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Freshman in High School Wanting to be a Psychiatrist?

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(@smile-_1660962425)
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Joined: 12 years ago
Posts: 2
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Does anyone have any advice as to what a freshman should do to work to be a psychiatrist? I know it's an early start, but I really wanted to get things planned out. What would the lowest possible GPA for a person to have but still be accepted into a good college be? And what would be a good medical school to go to? Can someone make a sort of road map to explain what I have to do?
Also, are there any psychiatrists here? What would you say would be the hardest thing you have done in college? Medical school? Psychiatric residency? What would have been the easiest? What would you recommend doing or not doing? Are there any personal experiences you have that would help someone go through college, medical school, and residency?
Thank you for your time and patience! 🙂


   
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(@drdave)
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Joined: 2 years ago
Posts: 863
 

smile,

I can't say what the lowest GPA would be that would still get you into a good college, but you shouldn't be thinking of it that way. You should do your best in high school to get good grades. Your GPA will determine what schools will accept you, and most likely will be a good match to your abilities. There really isn't anything you should be doing now to prepare for a career in psychiatry other than getting good grades.

There are plenty of good medical schools and as psychiatry residency programs are not very competitive, you wouldn't need to get into the best medical school in order to become a psychiatrist.

The road map is high school > college (4 years) > medical school (4 years) > psychiatry residency (4 years)

I am a psychiatrist. Hardest thing in college for me was actually 1st year biology. Organic chemistry also had some challenging topics. The hardest part of medical school is tough to say as there were many. The academic challenge is there, but that wasn't the worst part for me. I'd say the days being post-call on my surgery rotations and having to scrub in and getting pimped on anatomy and physiology. I think there are a lot more restrictions on call now and not being allowed to work the same long hours post-call. I don't recall feeling particularly stressed during psychiatry residency. The call nights were rough and busy, usually not getting to sleep, but they weren't stressful in the same way that call on medicine or surgery rotations would be. The issues were usually not life and death issues, but just a lot of work. I don't really think of anything in college, medical school, or residency as "the easiest". If you enjoy what you are doing, it doens't matter as much how hard you are working. There are plenty of things I enjoyed during the process.

It's hard to recommend things to do or not do, especially to someone who is a high school freshman. I'd recommend not worrying about your career at this point in your life. Do well in school and go to a college that is a good fit for you. Make sure you keep your options open throughout college and focus your study in areas where you will have job opportunities. Be prepared that what you think you want to do now will change.


   
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