Medical Schools Requirements (I'm a Newbie)

[dmhill99]

Hey Everyone
I am just wondering what is the best source to get a compilation of all the Medical School admission requirements for every single school. I went to the AAMC website and they sell the MSAR which seems like it would have all this info. I am interested if they also have all the requirements in regards to classes. I don't want to ineligible to apply to some schools because I didn't take some obscure class that they advise I take. I am an upcoming college freshman and what classes would you recommend? I am thinking general chem I-II, gen. bio I-II, both with labs and then what ever reqs I need from my college. Sound good? Also do most schools require a lab in all four classes (bio, gen chem, o chem, and physics)? Thanks a bunch.

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[dr.z]

Hey Everyone
I am just wondering what is the best source to get a compilation of all the Medical School admission requirements for every single school. I went to the AAMC website and they sell the MSAR which seems like it would have all this info. I am interested if they also have all the requirements in regards to classes. I don't want to ineligible to apply to some schools because I didn't take some obscure class that they advise I take. I am an upcoming college freshman and what classes would you recommend? I am thinking general chem I-II, gen. bio I-II, both with labs and then what ever reqs I need from my college. Sound good? Also do most schools require a lab in all four classes (bio, gen chem, o chem, and physics)? Thanks a bunch.

For all pre-req science classes, you need lab. If you buy MSAR, you will be able to find all of these info.

 

[DrBowtie]

Go find it in the library. It won't be worth the money until you are applying.

 

[willthatsall]

I'll give you the cliffs notes:

You MUST have: Gen Chem I and II with lab, Organic I and II with lab, Bio I and II with lab, Physics I and II with lab.

You might be able to substitute upper levels for those at some med schools, but better to just be safe.

Some schools are going to require english and composition, so it's a good idea to knock that out, but usually it's required anyway. But if you get to skip it because of AP, you probably should take it anyway.

I think there is a growing trend to require at least one semester of Calculus, and several top schools require two semesters of Calculus. For some schools, statistics can be substituted for one of the semesters of calc.

Some schools will require or strongly recommend biochemistry.

Some top schools (Harvard, Hopkins, not sure who else) require a certain amount of hours in the humanities. It's either 18 or 24, can't remember.

So if you can go ahead and knock all that out, you should be good everywhere. Otherwise, check for specific schools.

Also, I'm not sure about foreign language requirements. Some schools might want to see that, but I can't remember any specifically...

 

[Law2Doc]

I'll give you the cliffs notes:

You MUST have: Gen Chem I and II with lab, Organic I and II with lab, Bio I and II with lab, Physics I and II with lab.

You might be able to substitute upper levels for those at some med schools, but better to just be safe.

Some schools are going to require english and composition, so it's a good idea to knock that out, but usually it's required anyway. But if you get to skip it because of AP, you probably should take it anyway.

I think there is a growing trend to require at least one semester of Calculus, and several top schools require two semesters of Calculus. For some schools, statistics can be substituted for one of the semesters of calc.

Some schools will require or strongly recommend biochemistry.

Some top schools (Harvard, Hopkins, not sure who else) require a certain amount of hours in the humanities. It's either 18 or 24, can't remember.

So if you can go ahead and knock all that out, you should be good everywhere. Otherwise, check for specific schools.

Also, I'm not sure about foreign language requirements. Some schools might want to see that, but I can't remember any specifically...

Nicely spelled out. None of the schools I've looked at required foreign languages (but I would imagine the accredited Puerto Rico schools (Ponce?) would require spanish).

 

[dmhill99]

Ok thanks everyone. I pretty much knew what i needed to do and i just wanted to reassure myself. Do schools take AP credit for the Calc req?

 

[gujuDoc]

Oh I just wanted to add a couple things to what Will said........

Some schools require biochem, while others just recommend it.

Some schools require the lab for biochemistry as well.

Go with the basics, and then look for specific schools of interest and see what they say different requirements are.

