"Obviously if you were a person who’d really TRIED hard at chemistry before and had really not gotten it despite valiant effort, doing such a ramp-up class would probably be a good idea. It’s not my intention to put down anyone who needs to take a slower, more gradual approach to chemistry. But I haven’t heard you say anything, Lynne, that makes me think you need to worry about that."
I got all A’s and maybe a B once in a while in high school–including my sciences. I am the type that can get some stuff right away but usually have to work my tail off for it to really stick with me. Some some reason when I am super interested in something I can remember goofy little tidbits of info and facts (stuff that might come up in a game of Trivial Pursuit) but if it bores me I have to pound it into my head over and over–but I do get it eventually.
I had a 3.6 in my under grad classes and a 3.8 in graduate school…but these were all counseling related in graduate school and hardly requiring the brain power to process all of the math and sciences that I am encountering now. Maybe I am over estimating the difficulty of this class…but the prof keeps stressing he thinks that most students he meets are average and that average means C to him and that anyone getting more than that is a super hero…sigh…There are two profs teaching this course and they are equally as goofy.
I think that the 140 class would be a good one to take if I had some time to kill…but being that I am trying to wrap the pre-requisites up so that I can start med school in fall of 2006, I do not want to wait…these are the classes that my advisor and I mapped out:
Fall 2004
Principals of Bio 1
Principals of Chem 1
Spring 2005
Principals of Bio 2
Principals of Chem 2
Summer Session 1
Organic Chem 1
Summer Session 2
Organic Chem 2
Summer Session 3
Physics 1
Fall 2005
Physics 2
I will take a stab at the MCAT in Aug 2005 as well as April 2006. Interviews for the school I would like to enter will be in Feb 2006. I spoke with the admissions team on a tour and they said that I had a strong application given that I am in my university’s linkage program, that I have 2 Master’s, that I have ten years as a therapist and that I plan on working locally.
Which brings up another issue-- it is wise to have a plan B in case I do not get into the med school? (It is a DO program)…they have a pharmacy program which looks pretty interesting…what other plans do people come up with just in case they do not get in?
Thanks!! 
E Lynne
I had a similar thing happen when I was trying to take my Gen Chem I class.
I tried to sign up for it at the local CC and the course listing stated that I needed Intro to Chem unless I had had a year of high school chemistry. Well, having been out of high school for more than 20 years (didn’t take it then anyway, I was more interested in throwing frisbees in the park and listening to Journey or Ted Nugent and/or girl watching) I called the professor to see if I could get permission. They flat out stated that, even though I had an engineering technology degree, I was setting myself up for failure if I didn’t take their Intro class, period, end of story.
I contacted a CC the next county over and talked with the Dean who had helped a bunch of people get into med. school (unfortuately, he retired after that semester). He told me Gen. Chem. I was the intro class for science majors and to come over and sign up. So I did. I took the accelerated version which was Gen. Chem I and Gen.Chem II in one semster.
First day out of the bag, the professor says that he has to see everyone who hasn’t had Intro to Chem or 1 year of high school chem. after class. I go up and he says that per school policy, we are strongly advised to have either of those two prior to taking the class.
One semester later, I’m done with my Gen. Chem I and II, got A’s, and the prof is now one of my recommendation writers. He was one of the profs that strongly encouraged me to go to med school.
Moral of the story: You can do anything you set your mind to if you want it bad enough. Now, I did study my fingers off. Read the chapters interactively (i.e. work the problems and practice problems as they appear) do all the homework and understand what you are doing. Don’t freak because you’ve been out of school a while. You’ll understand it better because it’ll be more than just a grade, it’s your future.
Believe me, when it all clicks together and you understand kidney functions because of your background in cell biology, chemistry and organic chemistry and you can kinda figure out how things function because of being able to tie it together, it’ll be worth it.
I’m not in medical school yet, but sometime right after the MCAT, it all just really clicked.
