I’m currently a junior in high school with a 3.98 GPA (yes I know -_-) and have taken will have taken AP HUGE (5), APUSHH (5), AP CS (4), AP CS Princ…(TBD), AP Physics B (TBD), AP AP LIT & COMP (TBD), AP BIO & CHEM (TBD), AP GOV & ECON (TBD), AP CALC BC (TBD), Multivariable CALC, AP Physics C (TBD), and a couple other acts in senior year next year by the time I graduate. I’ve taken the ACT once and have gotten a 32 and hope to get it to 33-34 soon. I have to start volunteering as well this year and get some clinical experience. Anyway, I’m set on becoming a cardiologist and was looking at some BS/MD programs. Anybody think I have a chance at them? In terms of clubs/activites/leadership, I’ve been voted student council president, accepeted into a peer leader program, accepted into NHS, played basketball for 2 years, played tennis for 4 years, leader in math team for 4 years, leader in scholastic bowl team for 4 years, received president award for academic excellence, finalist in american legion award, 3rd place medal at math team state, gold medal in track and field, active member in student council, etc. I’ve also done a job for 8 months at bestbuy as a salesman and have created a club at my school for programming. I also am attending a national programming competition in san francisco soon. Thanks …
Why cardiology?
I don’t see how that’s relevant to the question, but my family has a series of heart related diseases and such and I thought it’d be nice to have a cardiologist in the family. @DreamSchlDropout
The relevance is that you’re set on a particular specialization without any clinical experience. Choosing to do a BS/MD instead of the usual path to medical school is also an act of early specialization. I wanted to understand how you make these decisions.
Thank you for sharing the personal relevance this specialty has to you. Given your lack of healthcare experience thus far, I’d say an early assurance program is a risky choice for you, but given your personal history that is informing that choice, it may still be the right choice for you.
The article I’m linking below lists all of the programs in the US, and I am sure you could qualify for at least some of them.
It also explores the pros and cons of these programs at length, and I encourage you to read it all with an open mind. In addition, one con that they leave unmentioned is that in committing early to a particular medical school you may miss out on admission to a better medical school that you could have earned via the traditional pre-med+MCAT track.
Weigh the cons carefully, and remember that there are some 23,000 cardiologists in the US. Not all of them got there through an early assurance program.
@DreamSchlDropout do you think that my experience with witnessing so many heart diseases and hospitilizations of family members throughout my life is a strong topic to write about on future essays when they ask why I want to pursue a medical career? Just curious.
It can be, but it all depends upon how you frame your answer.
There are 3 common themes that tend to run thru med school application personal statements/residency application personal statements. These are so common they verge on being clichés–
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I wanted to be doctor ever since I was young–I played doctor with my dolls/pets/younger siblings
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something bad happened to me/my family member/my friend and a doctor helped them
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I met an inspiring doctor
It’s up to you to make your reason sound fresh & genuine. Your experiences with your family’s illnesses can be a starting point but shouldn’t be the whole story.
@WayOutWestMom
Programming has also been my hobby since i was like 8 years old. Therefore, I’ve attended many hackathons and coding events where I,ve created apps that help the world in some way locally or etc. im even going to a medhackathon in baltimore at JHU in a month. Do you think this is unique enough to br significant in my application? I am having trouble finding a doctor to shadow so im trying to boost my app in any way possible
Med schools get plenty of applications from engineering/math/physics/CS majors. That alone won’t make you unique enough to stand out.
Can you use your experiences as a platform to answer the “Why medicine? Why me?”–sure but remember it’s a starting place not a be all-end all.
And I have to say, if you are applying to BA/MD programs–not having any shadowing and not any having clinical volunteering will doom your application. Med school adcomms are looking for evidence that you understand the life you’re signing up for and that you have had sufficient first hand experience to be able to say that I am Ok with dealing with the chronically ill, the injured, the dying, the elderly demented, the mentally ill, and their families.
Second hand experience that you may had observed thru your family’s experiences is not enough. Experience as patient (or family member of a patient ) is NOT the same as clinical experience.
All you can do is apply.
However, my advice is to slow down and get a good, broad educational base. You are currently aspiring to the British system (as I recall) which I think forces students to commit too early to medicine. Medicine has too many doctors with no hobbies and little breadth of interest. They retire poorly and unhappily. At your age you are not looking that far ahead. If you are qualified for one of the early MD programs you will be qualified for regular medical school if it is meant to be. Get a broad education first.
It’s great that you have a passion for medicine. I’m not discouraging that. But you should be aware that our healthcare system, especially as it is evolving now, will snuff the life out of your passion quickly. It is nice to have some extra-medicine diversions to stay sane.
"I’m currently a junior in high school with a 3.98 GPA (yes I know -_-) " — I can’t tell if you’re joking or serious about not liking your 3.98.