 

[pretfish]

hey sorry to hijack your thread, but i was also wondering what my freshman schedule should be (i hope this will help the OP's thread also, im new at this too)

the limit is 18 credits, but many people have told me to take gen chem and gen bio freshman year even though i have ap credit in bio.

choice I:

chem I/II
calc I/II (also have ap credit only in calc I)
writing seminar (required)
foreign language (required)

choice II:
chem I/II
bio I/II
writing seminar
foreign language
calc I/II

problems with choice I: taking gen bio soph year would be tough since i prob have to take genetics/physiology/orgo i/ii, and since im a bio major i should prob take gen bio

problems with choice II: over 18 credit limit for freshman (basically impossible schedule), very very tough esp with labs, prob will result in low gpa

do you guys have any suggestions? thanks in advance!

 

[DrBowtie]

Choice 2 minus Calc I/II You can take it later or if places you are applying have problems with AP.

 

[gujuDoc]

hey sorry to hijack your thread, but i was also wondering what my freshman schedule should be (i hope this will help the OP's thread also, im new at this too)

the limit is 18 credits, but many people have told me to take gen chem and gen bio freshman year even though i have ap credit in bio.

choice I:

chem I/II
calc I/II (also have ap credit only in calc I)
writing seminar (required)
foreign language (required)

choice II:
chem I/II
bio I/II
writing seminar
foreign language
calc I/II

problems with choice I: taking gen bio soph year would be tough since i prob have to take genetics/physiology/orgo i/ii, and since im a bio major i should prob take gen bio

problems with choice II: over 18 credit limit for freshman (basically impossible schedule), very very tough esp with labs, prob will result in low gpa

do you guys have any suggestions? thanks in advance!

I think either option will work.

Also, even if you want to retake the AP credits, realize that you can always do bio 1 in the summer and bio 2 in fall of the following year when you do Physics and Orgo.

I'd actually take Physics I in the summer after freshmen year and then take bio 1/2 and ochem 1/2 in sophormore year, along with Physics 2. Then in summer, I'd study for the MCAT and take it if you are ready to do so.

I'd also see if you can make enough time once a week to volunteer.

 

[pretfish]

I think either option will work.

Also, even if you want to retake the AP credits, realize that you can always do bio 1 in the summer and bio 2 in fall of the following year when you do Physics and Orgo.

I'd actually take Physics I in the summer after freshmen year and then take bio 1/2 and ochem 1/2 in sophormore year, along with Physics 2. Then in summer, I'd study for the MCAT and take it if you are ready to do so.

I'd also see if you can make enough time once a week to volunteer.

thanks for all of your opinions. i would like to take classes in the summer, but dont med schools look down upon that since you are not taking a full courseload and it is prob. easier to get a better grade in the summer due to only one class?

also, is calc i/ii required at med schools, or just recommended? i really want to take the first option, but i think i need to squeeze bio in there somewhere.

 

[DrBowtie]

If Bio is your major you DEFINITELY need BIO I/II your first year. Chem is the second most needed class during freshman year. Hence fill your schedule out with the other remaining required classes to 15-16 hours with the labs.

 

[willthatsall]

If you take bio and chem first year, you would have the option of finishing physics and orgo as a sophomore and taking the MCAT before your 3rd year, which I highly recommend if you have a chance. Unless, that is, you are planning to take calc physics, in which case you wouldn't be able to take physics until after calculus. I would advise you not to take bio, chem, and calc at the same time as a part of a large course load, unless you are confident that you can handle a huge load like that. As a general rule of thumb, 12-15 hours of credits with a 4.0 your first semester is a lot better than taking 18+ hours and pulling a 2.5.

 

[willthatsall]

If Bio is your major you DEFINITELY need BIO I/II your first year. Chem is the second most needed class during freshman year. Hence fill your schedule out with the other remaining required classes to 15-16 hours with the labs.

