPA. take some hard classes in high school (ap chem, physics, calc) and you will be golden.

Absolutely, not a problem. You'll need to realize that screwing off for even ONE semester in ONE class will destroy your chance at going to med school. Keep that in mind. Maximize your study time. Develop good habits. Treat your studies with the same mentality as your track career. A prime example if this would be Danny Lincoln- multiple time NCAA champ (now an ortho surgeon), and Matt Taylor- multiple all American (now a busy family practice doc). Good luck!

vacc wrote:

definitely doable, i would say half our team was pre-med (top 30 xc d1 and top 30 academic). Honestly isn't all that bad, engineering is much more difficult as a major comparing what my roommate did ( chem engineer) vs. my pre-med major though i would be loath to say that in front of him at the time. Biggest thing is not dicking around the first two semesters, only 6 count if you go straight through so frosh year is 1/3 of your GPA. take some hard classes in high school (ap chem, physics, calc) and you will be golden.

What exactly was the workload like? Like what was a typical week?

Yeah. Its possible.

You;ve done the hardest part so far, which is know in advance.

You hafta play your cards right. First, pick an easy major you’re interested in. Second, do the bare minimum science pre-recs (chem, Ochem, Bio, physics, calc, no more) and get straight A’s in these. This is easy to do, I’m not a genius and I set the curve in ochem, biochem, calc, with just a little hard work. Third, volunteer in hospitals and shadow physicians regularly. Fourth, do not let the crazy premeds get into your head. easier said than done. You will easily have enough time for all of this if you go at it methodically and don;t get off track. study every day for 4 hours, 6 on weekends, and get a 31+ MCAT and you’ll be in. Med schools want cookie cutter students with good grades, mcats, and volunteer work. trust me.

Once residency starts the real fun begins...

enjoy kid

pre med major wrote:

Pre med is a major at some schools. Not sure why people constantly claim that it's not.

Prove it.

not the sharpest tool in the wrote:

pre med major wrote:

Pre med is a major at some schools. Not sure why people constantly claim that it's not.

Prove it.

The top extra curricular activities for medical school are cross country/track and band. Being on a team or group shows that you can probably work well with people and that you want to work towards a common goal.

The key to being a "pre-med" student is to have good time management skills. You are going to have early morning practices and lots of labs. Learn to tell people that you can't go to that frat party on Thursday night. If you want to go that party, be a business major.

Ever heard of this guy:

http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/2012-walter-byers-postgraduate-scholarship-winners-announced

http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/NCAANewsArchive/2012/october/ncaa%2Bselects%2Btodays%2Btop%2B10%2Bfor%2B2013df30.html

The kind of people who end up becoming plastic surgeons are not the kind of people who, even for one second thought, "Eh..yeah...I could maybe see myself being happy as a PA if this doesn't work out."