Welcome to OPM! As you can see, we are full of advice…and most of it credible & usable! 
Most of your pointed questions have been readily addressed; however, I did want to toss in a ‘big picture’ sort of suggestion (big picture is my specialty). I seem to get the impression that you are trying to minimize your time in the post-bacc…trying to hit the app trail ASAP. Well, that is totally understandable as many nontraditional get so focused on the loss of another year, we feel as though we’re way behind, but sometimes putting that time pressure on ourselves causes us to make decisions that do not help us & can hurt. More specifically, do not make the mistake of fearing time so much that you bit off more than you can chew in an effort to make some self-imposed deadline on the year in which you apply to med school. You are far far better off by taking another year, if needed, as a post-bacc to make certain that your grades are as good as you can make them & that you are adequately prepared for the MCAT. To rush & underperform on either component merely places your chances unnecessarily at risk and those items on your record cannot be undone. So, take a deep breath, take your time & do it right the first time.
Again, welcome to OPM!!! Hope to see you in Denver in June!
Thanks all for the welcoming wishes and the great advice!
OldManDave, I really appreciate the cautionary, big-picture advice. While I think that I will be able to handle the 2(summer)/6(fall & spring) courseload and might even thrive best in this schedule based on testimonials that I’ve heard from close friends, I will certainly keep your words in mind. If things start getting too hot to handle, I will definitely be ready to drop a course here and there and prepare for at least a 2-year ride.
Thanks!
Dave
Quote:
What is the level of Math that is required for the MCAT? Several medical schools (e.g., UCLA, UMDNJ) say that they only require experience with things like “Introductory Calculus” and “Statistics”. Oh, and I did check up on the med schools to find out which ones reject AP credit–thanks for the idea!
Sincerely,
Dave
Hi Dave,
You don’t need math beyond College Algebra/Trig for the MCAT but check the requirements for your individual schools. They may require a semester of Calculus. Is calculus used in medical school? NO.
Just be sure that your pre-med physics class is not calculus-based unless you have the proper math background. It may be very difficult to follow the class discussions if your math is deficient. Enjoy!
Natalie
Dave,
I am just finishing up a year doing all 4 of the pre-req courses. It’s been a challenge, but I am just like you - I get in the zone and just do it. And, I quit my job and did this full time, or else it would have been impossible. I think it would have been much more difficult if there was say, a humanties class with lots of reading and papers thrown in, but since it was all science, so every class had the same kind of ‘thinking’ involved.
If I could have, I would have done the summer thing for one of the classes. But, I was moving back to the states from 6 years in Europe so couldn’t swing that one. And didn’t want to push things back another year.
That said, I was able to get around the GChem pre-req to Orgo because I had taken GChem as an undergrad many years ago. I was told at least three times that I couldn’t do it, but I finally got them to agree. Also, I had to strong arm the pre-med people to let me take 4 classes at a time. They were not in favor of it. But, all’s well that ends well. The year is almost done, and I can apply this summer.
Good Luck
-Matt
Matt,
That’s awesome, great for you for pulling it off! I must admit that next year’s courseload has been weighing on my mind recently, as more and more people that I talk to (especially post-bac coordinators) are warning me that 6-7 semesters of science within 1 year, all with their own labs, will be a “strongly discouraged” challenge. the more success stories I hear, though, the easier I breathe!
Thanks,
Dave
Dave,
One other thing I didn’t mention yesterday. For many schools (mine included), there is a HUGE difference in part time vs full time tuition. Anything over 12 credits is considered ‘full time’ and requires ‘full time’ tuition. This effectively doubles the tuition for 12 credits or more vs 11 credits or less. Taking 32 credits part time over two years works out to about 2/3 the cost of doing 32 credits full time over one year. Soooo, if you are right at the 12 credit barrier (3 classes with lab), might want to think about somehow spreading it out. Some people at my school get around this by taking a lab or two over the summer (we can take labs and classes separately). Something to think about.
-Matt
Good point Matt,
Yep, tuitition is something to keep in mind when figuring how and when you are going to take classes.
When you go full time, you are also subject to all the full fees such as student services, and university fees, etc. These can add big time to your bill. So check to see the cost comparisons between what you want and how many you want to take.
But another thing to keep in mind when debating between full and part time is that you are more likely to qualify for financial aid if you go full time - at the very least you should qualify for the loans even if you end up with a large EFC, but you may qualify for more as well. If you only go part time (even if it’s the 11 credits)some schools may not offer you any aid or a very limited amount of aid.
Also keep in mind that not all schools reserve the special fees for full-time students. I’m taking ONE course (and ONE BIG LAB) right now, and I’m still paying the additional surcharges: technology fee, activity fee, breathing university air fee, you name it. Check your own school’s fees when making this decision.
You’re probably all saying, “duh” right now. Maybe I just wanted to gripe about my activity fee and this is my excuse…though I am enjoying my free bus pass.
all these perspectives have been great! one other thing that is factoring into my decision to go full- instead of part-time is housing costs, which will amount to several thousand dollars each year. if I can do one year instead of two, I’ll save bigtime in this department!
-Dave
I have a question old man dave, if you took 20 hours of classes 15 yrs ago will it be listed on your application to school possibilities? I almost have a perfect gpa in the last 3 yrs of school i have attended, will it hurt me? There were no science or math classes that I took, just psychology 1 and anthro 1, and some history and other mickey mouse classes.I want to figure if going to med school is a viable thing for me. I AM 35 YRS old, not married,nokids so I have nothinh like those responsibilities making the process more difficult. Thanks.
You’ll need to list every class you’ve taken post-high school and submit transcripts for same. Those classes will go into your overall and “AO” (all other) GPA, not your science GPA. They’re a pretty small part of the big picture, but they do have to be figured in. Many if not most schools will be much more interested in what you’ve accomplished more recently. Even if your grades were horrible from those long-ago classes (which you don’t say, I know), you can’t go back and change 'em now, all you can do is make sure that your application overall is impressive, with good recent grades, good test scores, good recommendations and activities. Good luck!
As Mary said, you’ll need to list every class. The good news is, 20 hours of not-so-hot grades is not as hard to overcome. You still have plenty of time to pull up that GPA and do well. Age doesn’t matter much, and you don’t have family, so you have a lot of time to commit to studies and volunteering. I wish you the best in your pursuit.
Kathy