At my school, bio majors can't take bio before sophomore year. Gen chem is a pre-req for bio. Not really sure why, although I guess a few things in bio rely heavily on gen chem.

 

[DrBowtie]

At my school, bio majors can't take bio before sophomore year. Gen chem is a pre-req for bio. Not really sure why, although I guess a few things in bio rely heavily on gen chem.

Hmm, are the rest of the years cramped with bio classes?

 

[willthatsall]

Hmm, are the rest of the years cramped with bio classes?

I think you have to take 7 upper level bio classes for a major. So like 2 a semester for junior and senior years.

 

[pretfish]

"I would advise you not to take bio, chem, and calc at the same time as a part of a large course load, unless you are confident that you can handle a huge load like that. As a general rule of thumb, 12-15 hours of credits with a 4.0 your first semester is a lot better than taking 18+ hours and pulling a 2.5."

Exactly what I was thinking! Except that I NEED chem and bio, a writing course, a foreign language. So thats 16 credits right there. Skipping calc during freshman year is a little suspect, but i guess I'll have to do that?

I was really hoping I could take Calc, Chem, Writing, and Foriegn Lang. frosh year b/c I think I could handle the courseload, but do bio majors really need to take bio freshman year? What about soph year along with organic? (and no math soph year).

You guys are so helpful. Thanks again!

 

[willthatsall]

I was really hoping I could take Calc, Chem, Writing, and Foriegn Lang. frosh year b/c I think I could handle the courseload, but do bio majors really need to take bio freshman year? What about soph year along with organic? (and no math soph year).

You guys are so helpful. Thanks again!

That is exactly what I took my freshman year. I wasn't allowed to take bio before chem though. Check how many upper level bio courses you need to take for a major. Taking 2 bio classes a semester your junior/senior years won't be too bad if it's only 7-8 courses. If I could redo my undergrad career at this point (and I only had 4 years to complete it--I've had 5.) I think I would try to take all my MCAT prereqs in the first 2 years and then knock out the MCAT before my junior year. So it would either be First Year: gen chem and bio, Second Year: organic and physics. Or First Year: Gen Chem and Physics, Second Year: Bio and Organic. In my personal judgement, the difficulty of my pre-reqs were Organic=Bio > Gen Chem > Physics. So I would probably go with the first option and not leave bio and organic together. But your school might be different. Again, if you are planning on taking calc based physics, you would have to see if it is a co-requisite or a pre-requisite to have calc before physics. If it's a pre-req, you're probably going to be out of luck with my plan unless you can pull off calc, gen chem, and bio all at once. The other thing you could look into is the foreign language thing. I know a lot of schools make you take eng/comp first year, but I wouldn't be surprised if you could move foreign language back a year.

 

[hnbui]

hey sorry to hijack your thread, but i was also wondering what my freshman schedule should be (i hope this will help the OP's thread also, im new at this too)

the limit is 18 credits, but many people have told me to take gen chem and gen bio freshman year even though i have ap credit in bio.

choice I:

chem I/II
calc I/II (also have ap credit only in calc I)
writing seminar (required)
foreign language (required)

choice II:
chem I/II
bio I/II
writing seminar
foreign language
calc I/II

problems with choice I: taking gen bio soph year would be tough since i prob have to take genetics/physiology/orgo i/ii, and since im a bio major i should prob take gen bio

problems with choice II: over 18 credit limit for freshman (basically impossible schedule), very very tough esp with labs, prob will result in low gpa

do you guys have any suggestions? thanks in advance!

the second choice minus foreign language. Why? You can always fulfill that one later on in your undergraduate career.

I would take cal I and cal II so that you can will be able to take cal based physics, that's if you are going to take cal based physics, your sophomore year.

It's beneficial to have taken all your premed prereqs by the end of your sophomore year because it gives you the option of taking the mcat that summer; you'll basically have more time to focus on the test if you take it in august as opposed to apirl.

hth

i made the mistake of only taking gen chem and bio my freshmen year and now i'm regretting it.

plus if you're a bio major, you'll want the extra time to take all the upper level bio classes you want.

