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Do I need high school Physics for Medical School?

 
Old 02-06-2017 at 09:49 PM   #1
HumbleStudent
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Do I need high school Physics for Medical School?
Hello, I am a Grade 11 student hoping to enter either the Health Sciences or the Life Sciences program at McMaster. It is also my first time here on this forum, so if this thread does not belong here please kindly place it in the proper spot, thanks. My goal from entering these programs is to be able to get into medical school and become a physician. Based on my current grade's subjects, I have an 89% overall average, and have taken all recommended courses for the aforementioned programs except for Physics. I know that some background in Physics is needed for taking the MCAT, as well as generally. Therefore, I am worried about whether or not I would need high school level Physics to be able to have a good chance at gaining admission to medical school. Can someone please tell me what to do at this point? Thank you.
Old 02-07-2017 at 09:15 AM   #2
MovingTarget
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High school physics is not required for medical school admission. However, you are required to take a physics course in the Life Science program, so whether certain medical schools require it or not, you will need to take physics regardless. A physics course is not required in Health Sci but many students choose to take an introductory physics course anyways as it is essentially just grade 12 physics and it's a common prerequisite for lots of upper level courses.
Old 02-07-2017 at 02:34 PM   #3
tigercatfan
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Also 89% isn't going to cut it (not even close) to get into the Health Sciences so concentrate on Life Sciences. Also, do not come to University with a singular goal, take courses that interest you and do well. The goal of medical school is a great one but the odds are greatly stacked against you so make the most of University and don't ignore additional paths.
Old 02-07-2017 at 03:15 PM   #4
Imperious
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I would strongly recommend that you take both grade 11 and 12 physics. It will really help you when you have to take physics in university. Especially since you're not paying a tuition in high school like in university you might as well give it a shot. Also note that all programs at mcmaster only look at your top 6 grades (including the required courses). Since grade 12 physics is not required for entry to Life Science or Health Science, if physics does not end up being one of your top 6 then it's not included in your admission average. That's not to say that your mark doesn't matter in that course if you do end up taking it - you just don't need to get super stressed out if you're not doing as well as you'd hoped.

If you're thinking of applying to certain external scholarships upon entry to university, they probably will look at all your grades but the automatic admission scholarships from mcmaster still only look at your top 6 grades (including the required courses). A lot of high school students who don't apply for external scholarships have the misconceived idea that all grades matter and as a result shy away from taking courses that are deemed "more difficult/demanding" in order to preserve their amazing average. Once you get to university, your high school average means nothing. The honour roll/distinguished honour roll that you received upon graduation means nothing. And for most university programs, admission is only based on your top 6 12U marks. So if you're not planning on applying to external scholarships take physics so that you're at least exposed to it when you get to university. Try to obtain the highest marks possible in all your courses but don't panic if you have maybe one bad mark. For Health Science, you'll want to make the sure the average of your top 6 (including required) courses is a minimum of a 90% (otherwise your application is not considered at all).

There is a physics portion on the mcat that covers material equivalent to material taught here in Physics 1A03+1AA3. You don't "need" to take a physics course (or any relevant courses) to do well on the mcat, but just know that you're going to have to work a lot harder than others since you'll be seeing all the material for the first time.

*Just a note that taking grade 11 and 12 physics doesn't automatically guarantee that you'll do well in university physics. Most people do end up doing well even with no prior physics exposure but it really depends on you and how much effort you put into your courses.
Old 02-07-2017 at 10:13 PM   #5
HumbleStudent
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Thank you for your advice. I will compensate for the lack of Physics this semester (2nd semester) by taking Grade 11 Physics during summer school, and then take Grade 12 Physics in my final year just to get a stronger background in both physics and science overall; this is to broaden my scope in hopes of entering fields of science and mathematics in general. Also, I am aware that my current 89% average is not sufficient enough for Health Science at the moment; I am indeed more focused on entering Life Sciences afterwards (although I still have one more year, and have not applied for early acceptance). This is only to see my potential in entering. However among the aforementioned, if I am able to enter Health Sciences I would instead of Life Sciences.
Old 05-23-2017 at 03:45 PM   #6
sorocraft
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Actually, that doesn't really matter. Getting a 90 will get you past the threshold. After that, it depends mostly on your 3 supplementary essays so pray for good writing.



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