Junior in High School interested in becoming Doctor.

[HeatherB1192]

I'm currently a Junior in High School and will graduate in May of 2010.

Next year I'll be taking AP College English (College Credit), Pre-Calculus, Bio-chemistry (College Credit), Anatomy&Physiology (College Credit), AP Chemistry, AP Physics or AP Spanish 4 (Goal: To become Bi-Lingual).

I'm currently volunteering at a hospital and trying to find a job at a hospital, (Not working out too well).

I have a 3.5 GPA, hoping to bring it up by the time I graduate.

I only got a 20 on the ACT, .. I plan on studying my butt off and taking it a few more times..
Wondering if I should maybe take the SAT too?

I was wondering what other things I might do to help me get prepared to try to get into Medical School?

I talked to my doctor about becoming a doctor and he told me I better like reading because there is a lot of it..

But what do I need to read? Any other ideas about volunteering?

Thanks!

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[Caesar]

looks like from what you are saying you are doing just about everything that can be asked of you. Study hard and try to enjoy some highschool and college. Read anything you enjoy. I like National Geographic and the New York Times.

 

[gabeybaby]

I'm currently a Junior in High School and will graduate in May of 2010.

Next year I'll be taking AP College English, Pre-Calculus, Bio-chemistry, Anatomy&Physiology, AP Chemistry, and AP Physics.

I'm currently volunteering at a hospital and trying to find a job at a hospital, (Not working out too well).

I have a 3.5 GPA, hoping to bring it up by the time I graduate.

I only got a 20 on the ACT, .. I plan on studying my butt off and taking it a few more times..
Wondering if I should maybe take the SAT too?

I was wondering what other things I might do to help me get prepared to try to get into Medical School?

I talked to my doctor about becoming a doctor and he told me I better like reading because there is a lot of it..

But what do I need to read? Any other ideas about volunteering?

Thanks!

There's not a whole much that you can do in high school except explore the medical fields through shadowing, and volunteering at the hospital to see if you really enjoy this profession. Your high level courses are impressive (Human anatomy will definitely let you peak into the medical field--- I'm taking it right now, and it's filled with medical terms and lots and lots of disections). In my opinion, you should retake the ACT and take the SAT (sometimes you're bad at the ACT but you may excel in the SAT-- for me it was the opposite, but I do recommend taking both tests).
Good luck with everything & try to enjoy high school

 

[Turtle01]

Do whatever you want to in high school, certainly don't kill yourself over anything. It doesn't really matter what you do now, because it's frowned upon to use HS experiences on your medical school application. Plus, college is a whole new bag of tricks. Prepare to get into medical school by choosing a major in college you are truly interested in, and do well. Throw in a sport or a few volunteer activities, some shadowing, some research, and don't ever put that you were the treasurer of the pre med club on your application (everyone knows that those clubs are bull**** anyway).

 

[tennisball80]

Take as many AP courses as you can to ensure you have the solid foundation for college.

 

[KempDrumsalot]

I'm currently a Junior in High School and will graduate in May of 2010.

Next year I'll be taking AP College English, Pre-Calculus, Bio-chemistry, Anatomy&Physiology, AP Chemistry, and AP Physics.

I'm currently volunteering at a hospital and trying to find a job at a hospital, (Not working out too well).

I have a 3.5 GPA, hoping to bring it up by the time I graduate.

I only got a 20 on the ACT, .. I plan on studying my butt off and taking it a few more times..
Wondering if I should maybe take the SAT too?

I was wondering what other things I might do to help me get prepared to try to get into Medical School?

I talked to my doctor about becoming a doctor and he told me I better like reading because there is a lot of it..

But what do I need to read? Any other ideas about volunteering?

Thanks!

Anatomy and Phys is an awesome class, definatly in my top two classes in high school, you should enjoy it. I was never offered a Biochem class at my school, so that should also be fun! It will definately help for college.

Finding a job at a hospital will definately be hard due to your age. However, they will allow those in high school to volunteer, giving you some time to scope out the hospital. You may also meet a doctor who will allow you to shadow him/her, giving you even more exposure.

It is really up to you. It is a good idea to get into a college you are comfortable with, so if that means you need a little higher ACT score, go for it. SAT is needed by some schools, but it's really up to you and where you would like to end up.

I would read anything really. Reading in itself is useful. Once you've started college, read your textbooks and study, try reading newspapers and maybe some medical journals if you like them.

If you start having trouble volunteering at the hospital or just want a change in scenery, you could also try volunteering at a hospice, retirement center, a free clinic, or even a pharmacy if you are considering that route. I personally perfer volunteering at the hospital. Also, you could take an EMT course at your local community college and work at the hospital that way.

Best of luck!

 

[HeatherB1192]

Thanks guys!

 

[KempDrumsalot]

If you have any questions, feel free send toss a message my way and I'll help clear whatever it is up for you.

 

[45408]

If you don't have to take so many classes in high school, don't. AP chemistry and AP physics are probably good to have under your belt, but if you could drop A&P and biochemistry, I'd recommend it. There's no reason to kill yourself with classes like those in high school, because you'll probably get biochem again in college, and again in med school. Third time is not the charm - it's really redundant and unlikely to help.

If you want to take lots of classes, take them in other subjects than the sciences. This is your chance to learn about new things in different disciplines.

 

[CScull]

Hey Heather, Welcome to SDN!

It looks like you enjoy challenging yourself academically, kudos for that. Your classes look pretty tough next year though so you're going to have to be careful about getting senioritis and messing up your GPA.

The good thing is that Med Schools hardly ever take your high school GPA into account. The bad thing is all of your studying and subject weaknesses will come with you. If you find somewhere you're struggling make sure to correct it now and not to give up, it will benefit you in the long run. However if you take any classes at a local college or for AP credit (though I'm not sure how APs will transfer as grades) you must make sure to do well in them... all of your college credits will go on your transcript, and med schools certainly care about that.

