best math to know for MCAT and Med School

[Ronald Kris]

I know many schools want either 1 year of calculus or 1 year of statistics. But thats the bare minimum: often in life you need more than the minimum to get in, get hired, etc. If I for whatever reason switch courses and try for medicine, via post-bac fulltime or take classes at night should I manage to get hired from my current point, what kind of math should I take? Which is more helpful in understanding the med school material? And what is the typical math repertoire for US allopathic admits?

Which of the following math operations are necessary for MCAT and med school?
taylor polynomials, improper integrals, partial differential equations, ordinary differential equations, L'Hopital Rule, parametric equations, LaGrange multipliers, stochastic processes, limits, and all these things with trig functions

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[ProudMD]

I know many schools want either 1 year of calculus or 1 year of statistics. But thats the bare minimum: often in life you need more than the minimum to get in, get hired, etc. If I for whatever reason switch courses and try for medicine, via post-bac fulltime or take classes at night should I manage to get hired from my current point, what kind of math should I take? Which is more helpful in understanding the med school material? And what is the typical math repertoire for US allopathic admits?

Which of the following math operations are necessary for MCAT and med school?
taylor polynomials, improper integrals, partial differential equations, ordinary differential equations, L'Hopital Rule, parametric equations, LaGrange multipliers, stochastic processes, limits, and all these things with trig functions

I can't say about medical school, but for the MCAT? Absolutely NONE of them.

 

[WillburCobb]

If you can do basic algebra you're fine. Imho 1-2 stats courses beyond intro would be most beneficial, as med schools aren't the best at teaching bio stats.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Having a basic understanding of calculus can be helpful for learning a bunch of concepts in medicine and physiology. Other than that, statistics if definitely something you should understand.

 

[pharmolu]

I can’t speak for med school, but for the MCAT, I’ll suggest just being very strong with algebra. I think that is what trips most people up in regards to doing chem/physics calculations. Calculus, especially calc physics, is nice but really not required.

 

[gyngyn]

Statistics all the way. It's the only math we use every day.

 

[Make Or Break]

I heard some med students like to do differential equations for fun.

 

[SnakeOilForSale]

Mcat, arithmetic. Yes you may scoff but doing quick mental math isn't easy for a lot of people. Of course algebra as well. Make sure you absolutely master techniques.

Only 11 schools even require calc. Usually just 1-2 semesters of any math. I would say stats is far more useful. I only recommend calc if you like it. I quite like it whether it's useful or not so I chose a degree more math-intensive than bio, but it's not required nor impressive.

 

[xffan624]

Which of the following math operations are necessary for MCAT and med school?
taylor polynomials, improper integrals, partial differential equations, ordinary differential equations, L'Hopital Rule, parametric equations, LaGrange multipliers, stochastic processes, limits, and all these things with trig functions

I don't even know what half of those are. You need a little basic algebra and for the MCAT ability to manipulate exponents.

Knowledge of statistics (particularly biostats) is the best thing to invest in as most schools don't teach it very well (my school definitely didn't). My classmates who didn't have a background in it were definitely behind the power curve when it was taught and tested (even the ones who were rockstars in the regular curriculum).

 

[mimelim]

Statistics all the way. It's the only math we use every day.

I disagree.

If you read medical papers, you will need to understand rudimentary statistics. If you do even basic outcomes research, you will need a small foundation in statistics, but the heavy lifting is typically done by others. This makes up a very small fraction of what physicians do 'every day'. It will definitely go a long way if you have a statistics background and I highly encourage everyone to take statistics before going to medical school.

Calculus on the other hand has a much more indirect impact. There are probably less than a percent of physicians that use what is typically taught in most classes on even a weekly basis. But, Calculus is one of the fundamental constructs of what happens in a hospital, from physiology to patient care to healthcare worker dynamics. Understanding the concept of a differential (which you don't need a calculus class for) will change how you manage ICU patients. The fundamental concepts of convergence of infinite sequences and limits can be found all over the place. Getting an A in a calculus class, or even taking it for credit is not necessary for this level of understanding. An open mind and a textbook is sufficient, but almost nobody is willing to do that sadly.

