hi, i’m a current junior! i love medicine and i’ve always been fascinated with diseases and helping people, especially children so I really want to be a pediatrician. i just don’t know if medical school is for me. I’m not a math person, i barely have an A in honors pre calculus so i’m not planning to take any calculus in senior yr. i’m an average biology and chemistry student (B+) : although my skills are mediocre, i love sciences. I’m definitely willing to put in work but i’m just really nervous about competition, taking the MCAT, and getting into med school since the acceptance rates are so low. i have a lot of insecurities about getting into med school so i was wondering if anyone had any tips!
Are you a high school junior? If so…there are a LOT of years between now and when you would apply to medical school. I would strongly suggest you do some meaningful shadowing of a couple of different types of physicians.
You might also want to look at other medical related jobs to see if they might be a good fit for you. Nursing, Nursing followed by APRN, Physician Assistant, occupational therapy, speech pathology, physical therapy.
Or ones that don’t require a bachelors degree like radiology tech.
I think you should study hard in high school, but also take time to enjoy the experience. I also think now is the time to obtain/ learn/continue good study habits, attend extra help sessions to help understand concepts, develop strong time management skills, etc. Don’t worry right now about taking the MCAT and applying to medical school…you still have a very long road ahead of you.
Once you get to college you will need to work hard and get a high gpa, volunteer, etc. There are many, many health professions that you may be interested in as well, in the event that med school does not work out…which happens to many students who start out as pre med. For example, you can work with children as a nurse practitioner, PA, OT, etc. You are still a high school student and will have plenty of time to sort all of this out…including medical school if that is still an option.
Best wishes to you!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_life_specialist
On a day to day basis, they probably do more for the kiddos than the pediatricians do
I would think more about what motivates you than anything else. What job would give you satisfaction? What type of lifestyle do you think you might want? Are you someone who can go without things for a long time ( as med school involves a lot of saving for later). Look around. And best of all talk to people in the various fields. Ask them questions. You will find out a lot. Personally, I think PA is one of the best jobs in medicine. It pays well. It doesn’t require as much study and people tend to think of PA’s better than nurses. ( nothing against nursing but they aren’t well treated by doctors according to everyone I have every spoken to-don’t know why but I have heard that repeatedly).
I’m the same - well, I was. I’m a junior in HS like you, and I wanted to go to med school for the longest time - but after struggling to make a B in AP chem, failing to develop interest in biology and getting bored out of my mind while reading the Campbells biology textbook, and overall being stupid and getting Bs in easy classes, I can 100% say I am not smart enough to go to med school, so I’ll stick to what I’m good at and that’s math - maybe statistics, or applied math in engineering and stuff like that. Also got a 1470 on the PSAT with a 710 on reading - and MCAT reading comprehension is 100x harder than collegeboard - ouch.
If you’re getting a B+ or higher in Precalculus Honors, you can take Calculus (AB or Honors).
What majors are you thinking of?
(You don’t have to major in Biology for med school. You DO have to major in Nursing and direct-entry programs are highly selective so your path would be different from attending college and choosing your major later).
As for medicine, it’s years away. As other posters said, investigate many professions (OT, PA, pediatric nurse…)
Child Life Specialists are listed as making about 36K a year so while their job matters their salary is woefully inadequate.