I am currently a Freshman in high school, 4.3 GPA (only completed 1 class so far), FGIL, ORM (East asian), and here is my course load for this year and prospected for next year:
Band: A; Sectionals (for band): A+; Pep Band: A+; Algebra II Honors: A+; PE & Health: A+; Spanish III Honors: A; Music Tech/Intro to econ: A+; Chemistry Honors: A; English 9 Honors: A; AP World: A
Next year: English 10 Honors, AP Physics 1, Gym, Band/Sectionals/pep band, PreCalc Honors, Spanish IV Honors, US History 1
I have almost 100 volunteer hours, but they’re not really “focused” (ex. random hours from Red Cross & Tri Music Honors Society) except for weekly volunteering at a local Chinese School & Asian Culture Club. As for leadership, I’m treasurer for my graduating class and Secretary for Asian Culture Club. I participate in competitive team for Model UN/Congress (went to four conferences this year and honorable mention at one) and DECA (states but for manual). Awards wise, I’ve been on High Honor Roll at my school and Honorable Mention at MUN conference (stated previously). I swim competitively for a top 10 swim team in the nation, and am in the second to highest intensity group, but no notable personal achievements.
Currently, I know that I have an underwhelming resume, and I am aiming to bolster it up to potentially get into a BS/BA/MD/DO program. It’s a long journey, but I want a guaranteed route into med school (I am sure that I want to pursue medicine). How can I do so?
There is no such thing as a “guaranteed route to med school”. So please put that idea aside.
Most of these have admissions that are as competitive or more competitive than elite colleges. Please keep that in mind.
For these BS/MD/DO programs you will need shadowing, volunteering with underprivileged populations, volunteering or working with patient facing experience (e.g. volunteer at a skilled care facility). You will need excellent grades taking the top science courses your high school offers. You will need outstanding letters of reference and good interviewing skills.
Your volunteer work should NOT be random and scattershot as you describe. Better to choose a couple of things and do them consistently and with commitment.
At this point, you are finishing your freshman year of high school, right? The best thing you can do is be the best you can be. Also, take the time to actually enjoy your high school years, because if you do get into medical school it is a LONG haul.
I would suggest you shadow and talk to physicians in some primary care specialties.
Be prepared to answer “why doctor” at your interview. And it can’t be “I’ve always wanted to be a doctor”.
Also, you should look at the info in this link. Everyone who wants to go to medical school needs to think about a Plan B. If you think you want to be in health care, this site has many other options, and information.
@WayOutWestMom can fill in the blanks here.
ETA…think about all the costs as well. The medical school portion of the BS MD DO programs could easily cost $100,000 USD a year.
Unless OP wants to try lower-tiered schools like Nova Southeastern which isn’t all that competitive. I’m sure there are other schools, but that’s one that’s popular in our area among students seeking combined BS/DO programs.
The LECOM BS DO programs would fit this as well. This student would need to apply to LECOM and a few of their partner undergrad schools…and get accepted to LECOM AND a partner school.
But the DO part won’t be free.
NOVA Southeastern BA/DO has a high acceptance of about 60% (or 300 students/year); however, only about 60 of those 300 eventually matriculate into the associated med school. IOW, there is very high cull rate among students in the program.
Also NOVA Southeastern is currently the MOST expensive medical school in the US with COA of over $130K/year.
The OP should only apply if they are Ok with the odds and the cost.
Here are some possibilities to explore medicine which can show a sustained interest and growth. Be open to “going down rabbit holes.” Being open and curious makes a good high school student, med school student, and doctor.
-
watch youtube videos of various specialties and proceedures
-
once you are 16 or 18 you will have more options to work in a healthcare setting, however even before that there may be some opportunities. Smaller nursing homes may allow a 14 or 15 year old to be a “dietary aid” and deliver trays to residents.
-
work for a home aid company like comfort keepers.
-
periodically look over the NASEM website and virtually attend any public workshops of interest. For example, here is a public virtual workshop on the neurobiology of empathy https://www.nationalacademies.org/event/44350_05-2025_unraveling-the-neurobiology-of-empathy-and-compassion-implications-for-treatments-for-brain-disorders-and-human-well-being-a-workshop
-
read books by doctors and patients.
Great books for aspiring medical students include works by Marty Makary, Abraham Verghese, Atul Gawande, and Nina Riggs. I’d particularly recommend
Suleika Jaouad. Her memoir, Between Two Kingdoms, offers a profound exploration of illness, recovery, and the journey of healing, making it an excellent read for high school students interested in medicine. -
donate blood
-
beome certified in first aid and mental health first aid
-
attend local heath fairs, observe what you see and ask questions
-
take care of yourself, get plenty of sleep, exercise, eat right
Reflect on what enables or hinders healthy habits for you and does that apply to other populations? -
take relvant classes - genetics, anatomy, biochemisty, physiology, neuroscience if they are available.
-
Remember there are many roads to get to your goals.
I don’t think watching virtual things will enhance this student’s ECs. But it might give them some insight into various medical jobs.
