can a person with a low iq/intelligence make it through medical school? (2024)

can a person with a low iq/intelligence make it through medical school? (1)

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Im wondering if a person with a low iq or intelligence can make through medical school and become a doctor.

In my opinion i think medical school and premed are about determination and maturity more so than intelligence.

What do you all think?

D

deleted407021

What do you mean by "low" IQ? 1 SD below average (100)? That would be an IQ of ~85, the minimum IQ for the Army.

Average accomplishment for people with IQ 80-85 is between 0-7 years of education; elementary school drop outs. IQs between 90 and ~105 belong to people with average accomplishment ranging from a few years of HS to skilled labor to a few years of college or even a BS/BA. The average IQ of MDs/DOs/JDs is around 125.

You need to be an intelligent individual to graduate college and do well on the MCAT even before you can manage medical school.

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can a person with a low iq/intelligence make it through medical school? (3)

SnakeOilForSale

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Out of people who aren't naturally bright, I believe there is a subset of people who will never quite "get" science material no matter how determined/mature they are, and another one who it takes longer to get but through determination are able to comprehend it. Differentiating between these two groups isn't clear-cut or simple though. So I'd say: it depends.

Also, I don't believe IQ is the end-all-be-all of measuring intelligence, either.

can a person with a low iq/intelligence make it through medical school? (4)

Goro

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I remember from when I was in undergrad the reams of pre-meds who couldn't even make a B in Orgo or Physics think that sheer determination would get them into medical school

Those people are NOT doctors today.

One has to be smart to go to medical school. This does not mean being good at memorization only, one has to be able to apply and reason.

My students are as sharp as scalpels.

Im wondering if a person with a low iq or intelligence can make through medical school and become a doctor.

In my opinion i think medical school and premed are about determination and maturity more so than intelligence.

What do you all think?

can a person with a low iq/intelligence make it through medical school? (6)

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I remember from when I was in undergrad the reams of pre-meds who couldn't even make a B in Orgo or Physics think that sheer determination would get them into medical school

Those people are NOT doctors today.

One has to be smart to go to medical school. This does not mean being good at memorization only, one has to be able to apply and reason.

My students are as sharp as scalpels.

I like how you base intelligence on a couple grades that a person received in undergrad.

S

can a person with a low iq/intelligence make it through medical school? (7)

Goro

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Are you having a hard day today?

Good choice making and time mgt skills are also a necessity for a good med school applicant.

Do keep in mind that IQ has nothing to do with how smart one is. But I seriously doubt that someone in the 70-80 range would be able to handle a 3rd order test question.

I like how you base intelligence on a couple grades that a person received in undergrad.

S

can a person with a low iq/intelligence make it through medical school? (8)

ProudMD

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What do you mean by "low" IQ? 1 SD below average (100)? That would be an IQ of ~85, the minimum IQ for the Army.

Average accomplishment for people with IQ 80-85 is between 0-7 years of education; elementary school drop outs. IQs between 90 and ~105 belong to people with average accomplishment ranging from a few years of HS to skilled labor to a few years of college or even a BS/BA. The average IQ of MDs/DOs/JDs is around 125.

You need to be an intelligent individual to graduate college and do well on the MCAT even before you can manage medical school.

I just took a "reputable" online IQ test, and I got a 128. So I guess I am good to go huh?

On a more serious note, I am not a believer in IQ at all.

can a person with a low iq/intelligence make it through medical school? (9)

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Are you having a hard day today?

Good choice making and time mgt skills are also a necessity for a good med school applicant.

Do keep in mind that IQ has nothing to do with how smart one is. But I seriously doubt that someone in the 70-80 range would be able to handle a 3rd order test question.

You made a bad choice when you chose the word "choice" instead of ,decision.

The part about iq having nothing to do with how smart a person is, is your opinion. Hasn't been proven or disproved s.

I just took a "reputable" online IQ test, and I got a 128. So I guess I am good to go huh?

On a more serious note, I am not a believer in IQ at all.

Eh, it's reliable in some cases and not so in others. Intelligence is obviously a tough thing to quantify.

D

deleted407021

You made a bad choice when you chose the word "choice" instead of ,decision.

The part about iq having nothing to do with how smart a person is, is your opinion. Hasn't been proven or disproved s.

That's because science doesn't work that way.

can a person with a low iq/intelligence make it through medical school? (10)

Goro

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People make choices every day. Some good, some bad. And as for IQ, go look up Binet original papers on the subject, since you don't want to study for those math classes in which you're struggling.

And yes, doctors do need math in their practice. Understanding renal and respiratory physiology and pathophysiology, for starters.

Edit: wow! didn't take long for that fool to get banned!

You made a bad choice when you chose the word "choice" instead of ,decision.

The part about iq having nothing to do with how smart a person is, is your opinion. Hasn't been proven or disproved s.