 

[DrBowtie]

Hey Will, how many hours of biology are required for a major? At my school it is 40 for a B.A. and 60 for a B.S.

 

[willthatsall]

Hey Will, how many hours of biology are required for a major? At my school it is 40 for a B.A. and 60 for a B.S.

I really don't know, I'll check though. I think it's significantly less than that though, because I'm getting a B.S. I think and I know I'm not taking that many hours.

 

[willthatsall]

It's only 36 credit hours for a BS at my school, 10 hours for intro, and then at least 26 hours in upper level courses. The ones that you have to take are zoology, ecology, and genetics. And then one lab course above 400 level. I guess it must be hard to get a BS at your school and still take other courses because if you take 60 hours of bio + 8 gen chem + 8 organic + 8 physics + 6 english + 6 math, you are almost done with your degree. That would make it tough to fill the humanities requirements for some schools.

 

[gujuDoc]

If Bio is your major you DEFINITELY need BIO I/II your first year. Chem is the second most needed class during freshman year. Hence fill your schedule out with the other remaining required classes to 15-16 hours with the labs.

Not true at all. It is quite possible to wait til sophomore year to take bio 1 and 2 and then take all the bio major requirements in year's 3 and 4 and be done on time.

I'd personally take gchem and calc first and then take physics or bio in the summer, and take the rest in sophomore year. But if you can do Calc before coming to college, then I'd take Physics in freshmen year.

I personally recommend calc based physics because it will make the whole idea of physics make so much more sense. I wish I'd done that when I was a freshmen.

I think Will's idea is the best.

 

[gujuDoc]

thanks for all of your opinions. i would like to take classes in the summer, but dont med schools look down upon that since you are not taking a full courseload and it is prob. easier to get a better grade in the summer due to only one class?

also, is calc i/ii required at med schools, or just recommended? i really want to take the first option, but i think i need to squeeze bio in there somewhere.

As will pointed out earlier........

Many many med schools require 2 semesters of math. A good percentage require Calc 1 and a choice between stats or calc 2.

Harvard and Duke both require calc 1 and calc 2.

 

[DrBowtie]

Just for comparison here was my schedule:

Fall
Bio I 3 Hours
Calc Based Physics 4 hours
Calc I 4 hours
English 3 Hours
Physics Lab 1 hour
Orientation 1 hour
16 Hours

Spring
Bio II 3 hours
Bio Lab 2 Hours
Calc Based Physics II 4 hours
Calc II 4 hours
Physics Lab II 1 hour
Archaeology 3 hours
17 hours

Summer
Gen Chem I 3 hours
Gen Chem II 3 hours
Gen Chem Labs 1-3 3 hours
Research in High Energy Physics

Hope it helps

 

[willthatsall]

Brett how many hours will you graduate with total?

 

[DrBowtie]

LOL too many. I came in with I think 40 hours. I am doing a double B.A.'s in Physics/Biology - with Minors in Chem and Business (should be math too). I can still graduate in 4 years if I want to keep working this hard but I might drop the Bio Major to a minor (I just want to take Histo and Physio).
I had my language requirement and all but 4-5 gen eds done in H.S.

 

[jodyleeann]

"I would advise you not to take bio, chem, and calc at the same time as a part of a large course load, unless you are confident that you can handle a huge load like that. As a general rule of thumb, 12-15 hours of credits with a 4.0 your first semester is a lot better than taking 18+ hours and pulling a 2.5."

Exactly what I was thinking! Except that I NEED chem and bio, a writing course, a foreign language. So thats 16 credits right there. Skipping calc during freshman year is a little suspect, but i guess I'll have to do that?

I was really hoping I could take Calc, Chem, Writing, and Foriegn Lang. frosh year b/c I think I could handle the courseload, but do bio majors really need to take bio freshman year? What about soph year along with organic? (and no math soph year).

