My older son used to be a straight A student. Now he is junior in high school. He gets some A’s and some B’s. He gets good marks in tests but it is his homework habits which ruin his grades. His teachers think that he is an A grade material but misses on homework.
He took his SAT a couple of months ago and he scored 1950 , which is very good score. He says he wants to take SAT again and he thinks he can score better because in the first SAT he did not take his calculator with him. ( Now they allow calculators in SAT).
My question is even if he scores better in SAT but if his GPS is not 3.5 or higher how is he going to get into a good pre-med school ? He wants to be a doctor it is a tough world out there. There is an army of good students out there with whom he will be competing to get into a good pre med school or med school eventually.
Any comments on my understanding here ?
P.S: Personally I would love him to be a doctor but I am ok as long as he turns out to be a good citizen and can be gainfully employed and lives hapily ever after.
If he feels he can do better - He SHOULD take the SATs again.
Med school seems a bit far from him. I don't know if med schools really take your high school GPA into account but his MCAT scores and his UNDERGRAD GPA will be critical to get into a good med school.
I think you should push good study habits for him starting now because in college he's going to be on his own. Having a good study dsipline will help him set his own schedule in college.
sawal gundum jawab chana. I know med schools if far off but
Don’t you have to go to a good pre med school to get into a med school ? And for that you need good GPA and good SAT score. His SAT score is very good but his GPA is not.
So if he does not end up in a good pre med school that can hold him back from realizing his dream of becoming a doctor.
Mirch bhai, how does your son fare on the ECs front?
Also, the linkage between pre-med programs and good med-schools is not as strict as it's often made out to be. Very often, you'll find students from reasonably good schools with exceptional grades and MCAT scores make it to the best med schools around the nation.
In the end, getting into and succeeding in med schools is contingent upon the candidate's work ethic and resolve to make it through... and less on the pre-med program they came out of. In your son's case, his desire to attempt to better his SAT scores is a good indication of his determination, and I see that as a good thing. I'd certainly let him do it if he feels strongly about it.
As far as a good pre-med program is concerned, the best you can do is short list the schools that he's eligible to get into... and then rank them according to the acceptance rates of their graduates into med schools.
^ njgal, pre-med is generally the term used to refer to undergrad programs that offer all the required courses to get into medical schools. Many schools these days offer programs in which students don't have to pick and choose courses for med school eligibility... the school does it for them... and these are generally referred to as pre-med programs.
It's a loose term though in the sense that someone can always customize his/her own undergrad degree with all the required courses... and even though it might not be called "pre-med", it will still allow the candidate to get into med school.
Mirch bhai, how does your son fare on the ECs front?
Also, the linkage between pre-med programs and good med-schools is not as strict as it's often made out to be. Very often, you'll find students from reasonably good schools with exceptional grades and MCAT scores make it to the best med schools around the nation.
In the end, getting into and succeeding in med schools is contingent upon the candidate's work ethic and resolve to make it through... and less on the pre-med program they came out of. In your son's case, his desire to attempt to better his SAT scores is a good indication of his determination, and I see that as a good thing. I'd certainly let him do it if he feels strongly about it.
As far as a good pre-med program is concerned, the best you can do is short list the schools that he's eligible to get into... and then rank them according to the acceptance rates of their graduates into med schools.
Thanks for your help LC.
He rocks in EC's Mashallah. As I said Acing any kind of test is not a problem for him. He is not well disciplined with his assignments. I will let him take SAT as many times as he wishes that is not a problem. I am only concerned with his grades in school. I did not go to a school , college or university in US so I do not have complete grasp of how this system works. What I know is based on hearsay and whatever I read on the Internet. He also told me that that his school grades report does not matter much. According to him , his EC's and SAT are, what counts most when it comes to getting into a good school/college/univesity after his high school.
So what you are telling me is very reassuring to me.
Jazaak Allah hul Khair.
Tell him to really pull his spring semester grades, also does he do any kind of volunteer work? Does he participate in school activities? Universities want well rounded students not just perfect SAT or GPA. To make up for the low GPA I would log in a lot of volunteer hours **and **active membership on campus orgs, high schools usually have ecology club, chess, theater etc.
A lot of schools look for well rounded students, SAT, GPA, extra curricular activities, honors, etc. However, the SAT still carries a lot of weight. In addition, the schools look at the highest combined SAT score which means from all the SATs your son has taken they will pick the highest score from each of the three sections and combine them to get a score out of 2400. If this is the first time he has taken the SAT maybe he should take a SAT prep course to help him. Also, colleges do not like it when the student has taken the SAT more than three times. The ideal number of times is only 2. So maybe the next time he takes it he should be well prepared.
My sister had a combined SAT score of 1900 and she's a senior in hs right now. She applied to a lot of top schools including some top engineering schools. She moved back from khi 2 yrs ago but her grades weren't that good in paksitan however she's an A student here. she also has a lot of extra curricular work from Pakistan and she joined a few after school clubs/organizations here and she tutors kids from her school. Also has about 6 AP level courses that she's taking in her senior year. Still however, she hasn't gotten accepted to a good school yet and she's waitlisted at RPI (hope she gets in i'A). The amount of students applying to almost every university in the US has gone up dramatically this year and the same is true for grad students. So there is a lot of competition.
Still, if he doesn't get into a top school for pre-med or of your choice, he can go to another school for 1-2 yrs, do the best he can and hopefully transfer out. I have seen people go from community colleges into tier 1 colleges after 1-2 years, so it definitely can be done.
for the pre-med programs, 3.5 unweighted gpa would be satisfactory to just apply, a higher gpa increases his chances. most ppl getting in have like 3.8-4.0 (unweighted). he needs community service and a job helps. ummm. a good class rank also helps. his math/reading SATs must b above 650 each...writing doesnt really count.
good teacher evaluations, and the essay must b out of the world.
What are those programs , is it something different than doing your bachelors and then getting in a med school for MD .
For now he is Junior , he is not worried yet about getting into college yet , I am not worried either , but I am evaluating his chances of achieving his goals which he has set for himself.
the earlier u start the better i think. it helps to weigh ur options. 7 year BS/MD program guarantees him a "seat" into a med school and he can take his MCATS after his 3rd year in college. rather than completing a 4 year degree he goes straight to med school (as long as the MCAT scores are good enough and he has maintained a GPA of 3.5 in the college) these programs are tough to get into and tough to maintain. they skip over some introductory courses basically preparing you to be a doctor rather than a mix of courses. he should take AP bio in high school. some also require SAT subject tests--in bio and math.
drexel, george washington, villanova, west chester....and many others have these programs.
sawal gundum jawab chana. I know med schools if far off but