Since you are expirenced with the Mcat and the Med school admissions, can you tell me What classes i should take in my freshmen, sophmore,junior and senior year. From sciences to electives. Which is better to go for Stats or Calc for the Mcat and Med School. Would you recomment taking antamony in my freshmen year or is that not required at all. If i take gen bio, Gen chem, English, Stats, Calc, and some other electives. Is that good for my freshmen or am i overloading . Tell me all the advice you have. Thanks in Advance.
Advice Please
- Thread starter Sherif
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you might want to use the search function. there are tons of threads that address these questions.
also, it would be a decent idea to talk to a pre-med advisor. They aren't all-knowing, but they can give you some course advice.
also, it would be a decent idea to talk to a pre-med advisor. They aren't all-knowing, but they can give you some course advice.
Here's some good advice for you:
1. Take all of your courses at a university rather than a community college. Although some community colleges offer truly excellent courses, perhaps even superior to their equivalents at certain major universities, the fact of the matter is that most community colleges are significantly easier than universities. So even if you attend an excellent community college, your coursework there will be suspect (unless, of course, the person who reviews your application is familiar with the college). Now, this advice does NOT imply that coursework at a community college will bar you from medical school; there are numerous examples (myself included) of people who have taken a lot of courses at a community college and gained admission to top medical schools. It's just better to be safe than sorry.
2. Take general chemistry your freshman year, organic chemistry your sophomore year (both of these are year long sequences).
3. Finish up your lower division biology by your freshman year (typically this requirement consists of a course in molecular and cellular biology and an organismal biology course).
4. Start your physics sequence in the latter half of your sophomore year (i.e., the Spring semester). Thus, you will finish your second semester of physics in the middle of your junior year.
5. In the second semester of your junior year (the Spring semester) you need to take the MCAT. The best preparation for this exam is your college coursework and plenty of practice tests. Get your hands on AAMC practice tests (there are six of them, I believe), as these will approximate the real thing. Spread out your preparation for the exam--don't cram. Set aside time every week for content review and practice tests.
6. During the summer between your junior and senior year, you're going to apply to medical school. So you'll be interviewing at various places your senior year. Some good advice for senior year: don't kill yourself by taking really difficult courseloads. Try to structure your freshman, sophomore, and junior years in such a way as to make your senior year a cakewalk.
One final piece of advice: buy the examkrackers MCAT review series before you even begin your freshman year of college. Use these books in tandem with your coursework. I recommend this for two reasons: 1) the review books often explain difficult concepts better than college textbooks and professors and 2) you'll know well in advance what to expect on the MCAT. The review books are excellent supplementary material for your courses and preparation for the MCAT.
Good luck with your studies and your future career as a doc!
1. Take all of your courses at a university rather than a community college. Although some community colleges offer truly excellent courses, perhaps even superior to their equivalents at certain major universities, the fact of the matter is that most community colleges are significantly easier than universities. So even if you attend an excellent community college, your coursework there will be suspect (unless, of course, the person who reviews your application is familiar with the college). Now, this advice does NOT imply that coursework at a community college will bar you from medical school; there are numerous examples (myself included) of people who have taken a lot of courses at a community college and gained admission to top medical schools. It's just better to be safe than sorry.
2. Take general chemistry your freshman year, organic chemistry your sophomore year (both of these are year long sequences).
3. Finish up your lower division biology by your freshman year (typically this requirement consists of a course in molecular and cellular biology and an organismal biology course).
4. Start your physics sequence in the latter half of your sophomore year (i.e., the Spring semester). Thus, you will finish your second semester of physics in the middle of your junior year.
5. In the second semester of your junior year (the Spring semester) you need to take the MCAT. The best preparation for this exam is your college coursework and plenty of practice tests. Get your hands on AAMC practice tests (there are six of them, I believe), as these will approximate the real thing. Spread out your preparation for the exam--don't cram. Set aside time every week for content review and practice tests.
6. During the summer between your junior and senior year, you're going to apply to medical school. So you'll be interviewing at various places your senior year. Some good advice for senior year: don't kill yourself by taking really difficult courseloads. Try to structure your freshman, sophomore, and junior years in such a way as to make your senior year a cakewalk.
One final piece of advice: buy the examkrackers MCAT review series before you even begin your freshman year of college. Use these books in tandem with your coursework. I recommend this for two reasons: 1) the review books often explain difficult concepts better than college textbooks and professors and 2) you'll know well in advance what to expect on the MCAT. The review books are excellent supplementary material for your courses and preparation for the MCAT.
Good luck with your studies and your future career as a doc!
Don't hurry to take all your sciences freshman year. If you are in a very competitive school these courses may be weeder courses.
Find out before you load up your schedule and have a breakdown freshman year. It may be better to take the premed courses over the summer when you can concentrate on one course at a time. By the time you are an upperclassman you will know what it takes to get an A.