That’s quite an ambitious schedule of courses! I am not sure if you are working while taking classes, but I’d reconsider cramming a year of O-Chem in one summer, especially if you are taking Physics alongside it. From everything I have read, O-Chem is probably the most important of your pre-med curriculum in terms of performance. I believe there is another thread on here that talks about this very topic. It’s not to say it can’t be done, but as the famous Dr. Mary has said, “don’t be in so much of a hurry that you inadvertently diminish your chances.” That’s probably a horrible paraphrasing of her actual comments, but in any event, you get the idea.
I started O-Chem this fall, and though manageable, it does seem as if it will be a lot of hard work.
You might want to think long and hard about the Organic and Physics all in one summer. I did the entire year of Organic with labs this summer in 8 weeks and it was H*LL! I survived with an A- and A in lecture and A’s in both labs, but it was truly one of the most challenging thing I have done.
If you already are going to be finishing up physics in the fall and are planning on taking the April MCAT, consider leaving the organic for the regular semester/quarters. I don’t find the physics to be as intense concept wise - maybe finish up your physics in the summer and use the extra time while doing organic to prep for the MCAT. You will be in better shape for the MCAT this way - instead of being a whole semester short of physics for the fall MCAT, you will only be a few weeks short on organic for the April MCAT. Most of the organic on the MCAT is first semester stuff, anyways.
Due to my personal financial situation, I opted to go ahead with the accelerated plan despite the advice of the very wise people here. Had I found this website before I embarked on this crazy journey, I probably would have changed my strategy some. Instead of enrolling as continuing ed with only 12 months of financial aid, I might have enrolled as degree seeking, spread the courses out over two years and used the extra time to take some more upper level sciences that would benefit me in med school.
Don’t think that I am discouraging your plan - I’m just speaking from my organic experience. In addition to the work load (I did virtually nothing but organic for 8 weeks - and was unable to work), I really don’t feel that I gained an ownership of the material like I did with gen chem during the academic year.
Amy
That is a good idea–I never thought of taking the Physics over the summer sessions and saving the Organics for the regular sessions. I work about 5 hours a week in the summer and could devote my time to the Organic, but was unsure if I should. The Summer sessions run from mid May to Mid June, mid June to mid July and mid July to mid August. From the schedules that I saw the organics and the physics classes met for about 4 or 5 hours a day, 5 days a week during those summer sessions.
I wonder how people do it when they are going to school full time–balancing having two or three sciences with labs per semester. It is nuts. I only have the two classes and I am busy–of course I also work 20 hours a week and have a pre-schooler.
How heavy does the MCAT weigh each subject area (physics, chem organic etc)? Or does it vary from year to year?
Thanks–
E Lynne
Hi there,
Take your time with the pre-med pre-reqs. Why are you in such a hurry? Also, you need to master these classes throughly so you need a very good foundation in math too. Take you time and get the knowledge that you need.
Labs reinforce the material that is presented in lecture. Taking three lab courses for most traditional pre-meds is not a huge problem. The problems come when you are non-traditional have a life outside of your academics. Again, slow down, take your time. An extra year in the long run don’t significantly alter your goal and may allow you to be more successful in terms of grades.
Natalie
"Take your time with the pre-med pre-reqs. Why are you in such a hurry?"
I am hoping to get what I need to do my best and begin my career. At the same time I am working 2 part time jobs, taking care of my daughter, taking care of my home and my husband. My husband has some pretty significant disabilities that keep him from working full time. He became disabled two years ago and I have shifted into the role of primary caretaker and breadwinner. I know that my sucess (or failure) will directly impact my family in terms of how we will survive. I want to take more time but I fear that if I do that we will stay stuck in this financial rut and cycle of poverty. I am exploring the path and not quite sure yet how fast or slow to go.
E Lynne
Organic is very heavy in the amount of material to understand/memorize. I think it is very difficult to learn the material well in a summer session - especially with labs. I am assuming that the summer organic you are considering includes labs since you didn’t mention them elsewhere. Many nights, I had so much to do for lab (post lab report, pre-lab work) that I didn’t have any time to spend on the lecture material.
