Do you think I could become a doctor with my past?

[Gallegorious]

I am a junior in high school and I know I have a long ways to go in terms of school. Freshman and half of sophomore year my grades were so terrible (c's, d's, and f's). This caused my GPA to go down to a 1.6. By the end of my second semester of 10th grade I raised my GPA to a 2.4. I just finished my first semester of junior year with 5 A's and 2 B's. I am doing better than I did a few years ago because I actually try and I am no longer ill. I don't take any honors, AP, or ACP classes. I am in all regulars and my counselor seems to think that that's the best option for me. She put me in ICP (integrated chemistry-physics) which is the super easy version of chemistry. I don't have much high school left. I'm going to take chemistry and anatomy next year as well as some required classes. I know my counselor will fight me on this because she sees little to no potential in me. I have dedicated myself the past year to studying and I really do care about my work. I want to challenge myself. I had bump in the road at the beginning of high school because of my health. While most of my classmates take higher level classes I take regular. Do any of you think it's possible to do pre med and come out strong with dedication? Have any of you ever done bad in high school or didn't take an AP class in high school and was still successful in becoming a doctor? Whenever I picture my future, all I see is me being a doctor and I want nothing else. I just want to your thoughts and opinions on all of this and your own stories if you'd like to share.

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[Promethean]

Your high school grades are irrelevant other than what they mean for you as far as getting into a college.

As long as you get it together from here, and really devote yourself to your studies, there is no reason you can't succeed.

Sciences aren't actually "hard" to understand. They make perfect sense, if you put the hours into learning the basics. It is all about discipline and willingness to work. All the resources you could ever need are freely available to you via the internet. I like the Crash Course Chemistry / Biology / etc. videos on youtube for a nice overview of those disciplines. There are endless other videos that will help you take your understanding deeper.

Don't let anyone tell you that you can't succeed. Only you decide that, based upon what effort you are willing to put into it.

 

[Promethean]

By the way, you don't have to go to the fanciest and most expensive college. If you needed to start out doing a year or two at a community college to demonstrate academic ability and then transfer into a university, that is a very valid path that a great many students take.

I would recommend, if you were going to do that, to consider getting a 2 year ADN nursing degree at community college, and then finishing pre-med studies at a university. Getting an RN license would let you get clinical experience and make really good money working part time. It won't hurt your med school application, either. Nursing is different than medicine... it isn't just "medicine light." It has its own body of knowledge and focus that is separate from medicine. But still, it gets you doing hands on work with patients so that you can evaluate whether you really do want to pursue medicine as a career.

 

[Gallegorious]

By the way, you don't have to go to the fanciest and most expensive college. If you needed to start out doing a year or two at a community college to demonstrate academic ability and then transfer into a university, that is a very valid path that a great many students take.

I would recommend, if you were going to do that, to consider getting a 2 year ADN nursing degree at community college, and then finishing pre-med studies at a university. Getting an RN license would let you get clinical experience and make really good money working part time. It won't hurt your med school application, either. Nursing is different than medicine... it isn't just "medicine light." It has its own body of knowledge and focus that is separate from medicine. But still, it gets you doing hands on work with patients so that you can evaluate whether you really do want to pursue medicine as a career.

Thank you so much! Believe it or not this helped me get some more pep in my step. I luckily have a scholarship for 4 years worth of tuition because I've been in this one program since 7th grade. I'll also have a couple of other resources that are for low imcome families. There is a uni that isn't all to fancy at all in my state and it has a 80% acceptance rate and I meet all the qualifications for getting in so I think I could get in there. If not I'm definitely not gonna feel defeated, we have a couple of great community colleges. Thank you again for your advice.

 

[chrisjh]

Dude I graduated high school by the skin of my teeth with a 1.8 gpa, after I had to take a few online courses to make up credits. And that was only because the Marine Corps told me I needed my diploma to enlist.
Now, a few years later I am a couple months away from graduating with my bachelors with a near 4.0 GPA. And I've interviewed at 3 med schools, including a top 10 school.
Dont let your high school ****ups dictate the rest of your life. The only thing high school matters for is getting into a good college. Outside of that, it is irrelevant, no matter how bad you did.

 

[Goro]

Get into college first,and come back in about six years. Then we can advise.

I am a junior in high school and I know I have a long ways to go in terms of school. Freshman and half of sophomore year my grades were so terrible (c's, d's, and f's). This caused my GPA to go down to a 1.6. By the end of my second semester of 10th grade I raised my GPA to a 2.4. I just finished my first semester of junior year with 5 A's and 2 B's. I am doing better than I did a few years ago because I actually try and I am no longer ill. I don't take any honors, AP, or ACP classes. I am in all regulars and my counselor seems to think that that's the best option for me. She put me in ICP (integrated chemistry-physics) which is the super easy version of chemistry. I don't have much high school left. I'm going to take chemistry and anatomy next year as well as some required classes. I know my counselor will fight me on this because she sees little to no potential in me. I have dedicated myself the past year to studying and I really do care about my work. I want to challenge myself. I had bump in the road at the beginning of high school because of my health. While most of my classmates take higher level classes I take regular. Do any of you think it's possible to do pre med and come out strong with dedication? Have any of you ever done bad in high school or didn't take an AP class in high school and was still successful in becoming a doctor? Whenever I picture my future, all I see is me being a doctor and I want nothing else. I just want to your thoughts and opinions on all of this and your own stories if you'd like to share.

 

[68PGunner]

Go to college and get your first 2 year grades in. We will talk once you get to that stage.

