Applying to Med School w/ one prereq missing

[CanAmPremed]

Hello All,

I was wondering if someone may please answer this for me. I am going to be taking the MCAT this april, and will be starting my application process this summer for med school (both DO and MD). I have taken all my prereq except orgo which I am taking next year during my application year. Since my application will be submited in the summer, the med schools won't have my orgo mark till June 2007 when my marks for next year come out. So my question is, do med schools care(and will it alter their decision in anyway) that I am taking one of the req. during my application and hence they won't have the mark when making a decision.

Any advice would greatly be appreciated 🙂. BTW I realize I am taking the MCAT w/o orgo, but I am currently self studying the material, since I couldn't take orgo this year due to a schedule conflict.

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[Law2Doc]

Hello All,

I was wondering if someone may please answer this for me. I am going to be taking the MCAT this april, and will be starting my application process this summer for med school (both DO and MD). I have taken all my prereq except orgo which I am taking next year during my application year. Since my application will be submited in the summer, the med schools won't have my orgo mark till June 2007 when my marks for next year come out. So my question is, do med schools care(and will it alter their decision in anyway) that I am taking one of the req. during my application and hence they won't have the mark when making a decision.

Any advice would greatly be appreciated 🙂. BTW I realize I am taking the MCAT w/o orgo, but I am currently self studying the material, since I couldn't take orgo this year due to a schedule conflict.

It's not uncommon for folks to finish some prereqs after application, so that isn't an impediment. But I think you may be making an error in judgment rushing to the MCAT in April without having taken Orgo. That subject was actually a large component on the particular MCAT form I took, and could be on yours. This is not a race, and you really should do whatever gives you the best chance of getting in, even if it requires you to go outside of the typical traditional time table. Definitely take a lot of full length practice MCATs, especially those that seem to emphasize orgo. Unless you are scoring at a competitive level on multiple full lengths before April, I would wait on the MCAT. Good luck.

 

[CanAmPremed]

Thanks a lot for the info and advice Law2Doc. To be honest I think I can handle the material (orgo) by studying on my own, since I study better that way anyways.

Does everyone else agree w/ Law2doc in regards to still taking a prereq while your application is being reviewed(please read first post for details)?

 

[doublepeak]

Many secondaries I filled out had you list the date that you will complete the prerequisite and I got admitted to a school contigent on that I would complete cell molec. You would be missing two semesters of orgo though, right? Orgo seems like a heafty prereq to be waiting on though...

 

[Emergency!]

Many secondaries I filled out had you list the date that you will complete the prerequisite and I got admitted to a school contigent on that I would complete cell molec. You would be missing two semesters of orgo though, right? Orgo seems like a heafty prereq to be waiting on though...

It is not uncommon for students to apply with a pre-req or two missing before applying (I needed to take the last quarter of physics). However, as mentioned not having taken the entire year of Orgo seems could be a factor in whether or not you even get interview invites. If you do well on the MCAT, they may invite you without it. I would suggest calling a few schools you are interested in and asking if not having Orgo on your transcripts will seriously hinder your chances of getting an interview.

Are you a science major? If you have lots of other science coursework, that might make a difference, too.

 

[CanAmPremed]

It is not uncommon for students to apply with a pre-req or two missing before applying (I needed to take the last quarter of physics). However, as mentioned not having taken the entire year of Orgo seems could be a factor in whether or not you even get interview invites. If you do well on the MCAT, they may invite you without it. I would suggest calling a few schools you are interested in and asking if not having Orgo on your transcripts will seriously hinder your chances of getting an interview.

Are you a science major? If you have lots of other science coursework, that might make a difference, too.

I am in the faculty of science and engineering but I'm a Psychology major .

 

[Rafa]

Technically, you don't need to complete *any* pre-requisites before applying. It's just better to get as many of them out of the way as possible, so you won't be clogged with pre-reqs throughout your last two terms of college. In particular, it's a good idea to take at least a semester of bio, orgo, math, physics, and writing before the MCAT, since those are the things the MCAT will be testing you on. If you're going to study on your own, then you might not need to take one of the classes beforehand, but...it's still a good idea. I don't think a school would necessarily treat an applicant with a 35 and no orgo differently from one with a 35 and a semester of the stuff, provided the former scored relatively similarly on all three parts (like 11, 12, 12 instead of 15, 12, 8 or something). In general, if you've got a choice between taking a lab pre-req and a non-lab pre-req before the MCAT, I'd go with the non-lab pre-req, since the material on that will be far more likely to show up on the test. At my school, people regularly apply without having taken orgo2, chemlab, and biolab. However, due to the general requirements, virtually every student finishes physics, math, 1 sem of bio, and 1 sem of bio by the end of freshman year - so there's a lot of time left over to start fulfilling major requirements (of which there are many), and to start taking care of the remaining pre-reqs by senior year.

 

[uvce]

Can you take the prereq during the summer before med school starts, or is that considered too late?

 

[evade]

I'm pretty much going to echo what others here have said. Yes, it's okay to apply without having completed all your prereqs. Hell, I applied as a non-trad (took 2 years off) and had to make up an english class while I was interviewing (I was one quarter short for the '1 year of english' thing). No one ever questioned that, and it was in no way an impediment to my being accepted.