D

deleted407021

Well that particular odd newbie was disappointingly lack luster...

T

Tawantinsuyu

According to a test I just took, I have an IQ of 131. I hardly doubt it's accurate.

can a person with a low iq/intelligence make it through medical school? (15)

allantois

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There are some intelligent people out there who don't make any use of their brains.

can a person with a low iq/intelligence make it through medical school? (18)

kraskadva

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I took this test.
http://www.free-iqtest.net/
Seriously, I doubt it's correct. My IQ is probably around 100 or something haha.

That was fun..
If teh interwebs says 157 it's totally reliable, right? Right guys? can a person with a low iq/intelligence make it through medical school? (19)
LOL can a person with a low iq/intelligence make it through medical school? (20)

Back to PChem homework, which shows me in no uncertain terms that I don't have an IQ that high...

can a person with a low iq/intelligence make it through medical school? (22)

kthxbai

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I got a 134.

That's actually pretty consistent with the official test.

can a person with a low iq/intelligence make it through medical school? (23)

ProudMD

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Why do I have the lowest score of the bunch?

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Zelda840

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lol 141. Now if only they'd take this online quiz as a substitute for my mcat. can a person with a low iq/intelligence make it through medical school? (25)

Law2Doc

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1. People in established professions don't use IQ tests because the methodology is flawed. That's the whole point of MCAT (warts and all) -- the other existing "aptitude" and "intelligence" tests out there weren't as useful to evaluate someone for med school.
2. You have to be "bright" and "quick minded" to succeed in med school. Not necessarily a genius, but someone regarded as "sharp". You can probably pass a test or two with sheer determination and brute force but to sustain it through all of med school and training as the pace quickens is going to be unrealistic if you need to spend extra time on everything or just don't "get" things easily. Drinking out of a firehouse is an apt analogy. And when the attending calls you at 3am on call and asks you treatment questions it's pretty hard to fake a knowledge base.
3. I've known some truly dumb people that have done well for themselves in law and other professional fields. I really don't see that playing out quite the same way in medicine.

can a person with a low iq/intelligence make it through medical school? (27)

kraskadva

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Why do I have the lowest score of the bunch?

Do you like puzzles?
I spent a lot if my childhood playing games/doing puzzles exactly like what's in that test, so it seems super easy to me.
If that wasn't your thing though, the the methodology of the puzzles may not be as apparent, which would make you take longer to solve them, and since the scoring for these things is mostly based on timing, the slowest person gets the lowest score.

meatie

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Banhammer came down pretty quickly on OP...guess he got demoted down to "Private Knowledge"!

Oh god really Goro? Now I know you're a dad can a person with a low iq/intelligence make it through medical school? (29)

can a person with a low iq/intelligence make it through medical school? (31)

AlteredScale

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People make choices every day. Some good, some bad. And as for IQ, go look up Binet original papers on the subject, since you don't want to study for those math classes in which you're struggling.

And yes, doctors do need math in their practice. Understanding renal and respiratory physiology and pathophysiology, for starters.

Edit: wow! didn't take long for that fool to get banned!

HAHAHAHA one of the best responses I have ever seen. This is why Goro is infamous!

can a person with a low iq/intelligence make it through medical school? (32)

user12

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I remember from when I was in undergrad the reams of pre-meds who couldn't even make a B in Orgo or Physics think that sheer determination would get them into medical school

Those people are NOT doctors today.

One has to be smart to go to medical school. This does not mean being good at memorization only, one has to be able to apply and reason.

My students are as sharp as scalpels.

truth

can a person with a low iq/intelligence make it through medical school? (33)

butternutsquash

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Haha I got a 155. That IQ test = pattern recognition test

bioman1275

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Im wondering if a person with a low iq or intelligence can make through medical school and become a doctor.

In my opinion i think medical school and premed are about determination and maturity more so than intelligence.

What do you all think?

It takes both, can anyone do it? no, that is where the intelligence comes in. It also take those individuals being determined to succeed in college and medicine.

Why do you think they would make you take calculus? I feel like its an intelligence test, I mean you will never use integrals in medicine. lol

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AspiringERMD

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152. Lol, no way that's accurate. ^_^

shrinkwrapped53

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No. If your IQ is less than 110, you probably should not consider medical school. High IQ, good mcat scores, high grades, high drive, the ability to put off gratification are also required. And for most, the ability to tolerate 100k or more in student debt. A love of Ramen noodles and mac and cheese probably also helps.

can a person with a low iq/intelligence make it through medical school? (37)

hoihaie

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No. If your IQ is less than 110, you probably should not consider medical school. High IQ, good mcat scores, high grades, high drive, the ability to put off gratification are also required. And for most, the ability to tolerate 100k or more in student debt. A love of Ramen noodles and mac and cheese probably also helps.

but according to 2 IQ tests from google, my range is between 79-87

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can a person with a low iq/intelligence make it through medical school? (2024)

FAQs

Can a person with a low iq/intelligence make it through medical school? ›

You don't need a very high IQ to be a doctor — the field isn't that intellectually demanding, requiring memorization more than thought. The reason the average doctor has an extremely high IQ is that entrance to medical school is so competitive.

