Hello all,
I’m a long-time professional musician, have BA, taking pre-nursing classes since this past summer, now considering medical school.
Can you give me some feedback regarding the following premedical plan?
09 SPRING
Chem I
BIO I
(Calculus I)
09 SUM
Chem II
BIO II
09 FALL
Physics I
Organic I
10 SPRING
Physics II
Organic II
MCAT (ASAP after Spring semester)
Thank you in advance…
Hey There,
What about Genetics, physiology, and maybe another course that would help out for the MCAT and med school (like neurobiology or endocrinology)?
I have heard med schools like to see you’ve taken these courses as a full-time student. I don’t know if that’s true, but since that is what I was told I ended up quiting my job and going back to school full-time. Its taken me two years and I just took the MCAT over the summer.
What school are looking at taking your pre-reqs?
David
Toughskins! I think your schedule looks very doable. At some point in my undergrad career I was having a very similar schedule + I worked part time!
DaveS!
All these classes you’re mentioning are absolutelly not required. People who major in sciences usually take them as degree requirements, but I don’t think it gives them any significant advantage over those who never took higher level sciences. There are many people in my class who were non-science majors as undegrad, and after taking only basic prerequisites are doing very well in med school! While Genetics and physiology might be helpful to some degree in MCAT preparation, they are absolutely not required.
Kasia
- daveS Said:
Hey There,
What about Genetics, physiology [...] neurobiology or endocrinology
What about Genetics, physiology [...] neurobiology or endocrinology
Hi, David - thanks for your reply. I won't have most of those you mentioned, but I by the end of Fall 08 I will have Anatomy and Physiology I and II and Microbiology done (along with Precalculus Algebra and Trigonometry)
- daveS Said:
What school are looking at taking your pre-reqs?
David
David
I will be taking the science prereqs at University South Florida starting this Spring. (I'm at a community college now, taking prereqs to the prereqs)
- madkasia Said:
While Genetics and physiology might be helpful to some degree in MCAT preparation, they are absolutely not required.
Thanks very much for your comments, madkasia. Although I'm confident I can get all A's on my sciences, my overall GPA is 3.36 right now (3.47 after all remaining prereqs if ace them), so I really feel like need to score well on the MCAT. Would you say I should take Genetics and/or Physiology to help me score over say, 30? (Seems like A&P should cover Physiology)
- toughskins Said:
Thanks very much for your comments, madkasia. Although I'm confident I can get all A's on my sciences, my overall GPA is 3.36 right now (3.47 after all remaining prereqs if ace them), so I really feel like need to score well on the MCAT. Would you say I should take Genetics and/or Physiology to help me score over say, 30? (Seems like A&P should cover Physiology)
There is no right reply to that! I took both Genetics and Phys as an undergrad, did quite well in them, and I didn't come even close to 30 on my MCAT.
But there were people who didn't take any of these classes and scored way over 30. Taking these classes won't hurt you for sure, but it doesn't guarantee you higher MCAT scores by any means. You can teach yourself Genetics and Physiology at the level required by MCAt from any MCAT prep book. MCAT tests your knowledge to some degree, but most of all it tests your thinking abilities and test-taking skills.
Kasia
To do well on the MCAT, your time would likely be better utilized with an MCAT prep course. As has been mentioned previously, the upper level bio courses will only be indirectly helpful to the MCAT, though are useful to bolster an application and/or GPA. Note that med school adcoms typically give as much weight to an MCAT as they do a GPA. So make sure you schedule in enough prep time for the MCAT
Just wanted to say thanks for all your comments.
I will leave room for MCAT preparation in the final year (rather than take advance science classes.)
A good rule of thumb is to treat the MCAT about the way you would a tough 3-credit science class. So if you’d normally take two classes in a semester, take one that time. I agree that knowing the prereqs very well and practicing is a better way to be ready for the MCAT. There is some biochem or physiology, but it’s all covered in the prereqs. You need solid knowledge and the ability to read an action-packed passage and realize which of the excess verbiage is relevant and which irrelevant to the questions.
I think too much advanced knowledge can just cloud the picture.
So here’s the latest…
Based on what I read here and on SDN – and my idea of doing the final year at Harvard Extension School (too late this year) – I’ve switched PHY and BIO.
USF
Spring 09 CHM I, PHY I
Summer 09 CHM II, PHY II
HES
Fall 09 ORG I, BIO I
Spring 09 ORG II, BIO II, MCAT Prep
- samenewme Said:
A good rule of thumb is to treat the MCAT about the way you would a tough 3-credit science class. So if you'd normally take two classes in a semester, take one that time.
That sounds smart but do you mean take only one science in Spring 09?
I've been taking 2 science classes per semester. If I want to do only one science class that semester, I will have to move up another science class. For ex:
Spring 09 CHM I, PHY I, BIO I
Summer 09 CHM II, PHY II
Fall 09 ORG I, BIO II
Spring 09 ORG II, MCAT Prep
But that will be a rough Spring 09...
There is another way to do this. Most MCAT prep classes from Kaplan or Princeton meet 2-3 week over 1 semester. However they do have classes that meet 1 a week over two semesters. The classes typically start in the fall and end in April. I personally think this gives people the most flexibility in MCAT prep for the following reasons.
1)You get access for the online practice material from September to June.
2)gives you plenty of time to practice/prep
3) you can easily accelerate in you want in your prep as most kaplan centers will let sit in any class for MCAT.
So if you do it this way you spread out the workload
There is another way to do this. […]
This is really helpful info - thanks again. It makes for an easier schedule:
USF
Spring 09 CHM I, PHY I
Summer 09 CHM II, PHY II
HES
Fall 09 ORG I, BIO I, MCAT Prep
Spring 09 ORG II, BIO II, MCAT Prep