Applying to Pre-Med and BS/MD Programs

Webinar Transcription

2026-7-20-Applying to Pre-Med and BS/MD Programs

Anesha: [00:00:00] Hi, everyone, and welcome to tonight’s webinar. My name is Anesha Grant. I am a senior advisor at CollegeAdvisor, and I will be your moderator for today’s session, uh, which is a special session for HOSA and Future Docs on, “Applying to Pre-Med and BS/MD Programs.” Before we get started, just to orient everyone with the webinar timing, we will take a quick poll just to learn who’s in the room with us.

Anesha: We’ll share a presentation on the day’s topic, and then open up t- open up the floor to respond to your questions in a live Q&A. On the sidebar, you can go ahead and start submitting your questions whenever you’re ready under the Q&A tab, and slides are available under the Handouts tab. But first, let’s meet our presenter, Dr.

Anesha: Robert Pena. Hi, Robert. How are you doing?

Dr. Robert Pena: I’m doing great. How are you doing today?

Anesha: I’m good. Thanks for asking. Just tell us a little bit about yourself and your background before we get started.

Dr. Robert Pena: Okay. Well, I am a, uh, physician by training. I, you know, went to medical school at Meharry Medical College. Uh, if you’re not familiar, it’s a school in Nashville, [00:01:00] Tennessee.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, s- you study medicine there, and, uh, did the residency in family medicine, so, um, I experienced the whole pre-med pathway myself, uh, went through all the, the steps of it, so I feel like I’m a great resource to answer any questions you have. And, uh, for the past seven years, I’ve, uh, been in the counseling profession, and I’ve also been working with students here at CollegeAdvisor to apply to, uh, colleges, especially students who are in the pre-med route and even s- students who are looking at the BS/MD program.

Dr. Robert Pena: So, um, we’ll be talking a little bit about that tonight, but I’m happy to answer any questions y’all have.

Anesha: Awesome. Um, we, uh, are looking forward to hearing from you, but before I let you get started, just gonna go ahead and do a quick poll to see who is in the room with us. If you are a parent or a teacher, you can go ahead and select other.

Anesha: If you are a student, please select the grade that you will be going to in the fall. Um, as we’re waiting for some responses to come in, I guess I’ll ask, [00:02:00] uh, what made you choose family medicine? I know you’re gonna talk about specialties a little bit later in your presentation, but I’m curious, um, while you were in school, what made you choose f- family medicine as your specialty?

Dr. Robert Pena: Well, um, you know, I was a, a- one of my first, uh, loves is teaching, and I love, I love teaching others and, you know, taking complex topics and breaking them down. So, um, I actually was a science teacher to start my career out of college, and, um, I thought it was a pretty good, um, transition to co- kind of, you know, go into primary care just because, um, there’s a lot of teaching involved.

Dr. Robert Pena: Mm-hmm. Um, and that’s kind of the main reason, you know, is you have those lifelong relationships with families, and get to know, like, the youngest and the oldest and everyone in between. So, um, it, it was a good little, um, field, uh, to- Mm … kind of dive. Yeah.

Anesha: No, that’s awesome. That makes sense. Um, I love that.

Anesha: And yes, ab- absolutely see the alignment with teaching and the importance of kind of educating families across the generations, uh, about their health. That’s a [00:03:00] conversation that’s come up with me and my students, um, in this process as well. All right, um, I will go ahead and close our poll. I think the majority of folks have answered.

Anesha: We have about 170 folks with us today. Uh, the majority of them are upperclassmen. We have three, uh, ninth graders who are getting on top of it, 29 10th graders, uh, 59 11th graders, and the majority of folks with us are, are 12th graders, and then a handful of parents and teachers. Um, all right, so across the academic spectrum, but largely seniors.

Anesha: I will stop talking, hand it over to you, and be back a little bit later for our Q&A. Okay,

Dr. Robert Pena: perfect. All right. So I get this question a lot, what does it mean to be a pre-med applicant? Um, and, and I have a lot of students, just when I ask them, “What do you wanna study?” They say, “I’m gonna major in pre-med.” And w- to me what that means is they intend to go into the medical field, uh, at, at some point.

Dr. Robert Pena: So they either wanna be a doctor, a nurse, um, you know, one of the other positions, uh, in the medical field, optometrist. [00:04:00] And so pre-med’s a pretty broad topic. Um, so if you’re a pre-med applicant, what that tells me is you’re ra- generally wanna pursue a bachelor’s degree to start, so you get your four-year degree after high school.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, you can major in anything as a pre-med. Um, w- that’s kind of a common misconception, is you have to be a biology major to, to be a doctor, a nurse, et cetera. That’s not true. You can major in anything that is of interest to you. Um, so to be a pre-med applicant means you, you’re pursuing your bachelor’s degree.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, you wanna have a very competitive GPA overall. So when I say competitive on a 4.8, 4.0 scale, that might be 3.5 or higher. Um- Medical schools and nursing schools and others often look at your science GPA specifically, and also your overall GPA. So you want both of them to be pretty, be pretty strong. Um, but since we’re talking about medicine style, we’ll kind of focus on medical school.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, [00:05:00] so oth- other than completing your bachelor’s, getting a high GPA, um, you have completed all your prerequisite courses to apply to medical school, um, and you have achieved a competitive MCAT score. So those are all the basic requirements, the GPA, the prerequisite courses, and MCAT score. Um, medical schools often…

Dr. Robert Pena: When I say, uh, prerequisite courses, it, it varies from medical school to medical school, but typically what you’ll see is required courses you have to take in college would be eight hours of biology. So each course typically has a lab. So a, a, a one semester biology course might be four hours of credit, and it’ll be, uh, meet, usually meet three times a week and have a lab associated.

Dr. Robert Pena: So if I say you need eight hours of biology, it’s typically at least two biology classes. Um, chemistry, you need 16 hours, so if each class is four hours, that’s at least two years of chemistry, often more. So typically it’s, uh, general chemistry, organic chemistry, [00:06:00] um, biochemistry, and then others. Um, ne- need at least a year of physics, um, a year of English language, and then about 52 electives.

Dr. Robert Pena: A- and those are all typically required for graduation, so you could, um, major in anything, like I said. Um, if you are a science major, these are pretty much requirements to graduate. But if, for example, you’re an economics major, uh, you don’t typically take chemistry and biology as part of your major, so you may use those as your electives instead, so it’s still doable.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, and then I just pulled, since Iowa’s school in Tennessee, um, Vanderbilt’s a pretty good school in the area as well. Per Vanderbilt University Medical School, the GPA range for the most recent entering class was three point o- 3.5 to 4, and MCAT range was between the 74th and 100th percentile, so very competitive schools.

Dr. Robert Pena: All right

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, how are BS/MD programs different from traditional pre-med pathways? [00:07:00] Um, so the traditional pathway is kind of what I just discussed. You know, you typically… Out of high school, you get your four-year degree in whatever you decide to go into. You get your MCAT, and then you normally apply after your junior year of college, and all through senior year, that’s when you’re interviewing for medical school.

