Acing science pre-reqs

[heartsink]

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I've heard two conflicting details about pre-med classes and med school ADCOMs;

-hard science classes like organic chem butcher GPAs notoriously
-GPAs <3.5 are not considered very competitive

So to reconcile the dissonance here, that means presumably a good number of people are not getting their GPAs butchered by these kinds of classes, even in schools with large 200+ lecture halls with little to no professor face time.

For those of you who succeeded at this, what advice would you give to returning students who've only taken the non-major intended gen chem / gen bio classes?

Did the majority of you find tutors? Did you space out your hard science classes per quarter to disseminate the workload intensity over the year? Or was it just a matter of seeking out and consuming every possible practice problem / review / study material available and grinding it out?

 

[wholeheartedly]

My tips, be proactive. If you find yourself needing help, seek out resources right away whether its classmates, a TA, a tutor, or the instructor. Don't shy away from that, you'll be kicking yourself later.

Start off strong and you won't wind up playing catch up later. Plus each success you have will help you build confidence to keep being successful as you progress so start strong,working hard, and totally focused.

If possible find a group of friends to study with. I'm more of an independent learner, but after I get done with the preliminary work, reviewing with one or two other ppl was immensely helpful. I learned that pretty late in the game unfortunately.

My huge classes for chem and bio had one hour a week discussion sections where there was a small group of students and a TA going over stuff. That was definitely helpful.

If you don't have much experience with the harder science classes or just aren't sure how you're going to do, it's definitely a good idea to ease into it/ space things out until you get a feel for things. How much easing you do is a function of your comfort level, the timeframe you're hoping to finish in, and the grades you need.

It might feel weird to do this, at least it did for me, but if you have some flexibility in when you can take a course or which semester you can take it, try to get the one people do better in or where the instructor is rated more highly. Balance that with making sure the class isn't easy to the point you don't learn what you need for the mcat, but also not with someone who say hasn't taught undergrads in a decade and has no clue what level to teach or test at (my personal experience with ochem). It's good to learn to cope with challenging courses and instructors but there's no need to be a masochist or tank your grades doing it.

Resources: organic chemistry as a second language, great book. Have it for mcat review but really wish I had it for my actual organic classes.

 

[PlumbLine]

At the start of the semester, ask the professor what it takes to be successful in the class if he/she didn't already discuss it in the first lecture. Use that as a guide for what he/she considers important. e.g. Some professors assign reading but only test based on what's covered in lecture.

As you approach each exam, identify your weaknesses and attack those first. Approach them from different perspectives if necessary - YouTube, textbook, lecture, TF, friend, etc. Once you have conquered your weaknesses, use as many practice problems and practice exams as possible. Try not to listen too much to what other people in the class are saying. Some people are overly neurotic, and most will have their own learning style that is different from yours.

There are a million ways to succeed, those are just a couple of things that helped me. Most importantly, you have to make sure you are committed. If you're not willing to work your ass off then don't expect a good grade to be handed out to you. It seemed like every exam I took the last two years I had this feeling of "oh crap I'm totally going to fail this test". It always scared me into staying in and studying rather than going out with friends the weekend (or two weekends sometimes) before an exam. Be strong and you will succeed.

 

[Goro]

You not only need to excel in these classes, you need to do so in a manner that tells us you can handle the enormous course load of difficult material in medical school. The cliché "drinking from a fire hose" is not a mere cliché, but an accurate description of what you'll be facing.

I knew an MD long ago who told me that medical school "took him to his intellectual limits".



Therefore, taking only a single course 1x/year is a good way to land you on the low wait list, even with a 4.0 GPA. We've done that to people.

As for prep, I like to tell my students to take as many practice exam questions as possible.

I've heard two conflicting details about pre-med classes and med school ADCOMs;

-hard science classes like organic chem butcher GPAs notoriously
-GPAs <3.5 are not considered very competitive

So to reconcile the dissonance here, that means presumably a good number of people are not getting their GPAs butchered by these kinds of classes, even in schools with large 200+ lecture halls with little to no professor face time.

For those of you who succeeded at this, what advice would you give to returning students who've only taken the non-major intended gen chem / gen bio classes?

