DocWorking: The Whole Physician Podcast 207: Pre-Med Tips & How To Get In to Medical School With Dr. Shirag Shemmassian
“Learning how to position yourself to impress admissions committees and seeing that happen and then helping other people and then through word of mouth, someone telling someone else that they wanted to go into this field as well and really helping them, I think just further reinforced that my role was to help other people become wonderful physicians."
- Dr. Shemmassian
Dr. Shirag Shemmassian is the founder of Shemmassian Academic Consulting. He's one of the world's foremost experts on medical school admissions, college admissions and graduate school admissions. For nearly 20 years, he and his team have helped thousands of students get into medical school and top colleges using his systematic and proprietary approach. A lot of our physician listeners may get questions often, but there also may be parents listening who have high-school-age kids thinking about where they're going to apply to undergraduate school. Or they may have kids who are pre-med in college applying to medical school. Here, Dr. Shemmassian shares his wisdom and gives us insights into the process, which can often be stressful and overwhelming.
From a young age, Dr. Shemmassian knew he wanted to go into healthcare. His immigrant parents were always talking about going to school and getting a job in a helping profession to earn a living. He really enjoyed science and was always drawn toward medicine. when I was in college, I was pre-med the whole time and taking all my courses, I did quite well. However, as someone who grew up with Tourette's Syndrome, over time, he was nudged towards psychiatry and mental health. When he graduated, Dr. Shemmassian decided to make a pivot and did his Ph.D. in clinical psychology rather than go to medical school. Even when he was in college, he was helping people get into medical schools and things like that. His parents didn't know how to navigate the educational system here in the states. Continuing to help others around him get into schools further reinforced that his role was to assist people in becoming wonderful physicians.
In this engaging conversation, we discuss whether a school’s status or prestige plays a critical role in getting accepted into a good medical school. We also talk about combined programs and the difference between an M.D. and a D.O. Dr. Shemmassian shares his opinions on choosing between traditional medical school and P.A. school and who it would benefit. We wrap up with tips for nontraditional students who are interested in becoming a physician and what that admissions process could look like.
What’s Inside:
- School prestige and its impact on getting accepted into medical school.
- Differences between M.D. and D.O. programs.
- P.A. school and who it’s best suited for.
- Tips for non-traditional students.
Mentioned In This Episode:
Find full transcripts of DocWorking: The Whole Physician Podcast episodes on the DocWorking Blog
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