Pre-Med Schedule!!! Please CRITIQUE!!

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EmoryMaterial09

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I'm going to be a freshman in college, and I was wondering if you guys could critique my pre-med schedule? It only includes the required pre-med classes. Major specific classes are not included! Btw, I aped out of bio1! My goal is to have all of my pre-med reqs done before my junior year so I can have a whole year to prepare for the MCAT! Ofcourse, I will be self-studying along the way. Thanks!!!




Freshman Year

Summer:

1) Chem. 1/ lab
2) Pre-calc

Fall:

1) Chem. 2/ lab
2) Bio 2/ lab
3) Calc1

Spring:

1) Calc. 2
2) Physics 1/ lab



Sophomore Year

Summer:

1) Physics 2/ lab

Fall:
1) Organic Chemistry1/ w lab

Spring:

1) Organic Chemistry 2/ w lab
 
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Are you a science major? If so, then it makes sense to take all the prereqs within the first two years of college. However, if not, then I would maybe spread them out into your junior year.

Also, several medical schools don't accept AP credit for prereqs, so either take biology 1 (should be easy for you anyway with AP background) or include an upper-level biology course in what you consider your prereqs.
 
I'm going to be a Biology major at UGA! MCG is my first choice and I believe i will have a decent chance if i maintain a 3.8 with a decent MCAT! Therefore, I know many students who have gone to MCG with plenty of AP credit! In fact, one of my frnds aped out of physics, chem, and bio; all she took was org. chem! Now, she's a first year med student at the medical college! However, I do understand your point about a lot of medical schools not accepting ap credit! I'm only going to apply to those that do!
 
to keep your options open, you might as well take some upper level sci courses, just in case! o m g!!
 
no need to be so excited! you have alot of work ahead of you! first things first!

finishing all of the requirements in the first two years does provide 1 tactical advantage: you get to take the mcat after your sophomore year. If you decide to apply your junior year, you have a major advantage in the admissions process

however, that means you're not going to have much of a life your first 2 years. call it the 2 year boot camp, if you will.

the best thing to do would be to take calc and genchem your freshmen year. if you do well, and not tank/develop a cocaine habit/become a complete alcoholic, then you can think about stacking physics, bio, ochem your soph year, and nothing else.

but first things first. move in, make a few friends, walk around in troves desperately finding a party.

after, find a nice spot in the library and become very friendly with that spot. b/c the previous troving around thing won't happen too often. 🙂
 
just read your post more carefully. Your plan is flawed b/c you shouldn't be opting out of bio. taking bio goes hand in hand with studying for the mcat. Why opt out and then spend a ton of time studying in a redundant way just for the mcat just to limit your options about where to apply to?

also, people have this notion that studying for the mcat is like addition: the more you study, the better you get, which is entirely false. MCAT studying is not summative, its more like an average. You perform at the level at which you study, not the amount.

You should think about it more like a GPA system. What is the overall quality of your studying over a set amount of time?

for example, if you take 2 semesters to study for the test, and the entire time, you are putting in B quality work (aka not studying 13/14 hours a day), what is your GPA? 3.0.

if you study for 1 semester of high quality work (aka 14 hours a day), what is your GPA? 4.0


3.0 just aint gonna cut it son 🙂
 
He2 said:
just read your post more carefully. Your plan is flawed b/c you shouldn't be opting out of bio. taking bio goes hand in hand with studying for the mcat. Why opt out and then spend a ton of time studying in a redundant way just for the mcat just to limit your options about where to apply to?

also, people have this notion that studying for the mcat is like addition: the more you study, the better you get, which is entirely false. MCAT studying is not summative, its more like an average. You perform at the level at which you study, not the amount.

You should think about it more like a GPA system. What is the overall quality of your studying over a set amount of time?

for example, if you take 2 semesters to study for the test, and the entire time, you are putting in B quality work (aka not studying 13/14 hours a day), what is your GPA? 3.0.

if you study for 1 semester of high quality work (aka 14 hours a day), what is your GPA? 4.0


3.0 just aint gonna cut it son 🙂
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Listen! Why would I take a weed out class when I already have AP Credit for it? At UGA an intro bio class has like over 500 students. I'm just taking advantage of my AP Credit! Even though I got 5s in physics , bio, and chem, I'm going to take the classes anyway because I want an easy A. ! Furthermore, I pretty much know bio inside out! I've taken it for 4 years now. And yes, I will be studying for the MCAT throughout the year instead of getting drunk oN friday nights. I'm going to make sure the material stays fresh. Most of these pre-med classes won't be too difficult because I took both AP and IB physics, chemistry, and biology. I'm going JUST OPTING OUT OF ONE SEM. OF BIO...jeez! And please don't tell me how to study for the MCAT; I believe I know pretty well how to study. I'm going to study in conjunction with my classes AND review periodically.
 
