I need some general advice

[FrightBlight]

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I'm 16 and a junior in Highschool.
Lately I've been thinking about becoming a doctor.

I had a few questions;

How difficult is it to get accepted into med school? I know this is a complex question, and probably gets answered regularly, but please do answer.
My main concern is actually getting accepted into a medical school (none in particular). I don't want to have "wasted" a degree by not being able to get into medical school.

I'm considering volunteering at a local old folks home once I get this semester done with. Mostly because I recently moved and don't have much friends and need something fun besides videogames to fill my time.
Would this be beneficial to my application, or should I try for somewhere else? (I live in a small town in alaska, I'd have to travel 50mi to volunteer at the nearest hospital)

Since I moved to Alaska, I've been in a type of home-education school. I do most of my classes online or with the local community college.
Its a kind of experimental school, we still have supervisors that watch over everything we do, we have an actual school building were classes are held. Its still an accredited public school and state funded.
The point is, will my skills being able to do most of my education by myself help or hinder in college and medical school?

I want to go to college at University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Lincoln also has a Med-School that (I think) is in affiliation with the University. Would my chances be any better at getting accepted there than if I went a different college?



Like I said, my main worry would be going to college and getting an appropriate degree for medschool, but having that degree be "wasted" if I can't get accepted into med school.

I see people saying that they have a 3.8GPA 35MCAT, Volunteered for 4+years, have research experience and 3+recommendation letters. With replies like "You'd have a chance". It scares me.

Specs like that just seem undoable for me, mostly because my family isn't all that rich, my parents make minimum wage and are having a real hard time putting my sister through college.
Let alone having to support me and her. Even getting money for gas is an endeavor and can be hard.

I worry a lot, and for somereason the advice of strangers sometimes helps.

 

[CeeEstee0]

How difficult is it? Quite difficult. You are 16 though, and have plenty of time so don't stress. Keep your grades high, look online and talk with your guidance counselor (If you have access to one, if not you will have to research on your own) about scholarships. Some awesome ones have pre-requisite courses that few people have taken, making them easier to get. Don't forget about pell grants and FAFSA for need-based aid when you are looking at college. What I am saying is that low-income coupled with high grades can be an EXCELLENT thing when looking for financial aid, especially if you are an URM.

Now: Volunteering at the nursing/retirement home. That is a good EC, but it isn't easy. You will see some of the sadder and more difficult sides of health care. I am not trying to dissuade you from doing it, but you should know what you are walking into. If you can handle that, you can handle most anything. If there is a community college near you, (I think you mentioned one?) look into getting a CNA or EMT license. (Usually you must be 18, so it may have to wait awhile). Although those classes can be expensive they provide decent income in a related field to your ultimate goal.
I also encourage you to make friends IRL. Too much time on SDN will make you crazy. (Trust me, lol).

Any more questions?

Good Luck!

 

[FrightBlight]

Wow, thanks for the info.

I have a great guidance counselor at my school, her specialty is career guidance. I currently see her every thursday for one of my classes with her. We usually meet one on one every few weeks to see were I'm at career wise.

Also, about the CNA/EMT license; do I need any prior educational prerequisites to it, or is it usually just a class that you need to take?

And I do have friends IRL. Its just that they all live in Nebraska. I stay in touch with them regularly. I'm working on making friends here, though.
The only hurdle I've come across is that since my school is home based, the majority of kids use it because they got kicked out of "regular" school and the troubled youth school and they need to finish their schooling to graduate. The school is relatively new and for a lot of students its a last chance sort of thing, so those seem to be the majority of people. This is a little hard, since I'm what many would consider a "goody two shoes."
Its growing though, we've had more than 100 new students this year in my grade alone.


Oh well; You only fail when you stop trying, so I'll keep at it.

 

[AntiHouseMD]

Hi. CeeEstee0 made some great points, and I'll just add some of my own advice. Don't be too focused on medical school right now, and don't be too narrow-minded later on. Basically, allow yourself to do things beyond medical school prep in college, like clubs and extracurriculars. Also, major in what you're interested in. Medical schools don't care as long as you do your pre-reqs. (I know you didn't ask about that, but it always seems to come up. Just wanted to get that out of the way).

