3 answers
Gianna
Student
Millville, New Jersey
1
Question
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How to choose a college based on being an orthopedic pediatrician?
I am in high school. I am 16 and I know that this is something I love doing. I love taking care of children and helping them as well. #doctor #college #healthcare #nursing
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3 answers
Thomas Petroff D.O., F.A.C.O.O.G
Chief Medical Officer
19
Answers
Detroit, Michigan
Updated
Thomas’s Answer
Choosing a college is important in getting into medical school that is the first step so you should look for colleges/universities that have a strong acceptance rate into medical schools that in turn have strong residency matches for that very specific type of specialty
Charese Tan
5
Answers
Jersey City, New Jersey
Updated
Charese’s Answer
Hello!
I think looking into colleges that offer majors that are geared towards your interest would be better suited for you! However, it should be known that what matters more is how well you do in your major (which can be literally anything) while completing the pre-medical requirements in addition to the MCAT (a supplemental test for medical school) . You should also look into if there are programs within your school that provide opportunities in research and also opportunities to volunteer in both clinical and non-clinical settings to increase your hours that are necessary for medical school! If not, check out your surrounding area for private practices, hospitals, etc.
It's more of what you make the experience out of in college that matters more, and your abilities to show yourself as a well-rounded individual application wise for medical school that matters!
I think looking into colleges that offer majors that are geared towards your interest would be better suited for you! However, it should be known that what matters more is how well you do in your major (which can be literally anything) while completing the pre-medical requirements in addition to the MCAT (a supplemental test for medical school) . You should also look into if there are programs within your school that provide opportunities in research and also opportunities to volunteer in both clinical and non-clinical settings to increase your hours that are necessary for medical school! If not, check out your surrounding area for private practices, hospitals, etc.
It's more of what you make the experience out of in college that matters more, and your abilities to show yourself as a well-rounded individual application wise for medical school that matters!
Christopher Bland MBA, Ph.D.
Scientist
6
Answers
Updated
Christopher’s Answer
The reality is that no undergraduate program (as long as it’s at a reputable college/university and includes the basic foundational science curriculum required by most med schools) will be better/worse at preparing you specifically to be an orthopedic pediatrician because that kind of very specific training really doesn’t occur until you are well into med school and even then you don’t really get deep into a specialty until your last few years of med school and (much more so) in your post-graduate training (residency and fellowship). The question I would recommend you ask yourself is “what kind of undergraduate training can best prepare me for medical school?”.
Therefore, I would recommend you start by looking at the admissions data (typically on the school website) and criteria for 5-10 Medical schools in the US (assuming you plan to stay and practice here) that are highly ranked, then look at what those schools seek in applicants (I.e. what kind of MCAT scores, GPA, volunteer experience, etc. does their average successful applicant have). I can tell you most likely you’ll see they expect undergrads to have an excellent GPA (3.8 or so most likely), strong MCAT scores and lots of volunteer / leadership experiences. So that was just a long winded way of saying you should really be thinking most about just getting into a solid undergrad program and doing really well. There are some schools that have pre-med tracks, which may include things like MCAT prep support and special scholarships and other forms of financial assistance, so you may want to look for these programs when seeking a good college/university for your undergraduate training, but at the end of the day you just want a quality undergraduate education.
Volunteer experience and other extracurricular activity that demonstrates you are a compassionate, thoughtful, and well rounded person is also critical, so be sure to factor opportunities to gain such experiences when you’re evaluating undergraduate programs.
Lastly, I would recommend you keep yourself open to new experiences. You’re going to encounter a lot of new things and your career interests are very likely to change, perhaps just a little but potentially a lot, so while you want to strive for scholastic excellence you also don’t want to be so laser focused that you miss opportunities to explore other areas of science, medicine, and beyond. Consider research opportunities if they exist at your school so and maybe try a summer internship or two (my graduate training was directly impacted by a summer internship I attended during my sophomore year) and be sure to derive all the value possible from your undergraduate experience.
Best of luck!
Therefore, I would recommend you start by looking at the admissions data (typically on the school website) and criteria for 5-10 Medical schools in the US (assuming you plan to stay and practice here) that are highly ranked, then look at what those schools seek in applicants (I.e. what kind of MCAT scores, GPA, volunteer experience, etc. does their average successful applicant have). I can tell you most likely you’ll see they expect undergrads to have an excellent GPA (3.8 or so most likely), strong MCAT scores and lots of volunteer / leadership experiences. So that was just a long winded way of saying you should really be thinking most about just getting into a solid undergrad program and doing really well. There are some schools that have pre-med tracks, which may include things like MCAT prep support and special scholarships and other forms of financial assistance, so you may want to look for these programs when seeking a good college/university for your undergraduate training, but at the end of the day you just want a quality undergraduate education.
Volunteer experience and other extracurricular activity that demonstrates you are a compassionate, thoughtful, and well rounded person is also critical, so be sure to factor opportunities to gain such experiences when you’re evaluating undergraduate programs.
Lastly, I would recommend you keep yourself open to new experiences. You’re going to encounter a lot of new things and your career interests are very likely to change, perhaps just a little but potentially a lot, so while you want to strive for scholastic excellence you also don’t want to be so laser focused that you miss opportunities to explore other areas of science, medicine, and beyond. Consider research opportunities if they exist at your school so and maybe try a summer internship or two (my graduate training was directly impacted by a summer internship I attended during my sophomore year) and be sure to derive all the value possible from your undergraduate experience.
Best of luck!