Dr. Robert Pena: And typically, you’ll find out in the spring. Um, it’s, it, it’s rolling, but it can depend. But usually by the spring you’ll know where you’re going, if you’re gonna get accepted. That’s typically the traditional path. The BS/MD path is a little bit different. So BS/MD pathway is for students that are highly motivated.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, these are kids that know from birth, but not d- not literally, but you know those kids that you know, like, they’ve always wanted to be a doctor. Um, they have no other as- aspirations in their mind other than being a doctor. Um, these are for very competitive students who want to get the whole, uh, bachelor’s degree and MD program done in seven years.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, so these, uh, programs are geared towards high [00:08:00] school students, so typically you apply when you’re a senior in high school. Uh, deadlines are typically pretty early, like November. So this is something if you’re wanting to work on for your senior year, you definitely wanna hit it hard over the summer, ’cause all the deadlines are typically November.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, so these programs how- offer guaranteed matriculation to medical school, so if you get accepted, you get into the undergraduate program and the medical school all at once. However, there are some catches to that. You have to maintain a certain GPA, typically above 3.5, 3.6. Uh, most programs require you to take the MCAT still, even if you’re already accepted, and you have to have a certain score to kinda maintain that a- a- admission standards.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, these programs, like I said, are very competitive. So if you look on, um, websites for s- the, the different schools, typically you have to have the 1500 SAT just to apply. So they don’t even look at you unless you have a 1500 or higher. [00:09:00] And that’s pretty common. Um, acceptance rates can also be pretty brutal.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, so I had a student I worked with this last application season, um, she got accepted to BS/MD program, um, George Washington University, and I think they accepted, like, five or six students period. So acceptance rate is very low, under 5%. But if you’re a competitive student that meets these requirements, it’s doable

Dr. Robert Pena: All right, what types of students are the strongest fit for BS/MD programs? So I bet you can kinda guess based on what I just discussed. Um, high GPA, that’s a non-negotiable. High SAT scores, talking over 1500 and 1600 is the max. Um, for ACT, if you’re in a state that does ACT, uh, we’re looking at 34, uh, ACT at least.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, multiple substantial research experiences with possible publications. So what I’ve noticed is a lot of the [00:10:00] successful applicants have done some research, um, with mentors at either local colleges, local medical schools, and they’ve done it for several years. So the big kind of thing I wanna break home today is quality over quantity.

Dr. Robert Pena: So when it comes to, um, shadowing, research experience, extracurriculars, quality is way more important than quantity. So rather than having 100 extracurricular experiences, it’s better to have five or six that you’ve done for several years, and you’ve devoted a lot of time and kinda built up your experience in those, those endeavors.

Dr. Robert Pena: So, um, it is very possible to get research experience as a high school student. Um, it does start early, so I would say a lot of my students that have done this, they’ve started as sophomores, juniors, seniors, and they’ve gone to programs throughout the country and done summer research and, um, in one case they’ve even been published.

Dr. Robert Pena: So, um, it [00:11:00] is doable. It’s definitely gonna set you apart if you applied to medical school out of high school and even later in college. If you get some research experience, it’s definitely recommended

Dr. Robert Pena: How can high school students learn more about a particular school’s pre-med or BS/MD program? So there are a lot of resources. Let me get a little drink of coffee real fast

Dr. Robert Pena: There are a lot of resources. I always start at the schools’ websites. Um, a very good website to be familiar with is aamc.org. Um, it should be, it might be linked. I put a link on here, but if not, if it doesn’t work, go to aamc.org. Um, you can look at a list of medical schools in the United States, and it has them broken down by state.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, there’s also a list of medical schools that offer BS/MD programs. Um, this is a great place to start your research and find the websites for the particular schools. [00:12:00] Um- I always advocate working backwards. Um, so if you know for sure that you wanna go to George Washington University or Harvard Medical School or wherever your local school is, Vanderbilt, work backwards.

Dr. Robert Pena: Go to the application, even as a high school student, go to their s- application website, see what the requirements are, see what the prerequisite classes you have to take, and then work backwards. You’re gonna have to meet all these requirements in college, so you gotta start discussing with your family and yourself, “How do I, how am I gonna take these classes?

Dr. Robert Pena: When am I gonna take them? And what major makes the most sense for me?” Um, I strongly advise you to pick a major that you are interested in because the bottom line with medical school is it is pretty competitive. Um, my personal experience i- in my undergraduate, I started with about 100 students who were declaring themselves as pre-med as my [00:13:00] first year of college.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, by the time we finished, I think 20 of us actually applied to medical school, um, and all 20 of us were accepted. So I went to a very good medical or very good undergraduate, Southwestern University, um, at the time, and I think still today, still have 100% acceptance rate because it’s, it’s so competitive that, you know, if you do make it to the end and you still have your GPA and your test scores intact, you know, you d- you pretty much have a good opportunity to get into medical school.

Dr. Robert Pena: So what that does tell me, though, is a lot of kids that, uh, start this journey, um, kind of pivot away from it for whatever reason. Maybe it wasn’t what they were looking for, uh, maybe GPA wasn’t quite high enough. So just know going into the, the process that it is very difficult, but it’s doable. Um, you have to have a commitment to it.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, I think anybody that can buckle down and study hard and just keep motivated can do it, but it, it is gonna be challenging. There’s gonna be nights where, uh, in college especially where, [00:14:00] you know, maybe there’s some fun stuff going on on Friday or Saturday night, but you have a test on Monday in chemistry and you really need to study.

Dr. Robert Pena: So there’s gotta be a lot of personal choices and motivation and, and the maturity. So I think that really sets students apart. But, so just, just know going in it’s difficult, but it’s doable. Um, having said that, always pick a major that you actually like because in the off chance that it doesn’t work out, I want you to have a solid backup plan.

Dr. Robert Pena: And I, I just like to be transparent that there’s a lot of students that end up having to use those. Um, but I still think it’s doable. Um, so I- like I said, work backwards, read AAMC website, find the schools in your state. Um, you can find a list of BS/MD programs, and you can read about the prerequisites that are needed to apply.

Dr. Robert Pena: Uh, all right

Dr. Robert Pena: All right. Question, what extracurricular activities best demonstrate a serious interest in medicine, [00:15:00] and are they important to have? Well What I typically see or what I typically recommend as I… And you’re gonna see this a lot on these, my slides, quality over quantity. So I, I can’t stress that enough, quality over quantity.