Hey, you asked for my advice. I'm more than happy to offer it, but its out of my hands whether you decide to take it.

College is different from high school. The bio department at my University actually did a study between the correlation between high school AP scores and performance in college. Long story short, there is no relationship.As a premed, you'll need to be able to learn how to survive in weed out classes. It'll make you a much stronger student and much more able to handle the rigors of med school/upper level courses. If you're serious about doing well on the MCAT, and more than willing to study on a friday night, why would you be afraid of an intro bio course? Just use that friday night to study for bio and i'm sure you'll be in the top 75 kids in the class (assuming the curve is top15% for an A, out of 500).

btw, where are you getting your MCAT expertise from?

EmoryMaterial09 said:
Listen! Why would I take a weed out class when I already have AP Credit for it? At UGA an intro bio class has like over 500 students. I'm just taking advantage of my AP Credit! Even though I got 5s in physics , bio, and chem, I'm going to take the classes anyway because I want an easy A. ! Furthermore, I pretty much know bio inside out! I've taken it for 4 years now. And yes, I will be studying for the MCAT throughout the year instead of getting drunk oN friday nights. I'm going to make sure the material stays fresh. Most of these pre-med classes won't be too difficult because I took both AP and IB physics, chemistry, and biology. I'm going JUST OPTING OUT OF ONE SEM. OF BIO...jeez! And please don't tell me how to study for the MCAT; I believe I know pretty well how to study. I'm going to study in conjunction with my classes AND review periodically.
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UGH! I just don't want to take physics 1 with calc 2 and bio2 my spring sem. of my freshman yr

Would that be impossible?
 
why don't you just take physics in your sophmore year like most people dude? what is the hurry? you don't need a 'schedule' for this type of thing, just make sure you have your pre-reqs finished in your first 2 years of undergrad. as another poster mentioned, don't be so afraid of taking hard courses together - you need to be able to handle tough courses and tough course loads with ease because medical school is only going to be harder. im not saying you should intentionally make it hard for yourself, but don't shy away from challenges when they present themselves. if you can't cut it at the undergrad level...

and damn, i really hope there aren't any undergrads out there studying 13-14 hours a day. im not sure where that poster went to school but it strikes me as going overboard regardless.
 
FeralisExtremum said:
and damn, i really hope there aren't any undergrads out there studying 13-14 hours a day. im not sure where that poster went to school but it strikes me as going overboard regardless.
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that was just me cramming for the MCAT 🙂
 
EmoryMaterial09 said:
Actually, all medical schools require 1 year of calculus; calculus 1 one sem. and calculus 2 second semester! Look it up, kiddo! 🙂
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Many med schools don't even require calculus. There are a very limited number that require calc 2, and at least one of them (WashU) allows stats to subsitute for it.
 
DrYoda said:
Many med schools don't even require calculus.
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Very true. I would take Calc I for those few schools that require it and because math is probably a college requirement - it will also help you in physics. Don't bother taking Calc 2 unless it's required for your major or you're just really interested in calculus...
 
EmoryMaterial09 said:
Actually, all medical schools require 1 year of calculus; calculus 1 one sem. and calculus 2 second semester! Look it up, kiddo! 🙂
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:laugh:

All I took was Pre-Calc and Calc I... and even Calc I is not required by the majority of medical schools. Save yourself the hassle.
 
Holy exclamation mark, Batman!
 
EmoryMaterial09 said:
I'm going to be a Biology major at UGA! MCG is my first choice and I believe i will have a decent chance if i maintain a 3.8 with a decent MCAT! Therefore, I know many students who have gone to MCG with plenty of AP credit! In fact, one of my frnds aped out of physics, chem, and bio; all she took was org. chem! Now, she's a first year med student at the medical college! However, I do understand your point about a lot of medical schools not accepting ap credit! I'm only going to apply to those that do!
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Awesome! Welcome to UGA! 🙂

I would be careful with that last statement of yours. That severely limits your options and you may not be able to get into your top choice. I'm not saying that you can't get into a medical school with AP credit, just know that it does limit where you can apply. After all, 3 years from now, you may decide that MCG isn't your top choice and that you would rather apply elsewhere...
 
