Obviouslly, even to get into med school you had to have done pretty well in college, like 3.6 +GPA. But, how well did you guys do in HS? Did you guys develop good study habits in HS, college, or just went cold turkey during MS1 for little sleep/ studying hard?
How Did You Do in High School?
- Thread starter collegefreak12
- Start date
- Oct 29, 2004
- 808
- 7
- Status (Visible)
-
I did pretty well in HS (top 3%, which got my name and pic in the paper...I was proud of that). I studied maybe one or two hours a week. and most of that was actually sitting outside of starbucks shootin' the $hit w/ friends. MS 1 was when I learned how to study... talk about a crash course.
eh, HS was cake. 2nd in my class (of 400), a boat load of AP's. Im not even sure why I am telling you this. That had no refelction on getting into med school. I remember studying very little back then, and pretty much only learned how to study well M1 year. It would be interesting to see how many people in my class now or on here were #1 or whatever in HS. I would imagine that those who make it to medicine were all pretty much a the top of the crop in HS.
I was something like #30 out of 230 in my class before the last semester was over, but I got an F that spring so it was probably lower.
I might also point out that my college GPA was less than 3.6 (~3.5, 3.1 BCPM).
I might also point out that my college GPA was less than 3.6 (~3.5, 3.1 BCPM).
- Apr 11, 2006
- 712
- 1
- Status (Visible)
-
- Resident [Any Field]
I was 8th in my class of 400 in high school, SAT at 1500, and I think I studied once, ever. College didn't work out quite as well for me - I still studied two or three times a semester, even into the big pre-med classes, but I wasn't blessed with the good grades. Mostly Bs and a few Cs (GPA still above 3, barely). My MCAT was really good though, and I guess I interviewed well, because I lucked into a few med school acceptances. My M1 year is when I'm learning how to study - the hard way. Last term, I didn't really study until the finals for Anatomy or Biochem, and I paid dearly for it, though I passed. I've figured out what everyone else already knew - that studying pretty much every day really does help you learn stuff. Happy to report that I'm getting my first grades in the 90s now since high school - we're taking Histo/Embryo, Neuro, Physical Diagnosis (actually getting in the 80s in that class), and Physiology. Moral of the story: don't be like I was. Nobody is smart enough to completely eschew studying.
- Aug 5, 2005
- 3,207
- 348
- Status (Visible)
-
- Attending Physician
I was toward the bottom of my high school class with a 2.5 or so.
College went a lot better for me: 4.0 in Chemical Engineering.
Now an M2. I'm in the top 10% of my medical school class.
College went a lot better for me: 4.0 in Chemical Engineering.
Now an M2. I'm in the top 10% of my medical school class.
How you did in HS has no bearing on your potential medical school performance, or even if you'll get into med school. The study methods employed in HS (your teachers force you to do homework every night to learn the material) are far different from the self-motivated, self-directed studying necessary for medical school success. The major difference is that it's all on you to do well now, the instructors merely lay out the material.
Although, I have to say that the high school environment is a good prep for sitting in class all day (not to mention dealing with the absolutely asinine level of drama and gossip flying around).
Although, I have to say that the high school environment is a good prep for sitting in class all day (not to mention dealing with the absolutely asinine level of drama and gossip flying around).
- Oct 29, 2004
- 808
- 7
- Status (Visible)
-
- Apr 10, 2003
- 3,072
- 46
- Status (Visible)
-
- Resident [Any Field]
I agree that high school performance has pretty much no impact on wheher or not you can get into med school. However, if you do well and take a bunch of AP courses, you can set yourself for an easy couple years of college, which can give you a stepping stone to medical school.
I floated along in HS. I took all the AP courses that interested me (physics, calc, chem, bio) and because my parents pushed me too. However, I didn't take any of the AP exams because I simply didn't want to study for them. I skipped class often senior year (got in trouble for this) and pretty much did the bare minimum. When I retook these courses in college, I did very well and I believed this laid a solid foundation to get the high MCAT score I did (my ACT in HS was that high, comparibly). I didnt pay attention to grades that much.... mostly As and a few Bs.
I was surprised to find out toward end of senior year that I actually had a 3.97. it turned out that my school only counted the semister grades toward final GPA, so marking period grades didn't count. Somehow it turned out that I only had a couple A-'s for semester grades. I don't remember my rank, but it was in the top 10. When the newspaper interviewer asked me what I wanted to do, I told them I had no idea.
