junior in highschool needs help picking school for premed

[Dylan22965899655677]

Alright, hello guys, this being my first time posting I am hoping to get some good feed back. So I would really love to eventually be a doctor working in a hospital. Ive been wanting this for a very long time but never had the gall to work for it. This and last year ive been working as hard as I can in school.As Bs and sadly cS. but I really wanna find a school I can do premed at in washington state where my family and I are moving but my gpa isnt great because when i was a freshman i was a punk. Please help!

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[DoctorKrieger]

If you're making Cs in high school while trying hard, check into some kind of tutoring or something. If you're still making Cs by the time you graduate, I recommend checking out community college at first to help the transition into a 4 year university. And go to whatever college you want, it doesn't matter. Grades, MCAT, and ECs matter, but not the school you went to for undergrad. Don't worry about what your hs gpa is, as long as it's good enough for the college you want. Med schools don't care about and don't want to know what your hs gpa is.

You might also want to shadow physicians as much as possible right now before you decide to go down this loonnngg and expensive road, you're only in high school, don't commit yourself to a lifelong career just yet.

 

[Dylan22965899655677]

Well luckily now most of my grades are bs and as except algebra 2. And ive actually been shadowing for a couple months. This is something I really wanna do. By the way, if Im moving the summer after highschool can I attend community college right away? Yeah, sorry, Im usually pretty smart but im just nervous that im not gunna get in anywhere. (Doesnt help to have the girlfriend with the 3.9 gpa ha)

 

[DoctorKrieger]

Well luckily now most of my grades are bs and as except algebra 2. And ive actually been shadowing for a couple months. This is something I really wanna do. By the way, if Im moving the summer after highschool can I attend community college right away? Yeah, sorry, Im usually pretty smart but im just nervous that im not gunna get in anywhere. (Doesnt help to have the girlfriend with the 3.9 gpa ha)

Yes, you can enroll in summer courses at a community college or university the summer after you graduate high school.

 

[jturkel]

And go to whatever college you want, it doesn't matter. Grades, MCAT, and ECs matter, but not the school you went to for undergrad.

Very incorrect. School DOES matter. However you can still get into a good medical schoo from a less reputable undergrad. You'll just need to work that much harder

 

[deleted480308]

Which school matters far less than stopping your "b" habit....they aren't good enough in college


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[DoctorKrieger]

Very incorrect. School DOES matter. However you can still get into a good medical schoo from a less reputable undergrad. You'll just need to work that much harder

For the ivies and other super-selective schools, sure. For the vast majority of med schools, though, where an applicant completed undergrad is way down on the list of considerations assuming the MCAT is in line with the school's average. And since OP is struggling in high school, I'm guessing he/she isn't aiming for top 20 schools.

 

[jturkel]

For the ivies and other super-selective schools, sure. For the vast majority of med schools, though, where an applicant completed undergrad is way down on the list of considerations assuming the MCAT is in line with the school's average. And since OP is struggling in high school, I'm guessing he/she isn't aiming for top 20 schools.

im not talking about just for the OP....nor in general for super selective schools. i'm speaking generally here. see the below post if you think im credible enough

Undergrad does matter. Does a Biology major with a 3.6 from the University of New Haven have the same chance as a Biology major with a 3.6 from Yale (another private university just a few miles away)? Even with identical MCATs, the name of the school will give the Yalie a little bump which could be the difference between interview or no interview. Furthermore, the opportunities available for research and other activities is often greater at the more prestigious school and the the pre-med committees are generally more skilled at "packaging" the applicants. Of course, it is not just the reputation of the school but the fact that the admission criteria for some top universities is much more stringent than it is at lower tier schools and so the quality of an applicant who was admitted and matriculated at a top school is assumed compared with someone who attended a less competitive undergrad.

 

[DoctorKrieger]

im not talking about just for the OP....nor in general for super selective schools. i'm speaking generally here. see the below post if you think im credible enough

Well of course an Ivy undergrad is going to get more attention than a state school grad. But the schools the OP is looking at for undergrad are likely much more comparable to each other and thus won't make much difference, if any, in terms of advantage. This would be even more applicable if applying to local med schools, where the adcoms are familiar with colleges in the region.

 

[jturkel]

Well of course an Ivy undergrad is going to get more attention than a state school grad. But the schools the OP is looking at for undergrad are likely much more comparable to each other and thus won't make much difference, if any, in terms of advantage. This would be even more applicable if applying to local med schools, where the adcoms are familiar with colleges in the region.

local med school or not, anyone wants a med student from a top undergrad...gives them "bragging rights", looks good on their med school website. the bottom line is in all scenarios, reputation of school matter whether you believe it or not. yes there may be some regional bias for regional/local programs, but adcoms still want big names whether you want to accept that or not

 

[DoctorKrieger]

local med school or not, anyone wants a med student from a top undergrad...gives them "bragging rights", looks good on their med school website. the bottom line is in all scenarios, reputation of school matter whether you believe it or not. yes there may be some regional bias for regional/local programs, but adcoms still want big names whether you want to accept that or not

I completely agree. My response is based on the assumption that the schools being considered by the OP are not exactly Ivy-level schools and have little difference in reputation from each other.