I need to take one math in addition to the collge algebra. I have taken statistics already in undergrad and am curious if anyone use a stat class to satisfy a math prereq. By the way I am new here. I am a 33 year old mom and wife who works as a social worker and some years in mental health. I am interested in psychiatry and am taking any advice that I can get! Thanks!
It really depends on what schools you are applying to, if you are in TX I think that they require Calculus, some other schools that may require Calc are Wash U, and Harvard for sure. So check the MSAR and go from there, if they do require it I think for some it may be a year of Calc…
That depends on your undergrad institution, they’re all going to have their own rule, and it may change based on what your major is. It will probably do for a sociology major but not a math major or science major. A quick check of your catalog and confirmation with an advisor should answer your question. Note that you are responsible to do the right thing with your institution’s requirements even if their advisor misleads you. So comb the latest catalog. I once used an accounting class to fulfill a math requirement! Another thing to keep in mind is to coordinate your undergrad requirements with the requirements at the med school(s) you will be applying to. They differ also.
Last I checked, Johns Hopkins accepts Stats or Calc. So, your Stats class may do. None of the 6 schools I applied to required either Stats or Calc and I didn’t take either of them. (So far I’ve been accepted to 2 schools and withdrew my app from 2) You will probably need pre-calc as a pre-req for Physics, as I did. There is also a Calc-based physics but you need pre-Calc before Calc anyway. Clear as mud? Some med schools require Calc but not Stats. If your med school of choice requires Calc, they won’t accept Stats in its place unless they state it. You can look at every med school’s website for this info.
Welcome, by the way, I am a 33 year old mother of 3 who just sent in my tuition deposit for med school!
Wmkayak
Thank You so much. I did look at the school I am interested in and it requires one year of college level math(?) I probably will go ahead and at least take precalc since I will need to take physics. Wow congrats on your acceptances, I will be interested in you posts on your experiences! Thanks again for the inspiration, the more I read here on this site I realize that I am not as crazy as I think to want to do this!
Just make sure that your college requires calculus before physics. Many colleges offer both the trig based and calc based physics. Medical schools do not require calc based physics neither does the MCAT, not that it would hurt taking calc based but why take it if you do not need it? So I took trig based physics and you use mostly algebraic equations and I did fine on the MCAT and med school process. So just make sure that you are not taking stuff that you really do not have to…
You might sometimes see the non-calculus based course as “life sciences” or “health sciences” based. Also some schools offer a middle ground with a less rigorious calculus for life science. 20 years ago I made the mistake of taking the “engineering” calculus (which I just been condensed into two semesters from three) and “engineering” physics where all the engineers, chemists, math and physics majors start instead of the “life sciences” version where all the premeds were: my head is still spinning.