 

[r7p3]

I am a junior in high school and I know I have a long ways to go in terms of school. Freshman and half of sophomore year my grades were so terrible (c's, d's, and f's). This caused my GPA to go down to a 1.6. By the end of my second semester of 10th grade I raised my GPA to a 2.4. I just finished my first semester of junior year with 5 A's and 2 B's. I am doing better than I did a few years ago because I actually try and I am no longer ill. I don't take any honors, AP, or ACP classes. I am in all regulars and my counselor seems to think that that's the best option for me. She put me in ICP (integrated chemistry-physics) which is the super easy version of chemistry. I don't have much high school left. I'm going to take chemistry and anatomy next year as well as some required classes. I know my counselor will fight me on this because she sees little to no potential in me. I have dedicated myself the past year to studying and I really do care about my work. I want to challenge myself. I had bump in the road at the beginning of high school because of my health. While most of my classmates take higher level classes I take regular. Do any of you think it's possible to do pre med and come out strong with dedication? Have any of you ever done bad in high school or didn't take an AP class in high school and was still successful in becoming a doctor? Whenever I picture my future, all I see is me being a doctor and I want nothing else. I just want to your thoughts and opinions on all of this and your own stories if you'd like to share.

I live in the UK and one of my friends did not meet the minimum requirements for entry to Medicine. He's still applied though, but I think it's very unlikely that he'll get in. If he took Graduate Entry, and dealt with the greater competition and the very high costs, he should be able to make it. Alternatively, he could apply abroad. I would have gone with the latter instead of taking an alternative first degree.
I'm not sure how it would work in your situation, but applying abroad is always an option.

 

[Promethean]

I live in the UK and one of my friends did not meet the minimum requirements for entry to Medicine. He's still applied though, but I think it's very unlikely that he'll get in. If he took Graduate Entry, and dealt with the greater competition and the very high costs, he should be able to make it. Alternatively, he could apply abroad. I would have gone with the latter instead of taking an alternative first degree.
I'm not sure how it would work in your situation, but applying abroad is always an option.

Applying abroad in the US generally means applying Caribbean. Those schools are famous for taking more students than they have 3rd year sites for, and basically failing as many of them as are necessary to make up for it. They take your money for a couple of years, and leave you with no path forward. Or worse, you pay them for two more years, graduate, and then find out that your chances of getting an opportunity to licensed to practice in the US are way less than they ought to be for the amount of time and tuition you've invested at that point.

There are some schools that are more reputable, but others that are just straight schemes to separate students who don't know better from their money. Unless you are VERY certain what you are getting into, applying abroad if you hope to practice medicine in the US when you are done is a terrible idea. There is almost always a better way. Especially for someone in OPs position, who hasn't even begun their college education. They still have plenty of time to do things the right way, to study hard and get good grades and learn the material well to prepare to be welcomed into a US school.

 

[r7p3]

Applying abroad in the US generally means applying Caribbean. Those schools are famous for taking more students than they have 3rd year sites for, and basically failing as many of them as are necessary to make up for it. They take your money for a couple of years, and leave you with no path forward. Or worse, you pay them for two more years, graduate, and then find out that your chances of getting an opportunity to licensed to practice in the US are way less than they ought to be for the amount of time and tuition you've invested at that point.

There are some schools that are more reputable, but others that are just straight schemes to separate students who don't know better from their money. Unless you are VERY certain what you are getting into, applying abroad if you hope to practice medicine in the US when you are done is a terrible idea. There is almost always a better way. Especially for someone in OPs position, who hasn't even begun their college education. They still have plenty of time to do things the right way, to study hard and get good grades and learn the material well to prepare to be welcomed into a US school.

Could the OP repair her GPA in high school then? Would it require extremely high marks in future exams? How does a medical science degree compare to nursing?

 

[Promethean]

Could the OP repair her GPA in high school then? Would it require extremely high marks in future exams? How does a medical science degree compare to nursing?

Sure. She could improve her high school grades. And she should do so as much as possible. It just doesn't matter. In the US system, for most people, your high school grades become irrelevant once you are in college. So, high school GPA only really matters for getting into college. Also, financial concerns are a big deal in the US, and universities can be very expensive. If her high school GPA can't be raised to a point that will bring her scholarship funds, or even if it can, it can be more cost effective to start out with a community college for the first year or two. The savings can be really substantial, in the tens of thousands of dollars per year.

What is a "medical science degree" with regard to undergrad? Do you mean a pre-med major? Most schools don't offer a dedicated "pre-med" major. You can have literally any bachelor's degree and get into medical school, as long as you have taken the pre-requisite courses. A lot of people get biology degrees, but if you don't get into medical school, a bachelor's in biology qualifies you for a $18-24k a year lab tech job... if you are very lucky to get one.

Nursing is a profession that provides a great income and opportunity for exposure to clinical settings with as little as 2 years of education to become an RN. On the off chance that the OP, like a great many other Americans, needs to be concerned about finances, getting a 2 year degree and converting it into a 4 year while being able to work for $25-40+/hr part-time/during summers is a pretty sweet way to ease those concerns. It is definitely a better route than trying to get by on the $8-12/hr that one can earn as a scribe, which is what most of those bio majors are doing for clinical exposure.

Oh, and an RN with a 2 year degree in nursing can still get a bio or whatever other pre-med degree they want when they transfer to university.

So, the OP came here freaking out about whether her junior year of high school grades were going to prevent her from becoming a doctor, and instead was offered a handy tip for how to get there from hear less expensively and with more income potential worked in. Not bad.

 

[FrugalMuscle]

If you can't get into a good, cheap university then I would recommend you take the community college route. Saves you a crapload of money. Make sure all the pre-reqs you take align with medical school admissions and then when you transfer to a university you can major in something more interesting.

You can do it if you work hard enough. Don't let the downers get to you. College is a new start, get good grades, and if you kill the admissions test (MCAT, DAT, whatever), you'll be a shoe in.