However, saving organic chemistry? I don't know about that. For one thing, it really does help for the MCAT. . .self-study is good, but formal instruction helps to reinforce it in ways you might not consider. Also, at least at my undergrad institution, o-chem is the big weeder class. . .the one that separates the strong from the weak, the one that fully one third of the people who start in fall quarter don't make it to the end of winter quarter. I know it's that way at a lot of schools, and med schools might balk at that, because making it through o-chem (which most premeds do their sophomore year) is a big step toward, well, being a premed. You'd probably do fine, but I really think it's best to get most of the Big Bad Science Classes out of the way before you apply.

 

[doublepeak]

Can you take the prereq during the summer before med school starts, or is that considered too late?

I think it depends. UCSF says (on their acceptance packet) you must get pre-approved special permission if a prereq will be completed after June 15th but still before school starts in Sept.

 

[uvce]

I think it depends. UCSF says (on their acceptance packet) you must get pre-approved special permission if a prereq will be completed after June 15th but still before school starts in Sept.

Thanks. I might have to take a gen chem course with lab to meet the pre-reqs, because of my AP credits and only one semester of gen chem (w/o lab) in college - not sure how schools will look at it.

 

[tigress]

Heck, I still haven't taken second semester physics. I ought to do that at some point! I mean I'm planning on it, but it's sort of hard when I'm working full time (plus).

I don't think not having a semester of physics hurt me in getting interviews or anything. Nobody brought it up, and I interviewed where I expected to. I definitely agree that taking the MCAT without orgo could be a major problem, though. Especially if you got my bad luck and ended up with a test form that had like 6 orgo passages (I don't remember exactly, I just remember it was WAY more than any other test form). Studying orgo on your own might be difficult just because it's a lot of material, and without tests and things to force you to learn it you might be expecting too much from yourself.

Oh, and as far as my own MCAT score, the PS was low but it had nothing to do with me not taking second semester physics. By test time I actually knew that stuff better than first semester. I just freaked out (first time I had test anxiety in my entire life) and didn't have time to finish the section. I still think of all pre-reqs to not have for the MCAT, second semester physics is your best bet.

 

[cryogen9]

Cornell specifically states on their site all pre-requisites be complete by January or they won't accept you for that cycle. Most don't state that, and only require all pre-req before matriculation. I would be concerned since Orgo has always been defined as "the" defining pre-med course. Have you considered taking it in the summer of 2006?

 

[CanAmPremed]

Cornell specifically states on their site all pre-requisites be complete by January or they won't accept you for that cycle. Most don't state that, and only require all pre-req before matriculation. I would be concerned since Orgo has always been defined as "the" defining pre-med course. Have you considered taking it in the summer of 2006?

Yea I actually have,

but the prof. teaching it in the summer is the worst and hardest marker there is. He even says to you on the first day. I GUARANTEE not one of you will get above 85%(basically an A) in my class. So as you can tell I'm trying to avoid him 😉

 

[cryogen9]

You are free to take the course at an other college and have that transcript sent to amcas.

 

[MoosePilot]

Luckily organic is declining in importance. I still think you're shooting yourself squarely in the foot, but you can probably survive.

 

[Law2Doc]

Luckily organic is declining in importance. I still think you're shooting yourself squarely in the foot, but you can probably survive.

But with a bad limp?

 

[MoosePilot]

But with a bad limp?

Perhaps. Maybe it heals right, maybe it doesn't.

 

[tigress]

Luckily organic is declining in importance. I still think you're shooting yourself squarely in the foot, but you can probably survive.

That's what they said for April's MCAT. Then I got a form that almost completely organic and biochem. I know I was just unlucky (and thankfully I think everybody thought it was a hard form, because I did better than I thought I would). But still. Yeah. It's orgo.

 

[CanAmPremed]

You are free to take the course at an other college and have that transcript sent to amcas.

You can seriously take it at another university? But won't they start asking questions as to why I did that as opposed to taking it at mine or even treat me differently about it?

 

[Dreaming]

I am in the faculty of science and engineering but I'm a Psychology major .

you don't happen to go to york, do you?

 

[87138]

You can seriously take it at another university? But won't they start asking questions as to why I did that as opposed to taking it at mine or even treat me differently about it?

Yup, you sure can.

I'll be taking two prereqs over the summer not at my current school, because A) the classes aren't offered at mine over the summer, and B) it'll be a heck of a lot cheaper, and I'm poor as it is.

Depending on the caliber of the school you take the prereqs at, SOME schools may view it "unfavorably", but rarely will it be a reason to reject you or not grant you an interview if everything else on your application is satisfactory. Even taking classes at a community college, while not the BEST thing to do if you're trying to impress the Adcoms, is still not a bad way to go, especially if geography/course availability/money are limiting factors.

Know, however, that if you're granted an interview (hopefully you get lots of them!🙂), they may ask you about this. Just be honest and tell them your reasons (although if your only reason is "because it was easier", maybe honesty isn't the best policy here). I fully plan on being open about it if asked and telling them that I couldn't take the classes at my school, and I couldn't afford to take them at several other schools in the area, so I had to take two of them at a community college. As long as my MCAT scores are solid (I hope I hope I hope I hope), especially in the subjects that you took at another school/CC, you should be fine. They just want to make sure you did indeed learn sufficient information (as evidenced by your MCAT scores), they're really just trying to be on the lookout for people who ace orgo at a community college, then totally blow the orgo part of the MCAT.

Just be confident in the rest of your application and it shouldn't be a problem at all.

Hopefully if anything I've said is incorrect or logically unsound, someone can correct me.