I am currently a sophomore student and my GPA has been down since freshman year. I’m taking chemistry this year and am failing at it. My highest test score was a 90. I have a shaky foundation on the subject. You’re all probably laughing at this. I would like to just ask a few questions. If I failed subjects in high school that are important to the career I want to pursue, can I take it again in college? Im in the American system, and I want to know if SAT and all those requirement test equally important as the GPA? What if it improves in my junior and senior year? Would a college accept that? I know they are strict especially in the medical field and I am already regretting my whole entire existence.
In the US, you do not worry about getting into medical school until you are actually in college. When it comes time to apply to medical school, nothing from high school matters (unless it happens to be that significant for some reason). Your high school grades and SAT/ACT scores will not be known to medical schools, nor will they ask for it. As a high school student, your job for now is to worry about getting into college. Once you are in college, then you take courses that are required for admission into medical school as well as the MCAT.
But to get into college, GPA is more important than SAT/ACT. If your GPA has an upward trend, that will help you.
If you are an International just be aware that very few US medical schools will accept you. If you are interested in attending a Medical school, you should look to your home country.
As stated in above post, you apply to Medical school after you receive you Undergrad college degree. You can major in anything you like in college, as long as you take the required courses to apply to Medical school. You also want to keep your college debt low, since Medical school will cost close to $60K/year.
Right now you want to take Chemistry/Biology/Physics/Calculus/Stats classes in HS to better prepare you for the college courses. SAT/ACT scores are important for getting into college, but GPA is usually one of the more important factors. Do well in your classes, do some ACT/SAT prep and seek out some medically related extra curricular activities so see if the medical field is something you want to pursue.
Medical schools pretty much require the following pre-med coursework:
General Chemistry with lab: 2 semesters
Organic Chemistry with lab: 2 semesters
General Physics with lab: 2 semesters
General Biology with lab: 2 semesters
English: 2 semesters
Calculus: 1 semester
Note that some medical schools require courses such as Biochemistry or additional Calculus, for example. Other special non-science courses may also be required by some medical schools. A few examples: The University of Nevada in Reno requires one upper-division behavioral science class or something like it (and they are very specific about which ones will cover this requirement) and University of Utah requires a “diversities” class such as Women Studies, Gender Studies, or some sort of minority studies. Harvard requires 2 semesters of Calculus instead of just one.
Enjoy HS and do not stress too much since you have several years to go before you need to think out Medical school.