HS Senior missing a few pieces of the puzzle

[Dioniss]

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Hello,SDN.

I'm a HS senior this fall who's looking to go the route of Community college->University>Med-School.

I'm from Europe and have two american citizens as very close relatives(I can get loans a whole lot easier,as far as I know),I scored a 101 on the TOEFL,a fairly low GPA with an upward arc which will probably round out to 2.8-3.0 till the end of my first semester in senior HS.

My plan so far is getting into a community college taking a biology course and then...blankness.I don't know how everything works around the US.

I visited a consultant and she was fairly helpful but her online resources really didn't help me so much.

I tried looking for community colleges and found one I like but from there only confusion followed.I managed to find a biology course but I was told that I should be looking for an A.S. degree (associate degree if I recall correctly) with transferable credits.The site is currently down due to the hurricane so I can't double check but the only A.S. degrees that were close to healthcare were Nursing and Medical Administration.I was advised against taking up nursing because I'd get more benefit from a biochem or molecular biology program.

Also I feel the need for lots of improvement on my knowledge of chemistry,I know it's a red flag but I'm very assertive with any challenge that comes in front of me.Will I have time to brush up on things while in college?I've also heard some hearsay that some European educational systems actually outpacing American ones as far as the sciences go,it sounds very odd and I'd love if someone could prove/disprove that.

One last thing,does a full-time student have time for a job?I wasn't born with a silver stethoscope around my neck so I will need a way to keep my loans from becoming monsters.

Thank you for your time.

 

[zwitterion34]

As long as you study diligently you will find success in your studies. As for employment, I'm not sure if you can get employed without a green card, but many students find a part-time job during the summer.

 

[AdorableSatan]

I tried looking for community colleges and found one I like but from there only confusion followed.I managed to find a biology course but I was told that I should be looking for an A.S. degree (associate degree if I recall correctly) with transferable credits.The site is currently down due to the hurricane so I can't double check but the only A.S. degrees that were close to healthcare were Nursing and Medical Administration.I was advised against taking up nursing because I'd get more benefit from a biochem or molecular biology program.

First, you do need to find a degree program. Community colleges offer you a 2 year degree - it's called an associates degree. Transferable degrees allow you to use that 2 year degree to proceed to a 4 year degree at a university. So what you need is an associate degree program at a community college which allows for transfer to a 4 year institution.

For medical school what your major is doesn't matter. What matters is whether you've taken the medical school prerequisites or not. Every medical school has similar prerequisites but you must check with specific medical schools to be certain. What you need is to find any associates degree which interests you and for you to take the medical school prerequisites. A biochemistry degree will not help you if you don't have a strong interest in biochemistry. Again, find a degree program which interests you and take the prerequisites for medical school. This applies to both the associates degree and the 4 year degree.

Also I feel the need for lots of improvement on my knowledge of chemistry,I know it's a red flag but I'm very assertive with any challenge that comes in front of me.Will I have time to brush up on things while in college?I've also heard some hearsay that some European educational systems actually outpacing American ones as far as the sciences go,it sounds very odd and I'd love if someone could prove/disprove that.

I'm from Europe so I can give you a concrete answer: it depends on your country. I don't know where you're from so I can't give you a definite answer. But schools in Europe tend to be a little more rigorous with their general courses. In Serbia, where I'm from, first year high school students take precalculus in their first year and by the final year everyone is doing or done with the equivalent to AP Calculus BC and taking physics which uses such math. In Serbia there are no upper level classes or AP, but the general courses are very hard and long and the examinations are fairly tough. It means nothing, however, if you don't learn smartly and regularly. Anybody can pass the years by flirting with teachers.

As for chemistry, you will need it very much. You will be taking many chemistry courses and you have to do well in them. Chemistry is also on the MCAT (the Medical College Admissions Test). What you need to know are the foundations of chemistry (matter, atom structure, units of measurement, topics such as stoichiometry, etc). If you're not confident with your chemistry then start studying now. Let me ask you, do you know the nomeclature of alkenes and alkynes? Can you give an IUPAC name to unknown compounds? Do you know why HCl is a Bronstead-Lowry acid? If not, then you need more time with chemistry.

One last thing,does a full-time student have time for a job?I wasn't born with a silver stethoscope around my neck so I will need a way to keep my loans from becoming monsters.

It's hard if you can't manage your time well. You have to watch your GPA though. Mess up in college and medical school will be a distance away. This holds particularly true for the first two years; a bad freshman year means a much harder additional years.

 

[aSagacious]

1) Do not take your med school prerequisites (bio, chem, math, physics) at a community college. In general (whether it's fair or not) med schools tend to look upon these less favorably than if you took them at a four year university. Instead, spend your first couple years taking general university requirements (humanities, social sciences, english, etc) in addition to those that are generally interesting to you.

2) Students absolutely have time for jobs. I've known very successful (GPA > 3.9) students who have held full-time jobs, been single parents, or other time-consuming commitments. That said, I would recommend working no more than 20 hours per week until you get a handle on your course work.