Increasing my chances for Pre-Med and Medical school during High School

[Cody1]

Hi there.
I am new to SDN but I am finding my way around quite nicely and I've read some really good advice here. I have a few questions myself, and any input you have is immensely appreciated.

I am trying to increase my chances of getting into my dream school which is the University of New Brunswick for Biology. My biggest problem is my GPA, I was a terrible, terrible freshmen and sophomore, my grades were D's and C's in history and math. I've held a solid A+ in English all three years, including all honors and AP. My grades in Science are all B+, all three years so far.

My GPA in the middle of this school year was a 2.8. I cringed. 2.8 is not a number I am proud of. I just finished my Junior year, and I finished with almost honor roll. My lowest grade the entire year was Honors Algebra II with an 82. I finished the year with honor roll. I have created my schedule for next year to increase my chances of being accepted into a Biology program.

I am taking Advanced Anatomy and Physiology, Advanced Placement Biology. I am taking an after school optional college level Intro. to Sociology. The highest math I will reach in High School is Trigonometry. My Junior year I took a year long course to become a certified nursing assistant. I obtained my CNA certification with honors in the course.

Theoretically, I plan to complete my last year with high honors. I need it to bring my GPA up and I refuse to settle for anything less than a 3.0. (Higher would be nice!)

How do I stack up against other applicants? How can I improve my chances? On a final note, thank you SO much if you read this far. I plan to retake the SAT's come this fall, but my current score is a 1470.

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[Mr Avante]

those courses sound good. the key is: STUDY STUDY STUDY if you want to improve your gpa
once you are in university no one will ever care for those grades.

 

[iforget2]

Is good that you have realized the need to improve. Just try your best to get into a good (and cheap) 4 year uni and high school grades won't matter anymore once you're in. Don't worry about getting into med school now, gotta get into college first. Baby steps!

 

[Tolbert]

Is good that you have realized the need to improve. Just try your best to get into a good (and cheap) 4 year uni and high school grades won't matter anymore once you're in. Don't worry about getting into med school now, gotta get into college first. Baby steps!

Right now, you may not be the best applicant, but if you test well you could easily get into a decent college! A 1470 isn't terrible, but you could probably do better (assuming you didn't study). Study hard for the ACT/SAT this time, apply, get into college, and then you get a fresh start.

 

[PapaGuava]

Well it sounds like you made a good bounce back. And keep pushing forward. You will be fine! Improvement always looks great on applications.

 

[survivordo]

It sounds like you are experiencing a solid upward trend. Keep it up! Others have offered good advice. I would add, do NOT be heartbroken if you don't get into your dream school. You CAN get in to medical school from any undergrad and it doesn't matter much where you go. Shoot for cheap as others have said! You have plenty of time to amass student debt.

Survivor DO

 

[CDI]

I'm confused. I thought the SATs were out of 2400?

Didn't they change that a while ago? Damn, I feel old.

 

[JPodel]

I'm confused. I thought the SATs were out of 2400?

Didn't they change that a while ago? Damn, I feel old.

They are out of 2400! So when he said 1470 he meant out of 2400. Lol a 1470 out of 1600 would have been killer!

 

[CDI]

They are out of 2400! So when he said 1470 he meant out of 2400. Lol a 1470 out of 1600 would have been killer!

Dude, a 1470 out of 2400 isn't very good then. Thats like a 980 out of 1600 on the old scale. Why's everyone hyping that? OP, hit the books! You're better than that.

I remember I got a 990 in 7th grade, and a 1040 in 8th grade, qualified for Hopkins nerd camp.

I got a 1360 out of 1600 on the real deal back in the day and I remember crying myself to sleep for a week.

Even with that score (2040 on the new scale), AP Scholar, NHS, 3.3 GPA in a magnet, AND 2 publication in PubMed I only landed one preferred applicant med track. Farkin BS!

 

[JPodel]

dude, a 1470 out of 2400 isn't very good then. Thats like a 980 out of 1600 on the old scale. Why's everyone hyping that? Op, hit the books! You're better than that.

I remember i got a 990 in 7th grade, and a 1040 in 8th grade, qualified for hopkins nerd camp.

I got a 1360 out of 1600 on the real deal back in the day and i remember crying myself to sleep for a week.

Even with that score (2040 on the new scale), ap scholar, nhs, 3.5 gpa in a magnet, and 2 publication in pubmed i only landed one preferred applicant med track. Farkin bs!

