How forgiving are medical schools if you don't have one of the prerequisites?

[the_fella]

I've not taken physics, and have no intention to do so because I can't afford it. I literally have $4 in the bank right now. Anyway, if I do reasonably well on this section on the MCAT, that should be enough to demonstrate my knowledge of the material, which, imho is more important that just having taken the coure. Are med schools likely to be forgiving of this, or just put my application into the circular file? I have all of the other science pre-requisites, just not pysics.

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[allantois]

I've not taken physics, and have no intention to do so because I can't afford it. I literally have $4 in the bank right now. Anyway, if I do reasonably well on this section on the MCAT, that should be enough to demonstrate my knowledge of the material, which, imho is more important that just having taken the coure. Are med schools likely to be forgiving of this, or just put my application into the circular file? I have all of the other science pre-requisites, just not pysics.

None of the medical schools will be forthcoming in this matter, and rightfully so.

 

[gyngyn]

There are schools with no pre-reqs. The rest are within good practice not to accept you without successful completion of required courses.

 

[ANATOMYgirl22]

I'm sorry to say, but there's no way they'd take a look at you if you don't meet all the prerequisites... And that includes physics. If you really want to go to med school you're going to have to find a way to take it

 

[the_fella]

Can you tell me some of the schools without pre-requisites? Haha. I've not seen any.

 

[gyngyn]

Can you tell me some of the schools without pre-requisites? Haha. I've not seen any.

At my last count: East Tennessee State, The Medical University of South Carolina ( In Charleston not Columbia), USC, University of Virginia, Stanford, Tulane, UCSD.

 

[the_fella]

Wow. Thank you!

 

[ski89]

At my last count: East Tennessee State, The Medical University of South Carolina ( In Charleston not Columbia), USC, University of Virginia, Stanford, Tulane, UCSD.

Lol good luck just applying to those schools, barring you are not in state at one of them.

Dude.. Save some money at take physics. It's a terrible idea not to.


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[beachside]

I've not taken physics, and have no intention to do so because I can't afford it. I literally have $4 in the bank right now. Anyway, if I do reasonably well on this section on the MCAT, that should be enough to demonstrate my knowledge of the material, which, imho is more important that just having taken the coure. Are med schools likely to be forgiving of this, or just put my application into the circular file? I have all of the other science pre-requisites, just not pysics.

Student loans, dude. They do exist. How are you supposed to afford medical school if you cannot afford to take physics?

PS, you misspelled three words in the above paragraph.

 

[the_fella]

I have enough student loans as it is.

 

[the_fella]

I just looked at University of Cincinnati's website and unless I'm missing something, they no longer seem to have strict pre-requisities, either. Their website just says, "Applicants are expected to have the knowledge usually obtained in one-year courses in biology, general and organic chemistry, physics and mathematics." That's perfectly reasonable, imho.

 

[gyngyn]

I just looked at University of Cincinnati's website and unless I'm missing something, they no longer seem to have strict pre-requisities, either. Their website just says, "Applicants are expected to have the knowledge usually obtained in one-year courses in biology, general and organic chemistry, physics and mathematics." That's perfectly reasonable, imho.

Several other schools are considering this. I expect the new MSAR will show a substantial move in this direction.

 

[senzen]

One thing I'm worried about is them adding on requirements last minute. I am graduating in 2016 and applying in June 2016.

I have taken psychology but not sociology. I know for right now those courses are recommended but do you think they'll make them a requirement like maybe in January 2016 for that upcoming cycle (2016-2017)? If they were to make them a requirement, how far in advance would they let us know?

@gyngyn

 

[beachside]

I have enough student loans as it is.

Then you can't afford medical school. Might I suggest a career in plumbing.

 

[gyngyn]

One thing I'm worried about is them adding on requirements last minute. I am graduating in 2016 and applying in June 2016.

I have taken psychology but not sociology. I know for right now those courses are recommended but do you think they'll make them a requirement like maybe in January 2016 for that upcoming cycle (2016-2017)? If they were to make them a requirement, how far in advance would they let us know?

@gyngyn

The AAMC required all schools to submit their changes to the MSAR this week.
Any additions should become available in the next few months.

