☮ Ann asked:


I want to become a family practitioner and get my medical degrees from Univeristy of Kansas, and possibly graduate to Harvard Medical. Everyone says I have to potential and that KUs a good school, but the funding is the problem. What are some extra classes I can take throughout high school to get good scholarships for these schools?
Okay, I know financial aid- I need a list of classes. Thank you.

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Comments

NotAnyoneYouKnow on 1 March, 2010 at 3:45 am #

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It’s your high school grades that are important, not specific courses. You’re not going to get a scholarship because you took anatomy and physiology in high school (or any other course for that matter). Furthermore, it’s not going to be your high school grades or your high school curriculum that’s going to get you admitted to medical school - your admission is going to depend on your undergraduate performance in college.

Now, when I say that your courses aren’t important, I don’t mean that every course is as good as any other. Selective admissions colleges are looking for students who have challenged themselves with the most difficult high school courses. The more advanced placement, honors, or IB courses you can take, the better. Don’t just take the AP courses, take the accompanying AP exams, and make it your mission to score 4s and 5s on those exams.

Don’t fill out your schedule with non-academic courses, either. Physical education is important for health, but your phys ed grades aren’t going to be of much interest to any halfway decent college. There’s much to be said about ROTC, but that’s not an academic course, and neither are band, shop, yearbook, or office aide. Many schools and many scholarship committees ignore your grades in non-academic high school courses when computing your GPA.

If you’re trying to line yourself up for a future application to medical schools, first worry about getting into college. There’s very little that you can do in high school that’s going to make you a successful medical school candidate, other than perhaps getting involved in some kind of medical research program, or volunteering with a hospital, nursing home or doctor’s office.

When you get to college, you’ll want to pursue a curriculum that’s top heavy on the chemical, physical and biological sciences. Most med schools will require you to have had all of the basic natural science courses - with laboratories. I’m talking Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Biology, Microbiology, Physics with Calculus, etc. You’ll also want to take a handful of courses in the Social Sciences (psychology, sociology, geriatrics, developmental), and communications, too. Med schools are looking for students who are polished communicators - your English Comp and Public Speaking grades are important.

It’s great that you’re hoping for Harvard, but Harvard Med accepts a tiny fraction of their applicants. You can certainly aspire to a top school like Harvard, but keep your options open for now. Harvard is something to work towards, but not to obsess upon. Doctors who attended far less elite schools are just as qualified, and make an outstanding living.

There’s no list of high school classes, because your high school classes aren’t going to get you into medical school. What they will get you into is an undergraduate program - so if you hope to be admitted to a selective school, just worry about taking on the most challenging coursework that is available to you. Advanced placements and honors courses are the way to go, and avoid the non-academic schedule fillers.

Good luck!