<p>Hello, I am new to these forums, and I am seeking a bit of advice regarding a possible career in medicine. I will provide an explanation of my situation.</p>
<p>I have just graduated from high school earlier this month. I've been considering a career in medicine for a while now, but it wasn't until a couple of days after my graduation that I made the decision that medicine is definitely what I want to do with the rest of my life. I have never felt so impassioned about any other profession, and I know that this is the best thing that I can do with my life.</p>
<p>Saying that, I have a few concerns about getting to where I want to be. As difficult as it may be to believe about an aspiring premed student, I am not yet enrolled in any college or university. In fact, I've never even applied to one. The question that often springs to mind is, "Why?"</p>
<p>That in itself is a rather intricate little issue. The problem for me really began at the onset of high school. In ninth grade, my parents, for whatever reason, felt that it would be better if I were home schooled, and for the next two years, that's how it went. After going through that experience, I can say with absolute certainly that ninth and tenth grade were the two most wasteful years of my life. No disrespect intended towards my parents, as they only thought that home school would somehow be beneficial towards me, but they are simply not cut out to be teachers. At the end of tenth grade, I implored my parents to allow me to return to public school, and they finally relented.</p>
<p>Returning to public school for 11th grade, I quickly saw how far behind I had really gotten. Most of my classmates were in courses far more difficult than I had to be placed into, and it wasn't uncommon for me to the be the only junior in a class filled with freshmen and sophomores. For the next two years, I worked as best as I could to catch up. Even still, I remained fairly far behind my own class.</p>
<p>These were my core classes this past year as a senior: AP English 12, Problems of Democracy, Chemistry, Geometry, Algebra II, and French II.</p>
<p>Obviously, these classes are far below mediocre for somebody who desires to go into premed. However, that still doesn't quite answer the question as to why I never bothered applying to any colleges (sorry to drag this out). Because of the relatively low level of my classes, I never felt fully prepared to take any of the standardized tests (and I wasn't going to apply to any colleges if I didn't have the tests to send to them). I had an SAT Prep. course in my junior year, and it really helped to show me how much I was unready for the test. My chief concern was not so much English (though concern was still there) as it was Math.</p>
<p>My teachers consistently pushed me to take the SAT my junior year, but without having even gotten to Algebra II let alone Geometry, I didn't feel that it would be much use to take it. I wanted to wait at least until I had covered a few basics in Geometry before I wanted to even consider taking the test. I ended up doing much the same thing during my senior year, as I continuously pushed back the date that I was going to take the test as I tried to cram as much Algebra II and Geometry knowledge into my brain that I could. That all leads up till now.</p>
<p>As I've mentioned, I graduated earlier this month. I still have not taken the SAT or ACT, nor have I applied to any colleges. Now that I have made the decision that medicine is definitely the path that I want to follow, I am anxious to begin with the right start. It suffices to say that I am a bit lost on what I should do next. I'm not even sure what my options are at this point.</p>
<p>I was considering the possibility of going to community college for a year. This would offer me the opportunity to catch up a bit more in the areas where I lack while not requiring me to immediately take the SAT/ACT. After I've brushed up on certain areas (mathematics especially) for a few months, I could take either the SAT or ACT and begin applying to actual universities, hopefully in time for consideration.</p>
<p>I was also unsure if I necessarily had to take credit courses at community college. Instead of going for a year, garnering some credits, and then transferring to a university as a sophomore, I thought that it might be better to simply catch up for a year and then begin anew as a freshman at a university, without transferring any credits from the community college at all. I realize that this will cost me a year, but I've heard that medical schools strongly deplore community colleges, and I do not want to risk my acceptance. Besides that, I also believe that if I entered university as a sophomore, I would still be quite too far behind to take the necessary courses and do well in them. In any event, I feel that community college, one way or another, is my only real option for this coming year, as it's obviously far too late to apply anywhere else.</p>
<p>I understand that my situation is quite abnormal, but I truly do believe that I have the will and determination to succeed in the medical field, if only I can manage to surmount these few obstacles standing in my way. I've always done well academically; the problem lies not in my ability to complete the coursework or to complete it well, but rather in the situation that I've outlined above. Surely being a year or two behind can't preclude me from the opportunity to serve in the medical field, right?</p>
<p>I'm not sure which route to take, nor do I yet completely understand all that I have to do in order to maximize my potential for success. I would really appreciate any comments or advice that this community could provide for me. I would also like to apologize for the length of my post, but I wanted to ensure that I made my situation as clear as possible. Thanks for taking the time to read it, and please offer me any insight that you can. I'm extremely grateful.</p>
<p>RST</p>