<p>I know this is a question everyone asks, but I am just a little bit confused.
So I came up here with some questions:</p>
<p>One, when should I start taking the SAT? Is it true that taking it three times is highly recommended?</p>
<p>Two, what about the ACT? Do I absolutely positively must take it if I want to get into a school like Stanford or Johns Hopkins? </p>
<p>Three, when should I take the SAT subject tests? How many should I take? How are they significant?</p>
<p>Four, I do not play a sport because I fear balls and I do not really play an instrument. Are there any extra curricular activities I can participate in if I want to go into the medical field? Please lise as many options as you can think of.</p>
<p>And lastly, are there reference books I can get or websites I can go to (beside this awesome one) that cover the above questions and possibly future questions I might have?</p>
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<li><p>Probably take it in the spring of your junior year</p></li>
<li><p>ACT is not necessary. They accept both and they don't prefer one. If anything, I'd say they would prefer the SAT anyway</p></li>
<li><p>Take at least 2 subject tests cause most competitive schools require them. Take them when you feel prepared?</p></li>
<li><p>Clearly sports and instruments have nothing to do with medicine anyway. Don't ec-grub; just do what you love.</p></li>
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<ol>
<li><p>Spring of junior year is a good idea. You don't NEED to take the SAT three times, and you should aim to take it as few times as necessary. Prep well for it and you shouldn't need to keep taking it. Three times won't hurt you, though, as long as you're making it worth your while by working for solid increases.</p></li>
<li><p>ACT or SAT really doesn't matter. Schools that take both say they don't care which, and they actually mean that. Try a practice test for both of them and see which one you like better (or really, hate less). There are free ones for each on The</a> Princeton Review.</p></li>
<li><p>Take your SAT IIs when you've had enough exposure to the subjects to do well on them. i.e., don't take Math IIc if you haven't taken all the math subjects that are tested on it. You don't want to be learning something completely new for the SAT IIs, just reviewing stuff. At least take 2, good idea to take 3 (you can take 3 on the same day). Take them after you've taken the SAT I for the first time. Give yourself enough time to prep. Many schools require them, so they are important.</p></li>
<li><p>ECs definitely aren't just sports and band. Volunteering is a big one to have. Since you want to go into medicine, volunteer at a hospital, hospice, nursing home, rehabilitation center, places like that. Tie it into your interests and it'll be easy to show your passion and commitment on your apps.</p></li>
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<p>Hope that helps...there are some good articles here and on that site I mentioned, so do some digging around to get more info on applying to school and taking the tests.</p>
<p>I agree with people for 1, 2, and 3. Another thing for 3. you should probably take a couple science SAT II's and the Math IIC because you want to go into medicine. Also, take Math IIC after precalculus/trigonometry so that you won't have to review too much. There isn't any calculus on the test, so don't wait until you've taken/are in calculus</p>
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<li>Try volunteering at a soup kitchen if it difficult to get cleared for volunteering at a hospital (my local hospital takes a minimum of six months to get cleared). Also, try finding research opportunities at a university/college nearby. I decided to volunteer at a soup kitchen (almost 200 hours) and have 300+ hours in a medical related research project and 250+ in a second research project.</li>
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