I'm worried about med school but im still in High school

[lil_donut]

I wanted to become a doctor since forever. Now I'm in high school and I have bad grades. My parents say I will never get into medical school because I have bad grades. I'm contemplating to go to a community college and transfer to UCLA. I really want to be a doctor and now I'm worried I won't get into medical school because of I did research and the acceptance numbers are low. I'm also worried about the MCAT and afraid I won't score high enough. I also heard that medical schools look down upon people who went to a community college. Someone please give advice on how to cope with this.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[pseud0]

Go have sex, learn to play an instrument, travel to a foreign country, get drunk a few times, go to some concerts, and hang out with friends.

If you still wanna be a doctor after all that, work harder.

just please enjoy your life a bit. You can get into medical school if you start at a community college and transfer. You have a lot of other things to worry about before you start thinking about medical school

 

[GrumpyMS]

Are you an actual High school student or a 3rd year medical student that you posted somewhere else on the forum?

 

[pseud0]

lolz i got trolled

 

[RunawayGrape]

.

 

[sallyhasanidea]

Get on my level brah been worryin since the fifth grade

 

[sullen-burger]

Don't do the CC and transfer idea.

As for the rest, I'm gonna let someone else take this one though.

 

[doctorleospaceman]

One step at a time, lil donut. Here are some points I'd like to make:

- I can't remember what my GPA was in high school. It has no bearing on your chances at medical school.
- Going to a community college then transferring to a 4yr university is fine, as long as you take the medical school prerequisite classes (bio, chem, phys, orgo, biochem) at the university. Saving money by going to a community college to knock out some of those gen-ed requirements like english or courses in the humanities is a good way to save some money.
- no point worrying about the mcat until you get to college and take all the prerequisite classes. You have at least 3 years until you should start even thinking about the MCAT
- don't let your parents tell you what you can and can't do (in terms of career choices. Don't do drugs.)

Edit: https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/when-should-i-do-my-rotations.1230805/ - so yeah, are you a high school student or a 3rd year medical student? Also being forced to go to NYU sounds rough.

 

[lil_donut]

So I should take my pre-meds at my 4-year? But what if my major requires for me to take those courses prior to transfer?

 

[themoonman2]

Don't do the CC and transfer idea.

As for the rest, I'm gonna let someone else take this one though.

Even though the poster is a troll, I still need to let you know that there's nothing inherently wrong with going to a CC then transferring. I did exactly what the OP suggested (CC -> UCLA) and had many interviews at great schools and am currently an MS1. Please do not tell people they cannot go to a CC and be successful. There's much more to the story than CC = bad. Many individuals have valid reasons for attending a CC (e.g. not enough money) and for such people, acceptance will not be an issue. If one does not have a valid reason, then it is okay to advise against a CC.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Moving to hSDN

 

[sullen-burger]

Even though the poster is a troll, I still need to let you know that there's nothing inherently wrong with going to a CC then transferring. I did exactly what the OP suggested (CC -> UCLA) and had many interviews at great schools and am currently an MS1. Please do not tell people they cannot go to a CC and be successful. There's much more to the story than CC = bad.

That's awesome. I'm so happy for you.

Aaaand

I never said he couldn't be successful. You're reading way too much into my comment by putting in a defense mechanism you've built for yourself.

 

[Goro]

With bad grades, you sure won't get into a good college. But your parents are trying to motivate you.

Now I'm in high school and I have bad grades. My parents say I will never get into medical school because I have bad grades.

This pathway is fine. But right now, really, get into college, and come back in about three years or so. THEN, worry about med school.
I'm contemplating to go to a community college and transfer to UCLA. I really want to be a doctor and now I'm worried I won't get into medical school because of I did research and the acceptance numbers are low.

Have you even taken the SAT yet???????? Again, you're worried about something that won't be happening until after the next presidential election.
I'm also worried about the MCAT and afraid I won't score high enough.

You heard wrong.
I also heard that medical schools look down upon people who went to a community college.

 

[themoonman2]

That's awesome. I'm so happy for you.

Aaaand

I never said he couldn't be successful. You're reading way too much into my comment by putting in a defense mechanism you've built for yourself.

