What were your high school grades?

[lucieak15]

How smart do you have to be to become a doctor? Do high school grades and where you go to medical school have any correlation?

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[Jumpu]

I have found only a little correlation between how I did in highschool and how did in college. In highschool, I was somewhat bright, but as soon as I started college, I screwed up very badly, which still haunts me to this day. I ended cleaning up my act near the end, but that means I will consider myself very lucky if I end get into ANY medschool this year.
I think its just the kind of work that is expected from you in highschool is a little different than what is in college.

 

[lucieak15]

o

 

[Dr Chooch]

Originally posted by lucieak15
How smart do you have to be to become a doctor? Do high school grades and where you go to medical school have any correlation?

Becoming a doctor is something that really doesn't come down to how smart you are. If you want to be a doctor you have to show that yes, you are intelligent, but equally important, that you can relate to others, have a sincere concern for them, and have shown an undeniable commitment to medicine through your experiences.

That being said, intelligence makes up only part of that equation. I think most people would say that your high school grades aren't a great indicator of how you will do in college, let alone to what medical school you will gain acceptance. So many factors (new, exciting, scary, different) arise in college that could affect how you see the world and what kind of student you choose to be that it is almost impossible to find any correlation between high school and college grades for most people. I am assuming you are in high school. For now, I would suggest that if you want to become a doctor, good for you. Do as well as you can in your high school classes, get into a college where you will think you can thrive, and from the time you enter college start exploring medicine by volunteering/shadowing/etc. to see if it is totally right for you. I think that is the most important step. Meanwhile, in college, talk to the premed department in your school to keep you on track and take some premed upperclassmen as your mentors.

For now, just make sure you go to the right college for you and make every effort to handle the transition effectively while keeping in mind the things most important to you....like medicine. Good luck! 🙂

 

[samenewme]

Oh, it's WAY too early to give up! Go to college, take the prerequisite courses (one year of biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, algebra and trig-based physics), and see how you do. Visit the Web sites of medical schools that interest you and see what the average GPA is. Remember that people admitted to that school fall somewhere above OR BELOW that range.

THEN see how you feel about all this.

Talk to the premed advisor at your university if there is one, and start finding appropriate clinical volunteer work. You'll get exposure to patients and meet some doctors and see that they're not all perfect.

When I was your age, I thought I wasn't smart enough or tough enough for med school. I just changed my mind at the age of 39. Don't wait this long. Give it a shot now. Those prerequisite classes are perfectly valid college credit, so even if you decide med school is not for you, you won't have wasted your time.

 

[Mike59]

Originally posted by lucieak15
Thanks! By screwing up, what do you mean? Getting bad grades?

You see, over the last 4 years of my high school career I was a competitive international figure skater. I thought that would take me places, but unfortunately I had to get ankle reconstruction surgery and IT SUCKS. Anyhow, my grades in high school aren't all that great... 90GPA and the sciences are OK. (mid 80's to lower 90's) These were my grades while skating at least 5 hours per day, before and after school.

I REALLY WANT TO BE A DOCTOR. So I guess what I am trying to get at, is are these grades a reflection of weather or not I can be a doctor or not? I am not a super genius, but I do know how to work. Are all doctors (good one's) at the top 5% of their class? Ahhh I'm soo worried!!! Am I smart enough? Should I start to focus on something else?

Don't worry. Look at college as a fresh start, because in every way- it is. I was in the top 10% of my high school class, but was never in NHS, student gov, and was not in the group of future ivy leaguers so to speak. After my first semester of college, I found myself at the top of every one of my college courses, while people from my high school who were once gunners fizzled out, making low grades and struggling to juggle their newfound independence and a tougher college workload.

Just relax and think that if something is for you, it will work itself out. Your figureskating background is a great story for interviews and your application, so if you remain involved in ANY capacity in the arena, it will show that you are a well rounded person, a great quality in a future physician.

For now, just chill and choose your college wisely (somewhere where you can make high grades, have fun, and do well). Prestige and "pre-med program reputation" are overblown charactersitics of universities that most high schoolers take too seriously. So, go in with an open mind, have medicine as a goal, but always remain open to other career options- that will make you a much more balanced and sane premed (who doesn't stress over not getting into med school after a B on an exam).

