How to get into BS/BA/MD/DO program?

Pre-Med & Medical School Multiple Degree Programs
1

I am nearing the end of my freshman year of high school and I would love to get into a BS/MD, BA/MD, BS/DO, or BA/DO program upon graduating. I have known that I wanted to be a doctor for a long time now, and getting into one of these programs would be a huge step in the direction of achieving this life goal. So, for my current stats:

I have a 3.3 unweighted GPA currently, and a 3.6 weighted GPA. (I know that I need to improve this, and I plan to do so in the next few years)

I am in all honors classes, and my ECs for this year have been marching band, jazz band, and varsity swimming. (I also know that I should have more ECs.)

In the following three years, I plan to do marching band, jazz band, varsity swimming (I’m considering dropping this, would that be a bad decision?), french club, student council, math team, and I am going to apply for National Honors Society. (My school does not have any science-related clubs, or else I would do them. Would it be a good idea to try and start some kind of science-oriented club?)

This summer I will be volunteering at a hospital in a junior volunteer program, and also probably shadowing a doctor. Next summer, I want to do an internship in a research lab, hopefully in something like genetics. The following summer I would like to apply to Research Science Institute at MIT. If I don’t get in, I will probably do research at a different location, or potentially volunteer at a hospital in an impoverished country. Which do you think would be more beneficial to my application?

As for classes this year, I am currently taking Honors English 1, Honors World Studies 1, Honors Intro to Physical Science, Honors Secondary Math 3, Novice French Part 2 (required), Band (required by my family), and Physical Education (required).

Sophomore year I plan to take Honors English 2, Honors World Studies 2, Honors Biology, Honors Pre-Calculus, Intermediate French Part 1 (required), Band (required by my family), a half-year of Health (required), and a half-year of Piano Lab. (Is this good?)

Junior year I plan to take AP Literature and Composition, AP US History, AP Biology, Honors Chemistry, AP Calculus AB, and Band (required by my family). (Is this good?)

Senior year I plan to take AP Language and Composition, AP Psychology, AP Chemistry, Honors Earth Science (required), AP Physics, AP Calculus BC, and Band (required by my family). (Is this good?)

Thank you for reading this, and I would very much appreciate any feedback on my plan, or any suggestions for any ECs or classes I should or shouldn’t take.

2

You will have to raise your UW GPA to at least a 3.7.

3

I hope to do this, but with the level of classes I plan to take and my tendency to make lots of small mistakes on tests, this may be difficult. Do you think that there is anything that I could do that would make colleges at least slightly overlook my GPA? For some reason, I tend to do well on standardized tests, so I will probably do quite well on the PSATs and SATs, but it’s hard to know at this point. Will that make a difference, or will it make me look like an intelligent slacker?

4

Get really good grades and great GPA / class rank, Kill it on the SAT or ACT and all AP subjects test. Lots of extracurricular and then pray. My D got in to 2 of the top 3 programs but no other and her grades and standardized tests were awesome. Good luck.

5

You don’t need to volunteer in “an impoverished country.” (Plenty of need at home.) If you’re thinking of an 8 year program that’s competitive, it helps to get more direct experience in healthcare delivery, That’s a little more than watching a doctor work. Doing research is good for STEM, but it’s not working directly with patients. See what you can start doing, during the school year, that speaks for this interest, gets you that experience.

And yes, get the grades up. You may need some help getting past the “small mistakes,” figuring why and what to do about that. They can be a big issue in both medical school and practice. So, worth looking into.