🙂
Find out before you load up your schedule and have a breakdown freshman year. It may be better to take the premed courses over the summer when you can concentrate on one course at a time. By the time you are an upperclassman you will know what it takes to get an A.
🙂
don't rush, that's my only advice. take whichever math course you like. I personally preferred calculus. Neither is really necessary for teh MCATs, but if you want to take calculus-based physics, calc will definitely help. Make sure to take an english-type class for a year. Some colleges make you take that anyway.
take any electives you're interested in. This is one of the only times you'll have a chance to take a bunch of fun classes, so go for it.
Don't worry if you want to take a year off between med school and college. It's extremely common and helps some people's applications. So don't kill yourself to have every single thing you want in your application by the end of your junior year (classes, MCATs, volunteering, research, extracurriculars, teaching, etc.). If you do, it's not like it's going to be a problem. Just don't kill yourself doing it.
take any electives you're interested in. This is one of the only times you'll have a chance to take a bunch of fun classes, so go for it.
Don't worry if you want to take a year off between med school and college. It's extremely common and helps some people's applications. So don't kill yourself to have every single thing you want in your application by the end of your junior year (classes, MCATs, volunteering, research, extracurriculars, teaching, etc.). If you do, it's not like it's going to be a problem. Just don't kill yourself doing it.
In regards to math as a college student, you ought to take a semester or two of calculus and, if it's convenient, a semester of statistics. Most science degrees require at least one semester of calculus, so you'll probably have to take it anyways (assuming, of course, that you opt for a degree in science). If you enjoy math and you're good at it, you ought to take calculus your freshman year. G.Chem, Bio, English, an elective, and calculus is a reasonable courseload for a freshman. You certainly don't want to couple calculus with organic chemistry your sophomore year. Be forewarned: ochem tends to brutalize students. The subject matter per se is not intellectually difficult, it just takes a long time to assimilate the material. Plus ochem lab is HELL. God I hated that lab with a passion. So my point is this: take calculus your freshman year, the first semester of your junior year, or as a senior.
Don't bother taking anatomy--it's pretty much a waste of time for pre-meds. However, physiology is a good class to take before the MCAT. Physiology is an MCAT favorite, so any prior knowledge of the subject is helpful. That said, don't feel like you HAVE to take physiology before the MCAT in order to ace it. I didn't take a physiology course before the MCAT, and I still earned a very competitive score. The physiology that is tested on the MCAT is very basic.
A few more nuggets of advice:
a) Take biochemistry your senior year.
b) Several of your electives ought to be in sociology (e.g., medical sociology), psychology, and anthropology (especially cultural anthropology).
c) Study abroad if you can--it's a wonderful experience.
d) Become proficient in spanish.
e) Do some research in a lab (at least a summer), because it will enrich your perspective on science. It will give you a much greater appreciation of scientific theory--the process of scientific inquiry is VERY challenging, tedious, and time-consuming.
f) Shadow some physicians. "Candy striping" is a waste of time.
Don't bother taking anatomy--it's pretty much a waste of time for pre-meds. However, physiology is a good class to take before the MCAT. Physiology is an MCAT favorite, so any prior knowledge of the subject is helpful. That said, don't feel like you HAVE to take physiology before the MCAT in order to ace it. I didn't take a physiology course before the MCAT, and I still earned a very competitive score. The physiology that is tested on the MCAT is very basic.
A few more nuggets of advice:
a) Take biochemistry your senior year.
b) Several of your electives ought to be in sociology (e.g., medical sociology), psychology, and anthropology (especially cultural anthropology).
c) Study abroad if you can--it's a wonderful experience.
d) Become proficient in spanish.
e) Do some research in a lab (at least a summer), because it will enrich your perspective on science. It will give you a much greater appreciation of scientific theory--the process of scientific inquiry is VERY challenging, tedious, and time-consuming.
f) Shadow some physicians. "Candy striping" is a waste of time.
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Good God, could you ask a broader question and sound more like you want everything spoonfed to you. 🙄
Well, in lieu of writing a book, here's what I contribute off the top of my head.
Take at least 1 class you enjoy every semester.
Don't take more than 2 classes of science a semester unless you're very confident or hate all non-science subjects.
I recommend physiology and biochem, both for mcat and a foundation for med school (the second time around it's so much easier because you already have the big picture).
Don't waste your time with calc if you can AP out of it. I wouldn't do the same for bio/chem/physics, since taking the college courses will help for mcat.
Good luck.
Well, in lieu of writing a book, here's what I contribute off the top of my head.
Take at least 1 class you enjoy every semester.
Don't take more than 2 classes of science a semester unless you're very confident or hate all non-science subjects.
I recommend physiology and biochem, both for mcat and a foundation for med school (the second time around it's so much easier because you already have the big picture).
Don't waste your time with calc if you can AP out of it. I wouldn't do the same for bio/chem/physics, since taking the college courses will help for mcat.
Good luck.