High school doesn't really make a big difference in terms of medical school. It allows you to reach an undergraduate college, but your college work means everything in terms of medical school acceptance. I don't know if Lincoln would help your chances. At least in my state, Massachusetts, going to a state school doesn't make a major difference in terms of getting accepted to UMass Med. Of course, that's probably because our state schools aren't great (UMass Amherst was in the news recently for students fighting with riot police over the Patriots' Super Bowl loss. ) It probably depends on the state, so you could email someone from the college and just ask. Wouldn't hurt.

In terms of being chanced on this site and College Confidential, I'll be honest with you. The people posting on those websites are the extremely qualified and slightly neurotic candidates (not to insult anyone here who is on those websites, though). Here are my personal stats: 3.8 GPA (4.2 weighted), only one day of volunteering, 1960 SAT, no research experience whatsoever, and only 2 recommendation letters. I also worked at a newspaper for awhile, but you get my point. Was accepted to a private small Catholic college with top scholarship. Every situation is different. Also, I've always felt that the people saying "You'd have a chance" are just trying to scare other candidates. Your essay and writing portions of the CommonApp will likely be of help to you so you can explain your situation.

Don't worry about money right now. FAFSA and the school will probably help you in a big way since you have financial difficulties. May need to change your school focus based on your fin. aid offers after you see your acceptances, but still apply to any college you're interested in and see what you get for financial aid.

Ditto on what CeeEstee0 said about the nursing home. Make sure that you are willing to work in that type of situation. In terms of getting work, I imagine that you need a CPR/First Aid certificate to start classes. I'm not entirely sure, though.

You seem to be fine right now. Just focus on keeping your grades up, making some friends, and finding things to do. Oh, and not get frozen in the Alaskan cold.

Good luck!

 

[QuizzicalApe]

As folks pointed out, the best way to avoid worrying about "wasting your degree" if you don't get into medical school is not to pick a major based on wanting to get into medical school.

As long as you have your prereqs done, have a rockin' GPA, and house the MCAT, med schools don't care if you majored in biology, business, or puffin husbandry.

 

[CeeEstee0]

and house the MCAT,

May I just say the phrase 'House the MCAT' should totally be a thing. Speaking of which, I just housed my last Economics test.

To OP: That's great you have a good guidance counselor, they are invaluable in the application process. Just make sure you are discussing finacial aid now, so you are ready in the future. Also, listen to AntiHouse. He is so right about changing your mind after financial aid comes in. I live in South Dakota and only applied to Iowa State because they waived the app fee, and they awarded me partial tuition all four years if I came. So, I reiterate: keep an open mind!
And again, Good Luck!

 

[I'm No Superman]

Nice Cee, I just housed my second Bio exam!

OP: I live in Nebraska, and I think that the med school you're thinking about is UNMC in Lincoln. Its a great school and accepts a ton of instate applicants, so if you still have residency in Nebraska, then go for it. UNL is also a great school and you get a regents with a 30+ ACT and top 10% of your class (instate).

 

[CeeEstee0]

Congrats on your housing, INS!

To the OP: You may want to research WWAMI, it is a program if you are a resident in one of the US states with no medical school. (I may have the initialism wrong).

 

[da8s0859q]

I'm 16 and a junior in Highschool.

How difficult is it to get accepted into med school?

Would my chances be any better at getting accepted there than if I went a different college?

I see people saying that they have a 3.8GPA 35MCAT, Volunteered for 4+years, have research experience and 3+recommendation letters. With replies like "You'd have a chance". It scares me.

Getting into med school is hard. In recent years, something like 45% of first-time applicants get at least one acceptance by the end of the application cycle. So if we're being honest, it's an uphill battle from the start.