Somehow I ended up in med school. I will agree that the first year of med school is when you truly learn to study. It does pay to at least review the notes everday, then cram them in the weekend or few days before the exam (rather than putting everything off until 2-3 days before like i did in college).
I floated along in HS. I took all the AP courses that interested me (physics, calc, chem, bio) and because my parents pushed me too. However, I didn't take any of the AP exams because I simply didn't want to study for them. I skipped class often senior year (got in trouble for this) and pretty much did the bare minimum. When I retook these courses in college, I did very well and I believed this laid a solid foundation to get the high MCAT score I did (my ACT in HS was that high, comparibly). I didnt pay attention to grades that much.... mostly As and a few Bs.
I was surprised to find out toward end of senior year that I actually had a 3.97. it turned out that my school only counted the semister grades toward final GPA, so marking period grades didn't count. Somehow it turned out that I only had a couple A-'s for semester grades. I don't remember my rank, but it was in the top 10. When the newspaper interviewer asked me what I wanted to do, I told them I had no idea.
Somehow I ended up in med school. I will agree that the first year of med school is when you truly learn to study. It does pay to at least review the notes everday, then cram them in the weekend or few days before the exam (rather than putting everything off until 2-3 days before like i did in college).
I was pretty far down in my class, but I did have the highest ACT at my school my senior year.
I only went to class because the county actually made me. As in, a police officer came to my house after I had missed a certain number of days and there was an "intervention."
I never studied farther than 5 days before on any test except Steps 1 and 2. Not even in medical school, certainly not in college, and I think I opened a book once in high school, but I can't be sure.
I only went to class because the county actually made me. As in, a police officer came to my house after I had missed a certain number of days and there was an "intervention."
I never studied farther than 5 days before on any test except Steps 1 and 2. Not even in medical school, certainly not in college, and I think I opened a book once in high school, but I can't be sure.
Who are you people?! anyone who says they were making A's in high school AP classes with 1-2 hours of studying a week is BSing you or has a very poor memory (or a photographic one....one or the other). Even my friends who were in AP classes with me in high school studied a lot.
I was #2 out of 300 in my high school class. Got to make a speech at graduation and everything. However, i worked DAMN hard in high school. I studied more in high school than i did in college. i was at school until 7 most nights working on extracurriculars and from 7 till 12 or 1 i was studying. wake up at 6:30, repeat. I'm not sure if i was just a really inneficient studier, or dyslexic (or both), but most of my time was spent studying or sleeping. I should add that i was taking 5 AP classes my senior year of high school. It payed off though, with a full scholarship to a good, expensive private university, so it was worth it.
i think making those good study habits early on stood me in good stead in college. however, most everyone starts out medical school with a clean slate. nothing can prepare you for the onslaught of information. it took me about a semester and a half to finallly figure out how to approach the info in med school.
I was #2 out of 300 in my high school class. Got to make a speech at graduation and everything. However, i worked DAMN hard in high school. I studied more in high school than i did in college. i was at school until 7 most nights working on extracurriculars and from 7 till 12 or 1 i was studying. wake up at 6:30, repeat. I'm not sure if i was just a really inneficient studier, or dyslexic (or both), but most of my time was spent studying or sleeping. I should add that i was taking 5 AP classes my senior year of high school. It payed off though, with a full scholarship to a good, expensive private university, so it was worth it.
i think making those good study habits early on stood me in good stead in college. however, most everyone starts out medical school with a clean slate. nothing can prepare you for the onslaught of information. it took me about a semester and a half to finallly figure out how to approach the info in med school.
Not true.
I'm not a med student yet, but I was val of my class (hi, buff
) in high school and took many AP/pre-AP classes. For the vast majority of them, studying amounted only to immediately pre-exam - a day or two before - and that was it. If I remember correctly, I ended up walking out of there with a 4.0 / 4.16 weighted or something like that.The #2 of my class is going for her MBA. I still talk to her occasionally.
Averaged out over the course of a year, it would not surprise me if I was hitting 1-2 hours/week. The same was true for her as well as the #3 girl whom I also talk to from time to time.