Bacchus said:
You need to step down. If you're going to ask for advice, don't tell us we're wrong when we've been through the process. Like it was said before, AP credit is not accepted at all institutions:

http://wolfweb.unr.edu/~waites/Documents/MedSchAP08.pdf
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OhSnap.gif

👍
 
Quite frankly, you don't know your information that well. According to this link: http://wolfweb.unr.edu/~waites/Documents/MedSchAP08.pdf only 18 U.S medical schools " do not accept" ap credit, all of which arn't even in my list of schools. Largely because most of them are public instate schools. In addition, 20 medical schools will accept ap credit, however, only with a higher level course taken in that subject. Well, if I'm going to be a biology major, I think I'll have over 30 credit hours of upper level courses by the time I graduate. Therefore, I wouldnt even have to worry about the 20 med schools that require supplementaion. For your information, there are over 200+ medical schools in the U.S and if 18 arn't going to accept ap credit, I don't that will " severely limit my options!" Not to mention, I'm not even applying to the 18 that don't accept AP credit. If most schools didn't accept ap credit then it would already be known, but the truth is that most schools DO ACCEPT AP CREDIT! Therefore, step down and get your facts straight before you make assumptions!! 😛
Oh and btw, MCG is going to be my first choice because it's an instate public school where I will have the best chance of being accepted. Similar to other in state, public med schools, it only allows 5% of its incoming class to be out of state. And with only 4k applications a year, It would be a lot easer for me to get in than any other school. Then again, that's my opinion!

I'll leave this thread with this last post!




lstone13 said:
Awesome! Welcome to UGA! 🙂

I would be careful with that last statement of yours. That severely limits your options and you may not be able to get into your top choice. I'm not saying that you can't get into a medical school with AP credit, just know that it does limit where you can apply. After all, 3 years from now, you may decide that MCG isn't your top choice and that you would rather apply elsewhere...
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Wow, maybe you shouldn't ask for advice if you don't think you need it.
 
jtimmer1 said:
What an idiot.
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Dude, who are you? Why would you even bother of going there? You can't just judge me like that! That makes you the idoit, who's obviously ignorant! I'm not on this site to bash you guys, but when you guys start crap then i'm not going to hold back! Therefore, back off JTIMMER! jEEZ...
 
EmoryMaterial09 said:
Well, maybe if you had given good advice, I wouldn't be bashing you right now! 🙁
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Riiiight.... just advice, take it or leave it since you seem to know more than college graduates and medical students about the application process.
 
Maybe you should take some English classes to deal with the punctuation issues you seem to have (!!!!!). You posted a thread asking for advice, but it is now obvious you wanted everyone to praise the schedule that you made. You then even told a current medical school student that he/she was wrong. Just some things to think about.

Also, most med schools, and I'm sure you already know this, require social science, and humanities (English) courses as well. It would also make things a little easier on you. Good Luck.
 
Troll perhaps?

Or a seriously disillusioned freshman?

Hard to tell.
 
Jameel11435 said:
Troll perhaps?

Or a seriously disillusioned freshman?

Hard to tell.
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Most likely the latter. I can't take serious anyone who ends every sentence with an exclamation or question mark.
 
jtimmer1 said:
Most likely the latter. I can't take serious anyone who ends every sentence with an exclamation or question mark.
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Did it remind anyone else of the Sienfeld episode when Elane cannot stop using exclamation points?:laugh:
 
its fine. just don't freak out if you have to change it up a bit and things didn't work out the way you planned.
 
1. You have too much packed into that schedule. Add in all of your GE and other classes, spread some pre-reqs to your junior year.
2. Take Bio 1. It's an easy A.
3. You can't review for the MCAT if you haven't learned the material yet. Just focus on getting good grades; if you're doing that, you are already learning what you need to know for the MCAT. When you've got around 6 months to your test date is when you really need to crack down.
4. Very few schools require a full year of calculus (like, < 5). If you don't need it for your major, you might get a better grade out of a stats course.
 
Instead of studying for the MCAT on Friday nights in your freshman year you should be getting drunk.
 
30+ AP credit-hours here, and I decided not to spend a single one on pre-med pre-requisite courses. Heck, I didn't spend any of my AP credit hours on anything except for skipping out a whole year of computer science.
 
Lol this kid is so full of himself.

Also you don't really need lower div bio to satisfy the the bio prereqs, as long as you take more advanced bio classes later on. I'm not sure why you guys are arguing over this "bio1" class.
 
Forget your AP credits. Just start from scratch and push some of your pre-med work into your junior year. Don't worry, it will not be the end of the world, and you can still apply on time. Just start Physics 1 summer after your junior year, have all the pre-reqs done but Winter of Junior year, take the MCAT between March-May, and apply.
 
b2sun said:
Also you don't really need lower div bio to satisfy the the bio prereqs, as long as you take more advanced bio classes later on. I'm not sure why you guys are arguing over this "bio1" class.
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I agree. The kid's a bio major, so of course he'll have enough bio. There is no need to take "bio 1" if he has AP credit.

