I’m going to start taking the prereqs this fall. It would be really interesting to hear what prereq everything thinks is the toughest. Also, which did you find to be the easiest?
I found Physics to be the most conceptually challenging. It was just less intuitive to me. Even organic chem could be reduced to the basic principles of energy and stability. While Physics is - in theory - even more like this, it just wasn’t as clear to me.
That said, they’re all very doable. Worst thing you can do is get scared of em before you even start, right? 
Physics 2. Mechanics was fine but circuits just don’t do it for me.
OChem - Physics was a walk in the park! I guess you’ll be getting different answers from different people depending on how their neurons are arranged!
I had really hard time with physics! I did fine + it stuck with me forever (I still remember some absurd details and formulas), but it was definitely the most time-consuming prereq for me.
While Organic was OK while I was taking it, the retention time turned out to be… non-existent.
Up here in Quebec we have a requirement for 3 semesters of physics.
One of the three, Electricity & Magnetism, was positvely the toughest course I have ever taken in my whole life. Lookup Maxwell’s Equations in Wikipedia to get an idea. I took this as a university level course, there was lots of Integral Calculus involved, and very very mind boggling concepts in there.
Cheers!
Any lab involving burners, liquids, tidy measurements, breakable glass, and limited time.
- RBinLouisville Said:
I'm going to start taking the prereqs this fall. It would be really interesting to hear what prereq everything thinks is the toughest. Also, which did you find to be the easiest?
I think it depends on your level of preparation and interests more than the inherent toughness of the courses. A lot of people find physics challenging b/c of the math. Others find organic challenging because of the spatial abilities and logic needed. I didn't think any of them were "hard" per se, though I had the roughest time in physics I because I was taking it as a first semester freshman and also taking linear algebra at the same time. It wasn't the smoothest adjustment to college, but I did great the following semester in physics II, which most people consider harder, so....go figure. I thought gen chem and bio were boring but easy, and I thought organic was just awesome, the best class I'd ever taken. That was a large impetus for why I went to grad school (in organic chem) instead of med school after college.
Bio 2 was my toughest, the whole enviroment aspect of it was my downfall.
Physics 2 was tough but I found the circuits section easy.
For me ranking from Hardest to easiest.
- Bio 2
- Physics 2
- Gen Chem 2
- Gen Chem 1
- Bio 1
- Physics 1
I am in Org Chem 1 now and so far it is not too bad.
Organic Chemistry was the most difficult. I took both semesters over the summer and was working full time. The course was manageable but if possible, take it during the spring/fall semesters.
I’m getting my ass kicked in calc-based physics right now. I went to the department head so I could get permission to drop it but my advisor mentioned that big-name medical schools like Emory (which is where I want to go) require calc-based physics? Is this true? I can’t see anything on their website that confirms this. I can possibly get a ‘B’ in the course if I ace all of my tests from this point forward. So I decided to stick it through. Besides, a ‘W’ on my transcript for withdrawing the course is just as bad isn’t it?
Calc 1 & 2 - hands down! I am fortunate to have an intuitive feel for physics. In fact, I scored an 11 or 12 in that section and had not had a physics class since I took “Physical Science for Allied Health Professionals” in 1989 to get into RT school. I took the MCAT in 1998.
Contact the school that interests you to confirm their requirements. I have not heard of any medical school requiring calc-based physics. Some require calculus, but not calc-based physics THAT I KNOW OF. Check for yourself. Trust no one.
If you are truly convinced you CAN ace your remaining tests and get that B, that’s fine. Otherwise I’d bail if it were me.
Calc 1 & 2 here as well without a doubt. I don’t know why, but most calculus teachers just really are atrocious at their jobs and make a relatively simple subject into a grueling experience.