Good Luck!😉

 

[lucieak15]

THANKS YOU GUYS!!! Every time I start to think I can't do it, I'm going to take this out and read it! Really, you don't know how much your encouraging words helped me!! 🙂

 

[desertscholar]

I personally don't care to remember that was almost 20 years ago, a whole lifetiime. As to college high school as no bearing on how I am doing--somewhere above 3.9. What does have an infuence is where I am emotionally and the amount of stability that surrounds and the confidence that years after high school have given me.

 

[kreno]

Exactly! College is a completely FRESH START!

I graduated high school with a 2.9GPA. Now I'm interviewing at top med schools (duke, yale, umich, northwestern, etc).

When I got to college I really cleaned up my act; but moreoever, I actuallly liked learning in college - whereas in high school it's just so much busy-work that I refused to do

kreno

 

[UCLAMAN]

Originally posted by lucieak15
Thanks! By screwing up, what do you mean? Getting bad grades?

You see, over the last 4 years of my high school career I was a competitive international figure skater. I thought that would take me places, but unfortunately I had to get ankle reconstruction surgery and IT SUCKS. Anyhow, my grades in high school aren't all that great... 90GPA and the sciences are OK. (mid 80's to lower 90's) These were my grades while skating at least 5 hours per day, before and after school.

I REALLY WANT TO BE A DOCTOR. So I guess what I am trying to get at, is are these grades a reflection of weather or not I can be a doctor or not? I am not a super genius, but I do know how to work. Are all doctors (good one's) at the top 5% of their class? Ahhh I'm soo worried!!! Am I smart enough? Should I start to focus on something else?

Relax....you have the intelligence to become a physician. I'd say the pre-med road is just common sense and A LOT of hard work. If you were getting 90's and 80's while seeing ice time for 5 hours a day starting at 5am then I'm sure you have the intelligence. But I'd say getting grades and mcat scores competitive enough for medical school requires a lot of hard work and discipline. I mean you'll have time for fun. But realize that you need to work hard too to get those A's. Hopefully your discipline and work ethic on the ice will be the same discipline and work ethic you use in your classes. With that said...no, all doctors weren't at the top 5% of their class. Maybe some were...but I'd say the work ethic that got those in the top 5% of their high school class to medical school was probably the work ethic those individuals used in their college classes.

 

[BobbyDylanFan]

hey,

I bet you that if you keep up the same work ethic and discipline you did in high school when you were skating you will do fine in college. You just have to pick a school where you think you'll thrive. Be prepared for potential distractions in college, remember nobody is gonna be there to tell you to study. Its all in your hands. Although, find some friends that are in the same boat as you and they can make the road a lil easier in hard times. You've already proven you can juggle alot, now just apply that to college courses and a social life! Good luck🙂 If you have any other questions, PM me!

 

[Bonds756]

I agree there really isn't any correlation. If anything, the people who did well in high school because they studied hard are more likely to keep studying hard and do well in college. But college is a whole new game, and if you have time to put into doing well you will. Your grades in high school were still good, and with your ability to manage time, you will do fine!

 

[indianboy]

I was a slacker in highschool, and did really sucky (it was unanimously agreed). When I got shafted for college, I'll admit I was a little bitter, and simply didn't want that to happen again. I busted my a$$, and have interviewed everywhere I wanted to. As people like me realize that it gets progressively less cool to be a slacker as you get older, personal drive kicks in. You won't be screwed for sucking in highschool, you'll just have to work that much harder depending on what your goals are. You also have to have a realistic estimation of where you stand among your peers, aim high but don't be delusional. This process is only a 'crapshoot' if you are mediocre. Rise above that.

Hope that Helps.