This isn't about me. I don't want you telling potentially great doctors "don't do the CC and transfer idea", because it may crush dreams before they can get started. As I tried to point out, there are valid reasons (by medical school admission standards) for people to attend CC's.

 

[glycerol123]

What are those "valid reasons"? Does doing poorly in high school count? Honestly, just take your Gen. Bio, Chem Physics at your CC. If you take upper division courses at your 4-year like Genetics, OChem, or Microbiology, I'm sure medical schools won't care.

 

[themoonman2]

What are those "valid reasons"? Does doing poorly in high school count? Honestly, just take your Gen. Bio, Chem Physics at your CC. If you take upper division courses at your 4-year like Genetics, OChem, or Microbiology, I'm sure medical schools won't care.

Doing poorly in high school and being forced to attend a CC won't exclude one from medical school, but of course isn't the reason you want lol. A person in that situation would have to have a good explanation for the experience and how it lead them to medicine in the end. If they do that and do well in upper-div science classes and the MCAT, they can totally get into medical school- it wouldn't make sense to bar someone for their performance in high school when high school isn't even considered in admissions. Other valid reasons include things like having to pay for college/apt/food/clothing/utilities/car/cell phone/taxes/etc. yourself (CC is cheap) or needing to take care of sick family members because no one else can.

 

[sullen-burger]

This isn't about me. I don't want you telling potentially great doctors "don't do the CC and transfer idea", because it may crush dreams before they can get started. As I tried to point out, there are valid reasons (by medical school admission standards) for people to attend CC's.

I question the motivations of someone's life-long dream if that same dream can be "crushed" by a single online post that is one sentence long. OP is still in high school. Let's let a few years pass by before we start handing out "potentially great doctor" medals.

I like to deal with facts. The facts are that, according to a 2014 study published in the journal of AAMC,

(1) "A higher proportion of underrepresented minority (URM) matriculants used CC pathways compared with whites."

(2) "Applicants who attended a CC after high school and before a four-year university (First-CC) had lower odds of acceptance into medical school. Compared with medical students who never attended a CC."

(3) "First-CC matriculants were more likely to have parents without a college education and higher odds of intentions to practice in underserved communities after adjusting for covariates."

http://journals.lww.com/academicmed...College_Pathways___Improving_the_U_S_.27.aspx


Are there valid reasons to go to CC before med school? Yes. Absolutely.
Can someone become successful in CC and then UG? Totally and utterly.
Do applicants from the data used in this study have a harder time being admitted into medical school if they went through CC? Yes they do have a harder time, according to this study.

Fortunately, statistics break down on the individual level.

And sure, the study doesn't adjust for everything, although they do adjust for "age, gender, race and ethnicity, parental education, grade point average and MCAT score."

Aaaand finally, the fact is I never said OP couldn't be successful. In fact, I wish OP and you and everyone else the best of luck in following their dreams because life's too short to start a forum argu...oh darn it

 

[glycerol123]

OP is still in high school, so there is no need to worry about the MCAT or medical school yet. OP needs to listen to this advice:
1. If you go to a CC because you did poorly in high school, you can still go to med school and become a doctor.
2.If you do go to a CC, and you take general chem, bio, physics at the CC, when you transfer TAKE UPPER DIVISION COURSES( Genetics, Microbiology, Organic Chem, Biophysics etc.)
3. If you want to maximize your chances of getting in, shadow a doc, do clinical volunteering, show you actually have an interest in the field of medicine.
4. >3.6 GPA in college!!!
5. >508 on the MCAT!!!
6. If you want to get into medical school badly, apply to the ones in California, since it is your state of residence, the medical schools in CA tend to gravitate more towards in-state residents than OOS with the exception of UCSF and UCLA.

I'm sure if you follow the listed above you will at least get into ONE MEDICAL SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!

 

[themoonman2]

I question the motivations of someone's life-long dream if that same dream can be "crushed" by a single online post that is one sentence long. OP is still in high school. Let's let a few years pass by before we start handing out "potentially great doctor" medals.

