Prospective Premed Student!

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Hi, my name is Natalie. To give you a little bit of background on myself, I am currently a junior in high school with an academic GPA (unweighted/weighted) of 3.15/3.88, total GPA (unweighted/weighted) of 3.27/3.90, and 10-12 GPA (unweighted/weighted) of 3.13/3.81 (GPA updated up to the end of first semester of junior year). I scored 143 on my PSAT and I just took my SAT on the 26th of January (I am currently awaiting the results). I'm planning to take my ACT on the May date. I am also registering for UCI's premedical summer program. I am very interested in the field of biology and would like to become a gastroenterologist. The subjects I do exceptionally well at in school is English and history (those classes are not a big problem to me at all, I hardly ever study for either of those subjects) (I enjoy learning different things and challenging myself, which is why I'm looking into biology). I would LOVE to attend UCI after I graduate high school, but if I'm not accepted, I am willing to go to a JC for 2 years then transfer.. or whatever works. I am also interested in NYU I do realize that it will take 13+ years of school to become a gastroenterologist, so if I was able to reach my goal, I was planning to fall on biotech as my minor, or maybe double major. I have done my fair share of researching on schools, jobs, majors, etc. I am still SO confused with what I'm going to do in the next 10 years of my life (school-wise). So I venture to ask this forum with people of infinite wisdom/experience, what do you think of my school plans? Does having a major really matter when I apply (I would like to be accepted to a good school for my BA before I start thinking of MS and PhD)? Would majoring in biomedical engineering-premed be a good idea or should I just go for general biology? I'm so sorry if this is too much at once, but I would like to have some knowledge of what I'm doing and where I'm going in the next few years of my educational life. Thank you so much for taking your time to read this! Have a great day :-)

I am a high school senior that has just gotten through the application process, asked dumb questions, been accepted, compared curriculums, etc... and as far as undergraduate studies go, aslong as the university has a solid Pre-Medicine program, your actual major does not matter. Now I have read that if you do have an interest in a top tier medical school that you should make sure you can include calculus into your schedule as some of the higer tier schools require it; the university I will attend focuses more on Pre-Calculus. Also, make sure you have a few extracurricular activites, not only to keep yourself busy and fortify your application, but just because it is really enjoyable (my best memories of high school will definitely be my community service work) and many schools are also expecting some experience in research as well. In the end, you have to look at things from your own prospective and find what you feel to be most efficient and most comfortable for you so you can perform at your maximum potential.

Community College Pre-med here...

Don't go to a community college just because you don't get into UCI. That makes no sense. Only go to community college if you don't have the money to pay for college without major financial hardship or really want to save money.

As a prospective college student, you need to apply to not only schools you WANT to get into, but safety schools. Obviously, if you want to go to UCI, apply. But if you don't get in, that doesn't mean you're out of luck for medical school. Apply broadly so if you end up not getting into the schools you want, you'll still be good to go for a relatively good university. That's really all that matters at the end of the day. Just because you're not going to a top tier dream undergrad doesn't mean you have less of a chance to end up an MD. Choose schools based on the environment and how comfortable it seems to you.RELATIVE to your goals.

Your major doesn't matter for medical school. Choose something you want to study and focus on that. It doesn't even have to be science related, nor do you have to choose your major at the start of college. You might find after knocking out some GEs that one of those subjects interests you. Who knows? Bio-mechanical Engineering will not give you an admissions advantage over a biology major, so go into that IF you're interested in it and not because you think it will give you a leg up.

Being confused about where you see yourself in 10 years is completely normal. College is the time to explore your interests. Keep your mind open and your eyes wide.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by whitebunny

Hi, my name is Natalie. To give you a little bit of background on myself, I am currently a junior in high school with an academic GPA (unweighted/weighted) of 3.15/3.88, total GPA (unweighted/weighted) of 3.27/3.90, and 10-12 GPA (unweighted/weighted) of 3.13/3.81 (GPA updated up to the end of first semester of junior year). I scored 143 on my PSAT and I just took my SAT on the 26th of January (I am currently awaiting the results). I'm planning to take my ACT on the May date. I am also registering for UCI's premedical summer program. I am very interested in the field of biology and would like to become a gastroenterologist. The subjects I do exceptionally well at in school is English and history (those classes are not a big problem to me at all, I hardly ever study for either of those subjects) (I enjoy learning different things and challenging myself, which is why I'm looking into biology). I would LOVE to attend UCI after I graduate high school, but if I'm not accepted, I am willing to go to a JC for 2 years then transfer.. or whatever works. I am also interested in NYU I do realize that it will take 13+ years of school to become a gastroenterologist, so if I was able to reach my goal, I was planning to fall on biotech as my minor, or maybe double major. I have done my fair share of researching on schools, jobs, majors, etc. I am still SO confused with what I'm going to do in the next 10 years of my life (school-wise). So I venture to ask this forum with people of infinite wisdom/experience, what do you think of my school plans? Does having a major really matter when I apply (I would like to be accepted to a good school for my BA before I start thinking of MS and PhD)? Would majoring in biomedical engineering-premed be a good idea or should I just go for general biology? I'm so sorry if this is too much at once, but I would like to have some knowledge of what I'm doing and where I'm going in the next few years of my educational life. Thank you so much for taking your time to read this! Have a great day :-)

Your major really doesn't matter. Choose whatever u think you will do well in. You said you are good at English and History. Are you also good at Math? If you aren't, avoid biomedical engineering and just go for biology. Biomedical engineering sounds fancy but it will be tough and pull down your GPA if you don't love math.