I’m at the beginning of doing my prerequisites. My goal is finish my prerequisites by the end of 2014 and to take the current version of the MCAT in Jan 2015. If all goes well I’ll matriculate in med school in Fall 2016 (I’ll probably be taking more upper-division classes/research or maybe a one-year grad degree while I wait for med school to begin). Any input would be much appreciated.
I’m doing a DIY Post-Bacc at a local state school. My scheduling is as follows:
Fall 2013
General Bio I w/ Lab
General Bio II w/ Lab
General Chemistry I w/ Lab
Calculus
Spring 2014
General Chemistry II w/ Lab
Physics I w/ Lab
Upper Division Bio Course
Summer 2014
Organic Chemistry I w/ Lab
Fall 2014
Organic Chemistry II w/ Lab
Physics II w/ Lab
Upper Division Bio Course
Hi Galenus,
Good luck in your upcoming science courses! I think you made a mistake; I don’t see how it’s possible to take both Bio I & II in the same semester; one normally precedes the other…but maybe there’s some special compression of these courses at the school where you’re enrolled? Other than that the schedule looks good. Clearly if you made a mistake Bio II would have to completed in the spring semester.
Cheers,
Liza
she can take Bio 1 and 2 in fall if they are Flex courses… good luck, that is pretty much my set up too. Very challenging. the only thing I am considering changing is organic chem in summer…very difficult… good luck though
At my school, bio 1 and 2 are not prequisites for one another; just a basic understanding of chemistry for bio 2. Bio 1 ( for us at least) is labeled as organismal bio, and doesn’t go in too much detail with small scale happenings.
My only concern would be a backup plan if you aren’t prepared to take/want to retake the mcat in 2015… thoughts?
- Jackies Said:
Yup, that is how it is setup at the school I'm trying to take the classes at.
The first sequence of bio is mainly on evolution and the second sequence is on cellular.
- actowery Said:
My only concern would be a backup plan if you aren't prepared to take/want to retake the mcat in 2015.. thoughts?
I'm probably going to drop the idea of being a doctor if I can't take the MCAT at my target date or do poorly. In fact, the way I see it is, if I'm not rocking it from this point on, I probably have no business in thinking I can handle a med school's courseload and the boards.
Talk to the prof teaching Bio II and make sure that they endorse the plan to take Bio II at the same time as Bio I. Typically students would take I in the Fall and II in the Spring, but sometimes this isn’t necessary. In some schools, Bio II will build on Bio I. In other schools it won’t. Find out what the curricula are like at your school.
I advise against taking Physics II and Organic Chemistry II in the same semester if you can help it. Physics II is a very different beast from Physics I and takes a lot more work. See if you can push Organic Chemistry I to Spring 2014, Organic Chemistry II to Summer 2014, and General Chemistry II to Fall 2014. This sounds weird, but you don’t need anything in General Chemistry II for Organic Chemistry. In fact, my undergrad school did Chemistry I - IV. Classes I & IV were General Chemistry I & II. Classes II & III were Organic Chemistry I & II.
If possible, make one of your upper division courses either microbiology or cellular biology. A lot of other courses (Immunology, Parasitology, etc) make a ton more sense if you’ve already had one of those two, though most schools won’t require you do that sequence.
Don’t underestimate the power of an upper division course that doesn’t sound at first like it’s going to help a medical school application. I never expected the Herpetology class I took at Stockton to help me with medical school; I just really like snakes. I do a lot of reading about snakes on my own as well for pleasure. Now I’m working on a PhD in Parasitology & Tropical Medicine. Three weeks in and I’m gaining a reputation as a person who has a ton of knowledge about snakebite pathology, treatment, and antivenin development and application. Take classes you’re interested in, because one way or another, your medical career will eventually regress toward whatever your interests are.
Consider throwing in a non-science course in the Summer 2014 semester if you can find something useful. Maybe a History of Medicine or Bioethics course, or something else of that nature.
- Galenus Said:
I think you sell yourself a bit short here. You're conflating readiness with ability which you really shouldn't. It's possible for you to have all the abilities necessary to kill the MCAT, but lack the necessary content knowledge. This doesn't mean you can't be successful on it, it only means you aren't ready to.