As far as the MCAT - you can pull up the listing of topics from this web page: http://www.aamc.org/students/mcat/about/start.htm
It is difficult to predict how the test will be balanced. From discussions on SDN, the MCAT appears to vary widely even from form to form on the same administration date. My form was VERY light on organic, but others said that their form was an even balance of organic and biology. Also, my biology was less biology and a lot more physiology. You might consider taking physiology with the organic. My form was very calculation heavy, others weren’t.
I understand your desire to get done ASAP. You still have time to see how things go this semester and part of next before deciding on the rest of your game plan (next summer and beyond). I know from experience that if you take the organics and first physics next summer you are NOT going to have time to prep for the August MCAT. You will need to weigh your options on what is best for you and your family. Taking the April 2006 MCAT is going to put you applying for Fall 2007 admission - later than you want, I know. However, it may give you time to take some more advanced science classes (many schools are starting to require biochemistry among other things), work and save up some money/pay off debt, and generally give yourself more time to prepare for the MCAT and prepare your application.
Only you can decide if it is worth it to you to risk rushing things for the Fall MCAT. There are all kinds of things to consider including money - if you go ahead with the fall MCAT and application for 2006 and don’t do well, you will have to spend considerable money reapplying the following year. You really can’t wait until you find out your fall scores to get your application in.
I wish you the best of luck. Keep asking questions. Don’t think that we are discouraging you from your plan - we are just giving you advice from our perspective of having been through some or all of the process.
Amy
I am completely stealing a phrase that has been reprinted in this forum many times, but remember that this is a marathon and not a sprint. I also began this experience with a sense of urgency that propelled me to create an ambitious and, in the end, untenable schedule. I work full time and find it difficult at times to juggle everything, particularly that pesky thing called “the sanity-inducing free time.” Ultimately, the slower pace (one to two classes a semester) will require the investment of an additional year. However, the slower pace (which sounds insane to say given that working full time and taking even one class isn’t really a “slow pace”) has paid off. I’ve been able to master the material, get good grades, have additional time to devote to out-of-classroom requirements like shadowing, and best of all enjoy the experience.
Everyone has to work within their own boundaries and circumstances to find their path, but I do believe the best advice I got when I first started lurking on OPM was to take things slowly and enjoy this part of the trip too.
Good luck. I am sure you will find the right mix and do a great job in the process.
"Everyone has to work within their own boundaries and circumstances to find their path, but I do believe the best advice I got when I first started lurking on OPM was to take things slowly and enjoy this part of the trip too.Good luck. I am sure you will find the right mix and do a great job in the process."
Thanks–I do appreciate every person’s feedback and perspective–I would rather know what to expect and attempt instead of blindly stumbling…I think that the sense of urgency comes from the sense of crisis in my life in that I have a husband that will never ever provide for us again coupled with the knowledge that I have wanted to do this forever and have the opportunity to now make this happen. I know it will not kill me to wait until 2007–but the stress of having a mentally ill husband and no other means of financial support and the idea that one more year of waiting means one more year of poverty is just ultimately depressing. I have lost 6 babies in the last 3 years to miscarriage and I work in a teen pregnancy center. Each day is a challenge–some more than others. I am looking into some alternatives to medical school to have in case I do not make it–so that we do not end up losing our house etc. We really do not have a lot of leisurely debt–like from credit cards,impulse buys, materials things or vacations etc. We managed to live pretty frugally…our debt has come from my husband’s loss of income and our attempt at staying afloat while having no health coverage. We pay about $600 per month for his medicines–an insane amount if you ask me. I hope that this struggle at home is for a purpose–that somehow it will make me a better and stronger person and perhaps even a better doctor some day.
I used to live by the motto “That which does not kill us will make us stronger” and I am hoping that my full plate is teaching me some character building…LOL
Thanks
E Lynne