4 answers
Marie
Student
Fruita, Colorado
1
Question
Asked
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How would I become a Orthopedic Surgeon or a Neurosurgeon? What college path must I take and where should I go to receive the best education for this field?
I want to be an orthopedic surgeon, and I am trying to get my associates degree in high school. I live in Colorado, so what would be the best path to take?
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4 answers
Johnson Tran
Tutor
73
Answers
Houston, Texas
Updated
Johnson’s Answer
Hi Marie,
It's great that you're earning an associate degree while still in high school. That's a big advantage and shows your dedication.
If you want to go into orthopedics or neurosurgery, the path is long but clear. Here's the basic plan:
Keep doing well in high school, especially in science and math. Then, you'll need a bachelor's degree. You can major in anything, but biology or chemistry is common because they meet pre-med requirements.
In college, gain some real-world experience by volunteering at hospitals, shadowing doctors, or doing research. After that, you'll take the MCAT and apply to medical school, which lasts four years. Then comes residency, where you specialize. Orthopedics usually takes five years, while neurosurgery takes about seven.
In Colorado, you have good options for undergraduate studies like CU Boulder, CSU, or CU Denver. The key is to maintain high grades and build a strong resume with diverse experiences.
Don't worry too much about choosing between orthopedics and neurosurgery now. You'll have time to decide in medical school. Focus on your grades, try to shadow doctors, and develop a good study routine.
Good luck! It's a long journey, but you're already ahead.
It's great that you're earning an associate degree while still in high school. That's a big advantage and shows your dedication.
If you want to go into orthopedics or neurosurgery, the path is long but clear. Here's the basic plan:
Keep doing well in high school, especially in science and math. Then, you'll need a bachelor's degree. You can major in anything, but biology or chemistry is common because they meet pre-med requirements.
In college, gain some real-world experience by volunteering at hospitals, shadowing doctors, or doing research. After that, you'll take the MCAT and apply to medical school, which lasts four years. Then comes residency, where you specialize. Orthopedics usually takes five years, while neurosurgery takes about seven.
In Colorado, you have good options for undergraduate studies like CU Boulder, CSU, or CU Denver. The key is to maintain high grades and build a strong resume with diverse experiences.
Don't worry too much about choosing between orthopedics and neurosurgery now. You'll have time to decide in medical school. Focus on your grades, try to shadow doctors, and develop a good study routine.
Good luck! It's a long journey, but you're already ahead.
Ana Hernandez
Placement Specialist
1
Answer
Pomona, California
Updated
Ana’s Answer
Hi Marie, I have 5 years of experience as rotations coordinator for 4th year Medical Students. I recommend researching the medical programs you are interested in early on and planning visits to the campuses ahead of time. The best place to receive your education is where you will feel comfortable, supported, and academically challenged. Once you are there, look for mentors that will advise you in in the disciplines you are interested in and make sure to use your elective rotation slots to rotate with physicians in these fields. Good luck!
Hiram Chu
High School College Counselor
11
Answers
Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
Updated
Hiram’s Answer
Hi Marie, it's great to have dreams of working in medicine in the future and doing so much to achieve your goal so far. I do want to comment that neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery are two separate surgical specialties with different residencies, meaning a medical student has to choose one or the other at the residency stage, not pursue both. But the entire pathway through medical school is essentially the same either way, so this isn't a decision you need to make now.
As a Colorado student, I notice that the ASCENT program, a tuition-free 5th year that let students finish an associate's degree after 12th grade, was repealed by the legislature in 2025 and officially ended this past June 30. So, it's no longer available and the associate's-degree you mentioned is now available only through ordinary concurrent/dual enrollment during grades 9–12, which means starting early and carrying a heavier-than-typical course load each year rather than relying on a 5th year to finish it. So, keeping that in mind, here are the basic steps you will be taking:
1. In high school, you'll have to take a heavier load each year to reach the ~60 credits an AA/AS typically requires. Check with your counselor about which options your district offers. Also choose concurrent-enrollment courses strategically, which means loading up on transferable gen-eds (English composition, calculus, psychology/sociology, a foreign language) rather than the core pre-med science sequence. Many med schools want biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics completed at the bachelor's-degree-granting institution and some won't accept community college credit for these prerequisites at all. Using concurrent enrollment to satisfy gen-eds is the main goal since using it to skip pre-med sciences can backfire / not be accepted later.
2. In college, taking any major works, but prerequisites and GPA are the most important factors. Studying biology, engineering, or anything else works, but med schools require roughly a year each of biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics (all with labs), plus biochemistry, statistics, and psychology/sociology (all tested on the MCAT). Competitive med school applicants average 3.7+ GPA overall and in science coursework. Start as early as you can on gaining clinical exposure (shadowing surgeons, hospital volunteering, scribing, EMT/CNA work) and research experience because research output is one of the biggest points separating candidates in neurosurgery / orthopedic surgery.
3. MCAT and medical school applications will usually be done in your junior year of college, with AMCAS (MD) or AACOMAS (DO) applications submitted that summer. A gap year between undergrad and med school is now the norm for over half of applicants, so don't feel like it will be a negative if you decide to take one. A competitive MCAT score for a strong MD program is generally 510+, with 515+ opening more doors to more selective programs.
