If i am a high school student who wants to go into a 7 year medical programs what classes do I need to take in order to get into one?
@education35 Which year of HS, are you entering?
BS/MD programs expects the normal HS courses, nothing in particular is called out, except for SAT II subject tests by few programs. Other than that it is common all HS requirements to graduate and all college admission requirements expects students to have 1 years of Bio, Chem, Physics, 1 year of Algebra/Geometry, optional calculus, 2 years of foreign language, 4 years of English etc.,
Enjoy and do well in whatever courses offered and you planned to take in HS. During summer, plan your activities which you enjoy and passionate about. Include few medical related activities also.
Because those programs are so very competitive, it’s likely you would need mostly honors and AP’s (AP English language, AP calculus AB or BC, AP chemistry, AP biology) plus 4 years of English and foreign language and all three of bio/Chem/physics honors.
@GoldenRock I am a soon to be junior my freshman gpa was a 93.625 weighted and my Sophomore year GPA was a 95.625 that is not that good which is why as of right now my junior year schedule will be :AP MicroEconomics, AP Art History(good for gpa), APUSH 2, Honors Anatomy and Physiology, Honors LAL 3, Honors Physics, Honors Precalucus. Should I just take AP BIO my Junior year and risk my GPA even though it is bad already or keep my schedule, boost my GPA as much as possible with the easy schedule, and then take AP Bio my senior year.
Since schools (rather school district) differ on what is requirement versus electives, not sure how to respond with out knowing your school and your personal situation.
Agree with the above response that it is important to do some honors and/or AP courses in science besides minimum of 1 year in BCM.
Have you done BIO course so far or not? If not, is there any reason why Anatomy and Physiology planned? Is it a required course in your district to graduate?
AP BIO, students have got selected or not selected for all possible scenarios (took in junior or senior or not taken).
For example, my D who is a BS/MD student took AP BIO in Senior year. She did not do APUSH (though History is her favorite subject) because she realized it is extremely time consuming and she wanted to balance since she had 2 EC which also consumes lot of after school hours. So see what is the ideal based on your personal situation. Try to do Honors and AP course in bio or chem and if needed just do honors or regular course (than AP) for some other courses if need to balance time and GPA.
Take AP biology your senior year. However you’re not taking a foreign language (level 4 = rigorous).
@MYOS1634 Agreed. I’m taking AP bio senior year due to its reputation as being one of the hardest and most time-consuming AP.
I disagree about taking a foreign language for any more than is necessary unless you really enjoy it or speak it at home. Foreign Languages typically drag down your GPA until you get to the honors or AP level, which is when they get hard. In my school, the only kids who get anywhere close to A’s in AP French are the natives French speakers or Canadians. Additionally, the AP Exam’s for certain Languages are widely considered the hardest amongst all (Spanish, Latin, French).
^ which is why the students who did it are considered to have a more rigorous curriculum than those who did not.
(Basically “most rigorous” means you took honors or AP in each of the five core areas and had six+ academic classes per year.)
That being said you shouldn’t take a level 4 or AP. Foreign Language class just because you want to get into a BSMD program or med school. Check the minimum requirements for your match and reach universities both in terms of entrance requirement and graduation requirements. Keep in mind that most universities have a foreign language graduation requirement, from two to four semesters as per level reached - the more you took in high school the less you take in college (you’ll have a test during orientation in most cases). For med school, knowing a foreign language fluently and having used it in a medical context (clinic, EMT, internship abroad) is a good point of you get to the interview stage.