Becoming a Student Doctor - SDN (2024)

Becoming a Student Doctor - SDN (1)

Maximize your chances of acceptance to your dream school. Join us and become a student doctor.

You may know the basic steps of the admissions process and some helpful “tips and tricks,” but you still may not get admitted.With Becoming a Student Doctor, you will clarify your professional mission – the “why” behind your decision to apply to a health professional school – and get the support you need as you build an application around that mission. In addition, Becoming a Student Doctor resources help you better handle the challenges you’ll face during the admissions process and throughout your healthcare career.

“For me, it’s strengthened my resolve to be an advocate for primary care.”

Course Participant

Becoming a Student Doctor offered by the Health Professional Student Association, the publishers of the Student Doctor Network.

Student Results

Students who have completed Becoming a Student Doctor understand their mission and can articulate it to admissions committees. Here are some selected student results:

  • Received a full cost-of-attendance scholarship to a premier state medical school
  • Earned top quartile scores on both Casper and PREview

What Does Becoming a Student Doctor Include?

Workshops to Prepare You for SJTs and Interviews

Situational Judgment Tests like Casper and PREview are increasingly prevalent in healthcare admissions. You’ll also see ethical and professional judgment scenarios and questions in interviews and as you move into your healthcare career. Becoming a Student Doctor includes workshops to hone your ability to analyze and respond to these scenarios and tough interview questions with confidence.

“Great opportunities to practice having those conversations, especially when it comes to really tricky stuff.”

Course Participant

On-Call Advising Services

As part of the course, you will be able to schedule one-on-one time with Dr. Emil Chuck, the course instructor and a long-time pre-health advisor. His guidance can help you with preparation for situational judgment tests like Casper and PREview; drafting your personal statement and secondary essays; and getting ready for interviews.

“The (advising) session was really helpful…it has been a great form of assistance.”

Advisee

Self-Paced Flexibility

Some weeks are easier than others. Becoming a Student Doctor is self-paced, meaning that you can work through the content on your schedule. Additionally, the curated materials include extensive reference material, so you can take deep dives into the areas that interest you most.

“I liked the flexibility of being able to choose the topic.”

Course Participant

Up-to-Date

Dynamic forces influence health care – such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Dobbs decision, and extreme weather events due to climate change. Becoming a Student Doctor is updated and curated continuously to address current events and areas of importance and concern.

“There’s a lot that got presented that isn’t content that I thought about prior. Climate change and health care delivery is a great example of this.”

Course Participant

Lifetime Access

Your enrollment in Becoming a Student Doctor provides lifetime access to the content. Need to revisit how to determine if a school’s mission aligns with your own? Have an interview in a week and need to understand the latest Supreme Court decision affecting healthcare? The resources will be in your back pocket, ready for you when you need them.

Course Elements

  • Curated content you can work through at your own pace
  • Situational Judgment Test and Interview workshops
  • Personalized on-call advising
  • Lifetime access

Scholarship Access

We understand that not all students have the financial resources for this course. That’s why, thanks to the generous support of our donors and sponsors, we offer a scholarship program.

Students may be qualified for free access based on any one of the following criteria:

Qualifying students must submit verification documentation (either a FAP letter or a copy of a high school diploma from a shortage area).

Please complete this form to submit your application for scholarship access.

Would your pre-health club or advisor be interested in bringing this course to your peers? Learn more about our institutional licensing options.

Course Presenter – Emil Chuck, PhD

Emil Chuck, Ph.D. (he/him) is the Director of Advising Services for the Health Professional Student Association. He brings over 15 years of experience as a health professions advisor and an admissions professional for medical, dental, and other health professions programs. His goal for Becoming a Student Doctor is to help the next generation of diverse healthcare providers gain confidence in themselves and become successful members of the inter-professional healthcare community.

Becoming a Student Doctor - SDN (2024)

FAQs

What is the hardest year of med school SDN? ›

YEAR 1. Your MS-1 (Medical Student 1) year will be your most difficult year of med school. Year one of medical school consists of mostly basic sciences courses, which means LOTS of memorization.

