This book is good for people who are legitimately worried about not getting into med school. However, if you've done the basic stuff and you're probably a pretty good applicant, the book won't really teach you anything that you don't already know. If you want it, buy it early in the process. As of your junior year of college, you should know most of this stuff already.

This is NOT a book for those who've known they were going to be a doc from the beginning. This is for those who may have just decided to become a doc after getting done with a non-science major or anybody else who hasn't followed the high school -> college -> med school path. I really appreciated the honesty and reality of this book. It definitely cut short any idealism I have about becoming a doctor (well, not all of them, I'm a sucker for idealism), and emphasizes the need to have a backup plan! A must for those non-trads like me taking a crack at it late in life. Good luck to all!

I wouldn't say that this text is geared to 'just non-trads', but to everyone.

Pros: This author encourages you to contact him... impressive for any author, let alone an M.D. He gives a 'real-world' view of medicine, and this being his 9th edition, has a fair amount of experience in the 'pre-med' arena.

One thing I really like about this book is the reality check it gives. Facts like M.D.s have about 10 years of post-graduate education, yet are told what to do by people who went to school for only 2 years post graduate to get their M.B.A.'s (Since medicine is becoming coorperatized by HMO's, and new physicians are finding themselves joining managed groups or hospital positions, ran by 'management' MBAs). The fact that HMO's are taking over and autonomy is no longer available for the physician. The fact that it is no longer a 'stable' career as U.S. and foreign medical schools are cranking out more physicians than the demand, and that salaries fell for the first time ever recently... and that it will ultimately be the willingness to be of service and to help that will continue to spur students into medicine, as salaries continue to fall and current M.D. positions are replaced by PAs FNPs and other specialists. He, and many physicians I've talked to, have supported his idea that M.D.'s are losing their security by the excess supply, and replacement by PAs, FNPs etc.

These are the things that few 'Get In' texts fail to mention, yet many physicians attest to.

Cons: You only get 'half' a book. The first half is the book, the second half is a dummed down version of the Medical School Admission Requirements (which you should get if you are seriously considering medical school). The first half has valuable information, the second could either be scrapped or include more inforamtion... it doesn't include nearly the information it tries to reflect from the MSAR.

Summary: A worth buying text... more realistic than most out there. Like most others, its a bit short. Its a good reality check to think about the current state of medicine, where its headed, what you expect from becoming a physician, and what likely will be. Great for any student who is new to the idea of becoming a doctor.