Natalie727 Posted February 16, 2019 Report Share Posted February 16, 2019 When I applied for the IB my mind was set on either studying Psychology or Law in university (I want to study either in the US or Canada) so that's why I chose these subjects: Psychology HL History HL English A HL Swedish A HL Biology SL Math Studies SL However, I have recently been really interested in the sciences, especially Biology, and was considering going to med school after earning my undergraduate degree. But the only natural science I'm taking is Biology which is at SL and I'm also taking Math Studies so I don't know if I can do that anymore because of those choices and because I didn't pick Chemistry. I already talked to my teachers and the IB coordinator, but I'm not allowed to switch Bio to HL, take Math SL, and switch History to Chemistry because the courses have already covered a lot and you weren't supposed to switch after October last year. Btw, I have nothing against Science or maths (the reason I chose math studies was because I heard Math SL wasn't necessary for Law & Psych to some colleges and I thought it would be an easy 7, which I now regret) and I know if I worked hard for it medicine would be the right choice for me. Does that mean pursuing medicine is over for me? I mean I still want to major in Psychology which is what I'm applying for when I'm applying for colleges and I read that med schools don't care what major you had as long as you took the required electives (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Math), at least in the US, is that true? Can I major in Psych and apply for that when applying and adding the required subjects as electives and still go the pre-med track to be able to get into med school? Is there anything else I can do? What if besides doing the SATs I also do the SAT subject tests in math, physics, chemistry, and biology and work on my free time to excel in them, I know I could handle it. Would that make me stand out in my applications? Please help, I'm really desperate. I really do want to go to med school because I'm not 100% sure about Psychology and Law anymore and I know I would love medicine more. I'm really regretting my subject choices and I feel like I made the biggest mistake of my life. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nomenclature Posted February 17, 2019 Report Share Posted February 17, 2019 Hi, You're smart because you gave the answer I was going to give you. You can certainly self-study these subjects. Nothing is stopping you from buying an IB Biology/Chemisty HL book. You can test yourself on past exams. You can do the SAT subject tests to rove to schools that you know your stuff. That's a really good idea. I don't know about med schools and what undergrad courses are/aren't sufficient; but I'm sure there's tons of stuff online regarding that. Many North American schools have sections on their applications where you can notify about anything they should know about regarding your academic history, and you should certainly explain this. They'll like it if you study a subject independently. That's a major skill that you need to have that you're demonstrating. If you study this stuff and really do learn it well, you should be absolutely fine for North American schools. And whatever happens, it'll be alright. I know it seems really stressful right now but it'll be okay. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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