grades in high school

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phenom832

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how much do your grades in high school play a part of becoming something in the medical field. Dont get me wrong my grades arent that bad mostly b's but do they have that much affect. I know they do to get into certain colleges
 
so its still possible to become a doctor even if your grades are not good
 
True story...

When one of my teachers was in high school her valedictorian was supposedly really smart and had perfect grades (obviously). He went on to college and the last time she saw him (2-3 years ago) he was working in a restaurant about 45 minutes from my town. The clown of her graduating class, who had a C average, graduated and went to a decent university. Now he is a doctor at a local hospital (just finished his residency).

Goes to show you don't need perfect or even "good" grades in HS, just a strong work ethic, dedication, and passion during college.
 
Thank God!
Wo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I used to spend countless hours depressed whenever I compared myself to others and how well they did in school. This really is encouraging stuff.
 
Chamahk said:
Thank God!
Wo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I used to spend countless hours depressed whenever I compared myself to others and how well they did in school. This really is encouraging stuff.
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I did the same because almost half of my chem II class is the "smarter" part the seniors, and I feel stupid because they have better grades than me. What is funny is that I understand the topics better than all of them, who figures. 🙂
 
The only reason I got out of highschool with a B average is all the gym and other cushy electives I took my junior and senior years. I'm currently in med school.

You will need to do well in college though. You start with a clean slate, so be sure to make the most of that.
 
DrYoda said:
The only reason I got out of highschool with a B average is all the gym and other cushy electives I took my junior and senior years. I'm currently in med school.

You will need to do well in college though. You start with a clean slate, so be sure to make the most of that.
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QFT

This is why I plan to urge myself more than I ever have to get perfect grades in college. I don't care if I am studying all day, I want that 4.0, I want that UMich acceptance, and I will pull out my best to do this.

On Maslow's hierarchy of needs I got self-realization down 😀
 
That plus if you do have to study all day in undergrad, what do you do when your workload goes through the roof (triples/quadruples) in med school? It seems like not many people consider that reality. Hard work is great and all, but if you're already maxing out to stay competitive in undergrad, perhaps you should at least consider other career options. You should also work diligently on trying to study more efficiently.
 
From my experience, high school doesn't matter at all when you consider the big picture. The truth is, almost anyone can get into some kind of college no matter their grades, whether it be an elite university or community college. As long as you do what you need to do and work hard, there is no reason for you to be worried.
 
a
 
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I think that I had a 3.2 or so in high school. I have a 4.0 atm in medical school.
 
i am very happy that high school does not apply to medical school. this is because only recently i've woken up and realized that its time to be real.
 
Your high school grades really do not matter once you start college. However it is a good time to work on figuring out WHY you are not getting the grades you want. The best way to start getting good grades in college is not to suddenly bolt yourself down to a library chair and refuse to move. It is to figure out the study methods that work for you so that you can be efficient and successful. Think of it as an opportunity to prepare yourself.

And if you are not doing a combined Bachellors/MD program you want to broaden your mind about which medical schools you would like to go to. It's great to have a good school like UMich as your goal but there a lot of other good schools out there as well. They each have their pros and cons and you might surprise yourself and fall in love with another one.
 
I did well in high school, I think mostly As, with a couple of Bs. But then again I went to my state school for undergrad, so my ACT score was paramount, not grades.

NOW IT DOES MATTER IF YOU WANT TO GO TO A SPECIFIC SCHOOL, for example my sister is planning to follow me into military medicine, (I have apparently started a new family tradition, it makes me so proud😀) so she is planning on going to West Point, which is super competative, and then useing that as a spring board to get into USUHS.

So for her grades are super important as is aceing the SAT.
 
Shinobiz11 said:
I did the same because almost half of my chem II class is the "smarter" part the seniors, and I feel stupid because they have better grades than me. What is funny is that I understand the topics better than all of them, who figures. 🙂
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same I understand my chem stuff sooo good. But for some reason the teacher hates me, she doesn't follow the book. She thinks a lot of it is wrong and goes her own way (which had a huge impact on my mark because she marked it WRONG). She uses her own significant digit method which caused almost all of us to fail the recent tests.
I can go on and on about her, but she isn't the topic. Overall I understand very clearly on what I am doing, but get bad marks on tests because I need more time.

