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Nadia
Student
Columbia, South Carolina
1
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Colleges to Consider
I am a sophomore in high school and I was wondering what schools would be great if you want to take the Pediatric route and which schools should I avoid?
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2 answers
Brian Ouyang
Program Manager
22
Answers
San Francisco, California
Updated
Brian’s Answer
Hi Nadia,
Great to hear you are thinking of pursuing a career in medicine. I am not a physician, but based on my 2nd-hand knowledge of the process (via friends who did go the med school route)
1). The undergraduate institution brand doesn't have as large an impact as you think. What matters most is your performance in the core pre-requisites (1 year of bio + lab, 1 year of chem + lab, 0.5 year of biochem + lab, 1 year of physics + lab, 1 year of calculus). Obviously each university has different standards of grading and level of difficulty, but that is usually offset by the...
2). ...MCAT score. The MCAT is probably the most important standardized test you'd take as it tests your understanding of physics, biology, and chemistry (as well as verbal reasoning) that you should have mastered in your course pre-requisites (in (1) above). Thus you could go to a hard school with a hard teacher (who let's say grades on a curve where 50% of students get a B-) but still get into medical school because you scored over 520 (out of 528), which admissions weighs heavily.
Medical school is a rigorous academic environment, so the best thing to do is go to a 4 year university that will prepare you for the rigors of 1st and 2nd year medical school. There are many great state/public schools around the US that will give you this preparation, and to best prepare yourself, consider honors programs (if you qualify) that schools offer. At times, a spot in your state school's honors program may be better/more advantageous than going to a prestigious school alone (think Ivy League) only because the honor's program will prepare you.
If you are motivated and set on medicine, there are schools that offer accelerated medical programs for high achieving high schoolers. There are schools that offer a 6 year medical program (Think instead of 4+4 undergrad+medical, you can complete a 2+4 undergrad+medical). I know Penn State offers this and while it is not "Ivy League", it is a very prestigious program and will save you money and stress from not having to study for the MCAT.
Great to hear you are thinking of pursuing a career in medicine. I am not a physician, but based on my 2nd-hand knowledge of the process (via friends who did go the med school route)
1). The undergraduate institution brand doesn't have as large an impact as you think. What matters most is your performance in the core pre-requisites (1 year of bio + lab, 1 year of chem + lab, 0.5 year of biochem + lab, 1 year of physics + lab, 1 year of calculus). Obviously each university has different standards of grading and level of difficulty, but that is usually offset by the...
2). ...MCAT score. The MCAT is probably the most important standardized test you'd take as it tests your understanding of physics, biology, and chemistry (as well as verbal reasoning) that you should have mastered in your course pre-requisites (in (1) above). Thus you could go to a hard school with a hard teacher (who let's say grades on a curve where 50% of students get a B-) but still get into medical school because you scored over 520 (out of 528), which admissions weighs heavily.
Medical school is a rigorous academic environment, so the best thing to do is go to a 4 year university that will prepare you for the rigors of 1st and 2nd year medical school. There are many great state/public schools around the US that will give you this preparation, and to best prepare yourself, consider honors programs (if you qualify) that schools offer. At times, a spot in your state school's honors program may be better/more advantageous than going to a prestigious school alone (think Ivy League) only because the honor's program will prepare you.
If you are motivated and set on medicine, there are schools that offer accelerated medical programs for high achieving high schoolers. There are schools that offer a 6 year medical program (Think instead of 4+4 undergrad+medical, you can complete a 2+4 undergrad+medical). I know Penn State offers this and while it is not "Ivy League", it is a very prestigious program and will save you money and stress from not having to study for the MCAT.
Thank you, Brian!
Nadia
Joshua Clark
Oncology(Cancer) Nurse
27
Answers
Atlanta, Georgia
Updated
Joshua’s Answer
Once you are in medical school, pediatrics is easy to get into. Getting into medical school may be harder. I would second looking into joint BS-MD or BS-DO programs(DO is a great option for pediatrics). Got to whatever school you feel most comfortable and will thrive at. However, you can look for a school with good scientific or medical research programs for undergrads.
Please ask if you have further questions!
Please ask if you have further questions!
Thank you for the advice, Joshua.
Nadia