Hello from the U of M College of Biological Science
Thuy Nugyen-Tran is now a med student at the U of M Med School
Thuy's email is: nguye396@umn.edu
If you were to give insight to new mn future docs that are interested in
the U of M CBS, what would you say?
Take advantage of all of the opportunities, especially in research, and
get to know your professors.
CBS is HUGE on research and highly encourages its students to engage in some form of research so the faculty is very receptive to having students work in their labs. Thus, it is a good idea to visit office hours and get to know the faculty so you can establish good
relationships because they are good mentors, possible research mentors, and
possibly letters of recs.
Even if research turns out to not be your thing, it is good to at least give it a try so you know and it's a really good way to be able to apply class concepts in a hands-on way.
Why U of M CBS?
It's a small college within a large university so you get the best of both
worlds. You get all of the opportunities of a large institution but at the
same time you get a close-knit community feel because there are not as many
students in CBS compared to CLA or IT.
The faculty and staff really emphasize community building and provide lots of support for students, such as the year end picnic we have and scholarship opportunities specifically
for just CBS students. There are also lots of research opportunities available.
Clubs to join?
-Circle of Giving (hehe...sorry, I am biased)
-Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students (again, biased)
-Minnesota Medical Leaders
-Pre-Med AMSA
-AED
-CBS Student Board
-Biology Without Borders
-Being part of the University of Minnesota Honors Program
(http://www.honors.umn.edu/) is also a good way to meet faculty and get
access to extra opportunities, especially in research and scholarships
Great Advisors
-Sarah Corrigan is the advisor I had in CBS and she is AMAZING! The whole
CBS advising staff is a really helpful and friendly.
UROP http://www.urop.umn.edu/
Definitely take advantage of the UROP program. There are two deadlines
each year and the application is not too hard or long. It is a good way to
get reserach experience while getting paid. You also get the opportunity to
present a research poster at the annual poster symposium at the U of M and
if you are in the honors program, this can also help fulfill your honors
requirement.
Other paid research
Join listserves from different student groups and they periodically send
out research opportunities. Professors often make announcements in class.
The bulletin boards in MCB has a lot of research and job listings.
Classes Recommended for MCAT prep
-Definitely gen chem, gen bio, physics, organic chemistry
-For sure physiology
-Some sort of humanities class, such as sociology or history would be
helpful for the verbal and writing section because you have to do a lot of
reading and writing in those classes.
-Biochemistry, genetics, and cell biology are helpful but not as helpful as
the above courses. If you can fit them in before the MCAT super, if not it
is not a dealbreaker.
Profs that are really cool
-Jane Phillips
-Robin Wright
-Robert Brooker
-Jim Ervasti
-Dennis Livingston
-Paul Scilicano
-Paul Iazzo
-Vincent Barnett
Majors that you would recommend
CBS has only 7 majors: biochemistry; plant biology; evolution, ecology,
and behavior; genetics, cell biology, and development; microbiology;
biology; and neuroscience.
The first two years of classes is basically the same for all CBS majors
(gen bio, physics, gen chem, organic chem, math, etc) and during the junior
and senior year is when you take the upper division classes based on your
major. So select a major based on the topics that interest you. For
example, if you find that during gen bio class you really liked learning
about viruses, do mircobiology or if you liked learning about cellular
processess do biochemistry.
Physiology (this one is in CLA and a lot of CBS students may double major
because the difference between a CBS major and the physiology major is only
3 classes). Physiology really ties together all of the science classes you
have taken.
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Meet Dame: Currently a College Senior at the U of M, CBS. Dame is Applying to med school in 2010
Why U of M CBS?
It offers so many AMAZING opportunities for students interested in pursing professional schools. The faculty is amazing and helpful. Students are very competitive, but that helps bring out the best in you.
Clubs to join
COG!!! MAPS, BWB, STLF, Students against hunger, MSA, CBS/CLA student board, Several groups for certain ethic backgrouds i.e. black, somali, oromo, ethiopian, hmong, and so on.
Advisors
I have only had Sarah Corrigan. She is the BEST! But she is only the advisor for honors. I recently just got assigned to Sara Georgeson as well and she is also great. I wish I had met her earlier.
Classes Recommended for MCAT prep
General Chemistry 1 and 2, Organic Chemistry 1 and 2, Physics 1 and 2, General Biology, Writing, critical thinking, Biochemistry, PHYSIOLOGY!!, and any other problem based classes.
Profs that I liked
Silicano fro BioChem, Robin Wright for gen bio, Driessen for Gen Chem, Distefano for Ochem.
Great paid jobs
Research jobs in any lab are GREAT. You start off doing small things (making media, washing, autoclaving, etc), but eventually you might be able to do directed research with that PI. So you are learning, doing research, and getting paid all at the same time. This would be BEST.