You guys are so helpful. Thanks again!

Maybe it's just me, but I would do your Calcs over the summer. My school has 2 summer terms and they offer Calc I in summer I and calc II in summer II, so that's what I would recommend. Then if you need to take calc-based physics in your soph year, you'll be good to go. I haven't heard of med schools looking down on someone taking summer school because it isn't a full load. Have you ever tried to take a semester of college math or science in 4 weeks?? Even one class is a full load, especially if you're working 40 hours a week and doing research. I would do your calcs in the summer if I were you!

 

[willthatsall]

Maybe it's just me, but I would do your Calcs over the summer. My school has 2 summer terms and they offer Calc I in summer I and calc II in summer II, so that's what I would recommend. Then if you need to take calc-based physics in your soph year, you'll be good to go. I haven't heard of med schools looking down on someone taking summer school because it isn't a full load. Have you ever tried to take a semester of college math or science in 4 weeks?? Even one class is a full load, especially if you're working 40 hours a week and doing research. I would do your calcs in the summer if I were you!

Yeah that's a damn good idea. I never thought about summer courses. And I think calc would be pretty easy in the summer. No time to forget anything.

 

[DrBowtie]

Calc is tough enough without it being condensed into a summer term. Calc II is pretty beastly IMO. That was the class that has given me the most trouble thus far.

 

[katiew]

Im confused. How do you get ap credits. can they be from other classes.?

 

[DrBowtie]

AP credits come from AP tests taken in H.S. You can take CLEP tests in college.

 

[pretfish]

hey so many good ideas! esp hnbui - taking the foreign lang requirement (2 years worth) soph and junior year sounds good, even though the coursebook (we go to the same college!) says you should complete it within the first two years.

so in that case, calc chem bio english is an option for freshman year.

summer classes sound good too. im already taking calc ii and chem i at a cc, so obv those wont transfer since my college does not take them, but i guess it is good practice for the fall. i just hestitate taking a prereq in the summer because i looked at a premed advising site from my college, and they say that its preferable to take all prereqs during the year with a normal courseload.

i think im def. going to take calc i and ii sometime, probably freshman year.

just wondering, any ideas for using ap bio credits? looks like ill be eventually taking intro to bio, which i couldve done had i not taken the test.

still really want to take calc, english, foreign lang, and chem, but i guess i have to suck it up!

oh also, will's idea of finishing all the prereqs by soph year is really interesting. i never really heard of that before, but i know the earlier you apply the better, and you get to take the mcats another time if you dont do well the first time in aug. after soph year. has anyone does this - what do you think about compressing all the classes in the first two years?

 

[gujuDoc]

hey so many good ideas! esp hnbui - taking the foreign lang requirement (2 years worth) soph and junior year sounds good, even though the coursebook (we go to the same college!) says you should complete it within the first two years.

so in that case, calc chem bio english is an option for freshman year.

summer classes sound good too. im already taking calc ii and chem i at a cc, so obv those wont transfer since my college does not take them, but i guess it is good practice for the fall. i just hestitate taking a prereq in the summer because i looked at a premed advising site from my college, and they say that its preferable to take all prereqs during the year with a normal courseload.

i think im def. going to take calc i and ii sometime, probably freshman year.

just wondering, any ideas for using ap bio credits? looks like ill be eventually taking intro to bio, which i couldve done had i not taken the test.

still really want to take calc, english, foreign lang, and chem, but i guess i have to suck it up!

oh also, will's idea of finishing all the prereqs by soph year is really interesting. i never really heard of that before, but i know the earlier you apply the better, and you get to take the mcats another time if you dont do well the first time in aug. after soph year. has anyone does this - what do you think about compressing all the classes in the first two years?

No no.......you misunderstood what Will was saying. He was saying to take the prereqs earlier and finish them as soon as possible, so you could take the MCAT, not so you could apply to med school earlier.