P 'Do your best, expect the worst' ShankOut

 

[Ramoray]

Ya HS means nothing, i had a 2.9 out of HS, barely made it into college.. i did NOTHING in HS, but in college i graduated wtih a 4.0 cause i learned to study and put downt he time. HS i just didnt care, HS means nothing dont worry

 

[nero]

Originally posted by Ramoray
Ya HS means nothing, i had a 2.9 out of HS, barely made it into college.. i did NOTHING in HS, but in college i graduated wtih a 4.0 cause i learned to study and put downt he time. HS i just didnt care, HS means nothing dont worry

Same here, had like a 3.0 and i think low 20s on my ACT. definitely no correlation.......

 

[siempre595]

I dunno, I did well in high school, but I never really thought about that as mattering too much. My high school was a joke where if you showed up you more or less got at least a B, and if you read something, you likely got an A. I came to a tough college completely underprepared, floundered around thinking I would accept mid-grade scores and go to whatever random med school would take me, then finally got it together during sophomore year. I thought it was weird that some med schools look at high school class rank and SAT/ACT scores. That was SOOO long ago. Do they really think that even counts for anything these days? I think more of it is about hard work and the extra stuff you do in college. I wouldn't worry about high school, just do well wherever you go in college. There are a lot of second chances.

 

[beamiestface]

I think how well you do in both high school and college is largely rooted in how motivated you are. A lot of people who did pretty well in high school slack off when they are put on their own in college. Conversely, other people become more motivated in college than they were in high school because they feel like they are working towards something more important, and these people will tend to do better. I personally did pretty well in high school, but I feel like I have been more motivated in college and have done better here.

Just keep your motivation up and you'll do fine.

 

[streetdoc]

Be aware that some med schools require SAT/ACT scores. At one interview, the interviewer even asked me about my scores. Geez, i could hardly remember taking them much less how i did on them...oh well, they let me in anyway

 

[All-Star14]

I did very well in high school (third in class); now I'm attending a prestigious college and doing alright. Since coming to my school, I've had to improve my study skills tremendously. I know most of the above posters have given you their 2.5 high school to 4.0 college "success" stories (doesn't always turn out that way), but don't get caught up in what they're telling you. Most of them don't attend highly rigorous schools (or either have no social lives 😛 ). Just calm down, enter college when you're ready, and do the best that you can do.

 

[All-Star14]

Originally posted by Ramoray
Ya HS means nothing, i had a 2.9 out of HS, barely made it into college.. i did NOTHING in HS, but in college i graduated wtih a 4.0 cause i learned to study and put downt he time. HS i just didnt care, HS means nothing dont worry

I get it...it means nothing because you did so poorly... interesting. I wonder where you go to school.

 

[Jim Picotte]

Obviously it's to your advantage to do well in everything you do in your life. I did poor in HS as well, a little above a 2.7 GPA, 21 on ACT, didn't get into a few of my state schools but I skipped a lot of classes in HS. I worked in college, did very well in medical school and really enjoy my work now. So, do the best you can, but if you did screw up a little...it really doesn't matter.

 

[Katie]

I think what some people are trying to say is not that HS doesn't matter, but that a poor high school performance can be turned around with hard work and dedication. My dad grew up in rural Montana in a dysfunctional family and graduated high school in 1963 with a C average and 800 SAT. He spent most of HS walking around with a chip on his shoulder and not working, and left the day after graduation to live with his grandmother in CA. Many, many years later, he got a PhD in Immunology from UCLA (graduating with honors) and has a wife with 2 MS degrees (my mom) and a daughter in med school. I know the last part is completely irrelevant, but couldn't resist.😉 but you get the idea.. I did well in high school, but not top of my class, well in college, but not top of class, and fine in med school, around the middle of my class (which is not formally ranked), nearly flunked anatomy, which I consider to be unrelated to my high school performance.

 

[sleepyhouse]

in high school i played 3 sports, slept through class, never opened a book. and i really mean never, if i had homework or needed to study, i'd do it in the class before, never at home. all i'd do at home was write papers the night before they were due. I was still NHS and graduated with a 3.9 from a blue ribbon prep school in philly, and got a 1410 on my SAT. i tried to do the same thing in college and it didnt work quite as well. i didnt do really badly, but had about a 3.2 after my first 2 years, and decided that i beter start putting some effort in if i wanted to go to med school. so i starets working a little harder. compared to other people, i really still wasnt doing much. most nights i still wouldnt do any work, i'd just start studying a few nights before tests except just the night before, but i had a 3.7-3.8 cum. for the past 2 years, so that brought everything up nicely.

