Answers from the Experts

Becoming a Pediatrician

"I recently became a member of the Venture Scholars Program. So far I am enjoying all of the interesting information that you e-mail me about different science-based careers. I am writing you to ask if you could send me more information about becoming a Pediatrician and studying in Pediatric Medicine. I want to find out about universities that have good pediatric medical programs that I can be admitted to on scholarships. I would really appreciate your help with this. Thank you very much."

Responses were sent from:
Northern Arizona University, Brandeis University, The University of Vermont, and Juniata College.

Member Institution and Association Answers:

From Northern Arizona University:

It is important to remember that in college, students that want to become physicians will only be taking the course work required to get into medical school, such as biology, chemistry, etc. Pre-med only means preliminary college work. At the college (undergraduate) level, you do not take any medical classes. If you are interested in a specific career such as Pediatrics, the important decision will be where you attend medical school after you graduate from college. Most students do not go to medical school at the same university that they get their undergraduate degree from.

James E. Casebeer
Assistant Director
Office of Enrollment Services
Northern Arizona University
928-523-6080
james.casebeer@nau.edu

From Brandeis University:

Greetings from Brandeis! I am glad to hear of your aspirations of becoming a pediatrician. There are many ways to achieve your goals, but the first is finding a university who has a good pre-medical program. Some schools have it as a major and others, like Brandeis, have it as a program to be completed in conjunction with another major. At Brandeis and other liberal arts institutions, we want you to explore a lot of different disciplines, so our students can major in virtually any discipline and be pre-med at the same time. You should also look to see what the acceptance rate to medical school is at each university. Brandeis graduates seeking admission to medical school are accepted at a rate of 82% where the national average is just 52%. Students looking at becoming a doctor should know they would need to complete both a bachelor's degree and a medical degree before becoming a doctor.

In terms of scholarships, Brandeis has a number of academic scholarships as well as significant need based awards. Check out www.brandeis.edu/admissions to learn more!

Robert W. Andrews
Assistant Director of Admissions
Brandeis University
(781) 736-3500
andrews@brandeis.edu

From The University of Vermont:

Great questions! It is wonderful that you want to become a pediatrician; but undergraduate universities cannot teach you to become a pediatrician, only medical school can teach you that. You must first graduate from high school and attend a university. After you graduate university, you must then go to medical school where you will learn medical science. What you should do to prepare is find out which universities have a large number of graduates attending medical school. This will let you know which universities are good at preparing students for medical school. But for you, that stage is many years away. You must first do well in all your high school subjects, including English. When you get to university, be sure to let your advisory know that you are interested in going to medical school. They should help you select courses that will improve your chances of being admitted to a medical program. I would suggest that you take courses in all areas of academic study and not just courses in science. Medical school admission committees are looking for students who can be good at writing, foreign language, and social sciences as well as science. Being spectacular in biology, chemistry, and anatomy isn't enough to become a pediatrician, you have to be knowledgeable in many areas. Best wishes.

Devin Harmon
Assistant Director of Admissions
The University of Vermont
194 South Prospect Street
Burlington, VT 05401
Phone: (802) 656-4624
Fax: (802) 656-4663
E-mail: Devin.Harmon@uvm.edu
web: http://www.uvm.edu

From Juniata College:

You'll want to look for schools with great undergraduate Pre-Medical programs. Pediatric medicine is something you'll specialize in in medical school, so the first step will be finding a program that will prepare you to take that step. Because your focus is pediatric medicine, you may also want to look for a school that will allow you the flexibility to incorporate some child development or communications classes into your curriculum. You won't need those courses to be admitted into med. School, but they will certainly serve you well in your anticipated profession.

Heather Doyle
Admission Counselor
Multicultural Recruitment
Juniata College
Huntingdon, PA
(814)641-3430
doyleh@juniata.edu