Dr. Robert Pena: So whatever extracurricular activities you do, just make sure you do them long-term and you do get a lot of experience. Um, if you’re in HOSA, for example, HOSA’s a great organization. Um, try to get a leadership experience. Uh, sign up for the competitions. Um, help in the… Help volunteer in the community. Um, don’t be one of the students who just signs up for HOSA and goes to the meetings and never participates.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, you know, if you really truly wanna go be… Go to medical school and be a physician, uh, every experience you do is gonna show you a little bit about the field and kind of inform you, especially when you’re later down the line trying to choose specialties and write those [00:16:00] essays about why medicine. Um, get these experiences, make connections.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, I understand a lot of you guys were at the HOSA Leadership Conference, so that makes me really happy, um, that you guys have done that. And, um, you know, make connections, do shadowing. I think shadowing is very important in high school. Um, if you’re not currently shadowing with somebody, with a physician, find a physician to shadow with.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, it doesn’t matter who it is. It could be a family doctor, could be surgeon, uh, could be OBGYN, whoever, pediatrics. Get a doctor that you have a family connection with, could be the one you go to, your parents go to, and see if they’ll let you tag along and shadow. And I will promise you every doctor that you’ve met has probably shadowed with somebody at some point in their career.

Dr. Robert Pena: And, you know, part of our duty is to always give back to those, um, that are coming up the ranks. So, you know, if, if I ever ran across somebody who needed some [00:17:00] shadowing experience, I definitely would’ve helped them, but I think a lot of doctors are very re- receptive to it or at least will point you in the right direction.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, and I, I find that shadowing experiences pretty much lead to the best college essays because, you know, you don’t, you don’t work in hospitals yet for the most part. I know some of y’all may do some volunteer work in the hospitals, in gift shops or pediatric units, but a lot of my students that apply to medical school or even to pre-med programs, you know, their only experience is shadowing in HOSA or maybe a little bit of research.

Dr. Robert Pena: So anything you can get hands-on experience is gonna help you write those essays and kinda connect to patients and learn the stories, learn the profession, so you can speak on it from experience rather than just, you know, what you read about. Um, if your school has any specific programs, like I know a lot of schools have, um, these healthcare related tracks that lead to certifications like EMT certification, medical assistants, take advantage of [00:18:00] those.

Dr. Robert Pena: Those are very good. Um- If for some reason your school does not have these, don’t worry. Um, I… When I went to high school, I did not have these programs. I’d never took anatomy. First time I took anatomy was in medical school, so I survived. Um, if your school does not equip to have all these special programs, it’s not the end of the world.

Dr. Robert Pena: But if your school does have it, take advantage because anything you learn and put in your head is money in the bank. ‘Cause everything you learn will stay there, and eventually you’ll be able to access it later in medical school when you need to learn more or build on it. So I always advocate for doing these programs if you can.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, if you o- if your district offers a health careers high school or those magnet schools, definitely apply to those. Those are great experiences. And then my last piece of advice is get involved in research. Um, like I said, the most competitive students are not just great students or good, good test takers, they also demonstrate your passion for medicine.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, if I look at your [00:19:00] resume and I can tell that you’ve been doing research, you’ve been doing HOSA, you’ve been doing, getting certifications, I can tell that you’re serious about the profession, and, um, that’s gonna really strengthen your application. Um, but if you tell me you wanna be a doctor and I see that you’re in like mountain biking club, in…

Dr. Robert Pena: You’re in the quilting club, in the reading club or something, so those are not bad clubs, but I’m just saying it doesn’t make sense. It’s just kind of hodgepodge. If you can, you can do those, but also have some more medically focused clubs as well, and kinda build these experiences over years. That’s all I would say.

Dr. Robert Pena: But every club you do is important, but kind of have a method to the madness, I would say Right. Uh, uh, were there any questions you need me to answer, Anesha, at this point or…?

Anesha: No, I think we’re good to keep going.

Dr. Robert Pena: Okay, perfect. I’m reading my slides, not the chat, so hopefully we’ll get some good Q&A at the end.[00:20:00]

Dr. Robert Pena: All right. How can students write compelling application essays? This is a great question

Dr. Robert Pena: I’m an advisor, a college advisor. I work with a lot of students. Um, my biggest piece of advice is don’t be generic. Um, we all, all of us are good people. I, I acknowledge that. Uh, if we wanna go into the medical field, we wanna help people. Um, that, that can’t be what you… That can’t be, like, your main idea. Um, you gotta go deeper than that.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, so be genuine, but i- but don’t write what you think the mission committee wants to hear, but also go deeper. Let’s think about why, why medicine. That’s usually the typical essay they want you to respond to. They’ll just say, “Why medicine?” And if I’m just talking to you face-to-face and I say, “Why medicine?

Dr. Robert Pena: Why do you wanna be a doctor?” And usually the first thing I hear is, “I want to help people.” That’s, that’s a perfectly good answer. That’s fine. I [00:21:00] believe it. But I want… What I want… When I say don’t say that, what I really mean is tell me, tell me what the… Tell me your origin story. Why, what compelled you to kind of even think about becoming a doctor?

Dr. Robert Pena: Did you have experience in the medical field? Were you a sick child? Did you have a family member in the medical field? Do you have experience volunteering? Do you know somebody that’s a doctor and you, they really inspired you? So give me the actual story and kind of dig deep and figure out why, and then connect your experiences and your, uh, you know, your extracurriculars and your, your coursework to this, this, this statement that you wanna be a doctor.

Dr. Robert Pena: So you wanna be a doctor, tell me what you’ve been doing. Give me the, the arc. So you decided you want to become a doctor ’cause you had this experience. You’ve been taking these courses and doing these clubs. What have they… what have you gained from them? And then where do you see yourself in the future?

Dr. Robert Pena: You know, you’re gonna be going to Penn State, you’re going to [00:22:00] be studying, you know, neurosurgery or plastic surgery or whatever you desire, and how did you come up with that? So I like to see a n- a nice little arc, and I always like to, you know, tell my students if there’s a specific person that, or a teacher or somebody in your life that inspired you, tell that story, too.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, it’s better to just have one or two anecdotes and kind of go in depth and tell us your story arc rather than telling us a lot of generic examples. So always go with detail. Detail’s good. Um, so like I said, think about what sparked your interest in medicine, why, what you’ve done to explore the field, ’cause that could be the research or shadowing Um, lean on your shadowing research and patient experiences.

Dr. Robert Pena: Tell a personal story. So like I was saying earlier, um, if you’re doing some shadowing, you’re getting some really good experiences working with patients. Um, you can talk about Mrs. [00:23:00] Smith in Room 206 in the ICU. You can tell about Ms. Garcia and, and, um, the tough decisions you had to make, uh, with her kidney surgery, and you can tell how that made you feel, how you responded, how the doctors responded.

Dr. Robert Pena: So you can make, you can make your essays very personal and very real, if you have actual experiences. So you definitely want to get those experiences. Um, how did those experiences shape the kind of physician you want to be? Um, you know, what I often ask my students is reflect on their shadowing experience.