 

[senzen]

The AAMC required all schools to submit their changes to the MSAR this week.
Any additions should become available in the next few months.

For the changes that were just submitted, will that be expected of those applying this summer? Or for the applying in the summers of 2016, 2017, etc.?

How likely do you think most schools will make sociology and psychology a rigid requirement?

 

[Wasted Energy]

At my last count: East Tennessee State, The Medical University of South Carolina ( In Charleston not Columbia), USC, University of Virginia, Stanford, Tulane, UCSD.

That was pretty impressive.

 

[senzen]

Then you can't afford medical school. Might I suggest a career in plumbing.

You're too harsh sometimes haha.

But OP, I'm not particularly happy about having to retake classes this summer and I will have to find a pay for them but it will be worth it. It's an investment and worth it if you really do want to become a doctor. If you're okay with DO schools, community college coursework is apparently acceptable (double check but I'm fairly certain it is).

 

[gyngyn]

For the changes that were just submitted, will that be expected of those applying this summer? Or for the applying in the summers of 2016, 2017, etc.?

How likely do you think most schools will make sociology and psychology a rigid requirement?

These will be for those applying later this year to enter school in 2016.
I have no way of knowing how many are going to add more requirements. I do know that we have been encouraged by the AAMC and LCME to consider competency instead of requirements.

 

[Tappinfool66]

None of the medical schools will be forthcoming in this matter, and rightfully so.

That's a blanket statement, and it's not true. A friend I went to high school with took AP chem and physics, got credit for them so he didn't take them again in college and got into a very good medical school. Granted, he's brilliant. So, it's probably not likely that they will overlook you not having all of the pre-reqs, but if you're an absolutely rock star applicant, some schools might be willing to do so.

 

[gyngyn]

That was pretty impressive.

I'd be willing to bet that the rest of the CA schools move this direction shortly.

 

[the_fella]

Then you can't afford medical school. Might I suggest a career in plumbing.

Eh. Plumbing doesn't do much for me, but I'm a rather adept auto mechanic.

 

[ski89]

I have enough student loans as it is.

Lol again. Two semesters of physics costs what, 2000$?

4 years of med school averages around 180,000$. Think about that. The last thing you want is to not be able to apply to schools you are a great fit for simply because you didn't want to take physics. This shows a lot of immaturity on your part, a huge red flag for med schools.

Again.. Take Physics.


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[senzen]

These will be for those applying later this year to enter school in 2016.
I have no way of knowing how many are going to add more requirements. I do know that we have been encouraged by the AAMC and LCME to consider competency instead of requirements.

That's not enough time at all to get prepared for that. I think if that happens I will just let them know that I will take it as a post-bacc course and I will have it done before I matriculate. I won't delay my application due to one course.

 

[gyngyn]

That's not enough time at all to get prepared for that. I think if that happens I will just let them know that I will take it as a post-bacc course and I will have it done before I matriculate. I won't delay my application due to one course.

This is reasonable.

 

[the_fella]

Lol again. Two semesters of physics costs what, 2000$?

4 years of med school averages around 180,000$. Think about that. The last thing you want is to not be able to apply to schools you are a great fit for simply because you didn't want to take physics. This shows a lot of immaturity on your part, a huge red flag for med schools.

Again.. Take Physics.


Sent from my iPhone

If I have a chance of getting in now without it, I'm going to apply. Some schools aren't strictly requiring prerequisites, which is a good move, imho.

 

[beachside]

That's not enough time at all to get prepared for that. I think if that happens I will just let them know that I will take it as a post-bacc course and I will have it done before I matriculate. I won't delay my application due to one course.

You don't have to have prereqs done before you apply. It's common to finish them in the spring prior to matriculation, or even the summer.

 

[gyngyn]

If I have a chance of getting in now without it, I'm going to apply. Some schools aren't strictly requiring prerequisites, which is a good move, imho.

I'm sure you noticed that the schools without pre reqs tend to be very selective (either by metrics or mission or both) and are few in number. Such a strategy would only work for an extraordinarily accomplished applicant.

 

[beachside]

If I have a chance of getting in now without it, I'm going to apply. Some schools aren't strictly requiring prerequisites, which is a good move, imho.

