I'm going to be a freshman in highschool and I want to become a doctor. I have few questions.?

Question

1) How hard is it to get into med-school?
2) I know you need a lot of science. Last year in science I had an A+ throughout the entire year. I'm taking Biology next year instead of the regular science course. What other science classes will help me? Or what other classes in general?
3)What are some med-schools out there?

Answer 1

1) Is not something unreachable, you can do it! The most important word is perseverance. If medicine is your passion, go for it, its wonderful.

2) Biology, Genetics, Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Anatomy and Physiology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics, Calculus, Psychology, Economy, etc. Try to do any kind of science-research. And enjoy college, family and friends, because the hard thing about studying medicine is not the hard work you have to put into your studies The hard thing is to learn how to overcome the frustrations and to make a balance between your every-day-life (family, friends, boyfriend or girlfriend, church, etc) and med-school. (time-management --> very important)

3)You can go to the MCAT page to see all the med-schools in your area.

Answer 2

1) Getting into medical school is very difficult and it is extremely competetive. Many of my friends are doctors and before majoring in accounting, I was a biology-premed major. The University of Cincinnati Medical School only accepts around 150-200 students a year. They accept only 1 applicant for every 10 or so who do apply. Most of the people they accept are local.

2) I took 6 science classes in high school: Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, AP Biology and Anatomy/Physiology (tripled up on sciences my Senior year). If you take a lot of science classes, it will be much easier for you when you are in college. See what other science classes your high school offers. You will be able to keep up with the pace of the class much better in college if you load up on science in high school since a lot of the stuff will be like a review for you. I agree taking Latin will help you since a lot of the terminology is in Latin.

I think it is also good to be well rounded. Join different clubs and activities so if when you go into college, you can put down different extracurricular activities and make yourself more competitive.

3) Just about every public university and major well-known university has a medical school. Getting into a medical school also depends on what part of the country you want to live in and who will accept you. Johns Hopkins University is a great medical school as someone mentioned earlier. Good luck in your pursuit.

Answer 3

Before you go to medical school, you need to graduate from both high school and a 4-year accredited college. After that, you apply for med school. The application process for medical schools is quite rigorous and VERY competitive.

Take lots of science courses: Chemistry, Biology, Anatomy. When you get to college, you'll want to major in a science as well.

Some medical schools:
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
University of NC, Chapel Hill School of Medicine
SUNY
Meharry
Duke
There's many, many med schools. You just have to decide what part of the country you'd like to live in.

Answer 4

1.) Pretty hard, you need a 3.5 GPA to be competitive and good MCAT scores.
2.) Chemistry and Physics are the 2 other big ones outside of Bio. Also Calculus.
3.) There's alot. Narrow down to what region of the country you would want to be in, public vs. private.

Don't worry too much about it now, just get good grades, get into a decent college with a pre-med curriculum or program and then worry about it. You wouldn't be applying for med school until 7-8 years from now. You apply during the end of your Junior year, and you won't find out until pretty much the end of your Senior year. Alot can change in that time. Keep an open-mind.

Answer 5

In the order asked:

1. It's not exactly a walk in the park.
2. Chemistry classes and Anatomy & Physiology classes are also good, but more so at the college level. Psyhology classes are also helpful. Why, I don't know but one of the docs I work with was a psych major as an undergrad.
3. There's a LOT of them. Most major colleges have them. There's also med schools on the Carribean islands and Mexico, and Europe.

