1. The Road to Medical School
Brandon Free
Devashish Joshi
Andrew Stein
Jacob Patz

2. Brandon F. Hometown: Sauk Prairie, WI College: UW-Madison
Major: Spanish and Biology
Interesting Activities:
6 months abroad in Dominican Republic with host family
6 months abroad in Tokyo, Japan
4+ years at free clinic in hometown (shadowing/Spanish interpreting, etc.)
Monkey research at UW-Madison

3. Drew S. Age: 25 Hometown: Lino Lakes, MN
College: University of Northwestern - St. Paul
Major: Started Business - Switched to Biology
Activities: Sports, Music, Cultural Experience

4. Jake Patz Age: 23 Hometown: Mukwonago, WI College: UW-Madison
Majors: Microbiology, and Neurobiology
Activities:
Hospital Gift Shop
Mosquito Research
EMT
Volunteer CPR instructor

5. Devashish (Dev) Joshi Age: 23 Hometown: Sunnyvale, California
College: California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Major: Bioengineering
Activities
Research
Tennis
MDA Volunteering
Shadowing

6. How Long is Training? Undergraduate 4-5 years Medical School 4 years
2 basic science years
2 clinical rotation years
Residency (Paid training)
3-8 years
Fellowship (Paid training)
1-3
Examples:
Family Practice
4 years of medical school
3 years of residency
Optional 1 year fellowship
Total years after college=7-8
Neurological (Brain) Surgery
7 years of residency
1 year fellowship
Total years after college=12

7. Getting accepted to Medical School
Shadowing
Volunteering
Research
Leadership Roles
Extracurricular Activities
Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT)
Pre-medical Requirements
Connections for Reference Letters

8. Medical Schools in Wisconsin
Private: Medical College of Wisconsin (formerly Marquette University School of Medicine)-Milwaukee
Public: UW School of Medicine and Public Health-Madison

9. Tips and Tricks to Shadowing
Start with asking your pediatrician and/or family physician
Ask in-person during an appointment
Call the front desk
Send an to the physician/front desk, wait 4 days and if no response, try again!
Persistence and politeness are key
Work towards a minimum of 50 hours
Example
Hello Dr. Peterson,
My name is Brandon Free and I am a high school junior at Memorial High School. I am eager to learn about the career of a physician and am wondering if you allow students to shadow you? If so, I would be interested in joining you for an afternoon. Please let me know at your earliest convenience and I look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Brandon Free

10. Volunteering Very Important!
Find something you enjoy doing, whether or not it is healthcare related!
Try to make a consistent and organized volunteer schedule-most places are willing to take volunteers
Examples:
Play piano at a nursing home
Work with wildlife conservationists
Deliver food trays/flowers/gifts to patient rooms at a hospital
Help at a local free clinic
Participate in regional, national or international mission trips
Anything that gets you involved with the community!

11. Does your major in college matter?
No!
Study what you would want to do if you did not get accepted to medical school (i.e marketing, nursing, engineering, etc.)
Being “pre-med” is not a major. Pre-med means you are taking additional requirements needed to apply to medical school
Example: Business Major + Requirements in chart
Source: UW-School of Medicine and Public Health

12. Application Statistics
The average science grade point average was 3.73, and 3.76 overall.
The average MCAT score of applicants accepted in 2015 was 32/45 (the 88th percentile).
Source: UW-School of Medicine and Public Health

13. MCAT Overview Subjects tested on the MCAT:
Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics, Biochemistry, Biology, Physiology, Psychology, Critical/Verbal Reasoning Skills

14. Special Entrance Programs
Programs consisting of 6-8 years combined undergraduate degree (BS or BA) and medical degree (MD)
Brown University
University of Florida
University of New York Upstate
University of Minnesota
University of Missouri
Usually apply senior year of high school, but most programs require a minimum of 26+ ACT score to be eligible to apply
Successful applicants have extensive shadowing/volunteering/extracurricular activities in high school and have shown a dedication to pursue medicine

15. What We Wish We Would’ve Known
Work towards your clinical hours while working as a scribe, EMT, CNA, etc.
Pick a degree that you can excel in and one that you enjoy studying
Try to study consistently and work towards long term retention of the material, since you will apply it later on the MCAT

16. Questions?? Feel free to contact us with any questions you may have!
Brandon Free
Dev Joshi
Jacob Patz
Andrew Stein

17. Being a Medical Student

18. What is a typical day like for a medical student?
Years 1 and 2:
Classes and Studying
Typically 4 hours of lecture each day with 1 clinical day per week
Years 3 and 4:
4-8 week long rotations (family medicine, psychiatry, general surgery, emergency medicine, OB/GYN, additional electives)

19. Dual Degree Programs in Medical School
MD/PhD
Physician Scientist Pathway
MD/MBA
Running a clinic or management and leadership
MD/JD
Medical ethics or malpractice law
MD/MPH
Public health
MD/DDS
Medical and Dental degree