Dr. Robert Pena: You know, what did you like about… I had a student last year that was studying with a cardiologist. He was shadowing in Florida. So what, what did you like about his ex- his, um, how he worked with patients? And what he liked about patient his, his doctor he worked with is that he listened. Um, he did not make the patient feel rushed, especially when delivering bad news.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, he was really good about, um, explaining [00:24:00] his treatment plans in ways that the patient could understand. Um, one thing I always remind my students is that, um, not everybody you encounter in medicine is a doctor. You know, the patients have all levels of education. Um, they could be, um, super researchers.

Dr. Robert Pena: They could be, um, current high school students. They could be people that maybe their last time they were in school is in seventh or eighth grade, and that’s not a problem. What we need to do is recognize that and kind of meet people where they’re at, so that we can take complex ideas and plans and explain it in a way that everybody can understand it.

Dr. Robert Pena: So if you fol- saw a good example of that, uh, in your shadowing, definitely this is something you can mention. So, um, and that goes along with reflecting on your experiences. You know, in your essays, you wanna show that you just didn’t check a box. You learned something from the experiences. Um, relate the, the shadowing or [00:25:00] the research to, you know, future goals and connect them to your future in medicine.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, and then like I said at the very end, share your long-term goals. You know, if, if you see yourself being a doctor, you know, tell us, take us to that story. You know, in the future, if I’m, uh, I always say in my essays, “In the future, if I’m, uh, fortunate enough to be accepted to your, your school, you know, I am going to major in such and such, and with the hope of studying medicine.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, in the future, I’d like to be a, you know, psychiatrist for these reasons,” as we discussed. And kinda close it out, kinda make it come full circle Right. And then I want to give some final advice, um, so we have some time for questions. Oop So my final advice, if you are a high school student looking to go to medical school, either the combined program or traditional, um, be realistic.

Dr. Robert Pena: A [00:26:00] great personal essay, which we will at CollegeAdvisor, if you sign up with us and work with us, we’re gonna help you have a great personal essay. That can help your application, but it’s not gonna override a low GPA or weak test scores. So if you’re in a position where in high school maybe you feel like your, your test scores, your grades aren’t the best yet, that’s okay.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, college is a time to start over. Um, you, you can start your college GPA from scratch. So if you’re in that boat, don’t worry, just keep studying, keep working and, and, um, it… You get a redo in college, and you just focus in and do the best you can. Um, but just, just being realistic with students is, you know, i- if I have a student that has…

Dr. Robert Pena: Especially ones applying out of high school for the combined programs, if we have, like 1100 SAT and, like a 3.0 GPA, that’s not, that’s not bad. But for if you’re going to medical school, just, just, just being honest with each other, you know, they’re gonna ask for 1500 [00:27:00] minimum and, like a 3.7 or 4.0 GPA, and most of the kids will have 4.0s and a lot of experience.

Dr. Robert Pena: So if we’re not quite there yet, let’s just be realistic, and let’s just know that these are what we’re trying to get up to or build up to when we’re in college. So that’s kinda my first piece of advice is be realistic. Uh, second piece of advice is get involved in research early. So if you have the opportunity to do research, start in high school.

Dr. Robert Pena: Not only is it good and a good experience, um, we need researchers in science. Um, there are programs where you can get a B- uh, MD program. You can get an MD and also a PhD. Um, and they also have the BS and MD programs as well. But it’s actually possible to get a PhD in research, um, in medical school. It’s a longer program, but it’s doable.

Dr. Robert Pena: So if you find yourself as somebody that really likes research or is interested in the field, so like cancer research, there are programs for you. Um, and it’ll also show that you’re very serious about, uh, science, and [00:28:00] that can’t hurt your college application. So it’s a win-win. Um, I’ve probably said this around three times already.

Dr. Robert Pena: Quality over quantity. So long-term meaningful experiences demonstrate commitment more than a long list of short-term activities. So that’s pretty self-explanatory Uh, fourth piece of advice is find a physician mentor. So shadow them, ask questions, um, discuss cases, learn from the experience. Find somebody.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, start with your pediatrician, your family doctor, dentist, um, whoever, athletic trainer. Get, get any type of experience you can and just kind of talk to them and say, “Hey, is there anybody else you know I can work with?” And kind of go from there. Um, it’s okay to cold call, email people and just say, “Hey, I’m a high school student.

Dr. Robert Pena: I’m really interested. I was recommended I do some shadowing. I would like to get some summer or Christmas shadowing done.” Um, it’s, it’s, it’s [00:29:00] possible, so just ask. Some people will tell you have to be 18. Um, there’s things you can do when you’re not even 18, so just, just look around and be persistent Um, even if it’s just talking with a physician one-on-one and not necessarily working with patients yet.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, next piece of advice is don’t go through the process alone. Um, having a mentor who has navigated the admission process can make a sig- significant difference. Um, like I said, I am a, a physician by training. I am in the counseling field now. Um, but I do work a lot with CollegeAdvisor with students that wanna go to medical school, and have been successful with that.

Dr. Robert Pena: So, um, a lot of our advisors have experience, you know, going through the process from beginning to end. So having someone in your corner that can help you craft these essays and brainstorm ideas and help you with deadlines is always very helpful. You know, whether that’s with us or another, you know, family member or teacher, whoever, but have somebody that can proofread your essays and go over your application with you, because that’s very important.[00:30:00]

Dr. Robert Pena: And if you specifically want to do the BS/MD program or, or, or a pre-med student potentially, um, I definitely recommend CollegeAdvisor and working with one of us. Um, you know, I have a few more space on my caseload where I’m working with some pre-med students, but all the advisors are pretty good. So, um, we’re always happy to help and, you know, just ask questions.

Dr. Robert Pena: Everybody’s willing to help you and, um, you know, just do well in school and good things can happen. Okay? All right, I’ll, I’ll wrap it up there and I’ll open up to questions.

Anesha: Okay. Thank you so much, Robert. Um, that is the end of the presentation part of the webinar. We hope you found the information helpful, and just a reminder that you can download the slides in the link in the Handouts tab, and I also dropped some links into the chat for folks for future reference.

Anesha: Um, we’re gonna move on to the live Q&A. The way that it will work, uh, I will read the questions that you submitted in the Q&A tab, paste them into the public chat so that others can see them, and then read them aloud for Robert to give an [00:31:00] opportunity to answer. If your Q&A tab is not letting you submit questions, just double-check that you joined the webinar through the custom link you received in your email and not from the CollegeAdvisor landing page.

Anesha: You might have to log out, log back in in order to submit your question. If that does not work, no worries. Um, the webinar is being recorded so you can view it at a later time, and we might get to your question through someone else’s submission. Um, all right, so the question that is being repeated multiple times in the Q&A, please do not ask it again, um, ’cause we’re gonna address it now.

Anesha: But the biggest question is how would you recommend getting involved in research? Where should I look to find someone that I could cold email? What does that look like? So any guidance or tips you can give on helping students identify research opportunities.