Maybe I just had comparatively easier instructors or something, but that's what I remember as a senior in undergrad. Speaking of which, many classes in undergrad have been a similar situation, but a bit harder. Organic chem and a&p, along with a few other classes, have proven to be an exception to this, of course.
my first post. i was just talking about this with my buddies yesterday. highschool was cake, but i didn't do so great in it (even though back then i was saying i wanted to go to med school be a doc). I failed like 2 classes and had to repeat them (1 fresh, 1 soph year), mainly because i would just screw around. i would go to class, sleep, go home, nap, and then go to the gym and workout and play bball all night. i ranked like 180 something out of a class of about 500 or so, but i did do it in only 3 years by just taking extra classes in the summer. it was fun but it was wasting my time, and i guess i wasn't motivated.
got to college, got mostly B's in the first 2 years because i didn't feel like studying till about junior year. then realized it probably wasn't good enough to get in med school, so i read a little more, and tore it up from there, did well on my MCAT, now finishing up MS2 and doing well. 1st year med was where i learned to study, it slapped me in the face. its all good, can't wait to be a 3rd year.
got to college, got mostly B's in the first 2 years because i didn't feel like studying till about junior year. then realized it probably wasn't good enough to get in med school, so i read a little more, and tore it up from there, did well on my MCAT, now finishing up MS2 and doing well. 1st year med was where i learned to study, it slapped me in the face. its all good, can't wait to be a 3rd year.
- Apr 10, 2003
- 3,072
- 46
- Status (Visible)
-
- Resident [Any Field]
This is because there is variability in how hard high school classes actually are. My high school was not that hard, including AP courses (Hence, my ACT was not the best.). I believe since there was no added beneift to our gpa for taking AP courses, most teachers lowered the percentage needed to get an A. I am not sure how I would have faired if I would have taken any AP tests... probably not well since I didn't really study... only kept up with class work, which there was a lot of. I did well in college, but I worked significanctly harder and made school more of a priority. However, I definitely didn't get a full ride to undergrad, but I did get a full ride to med school because of how hard I worked in undergrad
I was one of the 40 or so people in my class of 320 who had a 4.0. Yeah, we had grade inflation.
Top 1%.
6 "O"levels, 4 "A" levels.
Rarely cracked a school book (outside of doing my homework, usually while watching the soaps in the afternoon).
I read alot, but only stuff that interested me.
6 "O"levels, 4 "A" levels.
Rarely cracked a school book (outside of doing my homework, usually while watching the soaps in the afternoon).
I read alot, but only stuff that interested me.
I worked harder in high school than in undergrad but I went to a top-notch college prep school on scholarship. Outside of my freshman year (the year my dad died of cancer and I had an A- average) I was mostly an A+ student with the occasional A or so. When I left my school after my junior year I was 2nd in my class with a 1600 SAT and 10 AP 5s. Right now I am near the top of our med class.
Honestly high school has no bearing on your medical career unless you enter an accelerated combined undergrad/med program. A lot of the work ethic I had in high school wasn't necessary in undergrad where I pulled a 4.0 by mostly cramming. College is a clean slate, as med school is after that.
Honestly high school has no bearing on your medical career unless you enter an accelerated combined undergrad/med program. A lot of the work ethic I had in high school wasn't necessary in undergrad where I pulled a 4.0 by mostly cramming. College is a clean slate, as med school is after that.
My school only ranked the top 25% of the class so the bottom 75% wouldn't feel bad. Needless to say, I was bottom 75%. I could not tolerate the excessive busy work in HS and every year I was patronized by teachers who insisted I would fail my finals every year.
I will be attending medical school in the fall, and I'm sure like a lot of others in this thread who had less than stellar HS careers but owned college, I know it will feel good going to my HS reunion and demanding that some of these dingus teachers call me doctor. I'm not big on titles, but when that time comes along, I sure will be.
Does spite count as a valid reason to go into medicine?
I will be attending medical school in the fall, and I'm sure like a lot of others in this thread who had less than stellar HS careers but owned college, I know it will feel good going to my HS reunion and demanding that some of these dingus teachers call me doctor. I'm not big on titles, but when that time comes along, I sure will be.
Does spite count as a valid reason to go into medicine?
