Help..

[dahgame15]

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Hey, so i am currently a senior in high school. Over the past few months i've been doing a lot of research on possible careers. I've decided on trying to go into the field of medicine & become a physician. I'm really interested in the human body and how it works. I'm really looking forward to the anatomy classes. Unfortunately, throughout my high school career i did not really think school was too important. i realized too late that without an education i cannot get very far in life. I guess you can say i matured a bit. Anyways, my plan is to go to a two year community college, major in biology. Work really hard & after two years transfer into the university i've wanted to go to. Then maintain good grades, do alot of volunteer work & take the MCAT & hopefully gain acceptance into med school. I do realize this is alot of work & im going to have to set many things aside to get this done. But i am really dedicated, my dream is to become a doctor. Do you think this is a good plan to accomplish my goal? & Do you have any advice? Anything would be helpful

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

It sounds like you've got a good plan, and I admire your desire to succeed. If possible it would be better to take all four years of college at a four-year college instead of community college. At least try to take the prerequisite classes at a 4-year. If not, make sure you get excellent grades from the beginning and not just when you transfer to a new college. All your college grades will be factored into the GPA that appears on your medical school application, so you can't just goof around the first two years, transfer to a new college and expect the past to be erased. Your classes will be very difficult, and if you haven't studied to get A's before you will probably be surprised at how much work it takes. Hang in there, and remember that if getting into medical school was easy, everyone would be doing it.

Good luck!

 

[TheShaker]

I was in your exact same position a few years ago. You have a good plan, but try to get into a 4 year university if you can, even if it's a low rated state school.

Work hard and keep it that way. Don't be one of those people who say they'll change and fall off the wagon 2 weeks later. Keep pushing and you'll thank yourself later when you apply.

 

[CaliGirl14]

I'm doing that right now 🙂

 

[acslater99]

Hey, so i am currently a senior in high school. Over the past few months i've been doing a lot of research on possible careers. I've decided on trying to go into the field of medicine & become a physician. I'm really interested in the human body and how it works. I'm really looking forward to the anatomy classes. Unfortunately, throughout my high school career i did not really think school was too important. i realized too late that without an education i cannot get very far in life. I guess you can say i matured a bit. Anyways, my plan is to go to a two year community college, major in biology. Work really hard & after two years transfer into the university i've wanted to go to. Then maintain good grades, do alot of volunteer work & take the MCAT & hopefully gain acceptance into med school. I do realize this is alot of work & im going to have to set many things aside to get this done. But i am really dedicated, my dream is to become a doctor. Do you think this is a good plan to accomplish my goal? & Do you have any advice? Anything would be helpful

I'm doing the same thing man, You're not the only one.

Only thing different is I'm not In High school.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Moving to hSDN.

 

[Arijos0222]

Why does it matter if you attend a community college or not? I mean it does save money. And if you do well during your interview, why does it even matter? I don't really get how you would view someone differently that way so you're telling me that if I goth 3.4 in community college, and transferred to Rutgers, ended up with a 20 on the DAT or 30 on the MCAT and had a 3.5 GPA, applied to Med/Dent school, my chances would be lower than someone who just went to Rutgers all four years and attained the same grades.....? With the same major....?

 

[Eon]

Why does it matter if you attend a community college or not? I mean it does save money. And if you do well during your interview, why does it even matter? I don't really get how you would view someone differently that way so you're telling me that if I goth 3.4 in community college, and transferred to Rutgers, ended up with a 20 on the DAT or 30 on the MCAT and had a 3.5 GPA, applied to Med/Dent school, my chances would be lower than someone who just went to Rutgers all four years and attained the same grades.....? With the same major....?

From what I've gathered, adcoms don't like seeing applicants using CCs for pre-reqs. There's no reason not to go, just take pre-reqs at a 4 year uni rather than a CC.

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

Why does it matter if you attend a community college or not? I mean it does save money. And if you do well during your interview, why does it even matter? I don't really get how you would view someone differently that way so you're telling me that if I goth 3.4 in community college, and transferred to Rutgers, ended up with a 20 on the DAT or 30 on the MCAT and had a 3.5 GPA, applied to Med/Dent school, my chances would be lower than someone who just went to Rutgers all four years and attained the same grades.....? With the same major....?

Community college classes are generally easier. However, medical school adcoms know they're easier, so they may not regard grades from a CC as highly as they would grades from a 4-year. This is especially true if your grades at a CC are anything less than perfect. You don't need to go to Rutgers; whatever state college is cheapest will do nicely. A 3.5 is already below average for most medical schools, so you will want to get better grades than that.