Dr. Robert Pena: Sure. Um, so I would, I would start by looking at universities.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, my students that have done research have either done them with physicians, like they’ve done… There’s a lot of, uh, cardiologists in California that do research in the, the universities. Um, and then also, um, there’s a lot of [00:32:00] undergraduate research programs and also- Uh, research programs that involve high school students.

Dr. Robert Pena: So I’m based in Austin, Texas. I know UT Austin has one for high school students you can apply to. Um, and they typically bring you up over the summer and they’ll put you on a research team with some graduate students and you have projects and a, uh, mentor that you work with throughout the summer. So, um, I know George Washington University also has some as well.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, but, but I would start with the big universities in your state and look for research programs that are for students, certain high school students. They’re great places to start.

Anesha: Uh, someone had also asked about, uh, cold calling, so I… or cold emailing. And to your point, I would start at the university closest to you that you can get to within driving distance or public transportation, identifying some professors who are working in the areas that you might be interested in, finding their emails.

Anesha: Um, so cold emailing is hard, but I would say- Yeah … numbers game. The

Dr. Robert Pena: more- [00:33:00] Yes, numbers game, and start with people you know. If it’s research related, try to go to those programs like UT Austin or ones in your state, those big universities. And then even if they don’t have spots for you or if it’s closed, just reach out to them and let…

Dr. Robert Pena: ask them if there’s any other programs they’re aware of because you’re very interested and you were referred to them. And people are generally willing to help. Um, one thing I will say, just, just came up in my thought process, um, as students when you take the SAT and ACT you’re typically gonna start getting letters for like, “You’ve been accepted to the honors program for the who’s who and what program.”

Dr. Robert Pena: So there’s these programs where they’ll, they’ll send stuff to high school students to go, uh, to paid programs. So they’ll, they’ll charge you thousands of dollars to do these research experiences or, um, seminars. I typically don’t recommend those because that’s kind of a pay for play type thing and I, I steer kids more towards merit-based things that are free.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, ’cause I think colleges are very aware that there’s programs you can just pay to do and [00:34:00] I think they see that as more as like padding your application. So, um, I’m not saying they’re all like that but I think a lo- the… my impression working with students that have received those offers is if they char- charging you thousands of dollars to go to such and such program I typically stay away from those.

Anesha: Yeah, someone asked about that. Is it worth it to find those programs that are, are pre-paid? Um, similar to research just to stay on the topic someone asked, “Does the research that you do need to be published?”

Dr. Robert Pena: No, it’s very hard to get published. However, ideally, if you can get onto a, a project and stay with that project for multiple years, um, even as, like, a junior researcher, uh, as a courtesy, usually, like, the, the, the PI, the person who’s running the project, they’ll put you as one of the, the people on the, the paper if you contributed in some way to the paper.

Dr. Robert Pena: So, uh, people who get published typically are involved over many years. Um, it’s pretty difficult to do, but I, I, [00:35:00] I’ve done it. That’s… I think I… Pretty much pushed me over the edge to get into medical school, ’cause I did a lot of undergrad research, but I’ve seen high school kids do it as well. So I think just making connections and continuing for many years, it’s potentially, it’s, it’s possible you get published

Anesha: Um, thank you.

Anesha: I, I wanted to add one more thing regarding research, um, or just joining. So I had a student who volunteered to do video editing for a professor, and then that- Okay … got them into the door for, for research opportunities ’cause they were willing to kind of hang out at the lab and do other things. So if you have other creative talents, I would g- I would say to students there might be other ways for you to build those relationships before- For sure

Anesha: you can actually get the research opportunity. Um, okay, uh, similar on this context of activities, someone was asking similar advice around shadowing opportunities. What might be the best way to get involved in a shadowing opportunity?

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, I, I think, so if you guys are mostly in HOSA or you’re in some type of health club, um, and especially your high school has a health science program, I would start [00:36:00] there.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, talk to your teacher, talk to your HOSA sponsors about potentially getting some shadowing opportunities or, um, even, like, as a group with the students at your school. Um, that might be a good place to start. Um, when you have guest speakers come talk to y’all, maybe approach them one-on-one and see if they offer shadowing or, or maybe some mentorship or they can at least do some case studies or kinda talks about the field.

Dr. Robert Pena: And, and if that does not work, um, you know, always go to y- like I said, start with the people you know, your personal physician, people your parents go to for, for medical care, um, local hospitals or healthcare centers, and then you can just send emails. You know, I think with, um, technology these days, you- all the emails are typically published, and you can, um, kinda go from there.

Dr. Robert Pena: But I, I would start with people you know, and especially at HOSA and those connections at school, maybe start there as well.

Anesha: Yeah, I’ve had a lot of students start with their dentist, um-

Dr. Robert Pena: Dentist is a good one, yeah.

Anesha: Yeah. Um-

Dr. Robert Pena: Or even your eye doctor. Eye doctors [00:37:00] are- Oh … that’s a good place to start, too. It’s a different field, but anything in the kinda medical-related field or physical therapy, sports training, they’re all good.

Dr. Robert Pena: Just try get your foot in somewhere.

Anesha: Uh, so someone asked, uh, what happens regarding BS/MD programs, what happens if a student changes their mind about medicine partway through? Are they stuck, or is there flexibility?

Dr. Robert Pena: You’re not stuck. Um, so if you decide that halfway through that it’s not for you, um, typically what happens is you get accepted to, like, let’s just say George Washington, that’s one I’ve worked with most recently.

Dr. Robert Pena: You get accepted to George Washington University for undergrad and also for the medical school. Um, you can still continue on to George Washington and get your bachelor’s degree. Um, but, you know, if you don’t see yourself continuing, you know, you can just stop there. You just discontinue the program. Now, if you wanna leave the door open and take the MCAT and kind of keep meeting the requirements, you’re welcome to, uh, and wait till the end to decide.

Dr. Robert Pena: But it, it’s not a binding thing where you’re stuck doing it. Uh, it’s, it’s an honor to get it, but if [00:38:00] it’s not for you, you know, it’s good to know that early ’cause it is a lot of work.

Anesha: Someone asked, and you can share this from personal experience or your students, how was the MCAT? Is it as hard as everyone says?

Anesha: What tips do you have to prepare for it in the future?

Dr. Robert Pena: So I don’t do a lot of test prep guidance. Um, what I can say on the MCAT is th- th- what’s been consistent since I took it and even today, is it is a rigorous test. It’s seven and a half hours long, um, that includes breaks. Um, so it’s an endurance test first and foremost.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, they typically have four sections. Um, it’s computerized, so they have, um… And I’m going by memory, so d- don’t hold me to this, but if you look it up, ’cause it’s been a while. They usually have a section on critical thinking or reasoning. Um, there’s a section on biology, uh, there’s one on humanities, and there’s one on, uh, physics and, and, uh, and chemistry.