You're not going to get accepted into medical school if you do that. There are not enough med schools you can apply to to guarantee you good odds of acceptance. That gap year waiting to reapply will cost you far more than $2,000.

Your mentality on this shows a lack of perspective. You're talking about taking out roughly $200k in loans in order to go to medical school, yet you're troubled by the roughly $2000 cost of taking physics. That's 1% of the cost of medical school.

You have to pay to play. The medical road is an expensive route. It's for people willing to do the math and pay what it takes to guarantee that future $200k+/year salary.

 

[ski89]

If I have a chance of getting in now without it, I'm going to apply. Some schools aren't strictly requiring prerequisites, which is a good move, imho.

Sigh...


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[ANATOMYgirl22]

If I have a chance of getting in now without it, I'm going to apply. Some schools aren't strictly requiring prerequisites, which is a good move, imho.

Also, applying isn't really cheap either. It seems kind of foolish to spend a bunch of money applying when the chances that you'll get accepted are low. It would suck to waste all that money then end up having to take physics anyway in order to applying again the following year.

If you were to take physics could you also work to offset some of the cost?

 

[allantois]

That's a blanket statement, and it's not true. A friend I went to high school with took AP chem and physics, got credit for them so he didn't take them again in college and got into a very good medical school. Granted, he's brilliant. So, it's probably not likely that they will overlook you not having all of the pre-reqs, but if you're an absolutely rock star applicant, some schools might be willing to do so.

I too did not take Gen Chem as I have AP credit for it. If a medical school requires a certain prerequisite (and gyngyn was kind enough to post the list of school that do not have prerequisites, but even then I doubt very much that Stanford admits many students who did not take physics), I see no way of how they would waive those basic requirements.
I don't see how AP credits do not fulfill the requirements of taking a class to fulfill the prerequisite (and once again there are lists of schools and how they regard AP credits). If you took AP Physics, and that is reflected on the transcript then to me you are good to go. I was obviously referencing instances when students think they don't have to take required classes: be it while they are still in high school, or in college.

 

[allantois]

I can see the OP telling his future employer that he doesn't need to do a residency in XYZ, because he already learned how to do ABC of what XYZ specialists do.
Very strange line of thinking if you ask me.

In our age and time, many students don't actually learn by going to class but learn on their own anyway. The point of prerequisites is to have some sort of standardized way of comparing your performance to thousands of other students.

 

[ski89]

If I have a chance of getting in now without it, I'm going to apply. Some schools aren't strictly requiring prerequisites, which is a good move, imho.

 

[cidem2065]

OP, still making only $2K/year?

 

[medic86]

Hmmm...

I feel like we all got trolled.

 

[Catalystik]

At my last count: East Tennessee State, The Medical University of South Carolina ( In Charleston not Columbia), USC, University of Virginia, Stanford, Tulane, UCSD.

For the sake of a complete list, add Southern Illinois University, which is not highly-selective, but only accepts Illinois residents.

 

[breakintheroof]

At my last count: East Tennessee State, The Medical University of South Carolina ( In Charleston not Columbia), USC, University of Virginia, Stanford, Tulane, UCSD.

For the sake of a complete list, add Southern Illinois University, which is not highly-selective, but only accepts Illinois residents.

ETSU
MUSC (Charleston)
SIU
Stanford
Tulane
UCSD
USC
UVA

A few other schools with no requirements or "competency-based" options:
Albert Einstein (started in the current cycle)
NYU (started in the current cycle)
Pritzker (starting this coming cycle)
UConn

@gyngyn I am glad to hear that there will soon be more! To me, this seems like an applicant-friendly move by these admissions departments.

 

[Rainbow Zebra]

One thing I'm worried about is them adding on requirements last minute. I am graduating in 2016 and applying in June 2016.

I have taken psychology but not sociology. I know for right now those courses are recommended but do you think they'll make them a requirement like maybe in January 2016 for that upcoming cycle (2016-2017)? If they were to make them a requirement, how far in advance would they let us know?

@gyngyn

Yes, I've posted on this topic. Duke is already requiring Psy and Soc for 2016 - but seems you can call to see if an "online" course is fine. Other schools haven't posted 2016 requirements yet, but it is coming. I may take a CC course for these intro over the next year to get this requirement completed, so I won't have to narrow down my school list for these intro classes (probably easy-peasy after 4 years of hard core science classes).

