I am going to be a Grade 10 Canadian high school student who is also an American citizen. My aim is to go into the path of medicine and study in the US. One big difference I know between Canadian and American schools is that American schools look at all 4 years of high school while Canadian ones only look at 11 and 12. I was wondering if American schools look at your overall average for every year or your top 6 courses from every year. I’m wondering this because there is a course that I will be taking where the teacher marking doesn’t line up with what he says. Basically to him 60-70’s are good marks and no one gets higher than that. This would absolutely destroy my average and I’m contemplating to switch the course out for no experience music, so I can focus more on the courses I care about and will matter. I’m just wondering how much these decisions will really affect me down the line as the field of medicine requires really good marks.
They look at your overall GPA (with the exception of some schools like the University of CA which only looks at grade 10 and 11 GPA)- I have never heard of only looking at the top 6 courses from each year. Is that something they do in Canada?
They look at your overall average. I’ve also never heard of schools looking at just your top 6 classes!
Top 6 is strictly a Canadian thing. your entire high school record will be looked at for American colleges.
So would it be a good move if I switched from the course that will ruin my average to one that wouldn’t (no experience music)? I’m only in this predicament because I need to get an art credit and I don’t want one teacher’s unfair marking in an ART COURSE to ruin my chances of undergrad opportunities down the line.
If you know a teacher practices grade deflation and you want to keep your GPA high, then I would switch to another art course.
Just my opionion…
Yes it’d be a good move as long as it’s not a core class. For example, switching out of precalc and taking music instead would be a bad move whereas switching out of Painting to take music would be 100%fine.
Note that in the US you don’t go straight to med school and can major in anything while taking premed pre-reqs. These pre-reqs are just regular classes except you have to rank in the top 10-20% in every single one of them.
Yeah I’m switching courses that are electives, meaning not core classes. I’m currently in enrichment programs that prepare for AP courses in grade 11 and 12. Is it true that those AP courses count as taking the prerequisite amount of hours during undergrad?
It depends on the university and for premed pre-reqs you have to be strategic.
But if you take AP world history, AP English language, you would most certainly get xrdit for those toward general education.
What about AP bio or chem?
Most premeds have taken both, then take the college version; they use the AP to preview the class and set themselves up for success in those difficult, weedout classes.
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