Hello everyone!
I am a sophomore in highschool (California) with a 4.2 weighted GPA, 4.0 unweighted. I volunteer as an educator at a local museum, and am a shift leader there. I have not taken PSAT or PACT. Right now, I am taking Honors Math 2, Honors Medical Chemistry, ASL 1, Spanish 2, and Engineering. Next year, I will be taking AP Biology, AP Psychology, AP Computer Science, Honors Math 3, and Intro Into Medical Careers (a class that is supported by HOSA and starts many on medical paths). I do have free period this year and will have one next year. I take summer classes at the local college. History, English, and Psychology were taken there (A’s in History and Psych, B in English), and I plan on doing another History, English, and Spanish 3. I am looking for tips to become as competitive as possible for schools like UC Davis. A very far reach would be a school like John Hopkins. Any help, tips, tricks would be immensely appreciated. Thank you!!!
You’re in high school. You’re not applying to med school.
Yes, yes, I do know that. However, right now, I am looking for ways to enter programs and do courses that will give me heavy boost to a good college to finish out my generals, get a bachelors, and will help me to become competitive so these medical schools can look back at my record and see what I’ve done and continue to do. I do not want to wait until that last minute for thing,even though, of course, they are far, far away. I apologize, I should have made that clearer.
Med schools don’t care what you do in high school. It is all about what you do during your undergraduate. Focus on what you need to do to get into the undergraduate program that you want.
I’ll agree with those above… your high school curriculum doesn’t matter one bit. Just do your best in a broad array of courses so you can be well prepared for college. You don’t even need to major in biology, or any science fir that matter to go to medical school. They have a set of required courses (calculus, intro physics, intro bio, intro chemistry, organic chemistry, composition), but you can actually major in anything and still squeeze these classes into your schedule.
Med schools will not see what you took in high school except for AP course credit or dual enrollment that could be found on your college transcript. But neither of those things impress med schools nor do they care.
Med schools do not get a copy of your high school transcript and you can’t send it to them…so there is nothing for them to look back at.
All you can do now is make sure that you have a strong math and science foundation because that will influence how well you do in bio, chem, physics and math in college.
75% of college admits with premed intention will switch to some thing else. So do not worry too much about med school right now. Just trying to get into a good college with premed advisory. You may want to post here when you got offers from the College Application so we can comment on it. And do not think too much about JHUSOM, because JHUSOM is a lottery school, no matter how good you are, you still have little chance to get in.
It’s going to be the grades and the MCAT scores that get you into medical school. To them, there’s no such thing as a good college. They’re looking for good applicants who are prepared for medical school.
Med schools don’t care what you did in high school * and don’t care about your college’s name. Right now the best premed path at UCs is California Riverside.
You want strong foundations in a variety of subjects as well as experience in a variety of settings.
*But be aware that classes taken in college while in high school count. So, your B in English and your A in psychology received in college classes will be reported to med schools and count.
In college, you’ll be expected to take 2semesters each of biology, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, and English (composition, communication, literature…) Plus one semester each of calculus, statistics or biostatistics, psychology, sociology, biochemistry, and a diversity-focused class, plus if possible neuroscience, bioethics and/or philosophy, a language spoken by an immigrant group from Hmong to Farsi to Spanish to French creole (can be acquired through community education and practice in a clinic, doesn’t have to be formal). You’ll need to be top 10% in each class as well as in your major, take further science classes (if you’re a social science/humanities major), find ways to work and volunteer in hospital, and if possible do research. You can check out the tumbler by AFrenchie36 as he’s doing very well for himself and lays out the process and the obstacles very well. I think you can ask him questions.