Applying to med school without taking physics

[juneeex]

I do not have enough time to fit the whole year of physics into my academic plan. Is it possible to apply to medical schools without a year of physics? I will learn it by myself using the MCAT books.

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[MOPreMed]

I do not have enough time to fit the whole year of physics into my academic plan. Is it possible to apply to medical schools without a year of physics? I will learn it by myself using the MCAT books.

It is a core pre med requirement. No physics=No application

 

[Spectar]

You can learn all of the physics you need for the mcat way faster than any course can teach you from just 1 book (that's serious). Plenty of my friends self studied physics and did extremely well. Honestly it would probably take you a total of 50 hours to go through that book. Yes you will be learning for the test and you won't understand some of the concepts, but you'll get to the right answer. I would still recommend taking physics I before, if you can, it definitely helps. Just know it's not absolutely necessary. But you DEFINITELY can learn all of what is needed from physics II in like a day or two no problem.

You'll still need physics for a majority of schools as a pre-req however.

 

[Spectar]

My question always is, why take the risk?

Absolutely agree. Probably not worth the risk, if anything I wouldn't mind spending an extra year. But if OP was in a really sticky situation, it is definitely possible.

 

[Lannister]

Med school is four years long. Residency is at least three years long. You have a lot of schooling ahead of you. If you don't even have time to take a semester of physics, then you certainly don't have time to spend 7+ years in medical school/residency!

 

[Robin-jay]

You should take the pre-req. courses before taking the MCAT.

 

[krukshanks]

You can do it if you have a solid physics background (AP physics B or C in high school, familiar with mechanics, waves, and E&M). If you are not certain about your background, do yourself a favor.

 

[Cornfed101]

There are a few schools that don’t have physics as a pre-req, but you limit yourself a lot in where you can apply. I would still recommend taking it. The excuse that you don’t have “time” to take it is bogus. How old are you? 20? I took 6 years to get a bachelors degree, and now I’m doing a post bacc for career changers... you have time.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I did this and it worked out just fine. I self-studied physics for the MCAT, guess what - only 2 physics questions on my entire exam. Then I applied before taking physics, guess what - got accepted. If there is any pre-req that you can delay, it's physics.

You’re lucky. My friend had an extremely physics heavy test.

It’s just not worth the risk. And it limits your school list. It’s only an extra year. This process is a marathon, not a sprint.

 

[TCamp]

I completed Physics II after I took the MCAT. IMHO, SpectreDoc is correct. I learned all the necessary Physics II in a couple days and my Chem/Phys section score ended up being my highest (My Chem/Phys was also physics heavy).

 

[ciestar]

I did this and it worked out just fine. I self-studied physics for the MCAT, guess what - only 2 physics questions on my entire exam. Then I applied before taking physics, guess what - got accepted. If there is any pre-req that you can delay, it's physics.

Granted I took the old MCAT, but about half my PS was physics, heavy on physics II concepts.

 

[ciestar]

How does it limit your school list?

Many schools require you take it prior to matriculation.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I wasn't talking about skipping physics altogether. OP asked about applying/taking the MCAT without taking physics first.

OP asked if it's possible to apply without a year of physics and that he would teach it to himself. I assumed that meant he would like to avoid taking it at all if possible.

 

[LoveBeingHuman:)]

@gonnif I agree with the points you made but I definetly think that the physics on the MCAT is broad and conceptual rather than deep and complex. In fact, now that I think about it, even AP physics covers the scope of physics on the MCAT fairly well.

 

[LnSin]

Biochemistry is one thing, physics is another. Self study of second semester biochemistry is much lower yield than physics, which is nearly half of the first section. I would strongly suggest taking a formal class for this particular requirement based on personal experience.

Good luck!!!


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[Dr. Scribe]

May the F = ma be with you

If you didn’t get that, things aren’t looking too good

 

[LoveBeingHuman:)]

Well considering AP Physics is supposed to be equal to introductory college level physics, and is the reason why you can get college credit for AP exam, one would expect AP physics reasonable prep for MCAT

*shade*

My point was that Physics is not as intense as the other subjects on the MCAT exam, and it is a subject that is possible to self study.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

*shade*

My point was that Physics is not as intense as the other subjects on the MCAT exam, and it is a subject that is possible to self study.

I disagree. I've seen people try to self study physics and get the concepts enough to where they do about 50/50 on passages and questions. That's not good enough IMO. And if you get a physics heavy test (which some people do), you're just shooting yourself in the foot because you don't feel like taking a course.

 

[LoveBeingHuman:)]

I disagree. I've seen people try to self study physics and get the concepts enough to where they do about 50/50 on passages and questions. That's not good enough IMO. And if you get a physics heavy test (which some people do), you're just shooting yourself in the foot because you don't feel like taking a course.

Unless there is a confounding factor of laziness and inappropriate organization.