I know that the hs marks don't count for medical school, but they certainly have an impact on getting into a University.
 
The way in which you learn, and how well you break down information are two very important aspects to being successful in school. Your GPA in high school really doesn't matter much, unless it reflects your "ceiling". Upper-level college courses will give you an idea of how you handle more information, but even those pale in comparison to what you would see at the next level, so don't expect to step easily into medical school.
 
Like everyone has said, high school grades really do not matter accept when it comes to getting into an excellent school. There is always time to change your act and improve yourself in the classroom.

I was a horrible student in high school. I was always average and had no motivation to study. My primary concern was to live up my youth and have as much fun as possible. I realized my lack of effort would only bring me down and after realizing I wanted to pursue a health related career I got my act together. SDN really helped me get through and realize the importance of studying. Youll find all sorts of great information on here about peoples study habits and what keeps them motivated. If you have the drive, you'll be able to get through it and get your act together.
 
I'm also in high school and I make all A's and a B or two in honors classes. I want to be a doctor more than anything but I get so intimidated by all the work required in college as well as medical school. I guess I just have to work hard and see how I match up.
 
Also know that if you goof off in HS, the study skills to get a 4.0 in college do not magically appear. But that's okay, if there's a time and a place to goof off, it's HS.
 
docss26 said:
Like everyone has said, high school grades really do not matter accept when it comes to getting into an excellent school. There is always time to change your act and improve yourself in the classroom.

I was a horrible student in high school. I was always average and had no motivation to study. My primary concern was to live up my youth and have as much fun as possible. I realized my lack of effort would only bring me down and after realizing I wanted to pursue a health related career I got my act together. SDN really helped me get through and realize the importance of studying. Youll find all sorts of great information on here about peoples study habits and what keeps them motivated. If you have the drive, you'll be able to get through it and get your act together.
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What?

What "great information about peoples' study habits"?

I haven't seen anything about studying on this forum. Please link me as I have NO study skills. I don't even take notes. I try to do it, but it never makes sense to me when I read it to review. I get lazy and I stop writing during lectures. It's too hard. 😕
 
a
 
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high school grades matter about the same as elementary school grades
 
high school classes just gives u a taste of college basics classes. If you payed attention through high school then that'll give you an advantage for your 1st to 2nd years of college (less studying on classes already taken in high school and more on focusing other hard classes never taken or experienced before). This is how it is for me. Other than that you can still learn in high school with D's and C's and it still wont affect your application for any medical field school your entering besides getting into the college you want to go to.
 
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High school grades only determine which college you get into. Once you start your bachelors, it's a blank slate and everybody is on the same playing field. College grades are the only thing that matter when applying to Medical Schools. Make sure you get above a 3.5 GPA there.
 
Wow I didn't really know this... I've just gone through the whole college applying phase where I get all freaked out by my hs gpa and stuff. It's great to know that after this I'm all done with it!
 
phenom832 said:
how much do your grades in high school play a part of becoming something in the medical field. Dont get me wrong my grades arent that bad mostly b's but do they have that much affect. I know they do to get into certain colleges
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i had a handful of C's in high school FWIW and a D...now I'm doing fine...med school doesn't care a/b grades in H.S.
 
High school grades do not matter. College grades matter, and to so some extent what college you go to and what you study there matters. None of this really matters as the truth is people who have what it takes to get into medical school will get in from anywhere. There may be more people at Harvard than at X state school with the right stuff, but there are also some total clowns at Harvard. My point is that medical schools are looking for people who would be good students and good doctors. These people come from all over and take all different paths to get there. Either you are or will have made yourself into one of them, or not and I think this is by and large independent of where you go to school. So, to the point-high school does not matter, at all. Not even a little bit.
 
