Based on the GPA and scores, they should have gotten into the top end of Texas programs vs where they ended up in Texas pecking order.
OPās kid is 16.
Based on my own personal experience, the advice to get into college and med school are actually very different and sometimes counterintuitive.
Like Texaspg said, med school admission is very GPA driven. Too many UG schools and classes for them (med school admissions) to actually care what classes you took. Your GPA gets separated into Science and Non-Science and Total. AO/Interviewers just see the numbers. Very few people go back and check what classes you took. Basically nobody really cares anyways. None of the math before calculus will fulfill the one year calculus requirement. So OPās sonās algebra/geometry/trig or whatever even if taken in college as DE/CC will just count as general āscienceā elective. Do well, they are GPA boosters. Do bad, then your Science GPA drops along with your admission chances. I rather my C be from P Chem than Algebra taken as CC class in HSā¦ Iām well versed in atmospheric science, astronomy, and psychobiology definitely not because I was interested.
Based on how many of my classmates who were CC transfers and then got into med school, I would say where the pre-reqs were done doesnāt mean much as the actual grade and school you eventually graduate from. And no, none of these guys repeated gen chem, calculus, physics they took while in CC after transfer.
For med school, the strategy (IMO) is to go to a big name school where they send a lot of graduates to med school each year (info is public record, just call the pre-health advisorās office and get a print out), major in something very easy and get a high GPA. You do need EC, so big schools will have ample opportunities for work and research. Rec letters form someone well-known, definitely helps.
On the other hand, getting into college these days, is about standing out. Since everyone applying has basically straight A and all honor, the point is ārigorā how hard are your classes, did you take extra IB/AP/CC to show your UW 4.0 is better than another kidās UW 4.0 while showing you have time to save the world and get 8 hours of sleep and be normal.
Whether or not any of these class credits will count at his chosen college is another story. But as of now, OPās 16 yo kid isnāt trying to get into Med School. He still has to get into college first.
Most of my MD-aspiring friends at 16 do not make it to MS BTW and find passion elsewhere. Ones who are MD now were all sleepers back in HS. Or I should say, most of my MD friends now did not want to be MDs when they were 16.
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For pre-meds, wouldnāt the grading scale be:
- A = acceptable
- B = bad
- C = catastrophic
- D = disastrous
- F = forget it
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Your interpretation is funny, but may be placing undue stress to people who lack humor, like most pre-med students.
Truth is, most schools keep these data. Anyone can go to Pre Health Office and get a copy. See how many people applied, grades, and where they end up. As long as someone keeps in that range, they should have a decent chance.
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MD programs mostly take you of consideration with a C. Many combined programs tell you upfront a C gets you out of consideration for the MD which to me implies there is some filtering at some medical schools.
Iām not sure a letter of recommendation from someone well known will get someone IN to medical school. It might get the kid an interview inviteā¦but guaranteed admissionā¦Iām not sure about that!
key word is āhelp.ā Not to get you in. Just like in life, there is never āguaranteeā anything.
We had a guy who wrote a 5 million dollar check, and oh by the way, D wanted to get into the grad school. He got told no.
I appreciate everyoneās thoughts. Weāve decided he is going to do the AA. So he can just do honors High school bio and chem now (and just dual credit college A&P) and then do college bio and chem later at university and frankly the AS requires higher math than what he will need. The AA courses are plenty rigorous to get into university and he will have many common college core courses complete but leave any med school prereqs for university and he doesnāt need to take calc 2 which the AS requires and he doesnāt particularly want to take calc 2. My older child was thrilled when her degree program at A&M eliminated the calc 2 requirement before she took it!
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