 

[the_fella]

OP, still making only $2K/year?

I'm unemployed at the moment.

 

[Rainbow Zebra]

I'm unemployed at the moment.

You should qualify for Fin aid to get these classes under your belt.

 

[jb94mg]

ETSU
MUSC (Charleston)
SIU
Stanford
Tulane
UCSD
USC
UVA

A few other schools with no requirements or "competency-based" options:
Albert Einstein (started in the current cycle)
NYU (started in the current cycle)
Pritzker (starting this coming cycle)
UConn

@gyngyn I am glad to hear that there will soon be more! To me, this seems like an applicant-friendly move by these admissions departments.

Realistically, though, most of us current pre-meds (I know you're not one, breakintheroof) will still have to take the majority of the pre-reqs since it's the best way to ensure we're prepared for the MCAT, and because most of us won't be competitive, realistically, for Stanford, UChicago, etc. But I think the direction the medical schools are headed in seems great, given that they claim to want more diverse applicants. It's nice to see their requirements align with those supposed desires.

 

[the_fella]

You should qualify for Fin aid to get these classes under your belt.

I exhausted my Pell eligibility as an undergrad.

 

[Goro]

For schools that recommend them, you might be OK, but keep in mind that the pre-reqs help you with MCAT.

For those of them that require them, well, I think you know the answer to that.



QUOTE="the_fella, post: 16127769, member: 641135"]I've not taken physics, and have no intention to do so because I can't afford it. I literally have $4 in the bank right now. Anyway, if I do reasonably well on this section on the MCAT, that should be enough to demonstrate my knowledge of the material, which, imho is more important that just having taken the coure. Are med schools likely to be forgiving of this, or just put my application into the circular file? I have all of the other science pre-requisites, just not pysics.[/QUOTE]

 

[Rainbow Zebra]

I exhausted my Pell eligibility as an undergrad.

There are other financial aid resources beyond Pell Grants. CC are relatively cheap too. Can't imagine "self-studying" Physics, but good luck if you think you can pull it off.

 

[the_fella]

For schools that recommend them, you might be OK, but keep in mind that the pre-reqs help you with MCAT.

For those of them that require them, well, I think you know the answer to that.



QUOTE="the_fella, post: 16127769, member: 641135"]I've not taken physics, and have no intention to do so because I can't afford it. I literally have $4 in the bank right now. Anyway, if I do reasonably well on this section on the MCAT, that should be enough to demonstrate my knowledge of the material, which, imho is more important that just having taken the coure. Are med schools likely to be forgiving of this, or just put my application into the circular file? I have all of the other science pre-requisites, just not pysics.

[/QUOTE]
Well, I've also never taken biochemistry beyond the parts that they taught in my biology courses. I did the biochem review from the Kaplan books, and it was mostly review (with some new concepts). But the only school I'm considering that requires biochem is OSU.

 

[brootas14]

If that is the only pre-req you need (and its a relatively common one), I imagine that you could "attest" to intending to take it if accepted (I did a similar thing with an anatomy requirement in a previous application cycle), and if offered a seat, you could lump the cost of those credits into your medical school loans and take the class the summer before matriculating. You're already going to take out money for school, and as some posters have pointed out, its a small amount compared to 4 years of school.

 

[the_fella]

If that is the only pre-req you need (and its a relatively common one), I imagine that you could "attest" to intending to take it if accepted (I did a similar thing with an anatomy requirement in a previous application cycle), and if offered a seat, you could lump the cost of those credits into your medical school loans and take the class the summer before matriculating. You're already going to take out money for school, and as some posters have pointed out, its a small amount compared to 4 years of school.

That's a good idea. I hadn't considered that.

 

[brootas14]

I am surprised, biochem is a big one. Its also much more represented on the MCAT now than in the past.

 

[StandUpComedian]

Do schools ever hold it against students if they are taking prereqs during the application process? For example, if I haven't taken orgo II yet (I couldn't take it this year because it conflicted with something I needed to graduate on time, and it's only offered once per year) but I already took the MCAT and I will take orgo II while applying next fall, will that ruin my chances anywhere?