Is freshman year of highschool to early to be thinking about college?

Question

I want to go into medical school. I am in 9th grade in highschool, and I don't know if I am too young to be planning what college I go to, what kind of doctor I want to be, ect.
Should I wait until I become a senior? I am really interested in health and biology, I want to do research on my own (for fun) because of how fun I think it is. I love to take care of people(help them, ect.) and to help them or guide them with my knowledge. What kinds of grades do I need to get into pre-medical school? Does freshmen year grades effect pre-medical AND medical? Please be serious and answer fully so I can comprehend the information you are sending out to me. I am not a little girl, so don't take this question as cute or funny, I am seriously interested and want answers. I am only 13, but that doesn't effect anything. I am not behind in school. It would be very helpful if you could provide a link(s). If you do not know the answer to my question then please do not waste my time.
Thanks.

Answer 1

No, it's great that you are starting to think about college and career at your age. Most students DO wait until their senior year and that's way too late! A few things to think about:

You will be taking the PSAT soon. You should take any tutorials your school offers to do as well as you can--the PSAT is predictive of ability on the SAT. If you test well, you will do well on the MCAT, which is what you take in your junior-senior year of college before you apply to medical school. In other words, you would start in your junior year with your serious college preparation, and your high school counselor will be helping you with information about colleges, financial aid, and other matters. Your parent(s) should also be involved, as you need to know the type of school you will be able to attend--local public university, private school, etc.

Classes: Medical school is all about Chemistry--you should take as many chem classes as your school offers, and also Biology, Microbiology, and even Physics. Math is important as well since you will need to focus in science. Don't panic, just take it slowly and worry about one year at a time.

Also, you might want to think of volunteer work or extra-curricular activities such as volunteering in a hospital, at a homeless shelter, or some other area where you are helping people. That helps on your college applications and for scholarships, and it shows that you are committed to the field you have chosen.

Good grades are needed for most colleges, and then again for medical school. If you don't do well in your freshman year, you have three more years to raise your GPA. It is more important to show higher grades in the junior and senior years; some schools only consider your last two years.

At this point I wouldn't worry about what KIND of doctor you want to be--many don't even know when they enter medical school! It's important to check out different types of career paths, and you may even decide to stay in the healthcare field and do something other than be a doctor--that's OK too.

You have a clean slate for your life, you sound like and interesting and interested person, and I wish you well in high school!

Answer 2

I'm not addressing all of your questions, but would suggest:

1. developing good study habits,

2. getting the best grades you can,

3. taking part in extra-curricular activities to become a well-rounded person, and,

4. don't beat yourself up over deciding immediately on your life's work . I'm just guessing, but think that you have until the end of your sophomore year in undergraduate school to choose. However, make sure you check the medical school catalog to ensure that you take the pre-requisite courses.

Answer 3

It isn't too early. This is when your grades start to count. I think you should definitely research your interests and see what you would want to do and what you might be good at. I wouldn't make anything set in stone for now because things can change but it is definitely good to study on your own what you are interested in. And see which colleges you are interested in attending. Grades are very important in the medical field. I don't know the exact grades you would need but I would recommend keep above a C at least. A's and B's should be pretty acceptable and obviously A's would be the preference. And if you keep really good grades, mostly A's or all A's and get involved in some school activities as well as at least occasional volunteer work that interests you, you will be looked at more for scholarships to help pay for college.

Answer 4

It is definitely not too early to start preparing for college. Work with your councilor at school now to plan out education route. Obviously your going to have to keep your grades up hopefully over a 3.5 GPA. I would highly recommend getting involved with student council and other groups to build your leadership skills. With your high GPA and E.C. activities scholarships should come easy which will make funding school easier. Your senior year you should be taking some college classes or at least college prep classes. Talk to your community college to see about taking summer classes.

Answer 5

it's never to early to start thinking about college. YES your 9th grade grades count towards getting into a good university because your entire h.s transcript is sent with the application. senior yr is too late b/c ur supposed to apply fall of ur senior yr and get the replies back by the spring.
you dont get into a premedical school...you go to a university with a good premed program. ur major would just be predmed. im a soph at syracuse university and i have friends in premed. So keep your grades up, so u can pick a GOOD school with an excellant med program that will then aid you in getting into a good medical school for your graduate school. so yes, look into what you want to be, what field isn't so important because you can figure that out with advisors in college...but it's always good to start looking at schools, and their admissions requirements such as AP credit, SAt, ACT, community service, regents diploma, 4yrs of science 4 yrs of math....diff. schools require different things.

Answer 6

It's never too early to think about college! If you want to be a doctor, you NEED to think now. Get in any preparatory courses you can in high school -- make certain you are really interested now, it will save you a lot of time and money later. All your high school grades, combined with your college entrance exams will affect your ability to obtain scholarships, and even which schools you will be able to qualify to attend. If you can get a 4.0 average, you're going to be one step ahead of everyone else.

Answer 7

No, it isnt.

Some colleges will even offer students as young as eight grade, not exactly acceptances, but they basically let them know hat if they want to come here when they graduate, they can.

Im a freshman as well, and Duke, Rice, and Texas A&M have all done this to me.

( I took the SAT in 7th grade and scored really good).

But anyway, its definately not too early.

It partially depends on where you want to go to med school.

John Hopkins is a great school for that, and very hard to get into.

But, if you dont make great grades in Highschool you can always go to college, and if you get good grades there, get accepted into a great med school.

Answer 8

it not to early to start thinking about college. If you want to go to a good medical college, you can check out the one i am going to go to(I'm in 10Th grade and want to be a general practitioner) to get into a good college you should make strait A's all though high school. here is the website to east Tennessee state university http://www.etsu.edu/

Answer 9

its not too early, and it is when your grades start to count , your freshmen year has to be when ur grades have to be really good . this four years give you time to research and get to visit campuses so you enroll in the college you like , you have to apply for college at least a semester before leaving high school. A really good website is fresnostate.edu its a great college hope it helps.

Answer 10

get good grades, medical school is super hard to get into, and no, it's never ever too early to start thinking, i've been planning since like 6th grade and reasearching law schools, i'm a sophmore and i want to be a lawyer... you're going to need like eight years of college so you better start saving too.

Answer 11

No it's not to early. it's never to early to start thinking about your future. seeing how you know that you want to be in the medical field then maybe you should start taking introductory courses that are offered at your school so that you can see what it will be like to become a doctor, and you'd be familiar with the steps that you need to take now, until you actually enter a college. talk with your guidance counselor about your goals as well, and ask him or her to help you with a plan. to succeed throughout high school and college.