Today I took my AP Physics 1 exam. I am almost certain I got less than a 3.
I want to be a doctor more than anything else. I feel like it encompasses all my interests (my love for science, medicine, and working with people, not being in a lab all day), and extinguishes all my fears (not having a job that pays well). But alas, as time goes on, I feel like I’m nowhere near smart enough for medical school. I’m not like my older sister, or my younger brother who get A’s without even being awake. Using booksmarts as a measurement, I am the least intelligent out of the three of us. I know I could drone on about being hard working, and whatnot, and how I have a thousand other traits that compensate for my lesser knowledge of school subjects, but what medical school comes down to (at least what I think it comes down to) is my numbers on paper, which I’m aware aren’t all that competitive compared to all the other medical school applicants there will be (3.9 GPA, but I know that’s inflated because my school caters to those with raw 50-60 averages so they dumb down the courses to boost everyone up. [Yes I know this is only my high school GPA]). I want to major in biology because I love the subject, but if I can’t even score well in an AP Physics 1 class (high C’s to low B’s all year without test curve) am I really going to be able to handle medical school?
AP Physics is not some litmus test for being doctor-worthy
" I feel like I’m nowhere near smart enough for medical school." - No genius is required for the med. school but being a hard working student is a must. If you continue with GPA 3.9 at college, if you have a decent MCAT score (again, no genius is required for this either, but many hours of every day preparation for good number of weeks) and some medical ECs, you will be all set to apply. Physics is needed only for heart / lung studies and for some specialties that you may not choose, unless you change your attitude towards Physics in college. Yes, no big brain requires to study college Physics at pre-med level either, the positive attitude and hard work will help though. Every student has some subjects that they are not fond of and it does not reflect their abilities. At HS, college and even medical school, persistant hard work, doing your homework well and turning it on time and making sure that every single concept in every class is well understood, these aspects are the only ones that are required to achieve a high GPA. Make sure to seek help if you are in doubt about your understanding of academic material. Help is widely available at college. I bet if you seek help for your Physics in HS, you will start feeling much better about this subject. Best wishes!