Can someone with average IQ become a doctor? ›

Can someone with an average IQ become a doctor? Yes, they most surely can with hard work. IQ is fluid, it can change over time, so IQ is not the main objective to become a doctor. If you know how to do your work good, and know your stuff, you can become anything.

What is the average IQ of a medical student? ›

The average Full Scale I.Q. of the medical students across the number of studies was 125, similar to the I.Q.'s of physicians at that time. Weintraub, Powell, and Whitla (1994) did assess a large cohort of healthy volunteer physicians on tests of intelligence.

Can you still be smart with a low IQ? ›

Just as having a high IQ doesn't ensure success, having an average or low IQ doesn't ensure failure or mediocrity. Even if you have what is considered a low IQ, you may be smart in many other ways and have many other talents and abilities that aren't reflected on a single test.

Do you have to be a genius to become a doctor? ›

If you've shown that you can work hard enough, study hard enough, and grind hard enough. if you can put in the work to study and sacrifice, then you are doing what you need to do. You do not need to be a genius to get into medical school. You do not need to be a genius to get a good score on the MCAT.

How rare is an IQ of 125? ›

By the current "deviation IQ" definition of IQ test standard scores, about two-thirds of all test-takers obtain scores from 85 to 115, and about 5 percent of the population scores above 125.

Does IQ increase with age? ›

Can IQ change with age? Yes. However, there is heavy debate over exactly how IQ and intelligence change with age. Studies have demonstrated that a person's fluid intelligence tends to decrease starting in their late 20s, while their crystallized intelligence tends to increase as they grow older.

What IQ do most doctors have? ›

So what's the average I.Q. of a doctor? The average I.Q. of a doctor is approximately 125. Studies have determined that a doctor's I.Q. will normally fall within the 110-130 range, putting them into the 'high average' and 'superior' Wechsler classifications.

What is the average IQ of Harvard students? ›

Top 25 Smartest Colleges in America for 2023
RankCollegeEstimated IQ from SAT Score
13Harvard142.4
13UPenn142.4
16Pomona142
17Duke141.9
21 more rows

What is Elon Musk's IQ? ›

Elon's IQ is estimated to be around 155, while Albert Einstein's is 160. With such a slight margin, Musk is undoubtedly an incredibly smart person. Who is the smartest person on earth in 2022? Born in 1975 in Adelaide, Australia is a mathematician, Terence Tao with an IQ score of 230.

Does low IQ run in families? ›

Although IQ differences between individuals have been shown to have a large hereditary component, it does not follow that disparities in IQ between groups have a genetic basis.

Can low IQ be raised? ›

Although science is on the fence about whether you can raise your IQ or not, research does seem to suggest that it's possible to raise your intelligence through certain brain-training activities. Training your memory, executive control, and visuospatial reasoning can help to boost your intelligence levels.

Can low IQ parents have a high IQ child? ›

But genetics can explain the wide range of possible IQs too because so many different genes are involved in developing and running a brain. It is possible, for example, to inherit all the higher IQ genes from each parent and leave the lower IQ ones behind. Now the child will be brighter than the parent.

Is being a doctor all memorization? ›

The first three years of medical school are all about memorization, while critical thinking takes over in clinical settings. The starting three years of medical school focus on building a base of students. The teaching revolves around human organs, anatomy, physiology, and pathology.

Can you be a doctor and not be good at science? ›

Do you dislike the classes because you feel you are not doing well (and are you being too hard on yourself or are you truly struggling)? It is quite common for students to be a great fit for medicine and not like all their science classes.

Is being a doctor a lot of memorization? ›

There are an untold number of procedures to memorize, as well as a host of diseases‒currently more than 30,000‒to cram into the cerebral cortex, and when the training process is complete, assuming it is ever really done, physicians are expected throughout their careers to dig into their brains' hard drives and retrieve ...

What is Zuckerberg IQ? ›

Mark Zuckerberg: The co-founder of Facebook, Zuckerberg has an IQ estimated to be around 152.

What was doctor Einstein's IQ? ›

IQ test experts estimate his IQ was somewhere between 160 and 180, which is quite high. Some people estimate his IQ was just over 200, hovering around 205. However, 160-180 is the more commonly estimated range. Only one in over 11,000 people score a 160, and only one in every 3.5 million people score a 180.

Is 120 a good IQ? ›

85 to 114: Average intelligence. 115 to 129: Above average or bright. 130 to 144: Moderately gifted. 145 to 159: Highly gifted.

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