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m
Student
New Britain, Connecticut
1
Question
Updated
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What medical schools should I start to seek out What classes should i begin to take as a senior and junior in highschool??
What medical schools should I start to seek out? What classes should i begin to take as a senior and junior in highschool?
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3 answers
James Wright
Health
1
Answer
Lewistown, Montana
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James’s Answer
M; First decide which University you would like to attend. UC Davis is a great Med exc. school but must have a B+ grade to be considered.
If I may suggest find a Jr. College to attend that has transferable credit for your AA to that college. Transfer to that college before or after getting your AA. It is a requirement for Med School.
Also be sure to take qualifying Biology and other medical classes at the Jr. College that can transfer because it is much easier to pass those classes at the Jr. College.
Happy Journeys:
James
If I may suggest find a Jr. College to attend that has transferable credit for your AA to that college. Transfer to that college before or after getting your AA. It is a requirement for Med School.
Also be sure to take qualifying Biology and other medical classes at the Jr. College that can transfer because it is much easier to pass those classes at the Jr. College.
Happy Journeys:
James
Midwest Heart Surgeon
Cardiac surgeon
56
Answers
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Updated
Midwest’s Answer
If you're in the US, then you should focus on seeking out a university that will set you up well to then attend medical school. If you do well, you can successfully matriculate to medical school from essentially any standard undergraduate institution. The decision on university depends on many things including their premedical program, proximity to your home or other geographical considerations, and finances such as in-state or out of state tuition as well as any potential financial aid or scholarships that the university may offer.
With regards to which classes to seek as a junior or senior, if your high school offers AP biology, chemistry, physics classes those are certainly relevant and would be beneficial to take. Sometimes with AP credit you then do not take those in college, but a more common scenario is that you will take a different version of those classes because as your core classes you do need to take them for medical school if you do end up being premed. Overall the best thing you can do at this stage is do well in your classes and make an informed decision about where to go for college that works best for your needs. For applying to medical school, doing extremely well academically and having strong experience outside of school is more important than the name recognition of your undergraduate institution.
Aside from doing well in school, other actions you can take now while you're in high school is shadowing various physicians to get some exposure and start thinking about what interests you and what appeals to you versus what does not: primary care versus specialty care, office versus hospital versus operating room settings, rural versus urban locations, organ systems of particular interest, etc.
Hope this helps!
Make a spreadsheet of characteristics to compare in choosing a university
Pursue a local shadowing opportunity
Investigate which AP classes are available in high school
With regards to which classes to seek as a junior or senior, if your high school offers AP biology, chemistry, physics classes those are certainly relevant and would be beneficial to take. Sometimes with AP credit you then do not take those in college, but a more common scenario is that you will take a different version of those classes because as your core classes you do need to take them for medical school if you do end up being premed. Overall the best thing you can do at this stage is do well in your classes and make an informed decision about where to go for college that works best for your needs. For applying to medical school, doing extremely well academically and having strong experience outside of school is more important than the name recognition of your undergraduate institution.
Aside from doing well in school, other actions you can take now while you're in high school is shadowing various physicians to get some exposure and start thinking about what interests you and what appeals to you versus what does not: primary care versus specialty care, office versus hospital versus operating room settings, rural versus urban locations, organ systems of particular interest, etc.
Hope this helps!
Midwest recommends the following next steps:
Yasemin G.
Aspiring physician
635
Answers
Updated
Yasemin’s Answer
Hi M! So you are still early in the process and for now I would focus on selecting a university! In high school for classes I think Chemistry and Biology are great! There is AP Biology you can take as a senior and then you can take the AP exam and obtain transfer credits so you don't have to repeat the class in college (it also saves money). If there are any anatomy labs or anatomy classes in junior and senior year I would also look into those too. These really help you prepare overall for college. I, however, wouldn't stress out if you didn't take all the classes you wanted to- I definitely did not take as many science or medical based classes in high school as I would've liked too- but even taking the important ones gives you a good starting point.
When looking at colleges I would recommend to check out their premed programs, their advisers, and make sure you feel happy about the campus you are interested in. You definitely want to be in a location that you feel happy with! Out of state vs in state matters in terms of cost so something to factor! I would start thinking about medical schools in your second-third year of college, so there is still some time, but good to take initiative! In college it is helpful to locate your premed adviser (usually they are in the science department and you can definitely look them up on the university's websites), and try to talk with them about your goals to go to medical school. Other resources like AAMC/AACOMAS help with the application process (MD/DO application websites respectively). It is still early though, so please come back when you have more questions! I wish you the best!
Yasemin !
When looking at colleges I would recommend to check out their premed programs, their advisers, and make sure you feel happy about the campus you are interested in. You definitely want to be in a location that you feel happy with! Out of state vs in state matters in terms of cost so something to factor! I would start thinking about medical schools in your second-third year of college, so there is still some time, but good to take initiative! In college it is helpful to locate your premed adviser (usually they are in the science department and you can definitely look them up on the university's websites), and try to talk with them about your goals to go to medical school. Other resources like AAMC/AACOMAS help with the application process (MD/DO application websites respectively). It is still early though, so please come back when you have more questions! I wish you the best!
Yasemin !