Hello,
I noticed that many medical schools here in the U.S. state that students need a certain number of credit hours in certain classes in order to satisfy the prerequisites. For example, 8 hours of inorganic chemistry, 8 hours of organic chemistry, 8 hours of physics. This had me wondering - Does the level of difficulty of these classes plays a role in the admissions process?
To add context to this question - I am a non-traditional student doing a DIY post-bacc at a highly regarded and respected community college in my state. I have noticed that there are classes like “intro to Inorganic chemistry-121” that has a near identical curriculum to “general inorganic chemistry-151”, yet the 151-class is just slightly more challenging. In addition, there is a continuation to these classes, like “General inorganic chemistry-152”. This pattern falls in line with classes like biology, organic chemistry, and non-calculus based physics & calculus-based physics.
While I have the option of just taking the 121 and 151 classes, I am both curious and worried that this could make me a less competitive applicant in the eyes of an admissions department. Not to mention, I am not entirely sure if any or all the material that is covered in the 152-classes is relevant to preparing for the MCATs.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
- Ryyy