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What courses should I take to become a doctor?

What courses must I take to become a doctor?

  • Becoming a doctor has been my dream for quite some time. So I was curious, if I were to enter Stanford University in the medical fields, what courses must or should I take? Also, since I'm only an eighth grader, I don't really know much about college, and I'm about to ask a bunch of questions that may seems silly to you. So how many courses can you take a semester? How much does it cost? What if you fail a class? When you graduate, do you have to go to graduate school and receive a degree in order to become a doctor? Also, if so, what degree? (i.e. Ph.D, Masters, bachelors, etc.) Also, this may seem silly, but for voluntary work at hospitals/clinics, do you just go up to the front desk and ask for a volunteer spot for you? Or do you have to contact them about it first, get an interview, and then volunteer? Also, if I don't make it into Stanford, what other universities are good for medicine stuff (in California)? And by that, I mean reasonable and realistically. Sorry if these questions seem way out of order...it's been bothering me for a while now.

  • Answer:

    You have to go college and follow the pre med curriculum. The college will tell you exactly what type and how many classes you have to take and in what order you have to take them. A typical student takes 4 to 6 classes per semester. After you graduate with your bachelors degree, you have to take a special test called the MCAT. Your grades in your undergraduate degree and your score on the MCAT will determine what medical schools you get into. You have to apply to them just like you did for your undergrad. After 4 years of medical school you do a residency. That's where you work in a hospital under the direction of real doctors. After your 3-4 year residency then you are a real doctor...that is if you pass the licensing test in your state. If you fail a class you have to retake it. But your F will not be wiped out, it will be averaged in your gpa.

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math biology, chemistry and actually computers since medicine is doing more and more with them

firechap

Well that's a lot of questions lol but Stanford is tough to get into. You will mostly likely need to get straight A's in high school with a gpa of 4.0 or something very close to that... Stanford is very competitive to get into so you kinda need to be perfect with you studies. To become a doctor you need an MD... a Doctor of Medicine degree which does require you to go to graduate school. I hope you know that the minimum number of years for that field is 10-12 AT THE VERY LEAST. It all depends if you want to specialize in something but that is something you will encounter WAAAAAAAAY later on. Other schools that are good are UC Davis, UC Irvine, and even UC Berkeley. They are also very competative schools but in all honesty, you will have a much better chance of getting accepted to those schools. I'm not saying that you shouldn't try and apply to Stanford, I'm just letting you know it shouldn't be your only option to apply. The courses you take depend on your major. In today's world, you can pretty much major in anything... like english and still get into medical school.. just as long as you meet and pass the requirements of the graduate school/medical school you want to attend but maybe a major in chemistry, biology or anything related to science will do. The specific course, you should look up at the college sites as they have better info. At this point, it may be to early to think about this but it's good. For now just focus on getting good grades and please try avoid any D's on your semester grades because they will come back to haunt you when they colleges look at your grades. C's are fine but try and aim for B's and higher to be safe. Be sure to talk you your high school counselor to help you get on track of your goals. You should also do a lot of extracurricular activities such as sports, clubs, volunteer work, ect. It looks great on your college application. As far as volunteer work, just call the place and ask for volunteer opportunities.

someone

You should major in biology or chemistry if you can't find a good pre med program. Pre requisites include Gen bio, Gen chem, ochem, biochem, anatomy and physiology, psychology, ethics, and your general electives. Pre med is 4 years and you get a bachelors in a science. You must also take the MCAT before applying to a medical school. You need a 3.5 science gpa in college as well as good mcat scores. Volunteering in a medical setting would look good on an application, as well as a medical related summer job. You graduate med school with an MD and to get a job you need to do a residency or fellowship for 2-8 years. In all you are looking at 8 years of schooling and another 2-8 depending on what type of doctor you want to be.

Chris

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