Hello i'm wondering if it's too late for me to want to become a doctor. I'm currently a high school senior, about to graduate in a few months. I have the opportunity to attend some pretty good schools for my undergraduate studies and take science courses, but the thing is i didn't really take much science in high school. I took basic chemistry, biology, and physics, but don't remember much of it. The kids who want to go into medicine have known so for a very long time, so they've all taken the Honors and A.P. classes. I just don't know if i could ever catch up. My father is a physician, so i know how difficult and demanding the job is. If i knew i could do it i would go for it, but with a weak science background i just don't know if i will be able to compete with the students who have been focusing on science during high school. Do you think it would be possible for me to catch up to them during college? I would definitely work as hard as i can. Thank you.
Can i still become a doctor?
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You definitely still have plenty of time left.
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You still have TONS of time. You might get halfway through the pre-med program and decide that you don't want to do medicine, and then you'll still have tons of time to find what you really want to do.
That's what undergrad was all about for me - figuring it all out. I didn't decide to do medicine until my 3rd year - I ended up being at undergrad for 5 years, but hey, I'm going to medical school this fall!!
That's what undergrad was all about for me - figuring it all out. I didn't decide to do medicine until my 3rd year - I ended up being at undergrad for 5 years, but hey, I'm going to medical school this fall!!
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None of those things are going to hurt your chances of getting into medical school.
Personally I took no honors or AP classes in highschool and never took physics (I didn't even do particularly well in HS). I started college wanting to eventually get an MBA and go into business. Once you get outside of the most basic college science courses you realize those who took all the highschool science courses were never very far ahead of you. So, yes you can catch up.
Also, if science isn't your favorite thing (although you shouldn't hate it since medicine involves lots of science) you can get a non-science degree in college and just take the required science courses. This doesn't hurt your chances at med school.
Good luck.
Edit: and I agree with Bruce, college is a time to explore different career paths, makes sure you do.
Personally I took no honors or AP classes in highschool and never took physics (I didn't even do particularly well in HS). I started college wanting to eventually get an MBA and go into business. Once you get outside of the most basic college science courses you realize those who took all the highschool science courses were never very far ahead of you. So, yes you can catch up.
Also, if science isn't your favorite thing (although you shouldn't hate it since medicine involves lots of science) you can get a non-science degree in college and just take the required science courses. This doesn't hurt your chances at med school.
Good luck.
Edit: and I agree with Bruce, college is a time to explore different career paths, makes sure you do.
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It almost annoys me when people post this...
YES YOU CAN!
My cousin scored a 1420 on the SAT and had a GPA of only 3.4 and he got into tons of great NATIONALLY RANKED schools, he also got into a decent handful of private schools but he ended up picking the University of Kentucky. He never took honors, and the AP classes he took were AP classes pretty much anybody can take.
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Clearly that isn't what you wanted to hear, so I'll tell you what you want to hear.
Your friends who want to be doctors and have taken Honors and AP science classes ARE at a big advantage. However, the stuff you learn in those classes is the equivalent of what you learn in freshman year of college. So, even though they took many more science courses than you in high school, it really won't matter because they still have to take all the required classes like O-Chem and the like. The only REAL advantage they have is when they take the pre med intro classes, some of the material would most likely have popped up in AP Chem or Bio.
Don't believe me? Ask you guidance counselor. The stuff you learn in AP Bio and AP Chem are things that are going to be covered again in college.
Bottom line? Don't sweat it. Just make sure you at least know the basics. You don't have to be a supersmartypants in HS to be a rockstar pre med.
By the way, my cousin is an engineering student with honors. It is his second year and he is doing Co-op and everything. His GPA is 3.8 right now. Did he take AP Calc, Stat, Trig, in High School? No, he took non honors pre calc. He is in his second year of college taking Calc III. Just chill dude...
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Lots of people don't even realize they want to go to medical school until deep into college. It wasn't even on their radars.
Believe it or not, a lot of your high school buddies saying they're going to be doctors, most of them won't be. They'll quit sometime along the way.