I like to deal with facts. The facts are that, according to a 2014 study published in the journal of AAMC,

(1) "A higher proportion of underrepresented minority (URM) matriculants used CC pathways compared with whites."

(2) "Applicants who attended a CC after high school and before a four-year university (First-CC) had lower odds of acceptance into medical school. Compared with medical students who never attended a CC."

(3) "First-CC matriculants were more likely to have parents without a college education and higher odds of intentions to practice in underserved communities after adjusting for covariates."

http://journals.lww.com/academicmed...College_Pathways___Improving_the_U_S_.27.aspx


Are there valid reasons to go to CC before med school? Yes. Absolutely.
Can someone become successful in CC and then UG? Totally and utterly.
Do applicants from the data used in this study have a harder time being admitted into medical school if they went through CC? Yes they do have a harder time, according to this study.

Fortunately, statistics break down on the individual level.

And sure, the study doesn't adjust for everything, although they do adjust for "age, gender, race and ethnicity, parental education, grade point average and MCAT score."

Aaaand finally, the fact is I never said OP couldn't be successful. In fact, I wish OP and you and everyone else the best of luck in following their dreams because life's too short to start a forum argu...oh darn it

First off, OP is a troll- look at the person's post history. First post asks about scheduling 3rd year med school rotations and now they claim to be in HS. My statement was never in relation to OP.

Second, your study doesn't take into account the resume built by each applicant, which is kind of a huge factor in gaining acceptance. CCs lack many of the amenities of large 4-years (i.e. labs, upperclassman to guide you, great clubs, similar minded peers), thus it makes sense their acceptance rates to medical school are lower than 4-years.

Third, no one should advocate choosing a CC over a 4 year unless there's a good reason why- I certainly don't, but do know it isn't the kiss of death if someone goes to a CC and the data supports that. It just doesn't make sense to be telling people not to do it without understanding their reason for needing to do so. If OP was real a HS student with a low GPA, what should they do?

 

[sullen-burger]

First off, OP is a troll- look at the person's post history. First post asks about scheduling 3rd year med school rotations and now they claim to be in HS. My statement was never in relation to OP.

Second, your study doesn't take into account the resume built by each applicant, which is kind of a huge factor in gaining acceptance. CCs lack many of the amenities of large 4-years (i.e. labs, upperclassman to guide you, great clubs, similar minded peers), thus it makes sense their acceptance rates to medical school are lower than 4-years.

Third, no one should advocate choosing a CC over a 4 year unless there's a good reason why- I certainly don't, but do know it isn't the kiss of death if someone goes to a CC and the data supports that. It just doesn't make sense to be telling people not to do it without understanding their reason for needing to do so. If OP was real a HS student with a low GPA, what should they do?

A) It was established that this thread's OP is a troll. I know you haven't been talking about the literal OP. We, instead, have been arguing over the unnamed, hypothetical HS student, which you called a hypothetically "potentially great doctor" and I have been calling "OP." I think we can argee we shouldn't give out the medals in HS just yet.

B) The study adjusts for, arguably, the two most important aspects of an application: GPA and MCAT. These both are totally in the applicant's control. Utterly and completely.
While exceptions do occur, like personal stories of overcoming the odds and having resources for adequate advising is a factor, I don't think there's any room for you to argue that GPA and MCAT aren't "kind of a huge factor in gaining acceptance."

C) Then we agree. There's no reason to choose a CC unless it's a great reason; especially when according to this AAMC study, because of some unknown set of correlations, applicants with a history of CC will have a harder time getting accepted than applicants with non-CC.


D) And finally, as I recognize that this is an issue you obviously know more about than myself, given your self-disclosed history, I will concede and extend an olive branch: If OP was a real HS student with a <3.0 GPA, I would tell them to consider applying to their large, 4-year state school, while also considering their options at a CC.

 

[glycerol123]

State Schools like San Diego State, the California State University System are alot better than going to a community college. Correct me if I'm wrong but don't state schools have a lower GPA curve than UCs? (OP can also go to UC Merced since they also have a low GPA curve)

 

[sullen-burger]

State Schools like San Diego State, the California State University System are alot better than going to a community college. Correct me if I'm wrong but don't state schools have a lower GPA curve than UCs? (OP can also go to UC Merced since they also have a low GPA curve)

I'm not familiar with California schools, but I know that:

-All community colleges have no entrance requirements.