 

[scootad.]

wanna medal? 😉

 

[Focus]

Barely broke a 3.0. Managed to barely break 1000 on the SAT's after third attempt. Rejected to every school I applied to, even my state. Reapplied and got in a semester late.

Currently, top 5% of my college class (have received like 2 B's total) and have been accepted to several medical schools.

Hard work and dedication pays off. Hence the name, gotta focus and stay focused 😀

 

[Neuronix]

I dropped out of HS at the age of 15, got a GED, and came back to college on a special program sponsored by my no-name state school.

I have acceptances to two top-20 schools (one top-10). I interviewed at my top choice (UPenn) and I hope that they will give me some love, but they won't decide till March.

The point of this post is, like the other posts are saying, it doesn't matter as much where you go to school as it does what you do with it. I worked my tail off and had no life for my undergraduate days. But, I graduated in the top 2% of my class, destroyed the MCAT, and now I'm going to go to a top med school.

And, as a special note to my family and high school idiots (err... counselors) who fought me every step of the way $#%# %*#.

 

[Kovox]

Originally posted by Neuronix
And, as a special note to my family and high school idiots (err... counselors) who fought me every step of the way $#%# %*#.

Thanks, I needed a smile to start the morning. Life is all about Attitude, yay Neuro.

 

[lucieak15]

Thanks you guys! It really gives me incentive to work as hard as I can and do the best that I can. Even if my priorities in high school were kind of deranged, though reading your posts, it makes me feel a lot better. So in essence, you are telling me that I can do it despite my past life.

Recently I had ankle surgery at the U of Penn. As a result, I decided that is my dream school! It is a great medical operation, with even cuter residents!

Anyhow, THANKS AGAIN for taking the time to give me encouraging words and sharing your sucess stories. The bottom line is, that college is where you really have to start working. So, really, thanks! 🙂

 

[DrKicker]

I know exactly what you mean. I competed very seriously in martial arts during my last year of high school and my first two years of college. I trained and taught martial arts classes 5 or 6 days a week for 5 hours a day. It definitely impacted my GPA BUT the admissions committees have seemed to be far more interested in my dedication to my sport than on my GPA. I have been accepted to 3 medical schools so far and I am waiting to hear from Duke and Pitt. If you have any specific questions, PM me. You can definitely do it - the work ethic that it takes to be a competitive athlete is comparable to the work ethic needed to be a doctor. Good luck!

 

[rbassdo]

Originally posted by lucieak15

Anyhow, THANKS AGAIN for taking the time to give me encouraging words and sharing your sucess stories. The bottom line is, that college is where you really have to start working. So, really, thanks! 🙂

Yes. And WORK is the key there. You don't have to be a genious to become a doctor. Definitely not. It takes work - that's it. You'll do fine. Just relax and do all your homework!

 

[relatively prime]

Don't worry... I had like a 2.30 in HS... and I got into a top 30 med school. 😉 College is totaly different. It's a fresh new start. Just examine your old study habits and figure out what you need to change and what you need to do to get good grades.

Good luck 😉

 

[lucieak15]

YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!!! THANK YOU! 🙂

 

[UCLAstudent]

There really is no correlation. Even if you did do poorly in high school, it isn't an indication of what kind of doctor you will make. Best of luck to you! 🙂

 

[Doctor Octopus]

Originally posted by All-Star14
I did very well in high school (third in class); now I'm attending a prestigious college and doing alright. Since coming to my school, I've had to improve my study skills tremendously. I know most of the above posters have given you their 2.5 high school to 4.0 college "success" stories (doesn't always turn out that way), but don't get caught up in what they're telling you. Most of them don't attend highly rigorous schools (or either have no social lives 😛 ). Just calm down, enter college when you're ready, and do the best that you can do.

Yeah, don't listen to any of us peasants at the "easy" schools. Most of us don't know what we're talking about. And the rest of us that did well in college but not high school are social misfits.