Question regarding academic requirements for admission to medicine

[Spanky06]

All

I have been a long time lurker on this site, primarily because I used to have a small opioid rx for an orthopedic condition that was fixed with surgery (off opioids for almost 2 years). Quite frankly, the dialogue between some of you is fascinting to watch from an outsider’s point of view.

My daughter has expressed an interest in medicine as a career (she is still pretty young) and I wanted to ask you all some questions about your secondary and post secondary education prior to medical school:

* Did you take any AP courses in high school, and if so, which ones?

* What was your SAT score?

* What were your high school
GPA and class rank, and your undergraduate GPA and class rank?

* What was the highest level math course you took as an undergrad? From seeing some of your discussions, it looks like a working knowledge of graduate level statistics and probability is an absolute requirement, but the majority of students that were on a pre med track at my college had to take differential calculus (ordinary differential equations) and I don’t remember any of them taking anything past that. Of course, this was 20+ years ago, so some requirements may have changed.

* What was the highest level chemistry course you took as an undergrad?

Thanks in advance for any guidance you could offer me, and thanks again for allowing public access to this forum.

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[willabeast]

Regarding math - unless you are an MD doing research all you need to know in practice is basic math on a elementary school level. However to get into med school you will need calculus one semester and to graduate med school you need to pass a simple statistics course. OTOH to manage one’s investments some advanced math is useful.

 

[Agast]

I went all the way up to Calculus III in college. I don't remember a single thing. Now sometimes I use my fingers to count and do math.

Honestly, a lot of academic requirements are hoops to jump through to show you have the "right stuff" mentally and some problem solving skills. Admissions committees can afford to be picky because they get so many applicants.

 

[LunchMD]

All

I have been a long time lurker on this site, primarily because I used to have a small opioid rx for an orthopedic condition that was fixed with surgery (off opioids for almost 2 years). Quite frankly, the dialogue between some of you is fascinting to watch from an outsider’s point of view.

My daughter has expressed an interest in medicine as a career (she is still pretty young) and I wanted to ask you all some questions about your secondary and post secondary education prior to medical school:

* Did you take any AP courses in high school, and if so, which ones?

* What was your SAT score?

* What were your high school
GPA and class rank, and your undergraduate GPA and class rank?

* What was the highest level math course you took as an undergrad? From seeing some of your discussions, it looks like a working knowledge of graduate level statistics and probability is an absolute requirement, but the majority of students that were on a pre med track at my college had to take differential calculus (ordinary differential equations) and I don’t remember any of them taking anything past that. Of course, this was 20+ years ago, so some requirements may have changed.

* What was the highest level chemistry course you took as an undergrad?

Thanks in advance for any guidance you could offer me, and thanks again for allowing public access to this forum.

Frankly high school grades don't matter so much. Just maintain somewhere in the 3.5/4.0 range to assure acceptance to at least the state college. Do take AP classes in highschool, as this will free up some time and give you more flexibility in college. Note that many med schools dont think accept AP credit for prerequisite classes.

Once in college, your goal is to have a 4.0 GPA. You need to graduate top of your class in college. 2 it 3 B's won't kill you, but if you don't shoot for straight As, you will fall short.

Aggressively pursue leadership and doctor shadowing opportunities starting maybe 2nd semester 1st year, or 2nd year of college. It's basically a requirement to volunteer maybe 50 hours in medical setting, and shadow a few physicians. Joining the local student health organization is an easy was to beef up application.

It is helpful to engage in research during summer breaks of college. I ended up doing research for 2 or so sunmers in college. You don't necessarily need publications at this point, just the experience of being in the lab or doing some other kind of research.

It helps to major in something that is not Biology, because most applicants will have that. I chose a BS in Microbiology, but anything which is known as being a harder major helps to set you apart. But ultimately chose what interests you the most, so that it will be easiest to get straight A's.

To answer your specific questions:

-I took AP psychology
- I took the ACT and got a 30 or 31, don't really remember
-In high school I got something like a 3.4 gpa. Went to state school. Graduated with a 3.8 GPA. Top 10% of class. Did all that I mentioned above.

-I took chem 1/2, biochem 1/2, organic chemistry 1/2 +lab

-Calc 2 and biostats where my highest math classes in college

All that got me 2 acceptances to good med schools out of the many that I applied to.

 

[RM38]

If you go to the pre-med or medical student section of the forums you can find a lot of people whom just went through the admissions process and can probably give you a lot more up to date data. I am a new attending and I started med school almost 10 years now. From what I remember though high school grades and performance on stuff like the ACT don't matter at all. If anything taking AP classes will get someone better prepared for college which is what matter the most. That is important because some people don't figure out good study habits until they are midway through college, but by then they are stuck with a GPA that may not be recoverable enough to have a shot at acceptance to med school without a really stellar MCAT. Hell my dad was an absolutely terrible student in high school and figured it out in college and got in. Getting in to a good college helps as that certainly helped give me an edge over others, but there are plenty of people from what would be considered "average" state schools whom are smart and do well in college, get solid MCAT scores and get in without a problem. Agree you need to do a lot of medical shadowing and community service. I played college athletics and served as the chairmen for community service for my fraternity. I stopped math at calc 1, chem at organic. Took many upper level bio courses as I was a bio major. Would recommend at least minoring in biology or chemistry if not majoring in traditional science path to get some upper level classes in the sciences.

 

[Ferrismonk]

Agree with above.

In summary:
1. High school doesn't matter, just get into college. HS is good time for lots of volunteering/service hours.
2. Major is something not biology, but make sure you fulfill all med school admission classes. (chemistry, biology etc)
3. Get good grades in college, do non-academic stuff as well to make you interesting.
4. Do well on MCAT.

 

[lord_jeebus]

I was on a med school admissions committee for a year. Nothing from high school matters or even gets looked at. Undergraduate GPA is very important. Some colleges have tougher grading than others, but successful applicants will have GPA's well above their college mean. Most colleges don't provide class rank. It doesn't matter if you complete math and chemistry beyond the minimum prerequisites: 1 semester of math, 1 year of general chemistry, 1 year of organic chemistry.