-Big named school and state universities generally have 3.0 minimums and smaller colleges use 2.5 minimums.

-Almost all other, non-selective non-CC use 2.0 minimums.

 

[glycerol123]

If OP does get into UC Merced, don't medical schools have disdain for UC Merced applicants?

 

[sullen-burger]

If OP does get into UC Merced, don't medical schools have disdain for UC Merced applicants?

I don't know about disdain, but for what it's worth, I've never heard of UC Merced until today. So if given the chance, I'd say at least go to an in-state institution with the resources and name that someone on the opposite coast can recognize. Like UCLA.

Regardless, getting a good GPA + MCAT = path to success, regardless of UG location.

 

[glycerol123]

I'm in a community college because I had a 2.9 when I graduated High school, which is bad and not acceptable for most UCs. So I'm attending a Community College. Pierce to be exact. Then at the end of this year, I'm transferring to UCLA or UCSB. Will medical schools have disdain for that?

Edit: Will medical schools care if I went to the CC or not? I'm taking my general sciences at my CC and when I transfer to UCLA, I will take upper division sciences. Will med schools like that?

 

[themoonman2]

State Schools like San Diego State, the California State University System are alot better than going to a community college. Correct me if I'm wrong but don't state schools have a lower GPA curve than UCs? (OP can also go to UC Merced since they also have a low GPA curve)

You're right that there are a bunch of CSU schools in CA. The problem is that many of the well known and established ones like San Diego State and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are very difficult to get into. You would definitely have to have >3.5 high school GPA and very strong SAT to get into those. I actually got into UC Merced out of high school without applying but chose a CC over it lol. I think as @sullen-berger study showed, it's not just GPA and MCAT that get someone into medical school, otherwise the groups would have identical acceptance rates. GPA and MCAT are obviously the most important things, but the resources and extracurriculars that a school can offer will allow someone to build their resume starting Freshman year and that's certainly a huge factor in gaining acceptance.

CCs definitely hurt someone in this respect and for that reason, it's probably more prudent to choose a 4-year if one can get in. Going to a small/non-tier 1 research university just as many of the Cal states are adds the extra difficulty of finding all the necessary resources on your own in order to build that resume, but it's certainly not impossible.

 

[themoonman2]

I'm in a community college because I had a 2.9 when I graduated High school, which is bad and not acceptable for most UCs. So I'm attending a Community College. Pierce to be exact. Then at the end of this year, I'm transferring to UCLA or UCSB. Will medical schools have disdain for that?

You don't report your high school GPA when you apply to medical schools. If you can explain why you went to a CC along with doing the necessary research, volunteering, leadership, etc., you should have a good chance at acceptance.

 

[glycerol123]

So all I have to do is to explain why I went to a community college, which is in my case low GPA high school, do clinical related extra- curriculars, get a good MCAT score and good GPA and medical schools will accept me?

 

[PathoTurnUp1865]

Lol "lil donut"

 

[themoonman2]

So all I have to do is to explain why I went to a community college, which is in my case low GPA high school, do clinical related extra- curriculars, get a good MCAT score and good GPA and medical schools will accept me?

Try reading some what are my chances posts. Read the posts by people that have a 4.0 gpa and >520 MCAT, read posts by people with <3.5 gpa and 500 MCAT, read some of the in-between people. Get a sense of what other people have done so you can understand what it generally takes to get in. Explaining why you went to a CC is a very personal thing and you'll have to explain it well and positively in order to be accepted. Even if you do all these things, you may still not be accepted to any medical school. There is no guarantee. Also, read posts by Goro, Milimn (i'm not sure how to spell it), gonniff, lizzy m, and gyngyn- they know what they're talking about.

 

[Moose A Moose]

Are either of your parents doctors, no? Then what the hell do they know about becoming a doctor.

Do your own thing. HS grades are a joke. Excel in college and you'll be fine.