This is because there is variability in how hard high school classes actually are. My high school was not that hard, including AP courses (Hence, my ACT was not the best.). I believe since there was no added beneift to our gpa for taking AP courses, most students lowered the percentage to get an A. I am not sure how I would have faired if I would have taken any AP tests... probably not well since I didn't really study... only kept up with class work, which there was a lot of. I did well in college, but I worked significanctly harder and made school more of a priority. However, I definitely didn't get a full ride to undergrad, but I did get a full ride to med school because of how hard I worked in undergrad
I can definitely attest to variability in difficulty between high schools, I attended four different schools (hated the first two schools and then family issues):
1) Suburban Prep School: up at 6am, classes until 3, sports until 5, home by six, probably did homework for about 3 hours a night for all honors classes (mostly reading), studied day or two before tests and wrote every essay the night before, all As in all honors - so pretty much nothing but spots, school and studying . . blech
2) Suburban Public School #1: told by teachers to stop speaking in class because I was confusing the other kids (seriously, in an honors class) so I stopped going and just took tests/turned in assignments after reading on my own, probably did an hour a day of homework, As in all honors classes except math which I learned I can't teach myself like other stuff
3) Urban Prep School: up at 5am for wacky 1.5hour commute in, back by 5pm did all homework on train back and forth, A & Bs in all honors classes
4) Suburban Public School #2: in a wealthier area so better teachers but had a mold problem (discovered the year after I graduated and was in Time mag) that made me uber sleepy whenever I was there, docs though I had mono and excused me from going to school so did HW and studying on own, probably an hour a day, attending a grand total of 40 days to go in and take tests/quizes etc, . . . all As in honors classes
Definitely didn't work as hard as I did in college in any of the schools, but the prep schools required more homework/reading and scrutinized essays a bit more deeply, also one prep school required sports all three seasons which was a pain in the tush. But definitely not impossible to put a pretty minium effort into high school and come out with a great record. I ended up with a full ride to Tulane undergrad after doing virutally nothing for two of the years.
High school is swamped with grade inflation. I never cracked a book in high school, except for required readings in English class, and if I had a homework assignment that was graded. I didn't even know what studing was in high school. I wasn't at the top of my class; however, I did graduate with a 3.75 and was #20ish out of almost 300 students (so top 10%). My ACT scores were mediocre -- nothing astounding, but were above national averages.
My HS was a breeze. I mastered the "minimum" for an A and graduated 4th out of 50. A couple of the people who graduated above me are still trying to get into med school though.. so obviously HS performance isn't the best predictor of MS.
I'm over halfway through first year and STILL learning how to study.
I'm over halfway through first year and STILL learning how to study.
High school was very difficult for me. Mostly because I swam 4 hours a day and attended school in between swim practices. My school was extremely challenging. I graduated with a 3.6, however I think all the pressure from high school got to me when I went to college, where I graduated with a 2.92. I have been fighting that GPA ever since. I got into med school this year, so I guess the fight was worth it. The good thing is.....I have already learned to study so I am hoping studying for med school is a little easier for me.
I didn't even go to High School. I was admitted directly to a graduate program in Biomechanical Engineering/Molecular Biology at Harvard following Kindergarten. When I registered on AMCAS, all that came up was a screen that said, "Where would you like to go?" I'm actually only 12yo right now, but I'm #1 in my class of 215. They have waived Step 2 for me, because really, why even bother?
Also I have an enormous ****.
Also I have an enormous ****.
#1 out of 480 in high school. 1520 SAT, perfect GPA with lots of AP classes. I was also in student government, tons of clubs, ran lots of fundraisers, that kind of stuff. Between studying and all of my extracurrics, I barely slept. Undergrad I slacked, studied at most an hour a day, and got a little less than an A- average.
I'm honestly just learning how to study this year. It would've been a huge advantage to have good study habits and know how to effectively study before entering medical school.
I'm honestly just learning how to study this year.
It would've been a huge advantage to have good study habits and know how to effectively study before entering medical school.
lol...
My HS didn't have class ranks, but I was one of the top 6 students (they gave out some sort of recognition/award to us) out of a class of about 250.
I took the SAT in 6th grade for some Gifted and Talented Future Scholars program and got a 1210. Not great but good enough to get into college. Unfortunately mom made me go to high school and take it again (yes, I did better). The look on the other kids faces was priceless though.
