So you want to be a doctor...

The first thing I am going to tell you is that you better be totally committed to this process, as getting into medical school requires a lot of work and you need to be at the top of the huge pile of applicants. That means that work can't be your first priority, neither can friends, significant others, or anything else other than the stuff required to get you on the top of the pile. If you are not ready to make that adjustment in your life, you need to reevaluate your career choice. Just wanting to go to medical school will not get your there.

The second thing I will tell you; if you are doing this so you can make a lot of money, you are probably going to be sorely disappointed. It's a lot of work and you are going to be very broke before you finish this process. There is not doubt that practicing doctors are paid well, but they experience some extremely long hours and have some very dramatic expenses. The more a doctor gets paid (and some fields are handsomly rewarded), the tougher the job and the harder the schooling. The other rub is you are going to have to fork out a lot of money to get to where you are going and that means you will probably have a lot of debt when you spit out the end of medical school. Just applying to medical school can be expensive.

Now that I've got your attention lets begin with some introductory material and then we will work into the more local and direct advice...

1. The application process - part 1 (how do medical schools decide)

2. The review criteria

3. The degree

4. The course work

5. The MCAT

6. The application process - part 2 (when and how do I apply)

7. Letters of recommendation

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