Could you please explain? Any premed activities done in high school (unless they are continued into college) will not be considered during medical school applications. IIRC, medical schools consider things you have done during college…not high school.
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If your son will be 18 before the summer between high school and college, that would be a good time to take the EMT course. As I said, I don’t know how lengthy the CNA course is…but again…if his 18th birthday happens before that last summer home…worth checking. And worth doing.
And if he is 16 this month…he will be 18 the summer before college.
But back to your course list. I think option 2 is the better choice…especially if he has already taken regular biology.
Looks like the age to become a CNA in California is 16.
An applicant for certification as a CNA shall comply with each of the following:
- Be at least sixteen (16) years of age.
- Have successfully completed a training program approved by the department in California, which includes an examination to test the applicant’s knowledge and skills related to basic patient care services.
- Obtain a criminal record clearance.
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I think the most important thing, right now, is for your child to graduate from high school, with the correct courses, to meet the UC requirements and to get that HS diploma.
The California HS schools are pretty good at setting that up for you. They usually have a published list of suggested course planning online, with various scenarios.
Here’s the trick: you cannot avoid the advice of the school counselor. The counselor has a checklist for each student’s transcript. They will typically, meet with a student who is missing a requirement.
Personal experience. The original salutatorian, of our youngest son’s class, was rescinded from all of his acceptances. This was in June at the graduation. They let him walk in the graduation but he couldn’t wear a cap and gown.
His mother later explained to me that he had to go to summer school because he was missing a basic biology class and a year of foreign language. Once he took those requirements that summer, the school would award the high school diploma.
The parents had been so busy manipulating his schedule towards STEM engineering, that they “overlooked” his need to make up the bio and the foreign language classes at the community colleges.
Look at the California State requirements for high school graduation, and look at the UC retirements for admission. Usually, they match up.
Make an appointment with your high school guidance counselor and ask. Please try your best to stick to the high school diploma requirements.
You don’t want your child to get acceptances to all of the schools and then to have them rescind them when there’s no time to make them up.
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The counselor comes up with another option:
1 - Psysilogy
2 - AP eng
3 - AP cal
4 - AP history
5 - foreign language 3
6 - band
And AP Biology will have to wait till senior year. Thoughts ? Thanks!
In many places you need to be 18 to take the certification exam, but can take the class right before then.
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Is this physiology or psychology? Or something else?
If he has 7 periods then he can take the foreign language with Option1, and save physics for senior year. Foreign Language is important to many colleges. 6 core classes(or 5 if one is a double period) 10-12th is not uncommon, with arts kids using the 7th for their art. His sciences, for the best background for college, especially for someone who wants to study science as a career, is the standard others have mentioned: one year each of Bio, Chem, and physics, plus a year of AP (preferably one of those three). Physiology is not a standard college-prep science course, and he will get plenty of Physiology in college after the intro science courses(ie the first college years of Bio, Chem, physics, which are generally harder than the AP versions of the same). HS physiology is not going to be nearly as helpful for a college premed as the standard HS courses plus one year of a standard AP science.
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