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Can I get into Med school?

highwhey16 - 2008-01-02 07:26:11 - Higher Education (University +)

Up until my sophomore year I was lost and could careless about my grades. My GPA is around 2.9 although this semester I'm shooting for all A's, I'm also going to take extra classes this summer. If I do well for the rest of my sophomore, JR. SR. Year, do I have a chance of getting into med school? What else should I do? The statewide test we take in High School is called the AIMS, supposedly if we excel in it then we get free tuition to any of the 3 major Universities (only UofA has a Med School). Is there still some hope? I'm obviously going to take the 4 years for undergrad before. Also, I'm Hispanic and from what I've heard being a "minority" can be a plus. I really want to become a Physician, I enjoy working with people and helping them out, plus I've always been good at "fixing" things; salary is also a plus. -Thanks

Best Answer:

Short Answer; The Sky is the Limit! Long Answer: You have a lot of time to improve your grades, and since you are only in high school, you should not worry about not getting into medical school. You may even get into Yale or Harvard! (Or Stanford, or UCLA, etc etc.) The most important grades for entry into medical school are those you get in college, not high school. You may need to have competitive high school grades if you enter into a certain type of undergraduate college program that "guarantees" entry into a state-affiliated medical school (under certain conditions, like keeping up your grades and doing decent on the MCAT). But generally speaking, your college grades are what matter. Now, in college, you should focus on doing well overall, but also pay attention to prerequisite courses in physics, chemistry, biology, calculus. Medical schools compute something caled the BCPM GPA, which stands for "Biology, Chemistry (organic and nonorganic), Physics, and Math GPA". All classes that fall under one of the above subjects will count as part of the BCPM GPA. The overall and BCPM GPA will matter most because they show 1. Overall academic performance and 2. Academic performance in subjects directly related to medical school. The MCAT is the entrance exam for medical schools. It's a pain in the butt, since you have to study months in advance for it, but it can help improve your chances of getting into medical school a lot, especially if the grades are not stellar (3.5 overall GPA and 30+ MCAT is good for most state med schools, while 3.8 GPA and 34+ MCAT is good for most upper level medical schools). Besides grades, you need to make sure you show the admissions committees at medical schools that you are committed to medicine. Volunteer, shadow doctors, work in a clinical or lab setting, even (ideally) co-author a science paper (not absolutely necessary, but a definite plus). Show the admissions committees you really want to be a doctor- it sometimes matters as much as everything else. Having minority status may help you out in two ways. First, there are undergraduate scholarships and programs designed for minorities who want to pursue medicine. Secondly, grades and MCAT scores may not matter quite as much (for example, while you want ideally over 30+ MCAT score for the allopathic "MD" programs, many minorities can get into a medical school with 26 or 27, something that is otherwise prohibitive for non-minority applicants). Bottom line: yes, it does help to be have minority status, however fair or not that is to non-minority applicants. You can get into medical school if you want it bad enough and work at it. Wanting it isn't enough, of course, but if you translate that into maintaining good grades and doing work outside the classroom that shows a dedication to people, I think there should be nothing to prevent you from realizing your goals. A final consideration: most students think that to get into medical school they need to major in biology, which is the one major most often associated with "pre-med". That's a myth. In fact, more and more medical schools are looking for well-rounded students who have taken classes and even majors outside of biology, majors like English, Sociology, Art, etc. The only requirement is that you take the prerequisite courses, which tend to be: Physics "101"and "102" (with lab) (I say "101" and "102" here because these typically represent the introductory Fall and Spring semester classes at the college, but it may have a different course number at the particular college). Chemistry 101/102 with Lab Organic Chemistry 101/102 with Lab (Orgo is most student's worst class) Biology 101/102 With Lab Calculus 1 and 2 So you are only looking at about 10 courses (including labs) to have the basic prerequisites for medical school. Some schools may also want additional upper-level work, like biochemistry or microbiology, but most do not. If you want to strategize early on, take only the prerequisites and do well on them, and then take another major that allows you to obtain a high overall GPA (as biology can often take a toll on your GPA). A high GPA may get you past the initial medical school screens.

Answers:

yeah, worry about your bachelor's first. a lot of things can change. med school really only cares about how you did in college.

