What steps do I need to take in high school to prepare for med school?Answered
I'm a sophomore and i just want to know what I need to do to become a doctor
Earn karma by helping others:
2 answers
Right now? Volunteering or shadowing at hospitals, clinics, or medical practices is usually what high school students can do to prepare for a pre-med track in college. Once you get to college, it comes down to taking the right classes (usually a mix of sciences and lots of bio/chem, but you can actually major in anything), maintaining a high GPA, and preparing for the MCAT, which is the medical school entrance exam. After that, you'll have several more years of medical school and a residency (which is where you work in medicine overseen by other doctors as practice for the real thing)—and then you're a doctor.
Also—if you know, for sure, that medicine is what you want to do, you can also look into BS/MD programs. These are accelerated programs that give you admission to both a regular university for your undergrad and to that university's medical school once you complete it (so you don't have to worry about applying to a bunch of med schools after college). They're super difficult to get into, but if you're serious about medicine, they're worth looking into. I found a blog page that collegevine has explaining how those programs work too: https://blog.collegevine.com/a-complete-introduction-to-bsmd-programs/
I actually just typed up an answer to this question for someone else! Hope you don't mind me copying it here for you too. If you have follow-up questions just lemme know.
If you can get one, an internship would be amazing. However, internships are pretty hard to get as a sophomore but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try! If you can't find one then volunteering is definitely your next best bet. Look for opportunities at health clinics, hospitals, women’s clinics, or elder care facilities. Maybe check if you can shadow a doctor or something too, that could give you a good sense of what a typical day looks like for a doctor. You're going to want to challenge yourself with your classes (I'd focus on math and science). At a minimum, AP courses in bio, chem, physics, and calc are good ideas. Maybe even psych. Of course, you're going to want good grades in those courses too.
Don't feel like you have to have a science focused major either. While it definitely might make the path to becoming a DR. easier, you could major in whatever makes you happy as long as you can get the requirements for med school. I found this article that might be helpful https://blog.collegevine.com/path-to-becoming-a-doctor-steps-to-take-from-high-school/
Your chance of acceptance
Your chancing factors
Community Guidelines
To keep this community safe and supportive:
- Be kind and respectful!
- Keep posts relevant to college admissions and high school.
- Don’t ask “chance-me” questions. Use CollegeVine’s chancing instead!