question about becoming a doctor.

[jvans93]

okay, im going into grade 12, and i was just wondering what marks schools look at? i ask this as i have my gr11 uni biology, physics, and chemistry courses completed, but the problem is i got 67-75 in these courses.

i know that i can pull off 90s, but i never tried (only studied for a couple tests altogether throughout the entire school year. even then, it was usually the night or 2 before for a couple hours haha, i know, bad habits). it wasnt up until tonight actually that i want to really become a general surgeon.

so, is there still a chance for me to get to that dream with high 80's to 90's in just grade 12 marks?

its making me kind of worried now because i dont really feel like i have time to go back to grade 11 and re-take courses!

also, for those of you that have already completed school (as a general surgeon), how many years of college/university, med school, and residence did it take? and do you feel like it is really worth it in the end?

all answers are greatly appreciated, thank-you.

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[bravotwozero]

When you apply to medical school, nobody cares about how you did in high school. You should worry about getting into a university undergraduate program right now. The next step would be to excel in your first 3 years or so of university.

It would behoove you to try your hardest, and have a solid grasp of everything that you learn in your biology, chemistry, and physics classes, in addition to mathematics. These courses (except for math/calc) serve as pre-reqs to many medical schools, and they are the subjects that the MCAT will test you on.

Bottom line: do your best in science, and make sure you understand everything really well.

 

[jvans93]

what about volounteering and research? does that make an immense amount of difference in their decisions? (for med school).

 

[bravotwozero]

Think of those things as the 'cherry on top' of your application. They certainly can help you stand out as an applicant, particularly if you have published research, or you were involved in a leadership position in an extracurricular activity.

But they are NOT more important than the two most important variables to your application: i) GPA and ii) MCAT score.

A high gpa and mcat score won't guarantee you'll make it into medical school. But a low gpa and mcat score will guarantee that you will NEVER make it to medical school here. They are used as exclusion criteria.

So, my point is, yes, extracurriculars and research can help your application, but they will be completely useless with crap gpa and mcat scores, since most medschools will throw your application in the garbage when they see low gpa/mcat and not even bother with the rest of your application.

 

[jvans93]

okay thanks, that was very helpful.