Did the majority of you find tutors? Did you space out your hard science classes per quarter to disseminate the workload intensity over the year? Or was it just a matter of seeking out and consuming every possible practice problem / review / study material available and grinding it out?

 

[heartsink]

Therefore, taking only a single course 1x/year is a good way to land you on the low wait list, even with a 4.0 GPA. We've done that to people.

I thought this was a very interesting comment as i've heard the opposite on SDN: that at least some schools don't care about the order or timing of your classes, just that you did well in them. I could, however, see the rationale behind proving you can handle large course loads as that is more representative of med school, so maybe it just depends on which school is looking at your record?

edit; thats not to say i'd consider 1 course a year, as that seems incredibly extreme. I was thinking more along the lines of 2 classes a quarter rather than 3 (if 3 were considered a full time course load)

 

[wholeheartedly]

I think it also depends on what else you're doing with your time. But as Goro said adcoms need to see you can handle the workload.

However I still think its rational to ease yourself into the workload rather than starting out trying to handle it all your first semester back. Give yourself term to get you rhythm down. I've heard at least some adcoms are a little more forgiving if you're also working fulltime and supporting a family or something.

 

[wholeheartedly]

Canadianinusa, Based on posts by other nontrads around here over the years, it seems like most places are understanding if you have to work fulltime while taking classes and might not be able to fit in a full time course load. However it can be school or reviewer dependent. If youre already in communication with a school you like, You could always ask the school, saying that you want to show them you can handle the workload but have to work fulltime so do they have any suggestions.

 

[The_Sunny_Doc]

My tips, be proactive. If you find yourself needing help, seek out resources right away whether its classmates, a TA, a tutor, or the instructor. Don't shy away from that, you'll be kicking yourself later.

Start off strong and you won't wind up playing catch up later. Plus each success you have will help you build confidence to keep being successful as you progress so start strong,working hard, and totally focused.

If possible find a group of friends to study with. I'm more of an independent learner, but after I get done with the preliminary work, reviewing with one or two other ppl was immensely helpful. I learned that pretty late in the game unfortunately.

My huge classes for chem and bio had one hour a week discussion sections where there was a small group of students and a TA going over stuff. That was definitely helpful.

If you don't have much experience with the harder science classes or just aren't sure how you're going to do, it's definitely a good idea to ease into it/ space things out until you get a feel for things. How much easing you do is a function of your comfort level, the timeframe you're hoping to finish in, and the grades you need.

It might feel weird to do this, at least it did for me, but if you have some flexibility in when you can take a course or which semester you can take it, try to get the one people do better in or where the instructor is rated more highly. Balance that with making sure the class isn't easy to the point you don't learn what you need for the mcat, but also not with someone who say hasn't taught undergrads in a decade and has no clue what level to teach or test at (my personal experience with ochem). It's good to learn to cope with challenging courses and instructors but there's no need to be a masochist or tank your grades doing it.

Resources: organic chemistry as a second language, great book. Have it for mcat review but really wish I had it for my actual organic classes.

👍

This is all great advice, particularly the bolded points. I started out just taking Chem and Physics together. It was a GREAT choice. I really hit my stride as a student that way.

Secondly, FIND OUT HOW YOU LEARN BEST. I realized 1/4 of the way into Physics, after pulling a C on the first test, that I'm a completely visual-spatial learner. Once I started drawing extensive color pictures of all of the different phenomenon (posted 'em in a thread before somewhere), I began to love the subject, and ended up tutoring it! Even if you can't hand draw your own study guides, you can find a method that works for you. There's no one size fits all method for learning. If powerpoints with all words and numbers aren't your thing, then make the effort to find an alternative way to get that material into your head. You'll find your classes much less frustrating and much more enjoyable, and the material will actually stay with you. You'll be very grateful you put in all the effort the first time you encountered the subject later on, when you embark upon your MCAT studying.

Finally, if you're an extrovert, find one friend who's on the same path that you are to study with. I found the most wonderful study partner and new best friend during the second year of my post bacc journey. We help each other with everything, and are both doing very well. We got the best grades on our tests out of everyone in class when we worked together. If you're an Idealist personality type, that sort of relationship can really be a boon. 🙂 Study groups can be a pain, depending on ability level and how focused everyone is. Just my 2 cents.