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A friend of mines didn't complete high school and got a GED. He wants to go to medical school after college. What are his chances of getting accepted?
Chances of going to Med School with a GED
- Thread starter MugenTsukiyomi
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His chances are as good as someone who graduated HS. On the other hand, whatever contributed to not completing HS (e.g. delinquency, emotional problems, substance abuse, gang involvement, etc) could hurt his chances. If the reasons for not finishing HS were something interesting like losing a year of school due to a natural disaster like Katrina, it could even be a "hook" that helps adcoms remember him.
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Probably as decent as anybody else's. Your performance in college is what is important.
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Your high school record is entirely irrelevant.
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I have a GED. I am in med school. I am not going to say high school is meaningless, but it certainly is not the be all end all of life. Actually, if I had it all to do over again, I would probably still drop out of high school, but I would take all of the tech/shop and foreign language classes I could before doing so. Good luck to your friend. Once you get a 4 year degree, the diploma vs. GED issue is only a conversation piece, with little significance beyond that. This is true of the wide world outside medicine too.
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It shouldn't matter. But whatever issues led to your friend dropping out of highschool should be addressed. And how well they do in college does matter when it comes to getting into medical school.
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I never stepped foot into a high school and I'm starting med school soon. High school doesn't matter.
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Dropped out of high school, got GED, started at a community college, transferred to a pretty competitive 4 year school, did pretty well and got a lot of awards, applied to MD/PhD and got in at a pretty good program, finished, matched in a competitive specialty at one of the top programs in the field.
High school doesn't matter... but at the same time you need to realize that this isn't the path most dropouts will take. All depends on the person.
High school doesn't matter... but at the same time you need to realize that this isn't the path most dropouts will take. All depends on the person.
I had an adventurous pre-college education (formally started early teen). Very little of it mattered to any school. As long as he does well in undergrad (good gpa, mcat, activities, leadership, medical work...), the GED, as well as reasons for leaving high school (maybe not still-unaddressed legal/substance abuse issues or violent felon record), shouldn't matter much. As was mentioned, some reasons may even be seen as a positive (early college, tragedy, volunteering abroad...).
Yes it can be done. The main thing is not selling yourself short or being ashamed. Your experiences taught you different things than the "typical" applicant might have.
I left home at 15 (reasons compicated) and lived on the streets for the rest of my adolescence (so no high school, no home school- self taught
at the school of hard knocks). GED at 19, community college, work, university, work, kids/marriage, work, back to community college, back to university, research, finally a B.S. as a formality, then started med school last year at a great private school, at age 30. First generation college student. Still poor, no scholarships, but lucky!
If you are an exception to the rule then you are probably pretty exceptional. Do it and we'll start a small and fairly exclusive club!
To the other three or so, let's be friends! I thought I was the only one but of course, I should have known better.
I left home at 15 (reasons compicated) and lived on the streets for the rest of my adolescence (so no high school, no home school- self taught
at the school of hard knocks). GED at 19, community college, work, university, work, kids/marriage, work, back to community college, back to university, research, finally a B.S. as a formality, then started med school last year at a great private school, at age 30. First generation college student. Still poor, no scholarships, but lucky! If you are an exception to the rule then you are probably pretty exceptional. Do it and we'll start a small and fairly exclusive club!
To the other three or so, let's be friends! I thought I was the only one but of course, I should have known better.
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