Quiver0f10 Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 My upcoming 10th grader is leaning towards pre-med and so I am wondering what course outline to take with him. Any particular curriculum provider that would be better than others? Any other thoughts are welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Pre-med programs at the undergraduate level focus not only on science and math, but strong verbal skills. Basically you need the whole package to go to med school. Can students in Arkansas do concurrent enrollment at the CC while in high school? If so, I would have him at the CC in 11th grade for biology and chemistry--make sure he knows how to write a good lab report before going off to university. I would push the student on a rigorous path in all things: writing, vocab, Latin and/or Spanish, science. Getting into med school is hard and students need to be among the best. Congratulations that your child has such high aspirations! Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted June 17, 2008 Author Share Posted June 17, 2008 He can do CC classes at the same time, so we will most likely go that route. BUt I was also looking at maybe AP instead and posted another question on that. He is weak on writing so I am making that our goal this year and he will probably do CC classes for writing too. I am not sure on math for him. He is going to do saxon alg 2 this year, but I am wondering if we should do a different route? Thanks :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanga Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Many premed students will have completed Calc. 1 during high school. If there is a way to get him through Calc 1 before he applies to universities it would make him more competitive. So he would need to complete Algebra 2 with some program and then take precalc (Saxon's Advanced Math) either at home or the cc, then take Calc.1 at the cc. The benefit to taking precalc and calc. at the cc is you can do a year's worth of work in a semester. I think Saxon is rigorous enough, so if he is doing well with it I would not change curriculum. My dc just didn't like Saxon. I like BJUP, but it works well with my teaching style and my dc's learning style. Other courses I would recommend at home or the CC: Chemistry Biology Anatomy Logic and Rhetoric (these are sometimes offered at the CC, look under philosophy)- which will really help with lab reports and other scientific papers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 So Saxon Advanced math = a precalc course? When you say take calc 1 after, do you mean Saxon Calculus or college calc I? Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicki Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 You've been given good advice. My oldest ds is currently working on a triple doctorate. He plans on being an Oral Maxil Facil Surgeon. He will also have a doctorate in BioChemistry. He does research on tumor suppression. Math and science are very important. I know my oldest ds wishes he would have worked on writing more. We were told that volunteer hours in the field you want to go in a plus. My ds took every class he could through our community college and then trasferred to a local university. God bless, Vicki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanga Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 So Saxon Advanced math = a precalc course? When you say take calc 1 after, do you mean Saxon Calculus or college calc I? Thank you! Either, they are equivalent classes. Saxon Calculus is designed to be done in a year at home. Calc 1 is taught at colleges in one semester. Our experience with dd is that although Calc 1 at cc was compressed the teacher did not assign all the busy work homework that a highschool textbook does (because mom was afraid to skip too many problems). So it really depends on your dc's learning style and preference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Definitely a rigourous academic program and strong language skills. I'd also look to have him well-rounded. One of the things that impressed my sister's interviewers when she applied to med school (granted, this was in the 1980s, but last I heard they still want well-rounded med students) was that she had travelled, knew how to operate a backhoe, was a jock, etc. She took a 2 year gap in between high school and university so she could work, save money, travel in Europe for 6 months, go home and work to save to start university. Granted, she wasn't trying to go on scholarships as my parents could afford to help her out. Things were cheaper back then. My bil switched to premed after 2 years in aeronautical engineering because it was too much theory for him, but did no gap. He's also a jock and had other interests. My dad did this too, but it's ancient history because it was in the 1950s and not so competitive. Not that he didn't do well in his academics, but you didn't need all that other stuff as they hadn't figured out that not all straight-A students make good MDs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne/Ankara Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 I was just corresponding with our PA liason to some health care programs they have here in western PA for high school kids, and she repeated what the other posters said, but also emphasized the need for service work such as volunteering in nursing homes, hospitals and such. Many programs here for these kind of things are available-- even through the Boy Scouts (their Medical Explorer Club or something like that). Also, universities often have summer programs to enrich science study. And lastly, the Teaching Company has a nice series on the history of medicine, told through biography. Wonderful! My ds really enjoyed it. And one more suggestion-- you can look up book lists for students interested in medicine, and they are filled with great titles (Gifted Hands was the book that first interested my ds). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle in MO Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Actually, when I was in college I first considered pre-med, but had trouble with calculus, mostly because it was taught by a T.A. who barely spoke English! Strong language skills are a must. I like the idea of logic and rhetoric; I would imagine there would be an interview process included in the whole thing. Whichever curriculum you choose, I agree with the poster who said to do science and math all the way through high school: Biology Chemistry Advanced Biology (Human Anatomy) Physics (at least at the Univ. of Minn. this was required also of pre-med majors) Alg. I Geometry Algebra II/Trig./Precalculus Calculus English all the way through. I know if one of my girls wanted to do this, I'd have to have someone else do the math with them, either at the community college or with a tutor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 Thank you everyone!!! Now to get planning :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.