4. In medical school (4 years), years 1–2 are preclinical coursework then years 3–4 are clinical rotations. Step 1 (USMLE) is now pass/fail, which shifted residency competitiveness heavily onto the Step 2 CK score, clerkship grades, and research output. All three of these are vital for neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery, which are consistently among the 3–4 most competitive residency matches in the US. Strong "away rotations" in your chosen specialty during 4th year are a must.
5. Your decision between neurosurgery vs. orthopedic surgery will probably need to be made somewhere in year 2– 3 of medical school, after rotating through both and finding mentors. Neurosurgery residency is 7 years and typically the more research-intensive match of the two. Orthopedic surgery residency is 5 years, also highly competitive, with more focus on clinical grades and often an athletics/sports-medicine-related profile. Both are chosen and applied to separately, and there's no combined track.
6. After matching via ERAS/NRMP in the final year of med school comes 5 years of residency for orthopedics or 7 for neurosurgery. Many in both fields add a 1–2 year fellowship afterward, in areas like sports medicine, joint replacement, hand, or pediatric orthopedics; or spine, pediatric neurosurgery, neuro-oncology, or endovascular neurosurgery.
The total timeline is roughly 13–14 years after high school graduation for orthopedic surgery (4 undergrad + 4 med school + 5 residency), or 15–16 years for neurosurgery (4 + 4 + 7), before counting a possible gap year or fellowship, either of which adds 1–2 more. This is why the "which one to choose" decision is fine to leave open for years, while your high school and undergrad plan don't change based on which you eventually pick.
Hope this helps!
As a Colorado student, I notice that the ASCENT program, a tuition-free 5th year that let students finish an associate's degree after 12th grade, was repealed by the legislature in 2025 and officially ended this past June 30. So, it's no longer available and the associate's-degree you mentioned is now available only through ordinary concurrent/dual enrollment during grades 9–12, which means starting early and carrying a heavier-than-typical course load each year rather than relying on a 5th year to finish it. So, keeping that in mind, here are the basic steps you will be taking:
1. In high school, you'll have to take a heavier load each year to reach the ~60 credits an AA/AS typically requires. Check with your counselor about which options your district offers. Also choose concurrent-enrollment courses strategically, which means loading up on transferable gen-eds (English composition, calculus, psychology/sociology, a foreign language) rather than the core pre-med science sequence. Many med schools want biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics completed at the bachelor's-degree-granting institution and some won't accept community college credit for these prerequisites at all. Using concurrent enrollment to satisfy gen-eds is the main goal since using it to skip pre-med sciences can backfire / not be accepted later.
2. In college, taking any major works, but prerequisites and GPA are the most important factors. Studying biology, engineering, or anything else works, but med schools require roughly a year each of biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics (all with labs), plus biochemistry, statistics, and psychology/sociology (all tested on the MCAT). Competitive med school applicants average 3.7+ GPA overall and in science coursework. Start as early as you can on gaining clinical exposure (shadowing surgeons, hospital volunteering, scribing, EMT/CNA work) and research experience because research output is one of the biggest points separating candidates in neurosurgery / orthopedic surgery.
3. MCAT and medical school applications will usually be done in your junior year of college, with AMCAS (MD) or AACOMAS (DO) applications submitted that summer. A gap year between undergrad and med school is now the norm for over half of applicants, so don't feel like it will be a negative if you decide to take one. A competitive MCAT score for a strong MD program is generally 510+, with 515+ opening more doors to more selective programs.
4. In medical school (4 years), years 1–2 are preclinical coursework then years 3–4 are clinical rotations. Step 1 (USMLE) is now pass/fail, which shifted residency competitiveness heavily onto the Step 2 CK score, clerkship grades, and research output. All three of these are vital for neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery, which are consistently among the 3–4 most competitive residency matches in the US. Strong "away rotations" in your chosen specialty during 4th year are a must.
5. Your decision between neurosurgery vs. orthopedic surgery will probably need to be made somewhere in year 2– 3 of medical school, after rotating through both and finding mentors. Neurosurgery residency is 7 years and typically the more research-intensive match of the two. Orthopedic surgery residency is 5 years, also highly competitive, with more focus on clinical grades and often an athletics/sports-medicine-related profile. Both are chosen and applied to separately, and there's no combined track.
6. After matching via ERAS/NRMP in the final year of med school comes 5 years of residency for orthopedics or 7 for neurosurgery. Many in both fields add a 1–2 year fellowship afterward, in areas like sports medicine, joint replacement, hand, or pediatric orthopedics; or spine, pediatric neurosurgery, neuro-oncology, or endovascular neurosurgery.
The total timeline is roughly 13–14 years after high school graduation for orthopedic surgery (4 undergrad + 4 med school + 5 residency), or 15–16 years for neurosurgery (4 + 4 + 7), before counting a possible gap year or fellowship, either of which adds 1–2 more. This is why the "which one to choose" decision is fine to leave open for years, while your high school and undergrad plan don't change based on which you eventually pick.
Hope this helps!
Obinna Adibe
Physician
2
Answers
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Updated
Obinna’s Answer
Hi Marie. Concentrate on doing well in college and getting into medical school. One step at a time. If available, you can volunteer at a local hospital. In college, you can work in a research lab if available.