How Do You Go From High School to Med School?

Volunteer or job shadow to see if medicine is really for you

Talk to your high school guidance counselor about volunteering work at a local hospital, nursing home, or other healthcare establishment. Set up some times to do some volunteer work and see if being in a medical setting is for you. Once you are volunteering in a place that suits, reach out and see if you can set up informational interviews with physicians. If not, maybe you can job shadow. The key here is a willingness to do it -- and the desire to make it happen. On a job shadow, make sure you set it up well in advance. Need help? Ask your guidance counselor or the medical establishment’s volunteer office. Someone there will help you.

Show you are committed

Set yourself up now for what you will face as a pre-med student. Medical school is highly competitive. You can’t start early enough learning and preparing yourself for pre-med studies. Take those tough science and math classes. While biology and chemistry are probably required anyway, see if your high school offers advanced or second-year options for both. If you can take them and do well, do it. You’ll only have to take more of it as a pre-med student. If your school has AP or IB options for math, take those. Work hard. You’ll have to work even harder as a pre-med student, but by doing this you will demonstrate your commitment to working hard early -- and med schools notice that. Show your passion for medicine by getting a head start on the science and math you need.

Know what skills you need for admission

In addition to a solid foundation in content knowledge which you have demonstrated by taking tough courses in high school, you also need to show a host of other skills. These include strong communication and writing skills, leadership, responsibility, dependability, punctuality, and teamwork.

You do not have to perfect them in high school, but you should practice them

How do you practice these skills in high school? Pick a few extracurriculars that you enjoy and take on a leadership role. Volunteer to tutor your fellow students. Strive to be an exceptional student in all of your classes -- not just science and math. You don’t have to go overboard, but you need to push yourself, work hard, do the things you care about, and always do the very best you can.

Follow these steps and you're well on your way to pre-med!