How hard is it to become a doctor?

Medical schools are going to look at your community service record as an important part of your application. You should make time for volunteer work in college just as you did in high school. The Medical College Admission Test, or MCAT, is used as a predictor of your success in med school and, as such, is weighted pretty heavily when compared to other parts of your application.

Most students take the MCAT in their junior year -- this is arguably the most optimal time to take the test. Why? Because by this point, you will have gone through many of your pre-med courses, making studying for the MCAT a lot easier.

Plan on studying 200-300 hours if you want to do well on the test. Since it's a seven-and-a-half-hour exam, you really don't want to have to take it twice. The average student applies to about 13 schools to optimize their chances of getting in.

After fulfilling all the pre-med requirements and submitting all those applications, you finally arrive here: medical school.

You'll spend four years here, but that doesn't mean the experience will be very similar to that of your undergraduate education -- there are more decisions to be made, more opportunities for hands-on experiences, and more professional licensing requirements to worry about.

Here's an overview of what these four years of med school will look like:

• Years one to two: Primarily classroom-based courses

• Year three: Training in each major medical specialty (also known as rotations)

• Year four: Primarily elective courses based on preferred specialty

You will spend at least three years in your residency program but may spend more time there, depending on your specialty. In your first year, you'll be known as an intern and will be at the bottom of the totem pole -- but not for long.

During your residency, you'll also need to pass your final licensing exam (USMLE-3). The third and final licensing exam is taken during the first year of your residency. It tests your ability to utilize your medical knowledge and provide care in an unsupervised setting, which is what you will have to do as a licensed physician.

Once you've finished your residency and passed all your boards, you can officially practice independently as a licensed physician. It probably won't take you long to find work. You might want to practice in a hospital, clinic, or private practice.

You'll have to keep up with Continuing Medical Education in order to practice as a physician, no matter your specialty; this ensures that you stay educated and up-to-date on the latest research and best medical practices.