Dr. Robert Pena: So they, they pretty much… [00:39:00] It’s not a test, it’s not a memory test, I would say. You do have to memorize quite a bit of science. You still have to have quite a bit of science knowledge, but it’s mostly a critical thinking test, like… So what, what my understanding of the MCAT is, was when I was preparing for it, is they’re not testing you to remember for recall, they’re testing you to see how quickly you can learn and apply new information.

Dr. Robert Pena: Mm-hmm. So they may, may, may take like a concept in biology that you’re really comfortable with, and they’ll kind of explain it, and they’ll give you a twist, like this new research. They’ll say, “There’s new research that’s discovered that this, this, and this happened with this protein. What would happen in these cases?”

Dr. Robert Pena: So you’re just taking the information, applying it very rapidly. And typically there’s way more questions than you have time to answer, so you gotta like think really fast. There’s really not a time for processing. It’s kind of you’re really thinking on your toes really fast. Um, so I think what I would recommend is, you know, a lot of practice, a lot of, um, practice questions, a lot of [00:40:00] studying.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, kids typically start studying, uh, probably the spring of their junior year of college, and they’ll usually take the test over the summer before senior year of college. Um, and th- what I, what I would say is, you know, y- you take a lot of practice tests, do a lot of practice questions, and just know it’s an endurance test and it’s, it’s not memorization.

Dr. Robert Pena: It’s like you gotta apply what you know. They assume that you know all the basic science. That’s not the test. The test is can you apply it in a time crunch? Good question.

Anesha: Okay. Um, the next question for you is, do any BS/MD programs limit the type of physician ca- you can become, or can graduates pursue any specialty?

Dr. Robert Pena: Not to my knowledge. I, I, I don’t think any program would limit what you can become. Um, but yeah, t- typically medical school, for those of y’all that haven’t learned a lot about medical school yet, uh, medical school is the same for everybody. So it doesn’t matter if you’re gonna be a [00:41:00] family doctor, a neurosurgeon, plastic surgeon, it doesn’t matter.

Dr. Robert Pena: We all sit and take from day one all the way to graduation day, we basically take the exact same classes. Um, now there are some electives you can take if you have specific interests later on, but for the most part we take all the exa- exact same classes, exact same tests to get licensed, and then once you get your senior medical, so then you can start applying to specialties.

Dr. Robert Pena: So residency programs have different specialties. So at that point, residency is where you kinda determine what kind of doctor you’re be- you’re gonna become. But, um, but medical schools really have no control over that at that point. It’s just wherever you apply, that’s kind of what you’re hoping to do.

Anesha: Um, we’ve gotten this question in a couple ways, but is anything that you’re describing in this process different for, um, international students? Are there requirements for BS/MD programs that are particular for students from Canada or elsewhere?

Dr. Robert Pena: That’s gonna be that, uh, question for the school, individual [00:42:00] schools.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, so some schools will sponsor international students, some will not. You just have, it’s very school specific. So, um- All I can say is very competitive overall, even if, if you’re not international. So I can imagine if, you know, there’s minimal spots, it’s gonna be even more competitive for international.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, but I can’t answer specifically for schools. Like, you just have to look one, one-on-one.

Anesha: Yeah, I’ll say that, um, for a few questions a lot of folks have asked, “Can I do this? Can I…” It, it really depends on the program. Right. I’ve dropped in the link, um, I’ve dropped in the chat a link to a list of programs so that students can have some easier access to finding out what each program requires.

Anesha: Okay. Um, but a lot of it is dependent on the program that you apply to. Yeah. Um, okay. We’re gonna pause just for a quick, um, minute to highlight some student success stories here at CollegeAdvisor. The first one is DJ, who grew up wanting to be a physician. He was active in relevant extracurriculars and sought out challenging coursework.

Anesha: As a scientist, writing narratively was [00:43:00] challenging for him, so the college essay style didn’t come naturally. He signed up to work with CollegeAdvisor and was accepted by five colleges. He also received the Zell Miller Scholarship, a merit-based scholarship for Georgia residents, which essentially covers full tuition.

Anesha: Ultimately, DJ chose Johns Hopkins, where he received an insti- instit- an institutional scholarship of over $60,000 per year. Another student, um, who pursued, uh, um, a pre-med pathway, uh, was Lucas, who knew from a young age that he wanted to be a doctor. Going into the admissions process, he was very stressed, but through weekly meetings with his advisor, he narrowed down his list, polished his application essay, and stayed on track with his timeline.

Anesha: He had multiple acceptances and was excited to commit to UCLA’s pre-health track. These are just examples, two examples of the 10,000 clients that CollegeAdvisor has guided through the application process. Our team of over 300 former admissions officers and admissions experts are, are here to help you and your family navigate the college admissions [00:44:00] process through one-on-one advising sessions and essay editing.

Anesha: To learn more about how you can get started with CollegeAdvisor, which a few folks have asked about in the Q&A, you can scan the QR code to sign up for a free 60-minute strategy session with an admissions specialist on our team. During that meeting, you’ll receive a preliminary assessment on your academic profile, along with some initial recommendations on what you can do to stand out.

Anesha: By the end of it, you’ll also learn more about CollegeAdvisor’s premium packages and be paired with an expert who can support you in building your college list, editing your essays, and much more. CollegeAdvisor works to be there for the entire process. I’m gonna leave the QR code up on the screen and get back to our questions, but I will just say if you’re having any issues with scanning the QR code, just do- don’t close your window when the webinar is over, and you’ll automatically be directed to sign up for a strategy session, um, if you’re having challenges.

Anesha: Okay, getting back into our questions. Someone asked, “When is the best time to start shadowing or an internship? In the timeline, should folks be trying to think about this in ninth grade, [00:45:00] tenth grade, eleventh grade?”

Dr. Robert Pena: Yeah, I don’t, I don’t think it’s ever too early. You know, it just depends if you can get a shadowing experience as a ninth grader and kind of build up on that experience over the four years of high school, I think that’s ideal.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, you know, if you’re applying to college now and you have no shadow experience, um, it’s kinda late in the process, but I, I think you should still do it. So I don’t, I don’t think it’s ever too late, but, um, it, it’s generally sooner rather than later is what I recommend. So ninth grader would be ideal, ninth and 10th grade, kinda get those experiences going if you can.

Dr. Robert Pena: All right. And talk to groups of people. If you have others in your group that you’re friends with and they shadow, see if you can connect with those physicians as well. Um, that’s a great, another great opportunity

Anesha: Okay, someone asked: How do I decide 100% that pre-med/BSMD is for me versus doing research or something else in science?

Dr. Robert Pena: That’s a good question. Um, [00:46:00] you know, if this was my student that I was working with, I would wanna have a heart-to-heart and just kinda talk to them about, you know, why research, why pros and cons, why BSMD, and kind of look at the two paths in parallel and how does that meet your future goal. So we’d really wanna know what the future goal entail and, um, you know, at, at the end of the day, you know, it, it’s…

Dr. Robert Pena: A lot of our students that are pre-med, they have a lot of options. Um, so let’s get that out of the way. You know, when you have good grades, good test scores, you’re a good person, lots of extracurriculars, you’re gonna have a lot of options. So that’s kind of like the dilemma is you… Those options, those doors are open for you.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, so that, that’s gonna be a lot of just reflecting. Um, like I said, thinking backwards, you know, where do you wanna see yourself after college? And then how are you gonna get there? And you kinda work backwards. Um, you know, if, if medical school and BS/MD is your route, you know, it gets you there, that’s great.