You can get in if you are persistent, serious, hard-working, raise your GPA, and show an interest in caring for people.

Yes, maybe not Yale or Havard but if you have the money some college will let you in try state college first.

Short Answer; The Sky is the Limit! Long Answer: You have a lot of time to improve your grades, and since you are only in high school, you should not worry about not getting into medical school. You may even get into Yale or Harvard! (Or Stanford, or UCLA, etc etc.) The most important grades for entry into medical school are those you get in college, not high school. You may need to have competitive high school grades if you enter into a certain type of undergraduate college program that "guarantees" entry into a state-affiliated medical school (under certain conditions, like keeping up your grades and doing decent on the MCAT). But generally speaking, your college grades are what matter. Now, in college, you should focus on doing well overall, but also pay attention to prerequisite courses in physics, chemistry, biology, calculus. Medical schools compute something caled the BCPM GPA, which stands for "Biology, Chemistry (organic and nonorganic), Physics, and Math GPA". All classes that fall under one of the above subjects will count as part of the BCPM GPA. The overall and BCPM GPA will matter most because they show 1. Overall academic performance and 2. Academic performance in subjects directly related to medical school. The MCAT is the entrance exam for medical schools. It's a pain in the butt, since you have to study months in advance for it, but it can help improve your chances of getting into medical school a lot, especially if the grades are not stellar (3.5 overall GPA and 30+ MCAT is good for most state med schools, while 3.8 GPA and 34+ MCAT is good for most upper level medical schools). Besides grades, you need to make sure you show the admissions committees at medical schools that you are committed to medicine. Volunteer, shadow doctors, work in a clinical or lab setting, even (ideally) co-author a science paper (not absolutely necessary, but a definite plus). Show the admissions committees you really want to be a doctor- it sometimes matters as much as everything else. Having minority status may help you out in two ways. First, there are undergraduate scholarships and programs designed for minorities who want to pursue medicine. Secondly, grades and MCAT scores may not matter quite as much (for example, while you want ideally over 30+ MCAT score for the allopathic "MD" programs, many minorities can get into a medical school with 26 or 27, something that is otherwise prohibitive for non-minority applicants). Bottom line: yes, it does help to be have minority status, however fair or not that is to non-minority applicants. You can get into medical school if you want it bad enough and work at it. Wanting it isn't enough, of course, but if you translate that into maintaining good grades and doing work outside the classroom that shows a dedication to people, I think there should be nothing to prevent you from realizing your goals. A final consideration: most students think that to get into medical school they need to major in biology, which is the one major most often associated with "pre-med". That's a myth. In fact, more and more medical schools are looking for well-rounded students who have taken classes and even majors outside of biology, majors like English, Sociology, Art, etc. The only requirement is that you take the prerequisite courses, which tend to be: Physics "101"and "102" (with lab) (I say "101" and "102" here because these typically represent the introductory Fall and Spring semester classes at the college, but it may have a different course number at the particular college). Chemistry 101/102 with Lab Organic Chemistry 101/102 with Lab (Orgo is most student's worst class) Biology 101/102 With Lab Calculus 1 and 2 So you are only looking at about 10 courses (including labs) to have the basic prerequisites for medical school. Some schools may also want additional upper-level work, like biochemistry or microbiology, but most do not. If you want to strategize early on, take only the prerequisites and do well on them, and then take another major that allows you to obtain a high overall GPA (as biology can often take a toll on your GPA). A high GPA may get you past the initial medical school screens.

I have heard that AIMS will only give you a tuition for one year....And ASU is building a medical program that is suppose to be really good

It seems you are aware of your mistakes. I feel you still have a good time. Work hard and get good grades. Try to do good volunteer jobs in hospitals, old age homes it will be a extra weight age for your college resume. If your school offer health related subjects(electives).. like one..health science 1/2/ etc, anatomy and physiology, biology AP(in junior and senior years) will definitely help you get into the medical field. Health related subjects will expose you to how hospital system works and you will come to know whether you can go for the medical field in future, talk to your counselor and biology or health related teachers about your dream. Talk to someone who is in medicine, or talk to your family physician.. Yes dont forget to work hard on SAT/ACT preparations.. think big, few years of hardwork will give you a good return.. go ahead.. have high dreams and work towards it.. world will be yours.. best of luck