You still would apply in junior year for med school, but this way you'd be able to take the MCAT a whole year earlier and not have to take it in Junior year. That way at the end of junior year, you'd only have to worry about your AMCAS.

And you'll find most people on here will agree that his ideas for taking the major prereqs in 2 years and then taking the August MCAT, is the best way to go. Certainly what I'd do if i could do it over again. Its also what a few friends of mine have done.

It is highly highly highly recommended that you do this.

 

[hnbui]

hey so many good ideas! esp hnbui - taking the foreign lang requirement (2 years worth) soph and junior year sounds good, even though the coursebook (we go to the same college!) says you should complete it within the first two years.

thanks.

so in that case, calc chem bio english is an option for freshman year.

summer classes sound good too. im already taking calc ii and chem i at a cc, so obv those wont transfer since my college does not take them, but i guess it is good practice for the fall. i just hestitate taking a prereq in the summer because i looked at a premed advising site from my college, and they say that its preferable to take all prereqs during the year with a normal courseload.

It's good that you are already so seriously about your premed plan, but i must warn you that even though the cal II and chem I classes will not be transferrable for credit, you will still have to report it to medical schools even if it was nondegree credit.

It is true that many adcoms perfer you to take your prereqs during the academics year because they want to see how you perform with a fullload of classes; as opposed to summer time when you will have only one to a few classes. But if you must take any prereqs during the summer, try to take it at a university that's atleast on par with your own. In other words, avoid communtiy classes.

i think im def. going to take calc i and ii sometime, probably freshman year.

just wondering, any ideas for using ap bio credits? looks like ill be eventually taking intro to bio, which i couldve done had i not taken the test.

still really want to take calc, english, foreign lang, and chem, but i guess i have to suck it up!

I would just throw out the ap scores/credit for bio. If you've already had ap bio taking it again in college will only be beneficial to you. Why?
1) the class will come easier to you because you have been exposed to the materials before, and thus you will perform well.
2) taking it over again will give you confidence and a thorough understanding of the concepts.

oh also, will's idea of finishing all the prereqs by soph year is really interesting. i never really heard of that before, but i know the earlier you apply the better, and you get to take the mcats another time if you dont do well the first time in aug. after soph year. has anyone does this - what do you think about compressing all the classes in the first two years?

i definitely agree with this. I only wished i had this advice when i was starting out. It's better to take it during august because you will more time to dedicate to prepping, as opposed to the april mcat when you have a full load of class to deal with. This may change though because of the CBT MCAT; you may be able to take it at a time when you have less on your mind.

 

[pretfish]

thanks for clarifying about finishing prereqs early. and yes, hnbui - i realize that all college courses have to be reported, so thats why i have to work extra hard this summer.

i think if i do take a class over the summer it will be at rutgers, def not a cc!

it seems that finishing the four required classes early is a really good idea. im def. going to give more thought into that. thanks so much everyone, ill try to sort it out and ask my premed adviser once i get there.

Last opinion: calc, chem, bio - doable first semester?

 

[gujuDoc]

thanks for clarifying about finishing prereqs early. and yes, hnbui - i realize that all college courses have to be reported, so thats why i have to work extra hard this summer.

i think if i do take a class over the summer it will be at rutgers, def not a cc!

it seems that finishing the four required classes early is a really good idea. im def. going to give more thought into that. thanks so much everyone, ill try to sort it out and ask my premed adviser once i get there.

Last opinion: calc, chem, bio - donable first semester?

Totally dependent of your university and what you feel you'll be able to handle and not handle. I know that at my uni, it is definitely doable.

 

[Will Hunting]

Definitely take bio 1 and 2 since you're a bio major. I took Gen Chem 2, Calc 2, and Bio 1 all in the same semester and did well. It depends on your math background. If you're comfortable with math then it is DEFINITELY doable. Bio was the hardest imho due to the amount of info to be memorized. So be prepared to work harder in that class than the others. Good luck, it's good that you're planning this early.