Are there any courses I still have to take?

[BigRedPremed]

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I feel like I've taken every required class but in case there are any med school requirements that I've missed, please let me know so I can take them over the summer or something at another college (since I'll be graduating this semester).

Courses taken:
Intro bio w/ lab (2 sem)
Gen chem w/ lab (2 sem)
Physics w/ lab (2 sem)
Biochem (2 sem)
Biochem lab (1 sem)
Organic chem (2 sem)
Organic chem lab (1 sem)
AP Calc credit
Multivariable calc (1 sem)
Linear Algebra w/ diff eq. (1 sem)
Statistics (1 sem)
2 upper div English courses
1 writing course in the English department

 

[crazy_cavalier]

You're in great shape. Those courses should cover every requirement you'll come across.

Edit - I just noticed you have 1 semester of Organic chem lab. This may be insufficient. You'll need to look into it and make sure you that you have at least 8 credits of organic chemistry.

 

[gotmeds?]

I think most schools require a year of ochem with a year of ochem lab. The biochem lab might count for that, though.

 

[BigRedPremed]

Yea, the language is usually "one year of organic chem w/ lab." Cornell's premed advising only suggests the one semester of organic chem lab. From what I've read of others, it seems that 1 year of lecture w/ 1 sem of lab is fine??? They do come out to 8 credits of organic chem. If anyone wants to clarify the organic chem requirement, please do so.

 

[kelvin81]

Some schools require a bunch of social sciences classes too.
About the OChem lab, some schools DO NOT allow you to use your biochem lan to substitute for your second OChem lab.

 

[Wanna_B_Scutty]

I think most schools require a year of ochem with a year of ochem lab. The biochem lab might count for that, though.

Eh, then you run into the trouble of calling all the schools to find out which will allow the substition and which won't. Trouble is, the receptionists don't know (or worse, they give you bad advice), they won't transfer you to the Admissions Director, and no one responds to your e-mails. Ugh. And of course, it's inevitable that some schools will allow you to substitute, while others won't. 🙄

It'd be way easier to just take the remaining semester of orgo lab.

 

[BigRedPremed]

I'm in Arts & Sciences at Cornell which has a ton of requirements that I have meticulously satisfied in order to graduate. In short, I've taken courses in Spanish, psych, sociology, anthropology, history, and asian american studies along with my English and writing courses.

Edit: Sorry in response to kelvin.

I'm going to assume that the one semester of organic chem lab is fine. Enrollment in Chem 251 (first semester orgo lab) is approx. 250. Enrollment in Chem 252 (2nd sem orgo lab) is 20. Considering Cornell produces approx. 230 first-time applicants a year, an awful lot of them would be deficient in 2nd semester orgo lab.

 

[arsenewenger]

I feel like I've taken every required class but in case there are any med school requirements that I've missed, please let me know so I can take them over the summer or something at another college (since I'll be graduating this semester).

Courses taken:
Intro bio w/ lab (2 sem)
Gen chem w/ lab (2 sem)
Physics w/ lab (2 sem)
Biochem (2 sem)
Biochem lab (1 sem)
Organic chem (2 sem)
Organic chem lab (1 sem)
AP Calc credit
Multivariable calc (1 sem)
Linear Algebra w/ diff eq. (1 sem)
Statistics (1 sem)
2 upper div English courses
1 writing course in the English department

Wow! you are so smart! I can't believe you took all those classes.Diff eq .... what a great pre-med course. Am sure medical school professors will be impressed by the over abundance of neurons in your brain.

your courses are not diversified enough, you still need Business studies, criminal mind for anti-social pre-med, computer programming for gunners, Java, Spanish for over zealous pre-med(3 sem), russian (study abroad) and anatomy for low self esteem pre-meds (12 semesters)

 

[BigRedPremed]

Wow! you are so smart! I can't believe you took all those classes.Diff eq .... what a great pre-med course. Am sure medical school professors will be impressed by the over abundance of neurons in your brain.

your courses are not diversified enough, you still need Business studies, criminal mind for anti-social pre-med, computer programming for gunners, Java, Spanish for over zealous pre-med(3 sem), russian (study abroad) and anatomy for low self esteem pre-meds (12 semesters)

Chill out. 🙂

I had to take linear algebra for the med schools that require 1 year of math, don't accept AP credit, and don't count accept stats to satisfy the math requirement.

 

[StringerBell]

I feel like I've taken every required class but in case there are any med school requirements that I've missed

You're "covered" as far as I can tell (with the remaining question of the full year of ochem lab.) However, in one particular interview, my faculty interviewer noted the breadth of upper division bio and electives that I have. So you may want to expand some of your horizons. I'm sure your school has plenty of upper-division bio classes, like Physiology, Neuroscience, Immunology, Endocrine Physiology, Cell Bio, Micro, Genetics, etc. See if your school offers interesting electives as well...some of mine include Biology of Cancer, Electron Microscopy, and courses in Public Health.

Find out if any of these topics interest you, and take 2-3 of 'em. All of the premeds out there have finished the requirements, and most of them have done them with some really great GPA's (far better than my own.) Some premeds have done more than the requirements - your goal should be to be one of them!

Good luck!

 

[BigRedPremed]

You're "covered" as far as I can tell (with the remaining question of the full year of ochem lab.) However, in one particular interview, my faculty interviewer noted the breadth of upper division bio and electives that I have. So you may want to expand some of your horizons. I'm sure your school has plenty of upper-division bio classes, like Physiology, Neuroscience, Immunology, Endocrine Physiology, Cell Bio, Micro, Genetics, etc. See if your school offers interesting electives as well...some of mine include Biology of Cancer, Electron Microscopy, and courses in Public Health.

Find out if any of these topics interest you, and take 2-3 of 'em. All of the premeds out there have finished the requirements, and most of them have done them with some really great GPA's (far better than my own.) Some premeds have done more than the requirements - your goal should be to be one of them!

Good luck!

Thanks. I'm a bio major so I didn't even think of mentioning the upper level bio courses. One regret I do have is not taking some of the latter bio courses you mentioned (ie bio courses that aren't purely dealing with the science). I know the NIH will subsidize the tuition for some of the graduate courses that I can take as an IRTA fellow so perhaps I will be able to take 1 or 2 over the next year.

 

[lunaire]

Spanish courses will help, and is recommended for some Californian schools.

 

[tdd340]

The one thing that I didn't see on your list was any behavioral science courses, ie Psych. I know that at least 1 school (UIC) requires a year of Psych. Not sure if other school do this too but its kind of a pain.

 

[BigRedPremed]

The one thing that I didn't see on your list was any behavioral science courses, ie Psych. I know that at least 1 school (UIC) requires a year of Psych. Not sure if other school do this too but its kind of a pain.

I did take a sem of psych. The original list obviously isn't inclusive (just a list of courses that I thought med schools would require). Apparently, the requirements are far more broad than I anticipated (Spanish, behavioral science, etc. etc. etc.)

 

[laawalla]

you are fine, relax...why don't you think about making a list of the schools you might actually apply to and then checking their requirements specifically in the MSAR. That would be a lot easier and probably give you more space to take other classes that you might enjoy and could make you more interesting, as opposed to fulfilling every requirement for every med school in the country (unless you are planning to apply to every med school in the country).
good luck!