It’s a struggle finding the balance for him. He won’t come back to the high school- he loves loves the early college program and his three best friends are there as well.
And as a parent trying to find the right level of challenge without limiting him?! I was very worried about two lab sciences but right now is almost midterms and he is maintaining an A in both so too late to turn back. It keeps me up at night and we hired a tutor just to make sure he has it all understood.
The math is my concern as some of the programs for BSMD like Case’s expect to see Calculus, but the only way he gets to Calculus in DE is stacking the math like he has. It’s that choice again and they are rugged!
Well it is good that you know the importance of good grades, that he is doing well, and that he has a tutor to help out.
BS/MD or not, it is good he is engaged with his programs and has a good social group.
As any college will tell you, there are many routes to becoming a doctor besides a BS/MD.
From a former applicant:
CWRU’s interview comprised of a couple of different formats. one format was a group interview - a couple of interviewers interviewing a group of 6-8 applicants (each applicant would answer a question that was asked). another format include a group interaction - a group of several applicants were given the task of explaining something to the rest of the applicants via a presentation.
With the way things have been lately, how important is experience going to be? Obviously everything has been closed and all the shadowing/internships I had lined up for 2020 have been cancelled, so I don’t really have anything to show in that department. I’m pretty confident in the rest of my application, it’s just the experience bit I lack. Will that matter? Thanks.
I would think everyone else might be in the same boat…but have you had some exposure to the medical field? Can you still volunteer at a hospital? Would your shadowing opportunities allow you to sit in on telehealth visits by patients?
Also I see in general admissions it says: “Case Western Reserve University understands the concerns about standardized testing and other application requirements that may be difficult—or impossible—to complete in this environment. In response, the university has moved to a “test-optional” approach for undergraduate prospective students applying to enter in Fall 2021. Many of our graduate and professional programs also have made adjustments or exceptions to their admissions processes and policies, especially for programs beginning in Fall 2020; please visit the website of your school/program of interest for additional information.”
and on the Med School page it says:
"With various stay-at-home orders and other forms of social distancing we are also aware that many activities such as research, clinical shadowing, service and participation in student groups have been interrupted. Our application screening team will be taking this into consideration as they review applications; there will also be additional opportunity in our secondary application to further describe these interruptions, their impact on you, and to further detail experiences and competencies that may not otherwise be readily evident. " https://case.edu/medicine/admissions-programs/md-programs
What do you would be considered “taking the most demanding classes”?
Calc
AP Chem
AP Bio
AP Physics
or all of the above? (If so, that means my hs sophomore has to take AP Chem & Geo/Trig (11th gr); PreCalc (summer); AP Bio, AP Physics, & Calc Honors (12 th) I’m just concerned that the load may prove to be too much for him. He currently has a 4.0 uw GPA
It depends on what your HS offers…
Most Case PPSP students would probably have taken Calc in HS if possible.
I think AP Physics and one of AP Bio or AP Chem would be good.
Your child should ask if their schedule would be considered “most rigorous” at their HS.
Do keep in mind there are many paths to med school and the PPSP is only one (and the most selective at Case)
4.6 GPA from a private school
Valedictorian
6 APs (Calc, Chem, Physics, Biology)
SAT 1570
Lots of volunteering and leadership positions in clubs
Varsity Athlete (state champion and captain)
Shadowing of Medical professionals
It was the first year of Covid, so all in person interviews were cancelled, so she only had a 1 hour zoom interview.