Hi, I am currently a freshman in high school and want to go to medical school when I am older. I know I am a bit young to be asking these questions, but I am in Honors English I, CP Algebra 2 with Trig (regular class for juniors), Honors World History, Honors Biology, Honors Spanish II, Health, and Honors Computer Science. In order to be accepted to a good medical school, what average in each class would I have to get? Would it be ok to get an 85 in science and 90’s in the rest?
You need to get accepted to college first. Med schools don’t care about your HS grades, except for college courses taken in HS. That said, a track record of all Bs in HS science classes does not bode well for strong grades in college science classes, where it matters. But let’s at least get through freshman year first.
Your high school grades really won’t matter at all. BUT the preparation in those courses could matter as it relates to undergraduate school. It looks like you are accelerated in some courses (math maybe) and are taking an aggressive courseload.
Your goal needs to be mastery of the material, and understanding of it…not racking up as many honors courses as you can.
But really…the first half of ninth grade hasn’t even ended yet.
And as you noted…it’s a LOT of years before you would even be applying to medical school. A LOT could change in that time.
Ohhh ok thank you so much @skieurope and @thumper1. I think I confused medical school with the major lol.
You are talking about some of the most competitive schools in the country. There is no way to guarantee admission. Take the most rigorous courses you can (especially in STEM), get as close to a 4.0 unweighted GPA, and be at the 98th percentile or higher for your standardized tests. And no, Bs in science are not going to cut it at the schools you mentioned.
IMO, you are better off not stressing during high school. Find the courses you enjoy, clubs that make you happy, and then find schools that are a good fit for you. There are hundreds and hundreds of schools in this country where you can be successful!
If you are planning med school (and it’s too early for that IMO), you want the most affordable undergrad experience possible, with the least amount of grade deflation. Some on your list most definitely don’t fit that bill.
I’m a HS senior and I wish i was as committed as you in my freshman year lol. First of all, it’s totally ok to think about the long term at a young age. In fact, use this planning to your advantage. I would advise you set out your goals of where you would like to go and what field specifically of medicine you are interested in.
To get accepted in a good medical school, they would look at the GPA from your UNDERGRADUATE university and your MCAT score, which is basically it. So for now, focus your efforts into step 1, getting into a good undergraduate program. For this I would advise you to take the best financial options as I have been advised as a Pre Med Applicant as well. Work towards scholarships and full rides anywhere you can, take the hardest courses at your school and develop your spike to the max. You will get a very good undergrad and from there go to a med school.
Sorry that was so long yikes, but good luck!
@iiRoMii thank you so much! I will definitely try. Good luck with applications!
You should look into BS-MD schools.
Most of them had guaranteed admissions at med school and you don’t have to take MCAT. However, these schools are very competitive. So 3.9+ uw gpa, 1520+ SAT, 34+ ACT, Outstanding Ec’s and essays.
Start looking into SAT prep or get into volunteering. Good luck!
My advice, harsh is it is is the following-stay off CC until you are a junior.
Plans change and you might not want to go to medical school. You might not get good grades in high school science classes. Which is perfectly fine. You don’t have any standardized test score yet so you can’t be chanced for any school yet.
Enjoy your high school life. Find something you really have a passion for and be yourself. Make the best of your opportunities in high school.
@kathrynfaith Good you are thinking about your field of study in college and career at this point in HS, especially for Medicine. Because for medicine you need to do 1 thing which satisfies 2 important goals.
You should start volunteering now on a consistent basis. It could be variety of things but focus where you interact with patients and/or population where they need help, either low income or elderly or homeless or hospice.
- You need to know whether you like the type of work and the work environment. Dealing with sick people day in and day out or the work environment, smell etc. It is not the fancy title MD or the money people assume Docs get.
- BS/MD and later MD programs it is a requirement. This is what too late to catch up if you decide only in Senior year college app time, which @iiRoMii eluding.
Take a look at the following links to get a feel for competitiveness. But remember it is not just GPA and Test scores which every one talks, but more on EC, Essays/prompts, interviews (especially the EC what you have done with passion and longevity)
Here are the links to the yearly results thread. Have very few posts, but gives a good understanding of BS/MD process.
After gone thru the links, I agree, don’t spend too much time on CC. Rather enjoy your HS time, focus on studies and EC activities and come back at end of junior year if you are still interested in BS/MD program and/or medicine career.