+100000

 

[Tolbert]

just saying, not everyone is a good tester, or had enough motivation to study. I know I didn't. It happens.

A 1500 is considered the average score as far as I've seen. Not great, but not terrible either. You can get into college with that score. Not a great one, but college nonetheless.

 

[californicati0n]

It's great that you're working to improve yourself. Colleges love to see upward trends and understand that people get off to a bumpy start academically in high school. Just keep working hard! Like someone else said, don't be discouraged if you don't get into your dream school. Just keep up the great work ethic and you'll be just fine at whatever undergrad you go to.

To improve your chances, I would advise that you study hard for the SAT and keep trying to raise your GPA. Also, keep working on your extracurriculars, and make sure that you're passionate about them because it'll show through on the apps. It also wouldn't hurt to explain your first couple years of high school and how you worked to improve yourself towards the end of your high school career. Colleges will see that your grades improved, but hearing the reasons for it will help a lot.

Good luck!

 

[DrYoda]

For college apps having an upward trend is a good thing. I was in the same boat way back when, with crappy freshman and sophomore grades but good ones the last two years. I didn't apply to any really impressive schools, but I don't think my GPA hurt me much applying to state schools with the upward trend + good standardized test scores. Retaking the SAT is probably a good idea if you don't feel the score is up up to snuff for where you want to go.

Medical school wise the best thing you can do is identify why you had some lower grades and correct it. Go into college with good study habits and motivation. As others have said you can get into med school from any college, so really it's about getting good grades in college and having an at minimum acceptable MCAT score.

 

[Cody1]

For college apps having an upward trend is a good thing. I was in the same boat way back when, with crappy freshman and sophomore grades but good ones the last two years. I didn't apply to any really impressive schools, but I don't think my GPA hurt me much applying to state schools with the upward trend + good standardized test scores. Retaking the SAT is probably a good idea if you don't feel the score is up up to snuff for where you want to go.

Thank you for your advice, I do plan on retaking the SAT's.

To improve your chances, I would advise that you study hard for the SAT and keep trying to raise your GPA. Also, keep working on your extracurriculars, and make sure that you're passionate about them because it'll show through on the apps

Thank you!

It sounds like you are experiencing a solid upward trend. Keep it up! Others have offered good advice. I would add, do NOT be heartbroken if you don't get into your dream school. You CAN get in to medical school from any undergrad and it doesn't matter much where you go.

Thank you for this advice. I've carefully selected the schools that will most benefit me while keeping medical school in consideration.

Well it sounds like you made a good bounce back. And keep pushing forward. You will be fine! Improvement always looks great on applications.

Thank you for the confidence boost

STUDY STUDY STUDY if you want to improve your gpa

I will take note to do that this year.

 

[Tolbert]

good luck

 

[Arijos0222]

Hi there.
I am new to SDN but I am finding my way around quite nicely and I've read some really good advice here. I have a few questions myself, and any input you have is immensely appreciated.

I am trying to increase my chances of getting into my dream school which is the University of New Brunswick for Biology. My biggest problem is my GPA, I was a terrible, terrible freshmen and sophomore, my grades were D's and C's in history and math. I've held a solid A+ in English all three years, including all honors and AP. My grades in Science are all B+, all three years so far.

My GPA in the middle of this school year was a 2.8. I cringed. 2.8 is not a number I am proud of. I just finished my Junior year, and I finished with almost honor roll. My lowest grade the entire year was Honors Algebra II with an 82. I finished the year with honor roll. I have created my schedule for next year to increase my chances of being accepted into a Biology program.

I am taking Advanced Anatomy and Physiology, Advanced Placement Biology. I am taking an after school optional college level Intro. to Sociology. The highest math I will reach in High School is Trigonometry. My Junior year I took a year long course to become a certified nursing assistant. I obtained my CNA certification with honors in the course.

Theoretically, I plan to complete my last year with high honors. I need it to bring my GPA up and I refuse to settle for anything less than a 3.0. (Higher would be nice!)

How do I stack up against other applicants? How can I improve my chances? On a final note, thank you SO much if you read this far. I plan to retake the SAT's come this fall, but my current score is a 1470.

I got a low score on the SAT too. Consider the ACT, I did much better on that.

Also look for research positions at maybe a local research university.

I am a research assistant in the microbiology department at Rutgers University, and I don't have any "super" credentials. 3.2 GPA, good ACT, and lots of volunteer work with things that I really enjoyed and looked forward to... Oh, and I also was an intern at the hedge fund my father worked for... MSD Capital. I think if you just go out and "do" rather than think, you will be fine. Focus on the next step, not the end of the journey! I just did things that interested me.