From my experience, there is *some* correlation between performance in high school and getting into med school. At my high school, out of a total of 350+ students, the top twenty ranked in the class were more successful academically---including at least six who went to med school. If we were to extrapolate that number onto the rest of the class, I doubt that 6/20 = 30% of the rest of class also went into med school.
So out of the AP/honors students at my school, there were far fewer proportionally who were successful in college/went to med school/attending grad school as far as I know. While I can't say that good grades in high school causes people to go to med school, I think there is a certain correlation.
At my med school, there is also a higher proportion of students who did the honors/AP track in high school than the 'I goofed off and got a 2.0' types (and the only person I knew who said that also quickly pointed out he pulled his stuff together later on).
The people I knew in college who were successful med school candidates were also typically the hard worker in high school. There were plenty of exceptions, but not enough for me to say is there is *no* correlation. I knew people who did goof off in high school and did well in college and into med school but they were outnumbered by the people who did well in high school and then did well in college. What I'm trying to say is that there isn't that many magical overnight change from lousy high school student to brilliant college student to med student. Exceptions do occur but, from my experience, I don't think they occur as regularly as people on the forum seems to believe.
This thread, like many SDN threads, is posted by people who may have done better in college than in high school (just like threads asking about what people's SAT vs. MCAT score is would be tilted toward people with high MCAT scores whereas in reality people who are poor test takers for SAT may not become brilliant test takers for the MCAT).
I guess what I'm trying to say is that high school is where successful study habits and academic foundation is laid for many people, and while it's nice to think college is a 'fresh start', my observation has been that college for many is not where people find their way and change their study habits---those things were formed long before people ever go to college.
As for med school, I'd say that most people at my school study hard and there aren't that many who say, "this is the first time I studied my ass off". There are a few people who say that, but the general sentiment at my school seems to be that med school is a continuation of hard work, not the beginning of it.
Disclaimer: All this is from my personal experience so it may not apply at all to any other area of the country.
This wasn't at all the case for me, but I can definitely imagine it is for lots of people.
Slept in class through high school. Didn't graduate in the top 70 people. Played sports - only reason I came to class.
Accepted to 10 of the 12 med schools I applied to.
High School means Nothing!
Accepted to 10 of the 12 med schools I applied to.
High School means Nothing!
I barely graduated. Probably just above the required 2.0. I actually dropped out in the eleventh grade, but I went back my senior year and took some correspondence courses to graduate on time.
I didn't do very well academically in high school but did very well in my extracurriculars such as sports, clubs, and partying. I got my act together in college though.
It totally depends on the high school. At my school I was surrounded by idiots, so though I didnt have a heavy AP schedule (couple APs), I got nearly straight A's without cracking a book (or doing homework, for that matter) and graduated 11th out of 440. Public schools in a poor area like mine were pretty much crap, so as long as you weren't close to flunking out, you were probably a top student. The crap I pulled in high school would have never worked at a prep school or a decent public school.
I have to disagree with you there, while my studying was more like 1-2 hours a day (which for the last half of my high school career due to a Study hall and lunch was entirely during school hours which I could techinally argue was 0 hours of homework) and got straight As, and a #4 ranking in a class of 150.
However, while I enjoyed not working it really hurt me when I got to college and could no longer not study and then had to learn how. My freshman year wasnt disasterous (no Fs but a C+ and a lot of B-) but it absoultly was the reason I didnt get into med school my first go around and had to go the the G-town SMP. So dont feel cheated, Im sure you did not have nearly the freshman drop that I had.
i balled out in highschool hahhaha 3.94/4.0 GPA, national merit, most likely to succeed, top ten out of class of 450, SATs above 1400, got into all colleges i wanted except harvard(still a sore subject b/c the med school smited me too) full ride to college all that jazz. college: found frat parties, on demand, tivo, etc and 3.94 translated toa 3.7, and not as enthusiastic about school anymore. but i will say college has been more fun. as for medical school, i guess next year i will be going back to highschool study habits.
I recently saw my high school transcript and wondered how the heck I got into my undergrad. school... lol. My SAT's were pretty decent though - 1280. I also know someone who smoked A LOT of pot in high school, but in college he turned his life around completely, got a 3.8+GPA, 31 MCAT, and got into a very good med school for 2007 (but not Columbia level, or anything..).