Hi there! I am a junior in high school. I have dreamed of becoming a doctor for a long time. Freshmen year I took all honors and 1 AP class, sophomore year I took all honors and 2 AP classes (in addition to dual enrollment classes), this last semester I took 5 AP classes in school, a couple dual enrollment, and an AP online (I have passed the 3 AP exams I taken). In addition, I do lots of medically related volunteering. I have yet to take the SAT/ACT, my unweighted GPA is 3.79, and my weighted GPA is around 6.0 making me #5 in my school. I also am the president of the HOSA chapter in my school This past semester I’ve unfortunately earned more B’s than A’s and I will likely be ending up with a C in AP Calculus. I know this may sound a little extreme of me, but should I change my major? I say that because doctors are the top of the top and that C is making me feel incompetent.
You’re in HS, so you don’t have a major. Furthermore, you can apply to med school with ANY major once you’re in college - the majors with the best results are math and humanities majors.
As for your grades: colleges will see unreasonable hubris (5 AP’s AND DE AND self studying???!!!o_O) Keep in mind top schools expect 6-8 APs TOTAL or the way Stanford put it “it’s not a game of who has the most Ap’s, wins”. It’s beter to have fewer AP’s and better grades. Perhaps switch a couple AP classes to Honors, stop self studying, and limit dual enrollment 2nd semester.
Thanks for your advice! Maybe I did overload - hopefully, everything works out for me!
I’m in the top 25% of my class and want to become a surgeon. My advice: Don’t go to the hardest school if you want to become a doctor. Otherwise, you could end up being ranked lower, making it nearly impossible to be accepted to med school.
Some will argue, but that is my personal perception.