Don't worry too much about your ACT just yet. Make sure you've signed up for the next testing dates and don't stress. Getting study books and working practice tests will really help you bring it up... answer the questions as best you can and don't let anything phase you. ACT Workshops might also help you out, your guidance councilor probably knows one near you.

Remember though all of this, your high school GPA and the ACT, are only there to help you get into UG (undergrad). MedSchool has the MCAT and your UG GPA to worry about, so if you do poorly it won't come to haunt you when you're applying.


Good luck and keep working at it! Make sure to go tour some colleges and figure out where you want to be for the next four years… then when you've started you can start to worry about scarier things like the MCAT.

 

[tennisball80]

Also, the SDN admission guide is really helpful and it gives pretty much all the pre-med tricks. Check it out in the SDN store if you are interested.

Second, feel free to join H.SDN, check out our off-topic sections if you want to hang out with us. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=543319

Good luck

 

[xnfs93hy]

Anatomy and Phys is an awesome class, definatly in my top two classes in high school, you should enjoy it. I was never offered a Biochem class at my school, so that should also be fun! It will definately help for college.

Finding a job at a hospital will definately be hard due to your age. However, they will allow those in high school to volunteer, giving you some time to scope out the hospital. You may also meet a doctor who will allow you to shadow him/her, giving you even more exposure.

It is really up to you. It is a good idea to get into a college you are comfortable with, so if that means you need a little higher ACT score, go for it. SAT is needed by some schools, but it's really up to you and where you would like to end up.

I would read anything really. Reading in itself is useful. Once you've started college, read your textbooks and study, try reading newspapers and maybe some medical journals if you like them.

If you start having trouble volunteering at the hospital or just want a change in scenery, you could also try volunteering at a hospice, retirement center, a free clinic, or even a pharmacy if you are considering that route. I personally perfer volunteering at the hospital. Also, you could take an EMT course at your local community college and work at the hospital that way.

Best of luck!

If you are 18 you can become a paramedic for the hospital where I'm at. It pays pretty well but...you have to be 18.

I asked the volunteer office at my hospital and they said that they could get me jobs but they aren't REAL medical field jobs. I'm talking about working in distribution (delivering UPS and FedEx stuff to the ER, Lab, etc.)
Doing kitchen work in the staff cafeteria, there were actually a decent amount of jobs, but, again, they weren't REAL medical field jobs, per se.

EDIT: Yes, a lot of this was "service oriented." That is what they said. Gift shop is also an idea.

Honestly, unless you are paramedic, or have SOME kind of certification, you will not get paid much above min. wage, and will not be allowed anywhere near the core parts of the hospital where the real action goes on.

 

[45408]

If you are 18 you can become a paramedic for the hospital where I'm at. It pays pretty well but...you have to be 18.

I asked the volunteer office at my hospital and they said that they could get me jobs but they aren't REAL medical field jobs. I'm talking about working in distribution (delivering UPS and FedEx stuff to the ER, Lab, etc.)
Doing kitchen work in the staff cafeteria, there were actually a decent amount of jobs, but, again, they weren't REAL medical field jobs, per se.

EDIT: Yes, a lot of this was "service oriented." That is what they said. Gift shop is also an idea.

Honestly, unless you are paramedic, or have SOME kind of certification, you will not get paid much above min. wage, and will not be allowed anywhere near the core parts of the hospital where the real action goes on.

Becoming a paramedic takes a year of nearly full-time schooling. Becoming an EMT-B is a one-semester class that takes 8 hours a week. I wouldn't recommend becoming a paramedic to many high school students who intend to go to med school - it's a huge time investment.

 

[xnfs93hy]

Becoming a paramedic takes a year of nearly full-time schooling. Becoming an EMT-B is a one-semester class that takes 8 hours a week. I wouldn't recommend becoming a paramedic to many high school students who intend to go to med school - it's a huge time investment.

True.

 

[NonTradMed]

If you don't have to take so many classes in high school, don't. AP chemistry and AP physics are probably good to have under your belt, but if you could drop A&P and biochemistry, I'd recommend it. There's no reason to kill yourself with classes like those in high school, because you'll probably get biochem again in college, and again in med school. Third time is not the charm - it's really redundant and unlikely to help.

If you want to take lots of classes, take them in other subjects than the sciences. This is your chance to learn about new things in different disciplines.

I disagree with dropping A&P and biochem. I wish I had a more solid foundation in those courses before starting med school. And I wish I had a more solid science foundation in college. I guess some people have a natural affinity for the sciences and can learn these things quickly but for me, every step was a struggle. I don't think there's anything wrong with taking some extra science courses in high school, especially if you plan on doing it in college since it may ease your way in college. I went to a pretty competitive college where everyone I knew had AP calc/bio/chem under their belt, and I knew people who were at a disadvantage because they did not. I'd rather be a bit bored in my classes because some of it was review and do great in that class, then struggling to keep up (but learning a lot!) and end up doing poorly.

Sadly enough, the premed experience isn't just about expanding your intellectual abilities, it's also about keeping an eye on your grades. The more you prepare, the better off you will be in college.

I want to add that the above advice is not for those that can naturally pick up the sciences. I was/am not one of those. I realize every class in med school I didn't struggle in was the result of having had a background in it *before* I entered med school.

 

[45408]

I disagree with dropping A&P and biochem. I wish I had a more solid foundation in those courses before starting med school. And I wish I had a more solid science foundation in college.

I had them all in college, and I don't even remotely wish that I had taken them in HS. I can see how never having them would make it tough, but having them twice is redundant. I never even took A&P in high school or college, and I did pretty well in both of those.