If you pace yourself and try to do well on ONE exam, then you will find yourself way less stressed rather than thinking about all your upcoming exams and whatnot.

Also, unfortunately I had to disconnect myself from gaming and technology to immerse myself in studies for the SAT and ACT retakes... It was hard for 2 weeks but now I feel like I have so much more time now when i'm not texting or looking up things on the internet or gaming. Which is why I haven't been on SDN lately... However i've been a lot more productive.

Remember, the SAT is just an exam and with enough preparation, you will definitely be able to do fine.

 

[docwei88]

I got a low score on the SAT too. Consider the ACT, I did much better on that.

Also look for research positions at maybe a local research university.

I am a research assistant in the microbiology department at Rutgers University, and I don't have any "super" credentials. 3.2 GPA, good ACT, and lots of volunteer work with things that I really enjoyed and looked forward to... Oh, and I also was an intern at the hedge fund my father worked for... MSD Capital. I think if you just go out and "do" rather than think, you will be fine. Focus on the next step, not the end of the journey! I just did things that interested me.

If you pace yourself and try to do well on ONE exam, then you will find yourself way less stressed rather than thinking about all your upcoming exams and whatnot.

Also, unfortunately I had to disconnect myself from gaming and technology to immerse myself in studies for the SAT and ACT retakes... It was hard for 2 weeks but now I feel like I have so much more time now when i'm not texting or looking up things on the internet or gaming. Which is why I haven't been on SDN lately... However i've been a lot more productive.

Remember, the SAT is just an exam and with enough preparation, you will definitely be able to do fine.

Is it not that it does not matter whether you take the SAT or ACT? I found I did better on the ACT, and I think some colleges are okay with you submitting ACT scores to SAT scores....

 

[whynot7]

I got a low score on the SAT too. Consider the ACT, I did much better on that.

Also look for research positions at maybe a local research university.

I am a research assistant in the microbiology department at Rutgers University, and I don't have any "super" credentials. 3.2 GPA, good ACT, and lots of volunteer work with things that I really enjoyed and looked forward to... Oh, and I also was an intern at the hedge fund my father worked for... MSD Capital. I think if you just go out and "do" rather than think, you will be fine. Focus on the next step, not the end of the journey! I just did things that interested me.

If you pace yourself and try to do well on ONE exam, then you will find yourself way less stressed rather than thinking about all your upcoming exams and whatnot.

Also, unfortunately I had to disconnect myself from gaming and technology to immerse myself in studies for the SAT and ACT retakes... It was hard for 2 weeks but now I feel like I have so much more time now when i'm not texting or looking up things on the internet or gaming. Which is why I haven't been on SDN lately... However i've been a lot more productive.

Remember, the SAT is just an exam and with enough preparation, you will definitely be able to do fine.

How did you go about getting the position of research assistant at Rutgers? I really want to do it at Rutgers too, but I'm not sure where to start. Thanks!

 

[DrYou]

This may or may not be helpful, but I want to share my story to hopefully make you feel better.

I was always a high achiever as a child, and in middle school, until high school. I was in the junior doctors academy and everything, but by high school I started ditching and being a ****ty student.

I went into high school expecting to be valedictorian, and going to Stanford, but more realistically UCLA was always my dream school and becoming a doctor. Junior year of high school, I was taking AP Gov, AP USH, AP BIO, and I FAILED every single class that year, almost on purpose so I could go on homestudies so I wouldn't have to pretend like I wanted to go to school every day.

I ****ED everything up for myself.

That was me at 16. Today, I'm 20, and I'm going to UCLA and never even had to take the SATs. I work at the UCLA med school, and I just signed release forms for my first publication in a pharmacology textbook with a group of anesthesiologists.

Point is, we mess up, but that doesn't mean it's over for us. There are alternate routes, the roads less travelled by.

You're concerned with stacking up to other applicants. From my experience from working from the bottom back up, DO THINGS YOU LIKE TO DO. Doing things that you think will make you look good look exactly that way--like you're doing it just to look good.

Sorry if this wasn't helpful, but I wanted to give you some hope. I thought I would never get into my dream school having failed so hard. I used to cry in my counselors office because I knew my stats got so ****ty. But now my high school counselor wants me to come back and talk to her students.

It's gonna work out for you. Chill out and just do your best alright!