How hard is it to get into medical school in SDN? ›

The average score is 500, but the most competitive applicants receive scores of 510 or above. At 515 or over, your competitive status increases, and scores over 517 will almost guarantee your admission. Another factor determining your score will be the medical school where you apply.

Are you smart enough to become a doctor? ›

If you've shown that you can work hard enough, study hard enough, and grind hard enough. if you can put in the work to study and sacrifice, then you are doing what you need to do. You do not need to be a genius to get into medical school. You do not need to be a genius to get a good score on the MCAT.

How many students actually become doctors? ›

Some studying medicine will pursue MD degrees, while others will earn DOs. Doctors can work alone or lead a hospital as the Chief Physician. Around 65% to 93% of medical school students become doctors. This depends on various factors, such as the length of their studies, their health, and other considerations.

Which year of med school is the easiest? ›

The fourth, followed by the third, and the first year. You don't do much in the fourth year, other than insert IVs and catheters, monitor vital signs, take medical histories and write progress notes, and perform physical exams. You need to read up on each case that you see, and you present this at the morning rounds.

What is the most stressful year of medical school? ›

Fourth Year (MS4 or M4)

The first half of fourth year is arguably the hardest part of the entire medical training process, at least if you go into a competitive surgical subspecialty.

Is a 3.7 GPA competitive for medical school? ›

A GPA of 3.7 is far from low and is generally competitive for many medical schools. Remember that medical schools assess various elements of your application, including your MCAT score, extracurriculars, and personal qualities.

How competitive is a 3.8 GPA for med school? ›

Many admissions officers view a GPA of 3.8 as very competitive, and they like to see at least a GPA of 3.5 or above. These scores will be especially competitive if your major is related to medicine, and it's even better if it's a difficult science major like neuroscience or physics.

What is the easiest state to get into medical school? ›

What Is the Easiest State to Get Into Medical School? North Dakota and Mississippi are both considered to be states with easier medical school requirements and above-average acceptance rates.

What is the average IQ of a medical Dr? ›

What is the average IQ of a medical doctor? The literature suggests that average US doctor IQ is in 120–130 range, as far as USA concerned. Two most important pre-med requirements are: Min.

Is being a doctor financially smart? ›

Earning 4-5 times the average is a great income. You can have a wonderful financial life on an income of $275,000. You can pay off your debts, live comfortably, never worry about money, become financially independent by mid-career, help others, and even buy a few luxuries along the way.

Is being a doctor a lot of memorization? ›

Whereas becoming a doctor is more than just memorization, the overall journey that requires many years of education and training does involve a lot of memorizations.

Why do med students drop out? ›

The cause of attrition is often multifactorial and complex. Psychological problems are one of the important factors in students with low academic performance and dropping out of the students. Some difficult courses in the curriculum may affect the students' academic performance leading to their attrition.

How many premeds make it to med school? ›

Overall, according to this data, the path to medicine has an approximate 7% success rate. Meaning about 7% of pre-med college freshman will actually become medical doctors. These figures may be slightly higher when factoring for students who apply to medical schools multiple cycles.

How many students fail med school? ›

The graduation rate after four years ranges from 81.7% to 84.1%, which leads some sources to suggest that the med school dropout rate is between 18.3% and 15.9%. However, these numbers fail to take into account the notable number of medical students who take more than four years to graduate.

What is the hardest time in medical school? ›

Years 3 and 4 of Medical School.

Why is the third year of med school the hardest? ›

The 3rd year of medical school is difficult. You are constantly changing teams, meeting new people, and being evaluated. Each rotation from surgery to pediatrics requires a different skillset that you will have to learn on the fly. Nevertheless, there are some core skills that are required to do well in every rotation.

Why is the first year of medical school the hardest? ›

The first year also usually consists of the anatomy lab, where med students spend months dissecting cadavers and mastering the anatomy of the human body. Anatomy is a course many med students truly enjoy, but it is exceptionally challenging.

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