Incoming Freshman Pre-Med Student Advice

[CalebPA]

Hey Guys

I am an incoming Pre-Med student and I was wondering if you guys could give me some advice. First off, I'm not the number one ranked student in my school, I only have a 3.7 HS gpa. I have a passion for the medical field and I am enrolled in my high school's ROP program. By the time I graduate from high school I will have 216 hours under my belt with patient care. I was determined this semester to earn a 4.0 and sure enough after hard work I got that 4.0.

How could I make my med school application look stronger other than having a good gpa and mcat score?

Also, I switched back and forth between nursing and pre-med but I'm certain that I want to be a doctor after my hospital experience. Would you guys recommend being a nurse or a doctor?

Thanks so much!

Caleb

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[Knocked Up]

Hey Guys

I am an incoming Pre-Med student and I was wondering if you guys could give me some advice. First off, I'm not the number one ranked student in my school, I only have a 3.7 HS gpa. I have a passion for the medical field and I am enrolled in my high school's ROP program. By the time I graduate from high school I will have 216 hours under my belt with patient care. I was determined this semester to earn a 4.0 and sure enough after hard work I got that 4.0.

How could I make my med school application look stronger other than having a good gpa and mcat score?

Also, I switched back and forth between nursing and pre-med but I'm certain that I want to be a doctor after my hospital experience. Would you guys recommend being a nurse or a doctor?

Thanks so much!

Caleb

On Halloween: I recommend to all ladies of quality appeal that they dress as a nurse.

Professionally: I recommend a physician.

To HS students: I definitely do not recommend the first point, I can get in a lot of unnecessary trouble for that....enjoy HS forget about college for now...look up what people post on Mdapps if you want suggestions for ECs

 

[sector9]

Moved to hSDN

 

[deleted393595]

Hey Guys

I am an incoming Pre-Med student and I was wondering if you guys could give me some advice. First off, I'm not the number one ranked student in my school, I only have a 3.7 HS gpa. I have a passion for the medical field and I am enrolled in my high school's ROP program. By the time I graduate from high school I will have 216 hours under my belt with patient care. I was determined this semester to earn a 4.0 and sure enough after hard work I got that 4.0.

How could I make my med school application look stronger other than having a good gpa and mcat score?

Also, I switched back and forth between nursing and pre-med but I'm certain that I want to be a doctor after my hospital experience. Would you guys recommend being a nurse or a doctor?

Thanks so much!

Caleb

Read around the pre-allo and pre-DO forum.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Hey Guys

I am an incoming Pre-Med student and I was wondering if you guys could give me some advice. First off, I'm not the number one ranked student in my school, I only have a 3.7 HS gpa. I have a passion for the medical field and I am enrolled in my high school's ROP program. By the time I graduate from high school I will have 216 hours under my belt with patient care. I was determined this semester to earn a 4.0 and sure enough after hard work I got that 4.0.

How could I make my med school application look stronger other than having a good gpa and mcat score?

Also, I switched back and forth between nursing and pre-med but I'm certain that I want to be a doctor after my hospital experience. Would you guys recommend being a nurse or a doctor?

Thanks so much!

Caleb

Extra curriculars, research, community service, clinical experience, leadership.

 

[da8s0859q]

Hey Guys

I am an incoming Pre-Med student and I was wondering if you guys could give me some advice. First off, I'm not the number one ranked student in my school, I only have a 3.7 HS gpa. I have a passion for the medical field and I am enrolled in my high school's ROP program. By the time I graduate from high school I will have 216 hours under my belt with patient care. I was determined this semester to earn a 4.0 and sure enough after hard work I got that 4.0.

How could I make my med school application look stronger other than having a good gpa and mcat score?

Also, I switched back and forth between nursing and pre-med but I'm certain that I want to be a doctor after my hospital experience. Would you guys recommend being a nurse or a doctor?

Thanks so much!

Caleb

ECs, any other volunteer work, +/- research... just look around on hSDN and pre-allopathic. You'll find lots of stuff mentioned as helpful for a med school application. Keep in mind that SDN IS NOT A REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE and attracts a lot of more competitive types.

Nobody here can recommend "being a nurse or a doctor." If you're not sure which role you'd like to play, you should probably look a little bit more into what they do. Very different capacities. Do what you prefer.

 

[sgtbrushes]

First off, a 3.7 GPA in high school is not too shabby. You don't need a 4.0.

Definitely do more shadowing, of multiple specialties, to (1) evaluate if medicine is still your goal, and (2) if it is, shadowing will motivate you. When college starts in six months, just put in the work, be proactive, take initiative, and keep reminding yourself, "I'm studying this so that I can become a doctor."

 

[dougfunnie]

Your high school grades/performance won't really matter past getting in to college. Starting college is kind of a clean slate in that respect. The key for you is that you learned that with hard work, you can make the grades happen. If you can keep that attitude in college, you'll do great.

For your upcoming freshman year, you need to focus on your classes and adjust to the academic side of college. Many get caught up in the transition because college courses are usually harder than high school. Suddenly, coasting through and making As won't happen and it can be difficult to find motivation or change study habits. Like I said, it seems like you are on track with this which is awesome! If you are going to a school with a connected medical school, I would also recommend volunteering once a week at the hospital. If you aren't planning on taking on a part-time job or work-study position, it would be good to have at least one other activity/club/volunteer activity too.

All of this is assuming you want to go the physician route. I found it really helpful when one of the attendings I shadowed recommended I go in with the residents, NPs, and nurses while she was busy with charts (totally recommend this if you are shadowing and still thinking about nursing). Kind of reaffirmed that I want to be a doctor. To me, I have always defined the difference between medicine and nursing as being the brains behind the operation vs. carrying out what the brain decides. And of course the length of training.

Any questions/clarifications feel free to PM.

 

[HawkNelson]

Your worried with a 3.7? That's really high you know... Just saying.

 

[torshi]

Hey Guys

I am an incoming Pre-Med student and I was wondering if you guys could give me some advice. First off, I'm not the number one ranked student in my school, I only have a 3.7 HS gpa. I have a passion for the medical field and I am enrolled in my high school's ROP program. By the time I graduate from high school I will have 216 hours under my belt with patient care. I was determined this semester to earn a 4.0 and sure enough after hard work I got that 4.0.

How could I make my med school application look stronger other than having a good gpa and mcat score?

Also, I switched back and forth between nursing and pre-med but I'm certain that I want to be a doctor after my hospital experience. Would you guys recommend being a nurse or a doctor?

Thanks so much!

Caleb

Don't worry about your performance in high school. Start over on all volunteer work etc, they tend to not look at things you did during high school.

Your question regarding physician or nurse. That's up to you and will require some effort or research on your part.

 

[torshi]

Your worried with a 3.7? That's really high you know... Just saying.

Well in HS the GPA can go up to 5.0 when including courses such as AP/IB etc