Bio major goes on to Temple Med

New Jersey native Ajaz Siddiqui will attend Temple Medical School in the fall, now that he’s completed his biology degree with a 3.89 GPA.

Most high school students entering college with more than two semesters’ worth of credits already on their transcripts would feel a sense of relief that they had side-stepped their introductory math and sciences courses.

But not 20-year-old Ajaz Siddiqui, who will receive his bachelor’s degree in biology at today’s Commencement ceremony.

Siddiqui, a native of Randolph, N.J., came to Temple in the fall of 2001 with 36 college credits that he had earned through taking Advanced Placement (AP) courses at Randolph High School.

“My experience in high school allowed me to take numerous AP tests during my senior year,” said Siddiqui. “In total, I took about six tests and obtained a grade of four or higher on the tests, which allowed me to enter Temple with 36 credits.”

Not content to skip ahead based on his high school AP scores, Siddiqui chose to retake those courses for which he had already received credit.

“I repeated most of those classes that I had gotten credit in because I wanted to see how college professors taught the material compared to high school teachers,” he said.

Despite repeating those courses, Siddiqui took only three years to complete his degree requirements and will graduate with a 3.89 grade point average. He will enter Temple’s School of Medicine in August.

“During my freshman year at Temple, I recognized that I had the chance to finish my coursework in three years,” said Siddiqui. “Considering the time that I would spend in medical school and in the following residency, I found finishing a year early highly appealing.

“Deciding to finish early meant that in the spring of my second year, while my classmates were still sophomores, I was already a junior,” he added.

Although his academic schedule kept him busy during the past three years, Siddiqui also found time to participate in the Temple chapters of the American Chemical Society and American Medical Student Association. He also volunteered with Citywide Youtharama, a tutoring program for elementary- and middle-school inner-city children.

“The kids come to Temple University after school two or three times a week to get tutored in the school subjects that trouble them,” he said. “I thoroughly enjoyed giving my time to Citywide Youtharama because I was truly thrilled to see the smiles of the kids when they got their ‘A’ grades.”

Finishing school early is nothing new to Siddiqui, who graduated from high school at the age of 17 because his parents, Imtiazuddin and Nafeesa Siddiqui, enrolled him in school at the age of four.

“My parents saw that I learned quickly, so they enrolled me in school one year before I was originally supposed to start,” he stated. “I was a year younger than anyone at my stage of schooling during this part of my life, and I was outcast by many of my peers because I was always the youngest student in my grade. Eventually, though, the age difference became old news and I made many friends.”

Coming from a close-knit Indian-American family, Siddiqui received a lot of support—both socially and emotionally—from his parents, his younger brother Maaz, his uncle Azhar Masood, and especially his grandmother, Rafia Masood Ali, who, he said, was an important influence in his life.

“She passed away a few days before I started the 10th grade, but continues to influence my life today,” Siddiqui said. “She was like a second mother to me and cared for me as I grew up. She taught me how to speak in my native tongue, Urdu, and also taught me how to read Arabic.”

His grandmother would no doubt be proud of him as he prepares to study medicine at Temple. His future is one of unlimited possibilities.

But, as is his way, Siddiqui is preparing to approach things one step at a time.

“Looking toward the future, I plan to finish medical school,” he said.

Siddiqui added that he might specialize in orthopedics, since he worked last summer with some orthopedists at Philadelphia’s Albert Einstein Medical Center and enjoyed what they did.

“However, nothing is decided yet, and my idea about my specialty may change through the course of medical school,” he said. “The way I handled high school and college was to look only one step ahead. The only step ahead of me right now is to get through medical school.” — Preston Moretz