UNSOM Recruitment & Outreach: Counselors/Teachers: High School
High school is an important time for students to explore different careers, extracurricular activities and challenge themselves academically. Strategies for high school students include:
Volunteer as soon as they reach the minimum age requirements of hospitals and clinics. This experience will help the student to learn more about medicine and other health professions; find out if they enjoy working with people who are ill; and get an understanding of the "real world" of medicine. Volunteers also make valuable contacts with physicians and others who can give them good information on the profession.
Get involved outside of class. Students should use high school as a time to explore other interests in sports, the arts, performance, service organizations. This is a time to develop good communication skills and learn to work with many different types of people.
Challenge themselves academically. High school is a time to take tough classes. AP coursework is the best preparation for college-level work. Students who challenge themselves academically now learn good study habits and aren't shocked when confronted with college-level work.
Low performing high school students: Often students don't focus on academics until later in college. A career in medicine is not out of reach of a student who is not taking school seriously as a high school student. High school grades and test scores are not part of the medical school application process. However, they are important for students entering college. Some of these students go on to focus and become excellent medical students. Students need to understand that high school may be their last chance to focus and get their grades up. It becomes much more difficult in college. Low grades shut doors of opportunity for students.
Paying for medical school: A barrier for some students is the high cost of a medical education. UNSOM is the best value for students who meet residency requirements. Loans, grants, scholarships and loan repayment programs are available for students. An excellent source for learning more about planning financially for medical school is available from the Association of American Medical Colleges (PDF).
Other information:
Guide to medical specialities
High School Medical Scholars Program
Summer of Discovery
School of Medicine Tours
