Am I allowed in here even though I'm only in high school? ><
I have a question for Med School...
Right now I'm considering it - and I want to go into neurology/oncology - I'm in gr. 11 high school and I'm taking Bio, Chem, Physics and Uni Math (among others) - planning to do the same next year with the semestered math course.
And because I nearly pulled my all my hair out studying for my 8 exams in January (I go to a non-semestered school), half of which I'll have definitely every single year - twice - I want to ask about the stress levels while IN med school and in the process of going to Med. ^^; I know it varies for everyone, but it would really help if I could get an insight to what I'm really getting myself into.
I really do love my sciences - I think they're all awesome blossom, but I really don't want to spend so much of my life in school, especially with residency and specializing for neurology or whatever. T___T
Also, does volunteering at hospitals or Co-op at a Health faculty help? Because I'm not sure about applying for those if I'm not going to get much out of it.
Also... are the MCATs really based on what I'm learning now, in high school? o______O I'm not sure where I heard this from, but it just had me "._." and I wanted to confirm with people who've done the MCATs.
I'm from Canada, by the way. ^^;
That's awesome that you're thinking ahead. =) I don't how medical schools are in Canada, the below information is for medical school in the US.
As you have heard, medical school is tough.. It's not so much that the material is hard, but the fact that you learn SOOO much in smaller period time. It's more of the quantity of information rather than the quality that makes med school tough. People have related medical school to be trying to take a drink from a fire hydrant. But... it's all doable. Once in medical schools, the majority end up becoming doctors. =)
When you get to college, you don't have to major in a natural science to get into medical school. Take classes in the humanities to broaden your knowledge and experiences, also so that you don't burn out on learning only science classes. Medical school is pretty much all natural science, so have some fun taking other interesting classes.
Um... you mentioned that you didn't want to spend so much time in school... well, you will.
College (4 yrs) + medical school (4 years) + residency (>3 years) (neurology, i want to say, is 4 years)
you really shouldn't say that you don't want to volunteer at the hosipital or co-op at a health facility b/c it might "not be much help". You can ALWAYS learn something! Keep in mind that being in a hospital setting will help you get a small feel what a hospital environment is like, how nurses and doctors work, interaction with patients, etc.
That MCAT is not like any test you probably have taken before. It tests your
critcal and analyzing skills. Some questions are straightforward, but most of the questions aren't. The information is somewhat based on your typical biology, chemistry (general and organic), physics. Don't forget that there is also a verbal section and a writing section.
Just make sure that you are wanting to go into medicine for the right reasons. You still have college to face and things change, but if medicine is really what you want to do, then you have to prove it to the admissions committee that medical school is where you belong.
Hope this helps. Good luck =)
