Junior in HS - have some questions about med school

[Roflcopterrr]

I've been wanting to be an emergency physician for a few years now, and I have some questions about it... I did terrible freshman and sophomore year in HS. Failing. I got 100s and high 90's on my tests, but my attendance and lack of homework made me fail - hard. I'm going to really try my Junior and Senior year, and here is where I need help.

Where do I go from here?

I know I can get at least high 80s for my junior and senior year, so grades shouldn't be an issue in HS now. But what about college & money?

I'd like some help please

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[c5212]

I assume you're referring to undergraduate education- your best bet is a state school money-wise. If you are talking about med-school, I'm pretty sure that 99% of doctors DON'T graduate from med-school with even 1/2 of it paid off. This is a six-figure debt which usually carries on well into your medical career

 

[EMS5]

Concerning college, there are plenty of ways to pay for college, including but not limited to scholarships (if you qualify), Pell Grants (need based), Stafford Loans (do not have to be repaid until you drop below 1/2 time enrollment at college/med school) and work-study programs.
Focus on getting solid grades as a junior and senior, colleges will hold you in higher regards if your grades have an upward curve from freshman-senior.

You seem to be in a similar situation to where I was at your age. Feel free to PM me I'd love to help out!

 

[EMS5]

To briefly address med school, as it was explained to me-if you get in, there is money for you. Plenty of loans etc. C5212 is correct though, don't expect to graduate med school with less than 100,000 in loans. I believe the average indebtedness for a med school grad last year was around 120,000; but its a fact of life.

 

[shawnpl]

I did terrible freshman and sophomore year in HS. Failing. I got 100s and high 90's on my tests, but my attendance and lack of homework made me fail - hard.

That completely describes my freshman and sophmore years. Never did any homework and missed tons of days of school, but had the highest test grades in almost all my classes. And now I am stepping it up a notch this year and I'm actually going to try.

 

[penguin24]

HS grades have ALMOST no bearing in terms of getting into med school. If you screwed up in HS then you hurt your chances of getting into a better university, but that's it. Your med school apps will be determined mostly by undergrad GPA & MCAT. Everything else is 'fluff', esp HS performance, but also EC's, hospital volunteering, LOR, PS, etc.

Best advice for you at this point is not to worry about money. When I got into med school, all I had to do was sign my name on a loan document & I had 100% of tuition covered (if you have dad willing to help good, if you get a scholarship good, if you're in the military good, but all you need is an acceptance & you're set).

 

[Near]

You have plenty of time to get your GPA in high school up for scholarships. Try applying for as many as possible, also use your guidance counselor as a resource (he/she is paid to professionally help you with this!).

In the end, if you still don't have quite enough money and you don't want to take out a loan for undergrad, attending junior college is a pragmatic alternative.

Whichever path you choose should be backed up by research though.

Here's an excellent article on the subject for your use.

http://www.studentdoctor.net/2009/04/community-college-and-professional-school-admissions/

 

[StudyAnesthesiology]

Don't worry about the first two years of high school. Just step it up the last two years, do well on the SAT, and get into a state university. Take all of your science/pre-med type classes at the university. To save money, you can take the other classes like English/history/government etc. at community college during the summer. Assuming they still have AP tests, you can study and take some AP tests and place out of college classes = a lot less money. I went to college with 18 hours just from taking those silly tests. Just make sure you keep your college GPA high, and study hard for the MCAT. Study hard, lay off the partying in college, and you'll be fine.

When you do get around to med school, stick to a school in your state, or go to a state that has cheaper tuition. Texas, for example, has great tuition rates and cheap cost of living. 95% of med schools are great, and there is no need to go to a hyped up school and graduate $300,000 in debt. Emergency medicine is a great field, where residents on average only work 50 hours a week, but keep your options open as there are lots of great fields out there. I am like you in that I said way back in high school that I wanted to go to med school and be an anesthesiologist. Now I'm in my intern year at a very good anesthesia program. I did well in high school and college, but by no means did I have a 4.0 gpa in college. It's a long, tough road, but if your heart is in it then everything will work out. Getting into med school is not all about grades. Med schools like to see people that participate in extracurricular activities and have some volunteer work and shadowing experience in the medical field. Do all of these things and you'll have no trouble.

I love to help with this stuff because I've gone through all of it. It may seem scary and dramatic now, but 10 years from now nobody cares how you did in HS or college .

Out of curiosity, where are you from??

 

[Roflcopterrr]

Don't worry about the first two years of high school. Just step it up the last two years, do well on the SAT, and get into a state university. Take all of your science/pre-med type classes at the university. To save money, you can take the other classes like English/history/government etc. at community college during the summer. Assuming they still have AP tests, you can study and take some AP tests and place out of college classes = a lot less money. I went to college with 18 hours just from taking those silly tests. Just make sure you keep your college GPA high, and study hard for the MCAT. Study hard, lay off the partying in college, and you'll be fine.

When you do get around to med school, stick to a school in your state, or go to a state that has cheaper tuition. Texas, for example, has great tuition rates and cheap cost of living. 95% of med schools are great, and there is no need to go to a hyped up school and graduate $300,000 in debt. Emergency medicine is a great field, where residents on average only work 50 hours a week, but keep your options open as there are lots of great fields out there. I am like you in that I said way back in high school that I wanted to go to med school and be an anesthesiologist. Now I'm in my intern year at a very good anesthesia program. I did well in high school and college, but by no means did I have a 4.0 gpa in college. It's a long, tough road, but if your heart is in it then everything will work out. Getting into med school is not all about grades. Med schools like to see people that participate in extracurricular activities and have some volunteer work and shadowing experience in the medical field. Do all of these things and you'll have no trouble.

I love to help with this stuff because I've gone through all of it. It may seem scary and dramatic now, but 10 years from now nobody cares how you did in HS or college .

Out of curiosity, where are you from??

I'm from upstate NY Thank you for the help.

 

[DrYoda]

Where do I go from here?

Sound's like you already know what you need to do to fix your grades. Concentrated on improving your HS grades and getting into the college you want.

I know I can get at least high 80s for my junior and senior year, so grades shouldn't be an issue in HS now. But what about college & money?

There are lots of ways to handle college costs.
1. Apply to all grant/scholarships you are eligible for. Do this every year of college
2. As someone else said, get college credit for AP courses.
3.Part-time job. I recommend if you have a car to look somewhere other than the university, non-university jobs tend to pay higher than their university equivalent.
4. Payed internships, I know it's pretty much the same as #3 but these are extra cool since they should be a job in your area of interest and some of them can pay pretty well.
5. Look at state schools, they are usually the least expensive option.
6. You could commute to school for a few years if the college is near your parents (this is less fun though).
7. Roommates. They can be annoying, but you pay a premium to live by yourself.
8. Make a budget and stick to it.