Hi all! I’m a high school senior looking to go pre med next year at a state
school. However I have a horrible ACT score (28; E- 34; R-32; M-22; S-26). I’m taking it again next week and hoping to make a 30 (bring my math up to 25 at least). I’m afraid that I’m not smart enough to keep up with pre med and later medical school. I have a 3.9 unweighted GPA and I made a 5 on APUSH and 4 on APEuro. I’m good at reading and writing. I used to be chronically behind in math because of circumstances with a teacher, however recently I’ve caught up and done very well for myself. I’m a Beta and NHS member. Based on this information, am I smart enough for pre med? What were your ACT scores (pre meds, especially in the science)? Does the science ACT reflect pre med success? Thanks!!
Well, the good thing about college is that you get to pick your major, so you’d get to pick the courses you feel you could do well in. I didn’t take the ACT, but I’m sure that a one-time test like that is less indicative of your ability to do well in college classes than your GPA.
As for the workload, I think the only way you’ll know if you can handle it is if you actually challenge yourself with a full course schedule, or have to balance your courses with other extracurricular activities.
the ACT science reasoning section isn’t measuring your science knowledge. I guess a way to describe it is that it is measuring your ability to look at data (the charts given) and find answers.
Get a practice book and spend some time reading the parts in the front that provides help with that section. And then spend time practicing the SR section. At first, don’t time yourself. Focus on the charts and the related questions. The answers are in the charts.
Being a successful pre-med is more about having excellent self-discipine, time management and study skills than it is about raw intelligence.
OnMyWay2013 gives some good advice above. Challenge yourself academically in high school so college academics aren’t a shock. If it’s not too late to sign up, I recommend taking one or more AP science or math classes this year. This will allow you to see if you can handle the science & math needed for pre-med. (Also many of your future classmates will have taken these courses and they will be your direct competition for all those important science As needed for med school admission.)
Also learn to juggle challenging coursework with outside activities–since you’ll need to be able to do that in college if you want to become a successful pre-med. Adcomms want interesting, well-rounded individuals, not some academic automaton who spends every waking minute studying. (And honestly if that’s the only way you can earn As, either you’re studying wrong or you’re not good candidate for med school)
Try the SAT if you aren’t happy with your ACT after the re-take. Some people do much better on one test than the other. And no, this test isn’t indicative of your ability to get into or be successful in medical school. As others have said, it’s more about self-discipline and motivation. Keep in mind, however, that there are many careers in the medical area that don’t require the many years of studying and self-sacrifice. So even if you can’t keep your grades up or get your test scores where they need to be for medical school (and you have a lot of years before you’ll know this), it doesn’t mean you can’t have a rewarding career in one of the many medical fields out there.