 

[Arijos0222]

From what I've gathered, adcoms don't like seeing applicants using CCs for pre-reqs. There's no reason not to go, just take pre-reqs at a 4 year uni rather than a CC.

How could one go about doing that? i thought you had to take pre-reqs starting your freshman year?

Wouldn't loading everything in two years on top of your major call for burnout?

Community college classes are generally easier. However, medical school adcoms know they're easier, so they may not regard grades from a CC as highly as they would grades from a 4-year. This is especially true if your grades at a CC are anything less than perfect. You don't need to go to Rutgers; whatever state college is cheapest will do nicely. A 3.5 is already below average for most medical schools, so you will want to get better grades than that.

I see. And 3.5 was a fairly conservative estimate. I'm a minority however (lower admissions standards because of affirmative action) and I believe that would be fairly easy to obtain for me provided I keep a fairly good work ethic 👍

All in all, I have considered this CC option as well, because... I like saving money.

Just not entirely sure how reputable those 40+ ranked Regional North Universities on US NEWS would be or a 100+ ranked National University would fair up against other State Flagships when I eventually apply for professional school.

 

[Eon]

How could one go about doing that? i thought you had to take pre-reqs starting your freshman year?

Wouldn't loading everything in two years on top of your major call for burnout?

That's why it's suggested it many times that going to a 4 year university is much better than going through a CC, transferring etc. All in all, you'll end up having to go through many more loops, hurdles to end up getting to med school. It's definitely feasible, but if you're like most people than you would rather prefer to go through the typical 4 year university.

I see. And 3.5 was a fairly conservative estimate. I'm a minority however (lower admissions standards because of affirmative action) and I believe that would be fairly easy to obtain for me provided I keep a fairly good work ethic 👍

All in all, I have considered this CC option as well, because... I like saving money.

Just not entirely sure how reputable those 40+ ranked Regional North Universities on US NEWS would be or a 100+ ranked National University would fair up against other State Flagships when I eventually apply for professional school.

I don't really understand the bolded part. Can you elaborate on your situation a bit? And, as I said above, going through a CC will make it a bit more difficult than it already is to get to med school. And you don't even have to go to a ranked university. Any university is fine, as long as it has the pre-req courses, and is 4 years. I'm also going to be attending a well reputable State Flagship University this coming Fall.

 

[Arijos0222]

That's why it's suggested it many times that going to a 4 year university is much better than going through a CC, transferring etc. All in all, you'll end up having to go through many more loops, hurdles to end up getting to med school. It's definitely feasible, but if you're like most people than you would rather prefer to go through the typical 4 year university.



I don't really understand the bolded part. Can you elaborate on your situation a bit? And, as I said above, going through a CC will make it a bit more difficult than it already is to get to med school. And you don't even have to go to a ranked university. Any university is fine, as long as it has the pre-req courses, and is 4 years. I'm also going to be attending a well reputable State Flagship University this coming Fall.

I'll clarify it for you.

Hispanics and African-Americans have a better chance statistically to get into medical school by their race than Caucasians and Asians

An Asian with a 27-29 MCAT and a GPA of 3.4-3.59 and an African American with the same grades apply for medical school.

Statistically, Asians only get in with a 30% chance with those grades.

African Americans get in with about an 86% chance.

Hispanics with those same grades get in with about a 70% chance.

Caucasians with the same grades have about a 36% chance.

Even though we all are similar applicants with roughly the same grades, Since Africans and Hispanics are under-represented in the medical field, we have a MUCH higher chance than getting accepted than our Caucasian and Asian counterparts.

You should see Osteopathic schools. African Americans matriculate with a 3.3 GPA and a 22 on the MCAT on average


ALLOPATHIC
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-auKq5iPMhRo/TzZ8aZQsF6I/AAAAAAAAQ1U/oAu1ZhPqfvM/s1600/medschool.jpg

OSTEOPATHIC
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=12487361

 

[pdxhopeful]

The other dirty secret about transferring (either from a cc to 4 year, or a 4 year to 4 year)? Some of your prior classes may not be accepted as equivalent to your new school's, and you'll have to repeat them extending your stay in school or meaning you have little/no opportunity to take a class just for fun or interest since every credit has to count.

 

[Izanami]

To the OP:

I did exactly what you are planning to do and got multiple acceptances from medical schools. Don't buy into the med schools don't like CC credits for prereqs crap, most really don't care as long as you have a good GPA. I did all of my prereqs at CC, it was never brought up or mentioned. Once you transfer, take upper division science classes and ace them. However, you have to make sure that the prereqs are transferable to the 4 year university.