which path is the best for medical school?

Question

hi im a junior in high school and i want to become a doctor, im currently taking community college courses what should i do?i will have a year of college done by the time i graduate high school if i continue to take courses. I was told than med schools prefer a four year university student than one who has transfered from a junior college. which path would most likely get me to med school?

1.apply to a UC like davis or UCR or UCI or UCLA? and get my bachelors, then apply to med school? i dont know if i will get accepted though with a combined soph/jun gpa of 3.7

2.go to a comunity college for 1 year and then transfer to a UC and get a bachelors then apply to med school

3.stop taking courses and go directly to UC and apply to a med school after i graduate

i was told that med schools look down on students who go to a junior college???? please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

which is better: UCR or go to a JC and then transfer to a better UC???????????????

which is better: UCR or go to a JC and then transfer to a better UC???????????????

Answer 1

Hard work and study, study, study.

Answer 2

Well, first of all, you won't be considered a community college student unless you have graduated high school and then start going to a community college. I also took CC courses in high school, but was considered a freshman when I graduated high school and went to college. You can use your CC credit, but it doesn't make you a transfer. I have discussed this issue with UC admissions councilors, and that is what they told me. Next, med schools don't really look down on CC transfers. That's kind of a myth. If you do well in college and on the MCATs, you'll be ok. However, I believe that it's better to go 4 years at a real university, having been both at CC and a real college (had to leave college because I couldn't afford it (Stanford, about $40,000 a year), then had to take CC classes to get my units up so I could transfer to a UC).

If I were you, I'd keep taking your CC classes through HS, because those credits can really help you. After you graduate HS, apply to a UC. By the way, UCR and UCLA aren't really in the same league. UCR is considered the lowest rung of the UC's, and UCLA is the 2nd highest, after Berkeley. UCI is in the middle. 3.7 is a pretty good GPA. You're good for UCR definitly, and also for UCI. UCLA might be a bit tougher, but keep doing well, and you've got a good shot. Though it is possible to go straight from CC to med school, or even HS to med school (if you do REALLY well on your MCATs; I have a friend who is thinking about doing this), you should get your bachelors. It will make you a more well-rounded person, which will make you a better doctor. While you're at college, during your junior year, you will take your MCATs. These you have to do well on. They are like the SATs for Med School. If you have a good GPA and good MCAT scores, you'll get in to med school, regardless of whether you transferred from a CC or not (and remember, you are NOT a community college student until you have graduated high school, regardless of how many units you take there, and Med Schools do NOT look down on CC transfers; they realize that a lot of people go there because they can't afford going straight to university). Furthermore, a lot of people take a pre-med major while at college ("pre-med" itself is not a major, but is a group of majors that lend themselves well to med school, like biology, or chemistry). This is not neccessary however. My dad was an economics major, and got into med school, so look around while at college.

Hope this helps, if you have any other questions, let me know. Good luck!

Answer 3

I would question whether it is true that med schools look down on people who went to community colleges. I have a good friend who is in the MD/PhD program at my school which is very selective (only takes 5-7 students each year and provides a full scholarship for all of med school to each) and he started out at a community college. I know he is just one individual but I think that a lot of people say it looks bad to go to community college but I haven't really found that to be true. I know multiple people in other professions who started out at community college and they have good jobs, of course I know med school is much more competitive. I don't know of any good research that has been done on the subject that you can look to for answers. I think overall you should start out where you are going to get the best education and the best grades, because that is what will allow you to ace the MCAT and get into a good med school.

Answer 4

it's better to go to a university rather than transfer from a community college. get your bachelors in biology or chemistry or something like that. try to attend the school that you're trying to go to for medical school cuz it increases your chances of getting in. as for being frowned upon, i don't think that's the case.

Answer 5

option 1 is best, option 2 i second best, and option 3 I would put last.

Answer 6

get into the best school at the earliest opportunity