Bachelors required for medical school?

[acej]

My younger brother is entering college as a bio major for this upcoming fall, but I was thinking of other alternatives to get him into and out of medical school as quickly as possible.

All the general elective classes I took in college were in my opinion, a waste of time and money. So I thought a better alternative is to have him take his pre-requisite classes for medical school and to skip all of the general elective classes. Now is a bachelors required to enter medical schools or just the pre-reqs?

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[LeoGer]

My younger brother is entering college as a bio major for this upcoming fall, but I was thinking of other alternatives to get him into and out of medical school as quickly as possible.

All the general elective classes I took in college were in my opinion, a waste of time and money. So I thought a better alternative is to have him take his pre-requisite classes for medical school and to skip all of the general elective classes. Now is a bachelors required to enter medical schools or just the pre-reqs?

Bachelors is ~always required.

 

[thomallama]

Some Caribbean schools have this nifty get-your-MD-six-years-out-of-high-school plan that sounds swell. Do that!

 

[kpcrew]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=846786&highlight=bachelor

 

[Gigantron]

Some Caribbean schools have this nifty get-your-MD-six-years-out-of-high-school plan that sounds swell. Do that!

As do other MD institutions right here in the United States.

 

[acej]

Some Caribbean schools have this nifty get-your-MD-six-years-out-of-high-school plan that sounds swell. Do that!

This is most likely the plan. 2 years locally, MCATs and apply for caribbean. And during his free time he will finish off his bachelors via distance learning.

But I need to look into these accelerated programs in the caribbean and possibly the US if they exist.

 

[LizzyM]

Some US schools offer a combined BS/MD. Some of these used to by 6 years but now most are, I think, 7 years: 3 years undergrad & 4 years med school. The BS is awarded after the first year of medical school, so technically, the student starts med school without the bachelor's degree.

Other than that, a bachelor's is going to be required.

 

[typicalindian]

The ED physician I am currently shadowing (a first year attending) did not get his bachelors, I was shocked when he told me this but he told me that he applied after his sophmore year and went to medical school as soon as he got in. he has no bachelors just an MD lol...so yes...it is possible contrary to popular belief.

(unless first year attendings enjoy trolling pre med students or I simply got confused by what he said -_-, I'll confirm this with him tomorrow)

 

[Mithril]

The ED physician I am currently shadowing (a first year attending) did not get his bachelors, I was shocked when he told me this but he told me that he applied after his sophmore year and went to medical school as soon as he got in. he has no bachelors just an MD lol...so yes...it is possible contrary to popular belief.

(unless first year attendings enjoy trolling pre med students or I simply got confused by what he said -_-, I'll confirm this with him tomorrow)

Maybe he's Canadian.

 

[typicalindian]

Maybe he's Canadian.

No, he actually went to the same ugrad that I go to currently which I was surprised to find out

 

[410322]

Maybe he's old enough that standards were different.

ftfy.

 

[typicalindian]

ftfy.

hes 30

 

[pancakesyrup]

Bachelors is ~always required.

Rand Paul got his M.D. from Duke without a Bachelors.

 

[nctw]

Rand Paul got his M.D. from Duke without a Bachelors.

~ means almost always

 

[TriagePreMed]

Your brother deserves the opportunity to experience undergraduate life and change his mind on what career he wants.

 

[JESSFALLING]

Earn 90 Units + Cure Cancer + Win Nobel = Admission to MD, DO or Caribbean

 

[Snikkers]

my friend's going to be starting st.john's 6-year pharmD program next year and after those 6 years she won't actually have a bachelors.

so does that mean if she wants to choose another career path somewhere down the line she has to re-experience undergrad?

 

[acej]

Your brother deserves the opportunity to experience undergraduate life and change his mind on what career he wants.

The undergraduate experience is over-rated. I walked away with a large amount of debt, loss of time and no real-world experience that can be applied to the everyday world. I feel that time is possibly the most important aspect in everyone's life and I don't want him to waste his on taking classes that will not play a part in his self-development and career.

 

[acej]

From my recent research, it seems as if some schools require it, some do not and some require at least 90 credits to matriculate.

 

[KindofBlue]

The undergraduate experience is over-rated. I walked away with a large amount of debt, loss of time and no real-world experience that can be applied to the everyday world. I feel that time is possibly the most important aspect in everyone's life and I don't want him to waste his on taking classes that will not play a part in his self-development and career.

Shouldn't you let your brother decide whether it is overrated or not?
Besides, those electives are the classes that help you get the GPA up. I'm also pretty sure that most schools (not some) do in fact require a Bachelor's degree.

And personally, I enjoyed taking classes like Psychology, speech, music, art history, photography etc. Learning about Freud, impressionism, B&W photography, and Bach (and much more) was definitely not a waste of my time or money. I think a lot of people feel that way, as may your brother. If you really want to save him money, advise him to take electives at a community college.

 

[Barcu]

My younger brother is entering college as a bio major for this upcoming fall, but I was thinking of other alternatives to get him into and out of medical school as quickly as possible.

All the general elective classes I took in college were in my opinion, a waste of time and money. So I thought a better alternative is to have him take his pre-requisite classes for medical school and to skip all of the general elective classes. Now is a bachelors required to enter medical schools or just the pre-reqs?

The undergraduate experience is over-rated. I walked away with a large amount of debt, loss of time and no real-world experience that can be applied to the everyday world. I feel that time is possibly the most important aspect in everyone's life and I don't want him to waste his on taking classes that will not play a part in his self-development and career.

You're not helping out your brother here. I would let him figure out if he wants to do an accelerated program or experience ugrad. Skipping out on a bachelor's is not a good way to go.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

The undergraduate experience is over-rated. I walked away with a large amount of debt, loss of time and no real-world experience that can be applied to the everyday world. I feel that time is possibly the most important aspect in everyone's life and I don't want him to waste his on taking classes that will not play a part in his self-development and career.

Might as well screw that experience from someone else then because if it happened to you, it happened to everyone.

 

[dmf2682]

Sort of related, and I don't feel like starting a new thread.

I'm toying with the idea of matriculating into a school to get a BS in biology as a means to get all my prerequisites finished and to not register behind everyone else in the university. Thing is I'm not positive I can finish before I want to enter med school. Will it be frowned upon if i don't finish the bio degree? I should say that I've a pair of bachelor's and a masters degree in other fields.

 

[kami333]

Sort of related, and I don't feel like starting a new thread.

I'm toying with the idea of matriculating into a school to get a BS in biology as a means to get all my prerequisites finished and to not register behind everyone else in the university. Thing is I'm not positive I can finish before I want to enter med school. Will it be frowned upon if i don't finish the bio degree? I should say that I've a pair of bachelor's and a masters degree in other fields.

No, it isn't frowned upon. I haven't read about anyone being grilled on not finishing a 2nd (or 3rd) bachelors.

 

[ponyo]

The undergraduate experience is over-rated. I walked away with a large amount of debt, loss of time and no real-world experience that can be applied to the everyday world. I feel that time is possibly the most important aspect in everyone's life and I don't want him to waste his on taking classes that will not play a part in his self-development and career.

Your personal experience is not representative of the undergraduate experience for everyone. It's not your job to decide for your brother--you can tell him how you feel, but ultimately it's his own decision what he wants to do with his academic and professional careers... Don't be a helicopter parent. And shouldn't your brother be researching this stuff himself?