what are some recommended classes in high school for medicine majors?

Question

i'm a sophmore in high school right now, and i want to either major in medicine or culinary. as for medical, what do you suggest i take in hs? ex. honors classes, clubs, etc. i need guidance & i hope you users can help me.

right now, my classes are-
honors biology
geometry
honors u.s history
english academic
adv. alegebra 2
honors spanish

do i mark up to the standards? do i even have a chance to get into a good college? my gpa is currently 3.8777, and i feel that the classes i'm taking right now are not considered "a medical futured student" to have. do i have to be super intelligent, be two math classes ahead, all honors, to become a successful student? to be honest, i'm not that smart of a person, and i don't know whether my classes will cut it. everyone that have given me advice have told me, "all honors, straight a's, involvement..in higher classes than your average collegue/student friends" to me, that seems impossible....but i don't know.

i don't even know if i can do this anymore...............

Answer 1

OK, take a deep breath and listen up. I have a good friend who earned his MD degree--and he never graduated from high school. He's near the end of his career as a family physician, and still no high school diploma or GED. When he finally figured out he wanted to go to med school, he worked open-admissions college programs and got through.

Whoever is telling you that you must grind yourself down in high school to become a doctor is utterly ignorant of the process. Allow an old college prof to try to fix it.

First--you must get into college. There are solid statistics that show that a student who completed four years of English, four years of math, and all the standard lab science (bio, chem, physics) in high school will do much better than those that didn't. In the meantime, try to keep yourself broad and varied--do some extracurriculars that you like in a range of activities. Make certain you begin and maintain a good healthy physical fitness regimen--it will serve you excellently when you must do a medical internship!

Now, unless it's a top-10 or Ivy League university, which college you attend will not matter. I'd recommend starting with two years at a community college, then transfer to a four-year that will allow you to complete a pre-med major. Try to finish the pre-med major with as little student debt as possible.

While in college, try to work--for pay or as a volunteer--in a health care setting (hospital, clinic, urgent care center, doctors' office, public health clinic, campus health service). You will want to meet doctors (if you know some already, so much better!). They can advise you which med schools in your area are most respected--and they come in handy for other purposes, noted below.

You will want to understand what medical schools consider when you apply:

1. Grade-point average in college courses (grades from other than your latest studies won't matter--finish college, and high school GPA becomes a footnote).

2. Score on the MCAT exam (like the SATs or ACTs, but it's especially for med school and you'll take it around your junior year in college--prepare for it as thoroughly as you can!).

3. References. The best letters of recommendation come from doctors you know--especially ones that graduated from that med school.

4. A broad undergraduate curriculum. Major in pre-med if you like, but make sure you get a lot of electives in a range of arts, social sciences, humanities, 'soft' sciences'. Or major in anything, making sure you get most of your electives in that case in biology (anatomy) and chemistry (organic).

5. Interview--many med schools interview you before admitting. If you know doctors, they can coach you on what you're likely to be asked and how to answer.

Med school will provide you with little free time to pursue anything but medicine, and that pressure builds to maximum during the internship. Until you get to that level of study, I strongly recommend that you live a balanced lifestyle, don't stress yourself unduly, work for excellence but know your limits.

Answer 2

Mainly you need to get good grades in the university preparatory courses - those that are required to get into a university science program. Make sure that you take the required math and sciences. Talk to your school guidance counselor for more advice, but you don't need to worry a great deal about your choice of courses now.

Answer 3

we almost have the same classes:

Adv. Alg & Trig Honors
Chemistry Honors
English 10 Honors
Spanish 4 Honors
C.M.
A.P. Euro

yes we're on the right track but we need to take more science classes such as Anotomy and Phisiology (srry for mispelling) or physics

Answer 4

Look, don't stress out. Do the best that you can. Science classes, especially biology and chemistry are good. Just keep focused on doing well and take it one day at a time.

Answer 5

Ceramics for every year of high school.