By the way, why is this kid EmoryMaterial? He goes to UGA and wants to go to MCG for med school. Does not compute.
 
rockaction said:
I agree. The kid's a bio major, so of course he'll have enough bio. There is no need to take "bio 1" if he has AP credit.

By the way, why is this kid EmoryMaterial? He goes to UGA and wants to go to MCG for med school. Does not compute.
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Maybe he made the screenname hoping he'd get accepted to Emory, then didn't.
 
******ed question but what is UGA and MCG? I was thinking U of Georgia @ atlanta and Mcgill.... but im sure im wrong..
 
Katatonic said:
Maybe he made the screenname hoping he'd get accepted to Emory, then didn't.
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Join date aug 09...



More like didnt get in, but felt like he shoulda. I see a pattern in this...

lol egos.
 
b2sun said:
******ed question but what is UGA and MCG? I was thinking U of Georgia @ atlanta and Mcgill.... but im sure im wrong..
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UGA = University of Georgia (Athens, GA)
MCG = Medical College of Georgia (Augusta, GA)

And then if you want to get into specifics....
MCG @ UGA is the new site of MCG that they are opening on the UGA campus.
 
b2sun said:
Lol this kid is so full of himself.

Also you don't really need lower div bio to satisfy the the bio prereqs, as long as you take more advanced bio classes later on. I'm not sure why you guys are arguing over this "bio1" class.
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It's an easy A, especially if you have AP credit.
 
Katatonic said:
Maybe he made the screenname hoping he'd get accepted to Emory, then didn't.
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Actually, I just thought " emorymaterial " sounded appealing. It's more of a personal thing, really. And, I never even applied to emory. Why do you make hasty generalizations, dude? People like you just ask to be criticized. Do yourself a favor and just back off, please. Do I go around assuming why you chose a particular username? Even if your curiousity got to the best of you, you could've simply sent me a PM and I would've explained it to you there. Honestly, If I knew you, you would be done right now, seriously!
 
rockaction said:
Instead of studying for the MCAT on Friday nights in your freshman year you should be getting drunk.
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Haha, you're halarious! But, no... I rather spend my friday nights doing something productive which I can actually benefit from in the future. What's the point of getting drunk anyway? I mean, you piss it all out right? I understand that one must live a balanced life style, which I certainly do; in fact, I love to workout and play basketball. Those two activities help truly refresh my mind and body. However, don't get me wrong here, I'm sure you might enjoy drinking, but it's not the only way to have fun...
 
chman said:
Maybe you should take some English classes to deal with the punctuation issues you seem to have (!!!!!). You posted a thread asking for advice, but it is now obvious you wanted everyone to praise the schedule that you made. You then even told a current medical school student that he/she was wrong. Just some things to think about.

Also, most med schools, and I'm sure you already know this, require social science, and humanities (English) courses as well. It would also make things a little easier on you. Good Luck.
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Well, maybe you shouldn't judge my punctuation skills considering you don't even know me! Your the last person to tell me how I should write. To tell you the truth, you sound like my english teacher! Honestly, I'm using exclamation marks for emphasis purposes; to get a point across! Besides, it's not like I'm writing an essay or sort. Anyhow, that shouldn't even be the issue. Your job is to critique my schedule, not my punctuation skills.. If I was to give you one advice, it would be to be less judgemental about one's personal matter.
 
Quite the defensive one aren't you? You'll make a great doctor.
 
EmoryMaterial09 said:
Well, maybe you shouldn't judge my punctuation skills considering you don't even know me! Your the last person to tell me how I should write. To tell you the truth, you sound like my english teacher! Honestly, I'm using exclamation marks for emphasis purposes; to get a point across! Besides, it's not like I'm writing an essay or sort. Anyhow, that shouldn't even be the issue. Your job is to critique my schedule, not my punctuation skills.. If I was to give you one advice, it would be to be less judgemental about one's personal matter.
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I don't need to know you to judge your punctuation skills. I'm not an English Nazi or anything, but whether you agree with it or not, people will judge you on how you write. That is just a fact. If I, as well as your English teacher, and others on this forum remark on it, then there is probably some validity to it.

My real point was that you said you wanted others to make suggestions to your schedule. People did so, and you did not want to take their advice because it seems you know everything there is to know.

I call troll on this one.
 
chman said:
You then even told a current medical school student that he/she was wrong.
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Oh did I? Who? Istone? She's a current pre-med, who's applying to medical school this year. Provide me with an exact quote if you can.. Don't accuse me stuff I didn't do , man! That's just messed up...
 
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