<p>Thess questions go, for the most part, to those of you that have applied to medical school before (or currently applying) and understand the process --moderators please share too.</p>
<p>How does one calculate one's GPA when applying to med school? Does this include high school GPA? What about when submitting transcripts? Does one send high school transcripts?</p>
<p>I ask these questions because I did two years of college while in high school, and consequently, wonder if I will have to submit these or not. These two years of college while in high school were decent, although not what I desired (3.7 GPA).</p>
<p>I am wondering if I will get a fresh start once I start at a new college --especially since I applied as a freshman--, or if this will be a part of my higher education record that I have to carry with me for years to come. I also wonder how a master's degree in a non-science field will be looked at by medical schools, as I am interested in pursuing one for different reasons --personal enrichment one of them. Please advice.</p>
<p>Thank you all!</p>
<p>Hi,
All of your college transcripts will be used for medical school admission. This includes any courses in which you earned college credit. It is not uncommon for entering college freshman to have accumulated many college credits so don't be worried about how the medical schools will handle it. Your high school transcripts are not used. The only exception are programs which accept students directly from high school. </p>
<p>What degrees you earn prior to applying to med school are not nearly as important as the grades you earn in your premed courses. Really, you should pick a major(s) that you like and will help you get a job you would like in case you don't get in to med school. Many many people get non-science degrees (bachelors, masters and PhDs) and are not more or less competitive than other candidates. Sometimes a candidate with a non-science degree is considered more well-rounded and perhaps would be a more intriguing candidate. This, of course, depends on the school, the candidate and even the committee. </p>
<p>There are a great deal of MD/MS programs and you may want to consider earning your master's degree concurrently with your MD (or DO) degree rather than waiting to finish both degrees before starting med school. </p>
<p>When you apply to med school you do so through AMCAS. <a href="http://www.aamc.org/students/amcas/start.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.aamc.org/students/amcas/start.htm</a>
It's an online application process. Once AMCAS has all of your information they calculate your GPA on a 4.0 scale. Your pre-med science GPA is calculated, and non-science GPA are calculated as well as your overall GPA. An A- GPA isn't something to be worried about. It's extremely competitive. </p>
<p>There is much more information on the website above, I just tried to give a quick rundown.</p>
<p>For you, it's more important to concentrate on performing well in your pre-med courses rather than what's going to happen when you start applying. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>