Dr. Robert Pena: If it’s not, [00:47:00] uh, and you want to do some research, that’s okay, but just know that you can also do research in medical school. You know, I- after my first year of medical school, I did some research over the summer, and oftentimes they’re paid opportunities, so you can make some extra money and kinda learn about the field.

Dr. Robert Pena: And if you decide at that point that you really like research, it’s possible to do an MD and a PhD at the same time. There’s some programs you can get involved in. Um, those are typically seven-year programs, but you know, they… If you’re kind of between the two, usually the MD PhD program’s a good, uh, option for you.

Dr. Robert Pena: So maybe look into those as well. That’s a third option, MD PhD.

Anesha: Uh, someone was asking, and I’m paraphrasing the question, but, um, what classes should, um, students start considering in freshman year in order to be prepared for, uh, pre-med?

Dr. Robert Pena: Can we clarify, is this freshman year of high school or college?

Anesha: Yes, yes.

Anesha: Sorry. Freshman year of high school. Um, what are the classes they should start thinking about?

Dr. Robert Pena: Okay. Um, well, unfortunately in high school, like I work with a lot of [00:48:00] high school students, they have to take very specific classes. There’s really not a lot of choice. Um, so what I will say is depending on where you go to high school, classes I would take no matter what before you graduate, uh, definitely wanna take biology.

Dr. Robert Pena: That’s typically required. Uh, I would definitely take some AP Physics. Uh, physics is required. There’s a prereq for medical school. Um, I would definitely take chemistry and AP Chemistry. So chemistry and AP Chemistry are two different levels. So AP Chemistry is the equivalent of that general chemistry class that’s required in college that you need to apply to medical school.

Dr. Robert Pena: So that’d be the equivalent. So AP Physics, AP Chemistry. Um, if you get some anatomy and physiology, that’d be great. Um- You definitely want to do some AP English if you can. Um, i- in s- social studies, that’s kind of… Y- y- you know, that’ll help you out if you really like it, but, uh, I tended to go more towards math and [00:49:00] science.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, but if you like social studies, uh, obviously the more AP the better. Um, but I… Definitely don’t leave high school without the AP Chemistry, AP Physics, um, and, and the AP Calculus if you can. Those are three good classes that you’re gonna have to take as pre-reqs that you can kind of get exposed to in high school, so the first time you see them in college, it actually won’t be the first time, it’ll be the second time, so it’ll be a lot easier.

Dr. Robert Pena: So that’s, uh, kind of a life hack. Just take them in high school. It’ll be like seeing them twice. It’ll be twice.

Anesha: Would you not throw AP Bio into that mix?

Dr. Robert Pena: Uh, I would throw AP Bio if you have time. Um, it’s not… AP Bio is one of those memorization type classes, so it’s not as- Mm. If you can get it, great. But the chemistry and physics, those are kind of like, if you’re a math person, you’re gonna pick them up really quickly.

Dr. Robert Pena: But if you’re not, you definitely want to spend some time in high school learning that so it’s not such a l- steep learning curve in college. But yeah. Yeah. But AP Bio would be a good one as well. Thanks for [00:50:00] that addition.

Anesha: No, it’s always my default, so when you didn’t say it, I was like, “Wait.” That w-

Dr. Robert Pena: that was an oversight.

Dr. Robert Pena: That was an oversight. But

Anesha: yeah, that’s a good one too. No, no worries. No worries. Um, that’s why I, that’s why I asked. I was like- Thank you. … you obviously know things I don’t know. So, um, someone asked, uh-

Dr. Robert Pena: Pro tip: don’t ever take biology. Pro tip. [Laughs jokingly]

Anesha: Um, for applying to BS/MD programs, will there be interviews, and how should I prepare?

Dr. Robert Pena: Uh, yes. Uh, most programs do interviews. So just like when you apply to medical school, um, out of college, you know, you’re gonna apply to the program, you’re gonna send all your information. If they like you and they think you’re a good fit, um, they’re gonna invite you for an interview. Um, for my students, those interviews have, um, been both in person and also sometimes on Zoom, so you gotta be prepared for both.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, what I always tell students or prepare students f- how we prepare for those, is we have mock interviews one on one. [00:51:00] So we might have, we schedule an hour in Zoom, and we’re gonna go through some questions that they typically ask medical students when they’re applying. So typical topics I might answer or ask you to talk about is- Tell me about yourself.

Dr. Robert Pena: That’s a very easy question to ask, but it’s a very hard question to answer. Uh, so when I say tell me about… ask, tell me about yourself, I’m not saying what’s your name and where do you go to school? What do you… Tell me about who you are as a person. What is your passion? Why are you here today? So we kind of delve into why, how we’re gonna answer that question.

Dr. Robert Pena: And then the, the hardest question also is why medicine? So why do you wanna be a doctor? Why do you wanna go here? And so we- it’s really school specific, so we do have to do a lot of research into the school, the programs. Uh, we practice, um, ethical dilemma questions, you know, you know, if you have these patients and they’re, they’re both equally ill, but this person’s like 80, this [00:52:00] person’s like 15, who are you gonna treat first?

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, their ethical questions are fair game. Um, questions about the school are fair game. Uh, why medicine? Who are you? Um, tell us about your research experiences. And if they ask you about your research, you better know it cold. You know, we’re not, we’re not here with notes, so we gotta really, you know, make eye contact, talk about our experiences and why it’s important.

Dr. Robert Pena: What do you see yourself doing with all this information, all these experiences? So thankfully, at CollegeAdvisor, when I work with students that I have the benefit of getting to know them, so when they answer questions, I kinda know what they’re not answering ’cause I know them pretty well. We’ve been working for months and months and months, so I can, I can kind of, uh, prompt them.

Dr. Robert Pena: Like, “Hey, well, tell them about this ’cause you forgot about that part.” Um, so that’s kind of the main benefit is to work with somebody you really know, is you can kind of guide them in preparing for these interviews and, you know, been really successful and, you know, um, it’s very important to prepare. So whether it’s with us or a parent or whoever, always [00:53:00] prepare for interviews and, um, ’cause they’re pretty high stakes

Anesha: I’ll also do a plug for CollegeAdvisor’s interview team, um, which is a really thoughtful team as well, uh, that supports students.

Anesha: Um, and they will also give you a run, a list of, of areas of improvement, and then you can go back and interview as well. So I think, um, for interviews, practice, practice, practice Yes … um, to the extent possible. Someone asked, “What is the difference between BS/MD and BS/DO programs? What are the pros and cons of each?”