Answer 6

1. Right now it's still competitive to get into medical school but not nearly as much so as it was in the 1960-80's. More medical schools are planned so it may well get easier to get into medical shools.
2. Most medical schools have standard pre-requisite courses that your pre-med advisor will go over with you. Having taught nearly 5,000 medical students, I find that ability to solve problems, organize information, and read are key to success in medical school more so than any particular courses. Of course, there is a large volume of medical school information and what you learn in advance helps yoru get through. A course in Anatomy and one in Physiology for majors (combined A&P course don't stack up in most cases, and don't waste your time with non majors courses), biochemistry, cell biology, microbiology, etc - these are the hard subject that it helps to know something of when you start. Also, go to a real college. If you pick a college you can easily get by in without investing much time, you should expect your return to be proportional to the intellectual capital you invested.
3. There are over 100 MD schools and over 20 DO schools. Physicians from both schools practice the same. Despite somewhat dirfferent philosophies there's a lot of overlab in attitudes and practices of graduates. Most people go to their state schools if they can because tuition is usually a lot lower. There are also a number of offshore medical schools with US rotations, some are OK but most aren't in my own insular opinion.
Hope this helps. Good luck, maybe I'll see you later.

Answer 7

It can be difficult to get into med school particularly if you apply to the top ranked schools. When I went to college, I thought I wanted to be a doctor. Then I realized that I had no motivation for it, so I majored in straight biology....and taught high school level anatomy and physiology for three years.

I took biology, chemistry, and physics in high school. I also took Algebra I & II, Geometry, and Calculus. [I graduated from high school in 1970, so there may be more courses offered in science on the high school level.]

After high school, you will need to get a pre-med degree. The courses you must take there are set by whatever school you attend.

It's a lot of work and it isn't earned quickly, but if you work hard in high school that will be a step up in college. Good luck! I hope that somewhere down the road you will be able to put M.D. after your name.

Answer 8

As most people have said med school is grad school so right now you need to focus on the prerequisties for acceptance to an appropriate under-grad program. I happen to be Pre-Med myself but I am Canadian so it may differ.

1) It's not so much hard as time consumming and competitive. Grades are very important but there has been a swing lately in what med schools are looking for. Our society is starting to learns A+'s don't always make good doctors, they want to see ALOT of extra curricular activities, especially outside of school. Volunteer work is great! Especially if exposes you to different cultures as patients are all different! They want to see well rounded people with good soft skills.

2) Focus on your sciences and your maths (Calculus is a pre-req for canadian schools not sure about US) Ensure you take all 3 of the major's Bio, Chem, Physics. Only Bio and Chem are needed for acceptance but believe me 1st yr Physics will be WAY easier if you take it in highschool.

3) This is something that is about 8 yrs away. You can go to one college for your under-grad and another for med school. Again you need to research what schools will give you the best education possible for med school acceptance. Talk to your guidance coucellors, thats what they are there for! Believe me your highschool will give a ton of tools to find the best the school. When you get closer to graduation there will be recruiters for colleges all over the country at your school.

Lastly, don't forget that you are still young. You will be an adult a lot longer than a kid so don't waste it. I wish I could go back to grade 9 again!!!! Enjoy highschool, make firends, work hard and it will all happen for you if you really want it to!

Answer 9

1.) depends on your grades, but usually very hard.
2.) AP Biology if your school offers it, Physiology, and Anatomy as well. Maybe Chemistry, too. Take Sports Medicene if your school offers it. Helps you learn about different parts of the body (ACL, PCL, MCL, LCL, muscles, tendons, etc)
3.) try here: http://services.aamc.org/memberlistings/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.search&search_type=MS&wildcard_criteria=&state_criteria=CNT%3AUSA&image=Search
Med School is after you get your bachelor's.
Try this link for more info. http://www.aamc.org/medicalschools.htm

Im going to be a senior in high school this fall, and I have no idea what I want to major in. Glad you know though. It'll be helpful in the long run. Just be sure that you do well your freshman year, because the GPA you get is going to be the foundation of your grades. Just study hard, and do well. It takes hard work, but It's all worth it. My GPA is 4.15 and I'm ranked 11 of 398 students in my class. It was hard, but believe me, you'll be happy you did well.

Answer 10

1. Hard. You need an A/B average in college, preferable just an A average.
2. Biology, chemistry (organic chemistry, but that's typically only available in college), anatomy/physiology, botany, zoology. Don't forget math up to Algebra II and technical report writing.
3. John Hopkins is the best. Many other schools have medical programs.