IN THEIR SHOES

At many schools, the science courses are extremely difficult, especially at schools with a good science reputation. This is also often the case at.large universities, where classes with over 700 premedical students are common. Usually, organic chemistry is the “weed-out” class. Well, here’s some good news: you don’t need to be part of a “weed-out,” and you don’t have to sit back and take it. If you can take organic elsewhere, where it’s easier and maybe even cheaper, then by all means do so. An A is an A on your transcript, no matter where you got it. However, make certain your college will allow you to transfer the course credit before you spend your summer in a classroom.
All of you have heard people say that they were going to take so-and-so science course because they thought it would help them in medical school or look good to admissions committees. This is the most absurd way of assuring yourself an A or an honors later in medical school. Med schools apparently agree with us, since most discourage students from taking courses that resemble the first year curriculum. (Genetics and biochemistry are occasional exceptions.)

We have a friend, a straight-A biomedical engineer, who interviewed at Washington University. One of the first things they told him was, “Frankly, Mr. Smith, we’ve found that English majors make the best doctors.” Don’t get us wrong—he had no trouble getting accepted there. The point is, it’s wrong to think that you must be a science major to be a doctor, or that being a science major will give you an advantage when applying to medical school.
A premedical student must fulfill certain science requirements: one year of inorganic chemistry, one year of organic chemistry, one year of physics, and one year of biology. Other required subjects, such as English and calculus, vary with different med schools. Past these, you can study almost anything you want.

Maps, Commercially prepared maps contain too much irrelevant detail to serve as presentation aids. The best maps are those that you make specifically for your speech so that they are simple, relevant to your purpose, and uncluttered. Maps are particularly useful for speeches based on spatial relationships.
The map was used to indicate the distances and routes between major attractions at Yellowstone National Park. Seeing a map helps the audience put locations and distances into perspective. Stephen Huff used a map to help his listeners see where a series of earthquakes occurred along the New Madrid Fault and to understand how a recurrence of such earthquakes might endanger them.
How well a map works as a presentation aid depends on how well you can integrate it into your presentation. Elizabeth Walling used a map of the wilderness canoe area in northern Minnesota to familiarize her Memphis audience with that area. She made a double-sided poster that she was able to keep hidden behind the speaker’s table until she was ready for it. On one side she highlighted the wilderness canoe area on an outline map of northern Minnesota, pointing out various places of interest. To illustrate how large the area is, Elizabeth said, “Let me put this in a more familiar context for you.” She then turned the poster over, revealing an outline map of western Tennessee on which she had superimposed the wilderness area. At a glance we could see that this area would extend from Memphis to past Jackson, some eighty miles away. By using maps this way, she created a striking visual comparison. The same type of effect could be obtained by overlaying transparencies.