I do not think donating blood will enhance their ECs either but it’s a good thing to do. Perhaps they could volunteer their time at blood drives doing something that is not drawing the blood.
Yes to getting first aid and CPR certification because those are good things to have anyway.
This student needs to contact doctors they know and see what they might have that could be of interest to this student.
To maximize your odds of getting into a BSMD program, consider more medical-focused ECs, such as shadowing, research, scribing, volunteering, or even working as a CNA or EMT (this can be done at 16 in some states).
Becoming a scribe, EMS worker, or CNA is 18 years old in most places. But check your state. Check to see when you are of the age when you can take these courses…these jobs DO require some training.
But, you can volunteer in a skilled care facility…there is likely some volunteer opportunity there.
Do you have any tips for cold emailing doctors for shadowing? Like, what should I include in the email?
What is scribing? And how would I get started on research?
Just curious, does the med school you go to impact future employment?
When you mention
The only top science courses my school offers are the AP ones. We have AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2, AP Physics C, and AP Environmental Science. I was planning on taking ap bio, ap physics 1, and maybe apes, but do you think I should take AP chem as well? My only worry is my grades and my GPA, since our ap chem teacher is a brutal grader.
No.
Where you do residency may impact where you get your first job. (It’s easier to find a job in the same region/state where you do your residency because you already have a medical license in that state and you will likely hear about some local job openings before they are posted nationally.)
But honestly, so long as you have graduated from an accredited medical school and you have successfully completed and ACGME-approved residency, you should be able to find a job in just about any state.
Introduce yourself: Name, school attended, grade level, etc.
Explain politely you’re interested in shadowing them because you think you want to be doctor. Say why you want to be doctor.
Include the name of 1-3 adults (who are NOT parents or relatives) who will vouch for your maturity and responsibility. Include the contact info for your references.
Keep your email very brief. Doctors are busy people. No more than 2 paragraphs of 2-3 sentences each.
Expect to be ghosted by almost everyone you cold email.
FWIW, asking to shadow works better if you can ask face-to-face. Start by asking your own primary care provider. If they say no, ask if they can suggest anyone who might be willing to allow you to shadow.
The most important thing for future employment as a doctor is your residency, and how well you do there…and fellowship if you do one.
Before you cold email…don’t you or your parents have doctors or friends who know doctors ? Start there. See if a doctor you know will let you shadow.
Medical scribing is job where you sit in the exam room with the doctor and patient during an physical exam and take notes about the visits based on verbal cues from the physician.
Most medical scribe jobs are offered by staffing agencies which will train you, then assign to you to a particular doctor/medical office or hospital department.
You MUST be able to type quickly and VERY accurately. (You’ll be tested by the staffing agency before they decide if they will train you.)
You need to be at least 18 to scribe due to HIPAA restrictions.
And how would I get started on research?
Have you done in-depth science labs with your science classes (AP classes often have very detailed and complex labs, but not all AP classes do.)
What kinds of skills did you learn in those labs? Make an inventory list of your skills.
Consider what other types of special skills you may have? Computer programming experience? Animal care experience? (Esp small animals like rats and mice)
Do you know how to use any kinds of statistical or data analysis software? List those.
Once you have your list of skills, then you need to go to the webpages of nearby universities and look up the name of the different research labs there. Some large labs will have their own webpages. Other labs will be under the names of individual professors. Read the bio pages of professors in the bio/organic chem/neuroscience/psychology/public health departments. There will usually be list of the research interests of each professor list on the public profile page at the university.
Now you need to write a resumé or CV (curriculum vitae) that lists your skills sets and any relevant coursework you’ve taken (immunology? List that. Neuroscience? List that. Biostatistics? List that. R programming? List that) and includes the names of 2-3 individuals ( who are NOT your parents or other relatives) who can vouch for your responsibility, maturity and your skills.
If you don’t know how to write a resume, ask your English teacher or your HS counselor if they can help you.
You may need to tweak your CV for each different professor you write to.You want to highlight those skills needed by each different lab.
Once you have identified several labs that seem like they are doing projects that of interest to you, you will cold email the professor leading the research lab. In that letter, you will introduce yourself, say you are looking to get involved in research and why their project interests you. (Keep the why short–no more than 1-2 sentences.)
In a second paragraph, mention some of the skills/coursework you have that will help you contribute to their project. (No more 3-4 sentences! Keep it short!!)
Lastly, attach your CV to your email.
Expect to be ghosted by everyone your email.
Many universities do not allow high school students into university labs due to insurance restrictions. Also high school students generally don’t have any useful skills needed by research labs.
If you do get a response, expect to be given the lowliest of the low assignments: washing dirty lab glassware, doing inventories, mixing basic reagents, filing papers, cleaning animal cages…
Important classes are : AP Bio, AP Chem, AP Physics. (Preferably AP Physics 1 & 2, unless you’ve already completed Calc 1 and can take AP Physics C.)
There’s no reason for a pre-med (or BA/MD/DO hopeful) to take AP Environmental Science.
I’m getting ahead of myself here, but let’s say I do get to participate in a research. If I’m doing lowliest of assignments, how would I list that onto my resume?