Hard to gauge chances at med school admissions with undergrad/med school affiliations because how you do as an undergrad will have some bearing on that, unless it's some sort of guaranteed admission or BS/MD track or something. Also don't know how much, if any, academic inbreeding goes on at such places.

As far as the whole "oh you have a 3.8/35 and saved African babies" thing for which SDN is notorious: this website is not a representative sample of medical school applicants.

Once more: SDN is not a representative sample. Yeah, getting into med school is competitive. But I can't tell you how many well-qualified people I've met who have said something like, "Yeah, SDN? I stay away from that site. Too neurotic for me." If you want raw statistics from the powers that be, the AAMC has them. SDN is an excellent resource but should be taken in moderation.

But seriously, you're a junior in high school. Chill out and focus on college, choosing a degree, etc. first. Everything else comes later.

 

[CeeEstee0]

Getting into med school is hard. In recent years, something like 45% of first-time applicants get at least one acceptance by the end of the application cycle. So if we're being honest, it's an uphill battle from the start.

Hard to gauge chances at med school admissions with undergrad/med school affiliations because how you do as an undergrad will have some bearing on that, unless it's some sort of guaranteed admission or BS/MD track or something. Also don't know how much, if any, academic inbreeding goes on at such places.

As far as the whole "oh you have a 3.8/35 and saved African babies" thing for which SDN is notorious: this website is not a representative sample of medical school applicants.

Once more: SDN is not a representative sample. Yeah, getting into med school is competitive. But I can't tell you how many well-qualified people I've met who have said something like, "Yeah, SDN? I stay away from that site. Too neurotic for me." If you want raw statistics from the powers that be, the AAMC has them. SDN is an excellent resource but should be taken in moderation.

But seriously, you're a junior in high school. Chill out and focus on college, choosing a degree, etc. first. Everything else comes later.

Valuable info given by exi. The average SDN poster is a very dedicated, knowledgable student. (Gunner). Another reason being on here can make you crazay.

 

[ComradeDoktor]

Like I said, my main worry would be going to college and getting an appropriate degree for medschool, but having that degree be "wasted" if I can't get accepted into med school.

\

You're still in high school, so you don't have to worry about this yet. However, a question you should consider asking down the road is "if I can't be an MD, would I still rather be in healthcare than in any other field?" There are plenty of healthcare professions besides medicine, some of which are more forgiving of stats that aren't the greatest. I knew going into the process that if I didn't have the grades and MCATs for medical school, I'd be happy as a podiatrist or a dentist as well, or even as a PA. If you go through college preparing to apply to medical school, you'll be ready to apply to dental or podiatry school with only a few tweaks (dental schools require the DAT instead of the MCAT). Maybe you'll find pharmacy is more your thing. In short, I urge you to consider "healthcare" as a whole, and all the various jobs it consists of instead of saying "medicine or bust". In that case, your degree is never going to be wasted.

 

[AntiHouseMD]

You're still in high school, so you don't have to worry about this yet. However, a question you should consider asking down the road is "if I can't be an MD, would I still rather be in healthcare than in any other field?" There are plenty of healthcare professions besides medicine, some of which are more forgiving of stats that aren't the greatest. I knew going into the process that if I didn't have the grades and MCATs for medical school, I'd be happy as a podiatrist or a dentist as well, or even as a PA. If you go through college preparing to apply to medical school, you'll be ready to apply to dental or podiatry school with only a few tweaks (dental schools require the DAT instead of the MCAT). Maybe you'll find pharmacy is more your thing. In short, I urge you to consider "healthcare" as a whole, and all the various jobs it consists of instead of saying "medicine or bust". In that case, your degree is never going to be wasted.

👍, but a little warning on PA: most of the time, I've read that PA schools aren't interested in those who were rejected to medical school and are using PA as a back-up. Just be forewarned of that if you think of PA.

 

[Valadi]

UNL is a fine school and sends a ton of kids of UNMC (Nebraska medical center) which is a top-notch very well regarded program. Go to UNL, kick ass, and you're likely to get into UNMC if you just do the usual premed stuff.