Anesha: If you can break them down.

Dr. Robert Pena: So yeah, the MD program and DO programs are very similar. They’re both medical schools. Um, so most of the time when you hear a doctor, you know, you’re going to the doctor, most people think about the allopathic programs, the MD, MD. That’s kinda the most common degree. Um, the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, they’re, it’s, it’s a medical school, it’s a very respected degree as well.

Dr. Robert Pena: It’s, you’re still a doctor. Um, my understanding is that they use what’s called, uh, manual manipulative [00:54:00] medicine. Like, they’ll, so in addition to doing the normal medical practice, they also have some, like, physical manipulation techniques they can use to treat patients. So it’s just an additional skill set they, they, they have.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, but both of those schools will get you to where you need to be to become a doctor, so, uh, it, they’re just, uh, different programs, different philosophies, and, um, they’re, they’re pretty equal in my mind.

Anesha: Can you, um, we’re getting a lot of questions from students along the lines of, like, going deeper into specialties, if I wanted to be an oncologist, if I want to be a neurosurgeon.

Anesha: Um, and I, if you could clarify, I guess, what happens after medical school, ’cause some of that is decided- Sure … you know, after the medical school process. So just clarity on the pathway- That’s a good question … when folks are selecting their specialty.

Dr. Robert Pena: Okay. So let, let’s go back. So you’re in high school, so you’re gonna do four years of college, ideally.

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, and then you go to medical school. It’s, medical school is four years. So once you graduate from medical school, you’re gonna apply to residency programs. [00:55:00] So, um, every residency, they’re kinda like, they’re, they’re, they’re usually associated with hospitals, like big hospitals, small hospitals. Um, hospitals have residency programs, so they might have a family medicine residency program, internal medicine program, pediatrics, surgery A lot of the times what you’ll do, i- in, in…

Dr. Robert Pena: Let me back up. Every program is different length of time. So family medicine is a three-year program, then you’re done. You’re a family medicine doctor. Um, internal medicine is typically four years. Um, think surgeries can be five to seven years long. So kind of like the more things you have to learn, the longer the programs become.

Dr. Robert Pena: So y- and in medical school, you apply to these programs, and you’ll spend between three to five to seven years learning your specialty and taking tests to be certified in that specialty. Um, so let’s say I wanna be an oncologist. Um, that’s a very, very specialized [00:56:00] field. Um, so what a- after residency, you have the option to do what’s called a fellowship.

Dr. Robert Pena: So that’s a very-

Anesha: Mm-hmm …

Dr. Robert Pena: even more focused even past residency. So for example, like y- internal medicine doctors, they usually work with adults. So that’s, that’s a four-year specialty. So you get your internal medicine license, then you wanna become a cardiologist. You’ll, you’ll do a fellowship in cardiology, so that’s an extra two to three years, and you’ll become a cardiologist, or you’ll become a infectious disease expert or whatever.

Dr. Robert Pena: And so it’s, there are just layers to it, and but the first thing you do after medical school is you do your residency in one of the, the main specialties, and then you can sub-specialize. So it can go on forever. There’s lots of little niches in medicine, and you just kinda keep going. Uh, like I said, you work backwards to figure out what that doctor is and how’d they become it, and you kinda work backwards.

Anesha: So if you are currently a senior, you have seven to eight years before you have to think about [00:57:00] your specialty, whether it’s oncology, radiology, neuro- neuro-

Dr. Robert Pena: neurology. You have eight years. You have at least seven to eight years before you have to think about that. Yeah. And then- But- … you have another four years, three to five years to, in residency d- before you think about your specialty.

Dr. Robert Pena: So and then you’re gonna be, you’re gonna work with a lot of doctors, and you can pick a lot of brains to talk about it. Um, so y- you’re gonna know. Um, the main thing is go to medical school, and it’s gonna be the same for everybody, and then at that point, you specialize once you get your residency.

Anesha: So there’s nothing special you need to do right now- No.

Anesha: No, no,

Dr. Robert Pena: no …

Anesha: in high school.

Dr. Robert Pena: Nope.

Anesha: I just wanna clarify that. Um, okay. Thank you. High

Dr. Robert Pena: grades in school. That’s all you need.

Anesha: Yes. Uh, someone asked, um, given the length of time that we’re talking about, how much testing and schooling there is, what are ways to stay motivated during this process into college and university?

Dr. Robert Pena: I mean, you, that, that’s a valid question. You know, this, when I told you earlier about the story about how we started with 100 biology majors that were pre-med and ended up with 20, you know, that’s, that’s … [00:58:00] Unfortunately, you know, at some point, you know, you’re gonna have to decide, am I motivated to do this or not?

Dr. Robert Pena: Um, so you gotta have the internal motivation and you, you gotta just be a person that, you know, eye on the prize. If you can put off the fun stuff for now, and just kinda know that you’re working towards a goal and just keep pushing, you’re a very intrinsically motivated person, you can be successful. But, um, to be honest, it’s, it’s a very stressful field.

Dr. Robert Pena: It’s very, uh … A lot of testing. There’s … You’re, after MCAT, then you have your, uh, you get to medical school, you have your board exams. So after anatomy, physiology, you got your, your board exams. During your med school, you have your USMLE tests, the medical license exam, step one. Then your senior year, you have the step two exam.

Dr. Robert Pena: Then you get to residency, you have step three. And then at the end of residency, you have your, your board exam for your specialty, and then your fellow- It, it never stops. And even when you graduate and you’re licensed, you have to, you know, every, usually every, uh, five to 10 years, you have to [00:59:00] get re- re-licensed, so you have to take, sit for the test again.

Dr. Robert Pena: So even if you graduate and get licensed, you gotta still study and continue. So this is a lifelong endeavor, studying medicine. It’s not a get your degree and you’re finished. You’re, you’re never gonna stop learning, and you’re never gonna stop testing. So, um, just, just know what you’re getting into, and it’s doable, but just know that, you know, it’s, it’s not gonna go away.

Dr. Robert Pena: It’s just gotta … Uh, lifelong learners is in your future. Lifelong learning.

Anesha: Yeah. I was surprised by how much testing was involved in, in beco- in maintaining yourself as a doctor. Um, all right, well, we’re gonna let that be the last question. I think it’s a lot of … What I will take away from it is a lot of checking in with yourself re- regarding your motivation- Yep

Anesha: staying, keeping your eyes on the prize. Um, okay, but we are gonna end our questions there. Thank you so much, Robert. Thank everybody for, um, the questions that you submitted. Really good, thoughtful questions today. Uh, we hope that you gained some tips and strategies for, to become a strong pre-med and BS/MD applicant.

Anesha: We hope that you’ll join us for our future webinars, but [01:00:00] until next time, take care and have a great evening, everybody. Thanks again, Robert.

Dr. Robert Pena: Thank you, guys.