<p>Good am, looking for some direction on how to steer my son, just some general tips about what direction he is going and what approach we are using now. I've got thick skin so let all comments flow !
My son is a junior , we live in ohio. He wants to follow in his uncle's footsteps and practice medicine. he and my bro are tight. I'm a pharmacist. He attended private school up until this , his jr year, 3.9-4.0 student. the private school was a tiny catholic school , class size of about 25-30 but the % going on to college is always very high (like 90-100% in most years) . It was not really by choice that we left behind private school for public but ohio has some unfortunate rules about what our state calls post secondary programs that led us to go public. </p>
<p>If you meet certain criteria your jr or sr year you can attend the local university at no cost. Great deal. The snag we ran into was that the money available goes thru the sr class 1st, then whats left goes to the jr's. (this a private school exemption I was told , the public schools have no restriction) My son wanted to take 2 full 5 hr classes and a 1 hr class also. His advisor told him historically no money is left over to fund more than 1/2 a class or 1 class at best . Then the advisor told us about the public schools not having this restriction. He really wanted the college classes to build his resume so we let him enroll at public school last fall. So he took freshman Eng and Pre Calc. got A's in both (highest grade in the class in pre calc even though he was the only HS kid in the class) along with 2 A's in chem and physics at the public HS. He also scored a 27 or 28 last year on his 1st ACT exam. </p>
<p>Thats where we stand. He has some serious lofty goals. He is looking for something in the NE or Upper Mid west . For some unknown reason he does not want to go south. He loves the thought of Johns Hopkins. Wants to do either oncology or surgery . I could see him doing research as well. he is a bookworm, biggest hobby is gaining knowledge, listens to classical music even though me and his sister are metal fans. Likes theater and arts . </p>
<p>How about a question or two --First , he wants to continue to load up on these college courses at the local university (at least it's free ) . He plans on taking calc I and a poli science this spring semester. And taking Cac II and Calc III his sr year of HS next year, along with some other science courses. Should he continue this path ? Will it actually impress a "well thought of" (whatever that means ) pre med program ? I'm assuming he will eventually bust 30 on the ACT and that will open doors for scolly cash ? correct hopefully ? I've been reading on the approaches to med school --pre med science based VS major that isn't science related like music or whatever. It's my guess that he will want to attend a school with some prestige factor. Don't know why, it's just where we are at right now. </p>
<p>I'd love some comments. Lastly , and importantly, we are a Christian family, we are conservative, agree or not , that's who we are. BY ALL MEANS WE ARE NOT CLOSE MINDED PEOPLE , so don't get that idea Private school has allowed them to be very comfortable around people from all walks of life. . So as a parent I'd love a traditional type school , not one who uses youth as a social experiment. There will be enough of that wherever he goes without it being a goal of the university . And if I raised him well he will make the right choices regardless of where he attends school. well enough for now glad I found this place . ManitouDan MD</p>