 

[LChristmas]

For the MCAT, work on doing quick mental math (lots of practice without a calculator) and be very familiar with scientific notation. The actual math that you do is quite simple and by no means needs to be exact. Many questions just need to be narrowed down to the correct exponent, which is why I found scientific notation to be so important.

 

[gyngyn]

I disagree.

If you read medical papers, you will need to understand rudimentary statistics. If you do even basic outcomes research, you will need a small foundation in statistics, but the heavy lifting is typically done by others. This makes up a very small fraction of what physicians do 'every day'. It will definitely go a long way if you have a statistics background and I highly encourage everyone to take statistics before going to medical school.

Calculus on the other hand has a much more indirect impact. There are probably less than a percent of physicians that use what is typically taught in most classes on even a weekly basis. But, Calculus is one of the fundamental constructs of what happens in a hospital, from physiology to patient care to healthcare worker dynamics. Understanding the concept of a differential (which you don't need a calculus class for) will change how you manage ICU patients. The fundamental concepts of convergence of infinite sequences and limits can be found all over the place. Getting an A in a calculus class, or even taking it for credit is not necessary for this level of understanding. An open mind and a textbook is sufficient, but almost nobody is willing to do that sadly.

Edit: Stats is what I use every day in academic medicine.

 

[FutureOncologist]

Elementary Statistics. You're bringing in >Calculus IV. Not necessary. I had to take Cal I-II and I used NONE of it

 

[Ronald Kris]

Elementary Statistics. You're bringing in >Calculus IV. Not necessary. I had to take Cal I-II and I used NONE of it

I know how to do hypothesis tests, run regressions, test-statistics, and normal distribution. hahah thats most of what I do when I'm not doing accounting or relearning pre-calculus and calculus. Are some med programs more quantitative than others? Come to think of it, I might just get an MD& a CFA or CPA. Then I can join a practice with some business sense.

 

[repititionition]

I know many schools want either 1 year of calculus or 1 year of statistics. But thats the bare minimum: often in life you need more than the minimum to get in, get hired, etc. If I for whatever reason switch courses and try for medicine, via post-bac fulltime or take classes at night should I manage to get hired from my current point, what kind of math should I take? Which is more helpful in understanding the med school material? And what is the typical math repertoire for US allopathic admits?

Which of the following math operations are necessary for MCAT and med school?
taylor polynomials, improper integrals, partial differential equations, ordinary differential equations, L'Hopital Rule, parametric equations, LaGrange multipliers, stochastic processes, limits, and all these things with trig functions

Best math to know for med school is 12+12+12=36

 

[jjmack]

This is how I feel too.

Statistics all the way. It's the only math we use every day.

 

[Mad Jack]

College level algebra and statistics are the courses that will help you the most on the MCAT. We don't do a lot of math in medical school, but understanding statistics is critical for proper interpretation of clinical studies.

 

[ProudMD]

College level algebra and statistics are the courses that will help you the most on the MCAT. We don't do a lot of math in medical school, but understanding statistics is critical for proper interpretation of clinical studies.

To add to this, the most important math you need to know for the MCAT (and really only the PS section requires any math) is the ability to quickly add/subtract/multiple/divide numbers in scientific notation!

 

[Mad Jack]

To add to this, the most important math you need to know for the MCAT (and really only the PS section requires any math) is the ability to quickly add/subtract/multiple/divide numbers in scientific notation!

Agreed.

As to my recommendation for algebra, the ability to understand certain algebraic concepts can allow you to reach answers without really even doing the math at all. Like, you'll just know that certain answers are impossible so long as you know the equations and how they play out.

 

[CowboyNiceguy]

I can't say about medical school, but for the MCAT? Absolutely NONE of them.

A background in calculus is helpful in MCAT physics.

 

[ProudMD]

A background in calculus is helpful in MCAT physics.

Based on my experience with all the AAMC practice tests and the real deal, I don't think calculus is remotely necessary.

 

[CowboyNiceguy]

Based on my experience with all the AAMC practice tests and the real deal, I don't think calculus is remotely necessary.

That's why I didn't say it's necessary. I said it's helpful.