A lot of students who take the AP courses retake the courses again in college for the easy GPA boost and also to brush up.
They might have a stronger background, but you'll catch up in no time. You'll be fine.
Believe it or not, a lot of your high school buddies saying they're going to be doctors, most of them won't be. They'll quit sometime along the way.
A lot of students who take the AP courses retake the courses again in college for the easy GPA boost and also to brush up.
They might have a stronger background, but you'll catch up in no time. You'll be fine.
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Your performance in High School means absolutely nothing when applying to med school. No one will look at your HS GPA or your SAT or even want to know about extracurricular activities from HS.
I also found that the college you attend is a lot less important than the grades you receive and your MCAT performance. Going to a state school is by no means looked down upon as long as you get good grades.
So, it's not too late - far from it. If you don't remember a lot from your HS science courses, then start from the beginning. Bio 1 and 2, chem 1 and 2, then organic chem as a sophomore. Take physics (2 semesters) somewhere in there. You'll need all these classes for the MCAT. A lot of pre-meds take the MCAT during the spring of their junior year (around April). Use that as a guide for how you schedule your classes.
I also found that the college you attend is a lot less important than the grades you receive and your MCAT performance. Going to a state school is by no means looked down upon as long as you get good grades.
So, it's not too late - far from it. If you don't remember a lot from your HS science courses, then start from the beginning. Bio 1 and 2, chem 1 and 2, then organic chem as a sophomore. Take physics (2 semesters) somewhere in there. You'll need all these classes for the MCAT. A lot of pre-meds take the MCAT during the spring of their junior year (around April). Use that as a guide for how you schedule your classes.
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dude you're straight, no worries. just focus on your time at university.
I never took any AP classes in high school, hell I never even graduated high school; took a humanities major in college, didn't take jack science classes outside the pre-reqs, now in med school I do not consider myself at a disadvantage AT ALL compared to people who took histo/immuno/anatomy etc in college. The pre-reqs were more than enough to prepare one for med school; you don't need to know anything outside of bio/g.chem/o-chem/physics before matriculating.
I never took any AP classes in high school, hell I never even graduated high school; took a humanities major in college, didn't take jack science classes outside the pre-reqs, now in med school I do not consider myself at a disadvantage AT ALL compared to people who took histo/immuno/anatomy etc in college. The pre-reqs were more than enough to prepare one for med school; you don't need to know anything outside of bio/g.chem/o-chem/physics before matriculating.
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Like everyone has already said, HS does not matter. No one cares about what you did or did not do in HS once you've gotten accepted to a 4 year school for undergrad. Just keep yourself out of criminal trouble and do well in undergrad you'll be fine.
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Yes. College matters, not high school.
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...yes...you and your friends will still be taking the same courses. So what if they took an honors course in high school? It will still probably be nothing compared to real college courses. You aren't really at a disadvantage if you really want to be a doctor.
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The only reason to even take those courses is to help you get into college (look competitive) and to get you out of a nonsense course freshman year. That is it. So as long as you do obtain a decent score on the SAT and have a good GPA, you're golden.
Just do well in college and you'll be fine. I have many people in my class that did other stuff and are doing just fine in medicine (business, education, EMT, nurses, phds, etc etc). Do well on the MCAT and be a decent person.....
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I chose to get into med school 1 month after graduating from HS. Actually, I couldn't have even imagined the slightest notion of being a doctor while I was in high school.
I had to take an introduction to health course in 11th grade that covers he same things you see in med school and while I liked the material, I found it to be really difficult. I don't even remember what crappy grades I got in the course. Hrm.. How in the hell did I change from not even remotely thinking of being a doctor to being an intern and loving it???!!!
Expect some of your HS buddies doing all of the cookie cutter things they think will give them an edge to enter med school to do Communications instead.
I didn't really do any special course work to get into med school. Plus, HS courses are a joke in comparison to college level courses. Just enjoy yourself and enjoy sleeping while you still can!