Shinobiz11 said:
QFT

This is why I plan to urge myself more than I ever have to get perfect grades in college. I don't care if I am studying all day, I want that 4.0, I want that UMich acceptance, and I will pull out my best to do this.

On Maslow's hierarchy of needs I got self-realization down 😀
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You do that. Post your EC list after you apply too please.
 
High school grades are really only important if you're looking to go to a specific university. If you want to go somewhere that requires higher grades than the ones you currently have, you'll need to improve. Otherwise, it really doesn't matter - As long as you work really hard in university you'll be fine. Your high school grades won't come back to haunt you 😉 Good luck!
 
Shinobiz11 said:
QFT

This is why I plan to urge myself more than I ever have to get perfect grades in college. I don't care if I am studying all day, I want that 4.0, I want that UMich acceptance, and I will pull out my best to do this.

On Maslow's hierarchy of needs I got self-realization down 😀
Click to expand...

Getting perfect grades/getting into medical school doesn't mean self-actualization. The way I learned it in psych was that self-actualization is almost like nirvana.
 
I got literally a 2.1 in highschool. Went to a community college for about 2 years, then my state school and busted ass in both. I'm starting medschool this fall.
 
In HS I did pretty much nothing but play sports and make videos of my friends doing Jackass stunts. I did my homework before class (while looking off of a classmate), maybe studied for a total of 1 hour per month (because my parents forced me), and was a regular in detention. I Almost didn't graduate because of the senior prank I helped pull off, etc. My advice would be to have as much fun as possible, but still keep your goals in mind (don't be stupid like I was). To be honest I wish I could go back to those days sometimes but I guess I am an adult now, sigh.

On a side note if any of you are not HS seniors yet, look into going to a local college during your senior year. In my home state the program was called PSEO (post secondary educational opportunity)tuition is waived and you receive a stipend for books. I did it and it helped me see that college isn't scary; although my main motivation was that it got me out of school at 10:00 and any college credits counted towards HS as well.

Finally, to echo some earlier posters nearly all of the kids that thought they were so smart and great work at restaurants or are 1st grade teachers (not that there is anything wrong with that, but its a bit ironic). Our valedictorian (from HS) served me my dinner when I presented my research poster from my first year of med school at a steakhouse. I think she **** her pants when she saw me 😀
 
Med schools don't really want to know anything that you did in highschool. My recommendation is just to have fun in high school, and get the grades that will get you into the college that you like. Most of the stuff you learn in highschool you will re-learn in college (history, english, and math have not changed... but you have to take them anyway).
 
DubVille said:
Our valedictorian (from HS) served me my dinner when I presented my research poster from my first year of med school at a steakhouse. I think she **** her pants when she saw me 😀
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If she went to an expensive private college she might've had to work an extra job... just sayin'. I know people who went into tons of debt going to an Ivy and had to work an extra job afterwards to pay it all off (whether it was along with grad school or their new job).
 
I had straight a's in junior high I worked my ass off in ap classes. Then got too high school,and did not give a **** now I am only in two IB classes,but I have a decent act score,and GPA 3.43 in easy classes
 
College is a fresh start for everyone. But, it's also your last chance if you want to do well in school. Study smart, study hard. Good luck!
 
No on shadowing, maybe on the research deal. All of the doctors I shadowed were enthused just to have someone to teach. Research is quite a lot more official, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if your PI (i.e., potential boss) wanted to see what your grades were like. In any event, though, nobody is going to give a crap about your high school grades. Once college starts, that's all that matters.
 
Does GPA change depending on the school you go to. I've read that a GPA of 4.0 is anything 95% + but then I also read that anything 89% + is a 4.0. So at what percentages do you get a GPA of 4.0 and 3.9? Thanks.
 
Even though high school marks don't matter, there's still an obvious correlation between high school grades and university/college grades.

If you're a consistent C or D student, you should probably re-evaluate your chances of being successful enough in your post secondary education to gain a medical school admission, never mind succeeding in medical school itself.
 
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