<p>Hi, I am a grade 10 student, currently attending highschool in Toronto. After highschool, i want to go to the US to study Medicine, and eventually become a doctor. I have many questions, that i need your assistance in.</p>
<ol>
<li>Is it worth it?</li>
<li>What marks should i get to get accepted into a fairly decent medical university?</li>
<li>How many community service hours should i get?</li>
<li>Which electives should I take?</li>
<li>Do my grade 9 and 10 marks count? (i did really poorly)</li>
<li>What other requirements do i need to get accepted?</li>
<li>How much is the cost? (money is not an issue, but just want a general range)</li>
<li><p>What courses should i take in grade 11 and 12?</p></li>
<li><p>I really want to go to the University of Michigan, and study Medicine there, how hard will it be for me and is it a good university for Medicine? (grade range, community hours, SAT scores etc.)</p></li>
<li><p>Im really started to get worried because im in grade 10 and havent taken my SATs or practiced for it yet. (is that usual?)</p></li>
<li><p>Is there a limit to amounts of times you can take SAT exam? (if i take it 8 times, per say, throughout high school, will that be bad?)</p></li>
<li><p>Also im not in the IB program, will that hurt my chances? (do i still have a chance?)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Please answer as many questions as you can.</p>
<p>I think you’re confused. In the US medicine is studied in medical school AFTER one completes an undergraduate degree–which can be in any subject so long as a prescribed set of “pre-med” classes are taken. So your first 9 questions don’t really make any sense. To answer your other questions:
In 10th grade most American students take the PSAT.
You can take the SAT over and over until your money runs out, but it would be ridiculous to take it 8 times–2 or 3 times is not unusual, often just once is adequate.
You have plenty of time to prepare for the test.
Most US students don’t attend schools with IB programs. Many do take AP classes if they are seeking a rigorous course of study.</p>
<p>If you want to attend med school, you will need a degree in any subject + A’s in a set of science classes (calculus, physics, chemistry, biology) + research or internship experiences. Since you’re in Grade 10, you would first need to get admitted to a college, get your 4-year degree.
Then you run into the issue that most American med schools do NOT admit international students.
You could attend college in the US and Med School in Canada, it’d make more sense.</p>
<p>As MommaJ points out, unless you’re aiming for an 8 year combined BS/MD program, in order to be admitted to medical school in the US, you must first have completed your baccalaureate degree at US or Canadian college or university.</p>
<p>UMichigan does accept Canadian applicants, however it does so in very limited numbers. Typically fewer than 5 per year. </p>
<p>Michigan is a Top 10 ranked med school and gets over 6000 applications per year and accepts about 250 of those applicants. The average college GPA for non Michigan residents was 3.85 and the MCAT average was 38 (which above 98.5% of the scores for all test takers in the US & Canada).</p>
<p>All your grades will be looked at. Since you will be applying for college early in your senior year, colleges will only have your marks from grades 9-11 to consider when making an admission decision.</p>
<p>What GPA you will need will depend on what colleges you’re applying to.</p>
<p>Admission to most “top” colleges in the US isn’t solely grade-based, it’s holistic, ie., grades; rigor of curriculum; SAT or ACT scores; extracurricular activities, especially: have you shown leadership qualities, commitment, passion? have you won regional/national awards?
Some schools will only look at the combination of your GPA and test score, typically the public universities. The most elite universities/colleges (they’re synonymous in the US) will pay close attention to the other factors too.</p>
<p>There are 3,700 colleges in the US: to get an idea of the colleges that exist, type “USNWR” in your record, followed by…
liberal arts colleges → look at schools ranked 50-85
regional universities → look at schools ranked 1-25
national universities → look at schools ranked 30-60
regional colleges → look at schools ranked 1-10
That should give you an idea of a wide range of schools in the US.
Click on the link, look at the stats (roughly, in Canadian terms … GPA = grade point average. 3 is just okay, 3.5 is good, 4.0 is what you should lean toward; SAT score: 1500 is totally average, 1800 is good, 2100 is excellent) so that you can compare with yourself. As an international applicant, you should try to be in the top 25% applicants and definitely above the average.
Look at costs. If the school is “100% need”, it’s good if your family makes under $150K a year. If your family makes more than 200K a year, are there merit scholarships?
Read these boards very carefully. Go post on the interntional students forum, especially the special forum for “Canada”.</p>
<p>First of all, thank you guys a ton for helping me out!
So I’ve done really poorly in grade 9, and not so hot in grade 10 either, do I still have a shot? Also, what can I do to increase my chances, aside from good grades? Lastly what percentage is 4.00 gpa or 3.5? If I can get a low-mid 90% average throughout grade 11 and 12, what kinda school can I get into?</p>
<p>Low-mid 90% in Canada isn’t the same as in the US, so we can’t tell you for sure…
A 4.0 is an A average, 3.5 is half A’s half B’s, 3.0 is Some A’s some C’s and mostly Bs, but those aren’t Canadian A’s, B’s, and C’s…
And yes your grades in 9th and 10th grade will count (except at some schools like California publics, but those are SUPER expensive.)
Also it depends how much money your parents will be willing to invest for your education - ask them. US colleges are more expensive than Canadian colleges.
Finally, you’ll have to take the SAT or the ACT, and to do very very well would offset some of your middling grades. So register on number2.com (it’s free) and start practicing.</p>
<p>OP: You really need to talk to your high school guidance counselor. You appear to be among a handful of young Canadians who seem to think that Canada is not good enough for them. You clearly know little about the US (or Canadian) higher education system other than having set your sights on coming to the US.</p>