I wouldn't worry about the AP math and science courses either, even if you had friends in AP Chem, Bio, and Physics, it really won't matter b/c you will already take them freshman year no matter where you go anyway, so I wouldn't worry about that. And as I mentioned before, really all it will do is give you background to what you will learn in you freshman year science courses.
As long as you took classes that were right below honors (which in my school are called "Colelge Prep (CP)") you will still be alright.
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it does matter, if you can score a 4 or 5 on the AP exam you can basically skip the course which will save alot of money. some people end up graduating early because they accumulated so many college credits in high school.
college matters more than high school but don't blow off high school just because you think it won't matter. alot of thing can benefit you by doing well in hs: valedictorian, scholarships, etc.
overall, do your best.
Wow thank all you guys for your thoughtful and encouraging responses. I will admit that i still feel like i'm at a slight disadvantage, but your support and guidance has left me still up for the challenge. I will try as hard as i can next year, regardless of which school i decide to attend. I think what i will try to do is borrow a chem or bio book from school to review and master the basics. We'll see how things go! Thanks!
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The only thing that will put you ahead/behind in college compared to others are your study habits... I went to a highschool that really challenged me, and forced me to learn how to study. I can definitely tell it payed off, and between all of my biomedical engineering friends, I have the one of the highest GPA's out of our group from 1st semester.
Even with my previous comments, I can definitely tell that taking anatomy & physiology, and human genetics did help me while taking bio 1&2 this semester. It eased the transition, having some background info. Your friend's won't be leaps and bounds ahead like you are thinking, though.
Even with my previous comments, I can definitely tell that taking anatomy & physiology, and human genetics did help me while taking bio 1&2 this semester. It eased the transition, having some background info. Your friend's won't be leaps and bounds ahead like you are thinking, though.
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Not really. As mentioned above, at many top schools, AP scores are a means of evaluating applicants, and matter for little else. The most you will be able to get out of is a couple of nonsense freshman year requirements.
If you are talking about the core science course (chem, physics, etc) - a large number of med schools either flat out won't accept or won't look kindly on AP credits, so you have to retake those courses.
At my undergrad, my 10 AP credits got me out of a freshman writing course and a history requirement - that's it. I still had to take a year of calculus per my college requirements, and had to retake all the science classes per my pre-med program requirements.
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No! Don't even think that! I did not take any AP classes or physics and I am doing just fine in college. You just have to put the study time in. Whatever was taught in those AP classes will be taught again in college. But, the other guys do have an advantage because they will have learned it before. But most of that info will be forgotten anyway.
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High school gets you into college. If you blow it off, you go to CC then transfer. I agree, HS doesn't matter at all, and is a joke. So is CC, but that is beside the point.
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If your going into medicine, AP classes exist for the sole purpose of making you look more attractive for college. Med school adcoms prefer that you ace any pre-requisites in college, not place out of them just because you got a 3-5 on a high school ap exam, so they won't even accept them in most cases. I won't be able to use any of 8 AP test scores in college, but it's not a waste because it'll make the material in college alot easier to get an A when i'm seeing it for the second time.
Pretty much.
It can also get you out of some ****ty gen ed classes, depending on how the school accepts them.
It basically shows colleges that 1) you're academically motivated, 2) you're capable of taking a difficult courseload, 3) not only are you capable of taking a difficult courseload, you are taking college level classes in high school.
Taking AP courses puts you one step ahead of the pack in more ways than one, but not taking them does not stunt you or prevent you from being a doctor.
For the most part the undergrad you go to won't matter when you apply to medical school, as long as you do the best you can with what you have in that undergrad. It's just a prestige factor that doesn't make much difference, if any, in the end. Other than adding even more financial debt to pay off once you actually start making money.
If people who have already graduated from college with subpar GPAs can go back to school and make it to medical school, then YOU certainly can! You haven't even started college yet! Think of it as a completely fresh start... something most pre-meds probably want back at certain points in their undergraduate careers. 
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Med schools don't look at what you did in High School, nor do they really care. It's all about what you do and how well you do it in college. Likewise, your undergrad Physiology class won't do anything for you when you take Med school physiology.
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OP probably finished college.
