Are you expected to know a lot of "science" in pre med

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KingSaul

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So this fall im going to start my "pre-med". My friends have asked me what Im going to major in, and I respond Biomedical Science ?reason? I want to be Doctor(ER). Then one that has a class about nursing....(reason im not in is because I really didnt know about that class...new to the area), so she starts asking me questions like what is this disease, what are the parts of the cells, or what can prevent it? So I tried answering some that I knew were right, but now im javing doubts if in college you are expected to know this or they will teach you some. My last biology class was in 2012(freshman) so i have forgoten some material. By the way this summer im going to check out books to study before freshman college.
 
So this fall im going to start my "pre-med". My friends have asked me what Im going to major in, and I respond Biomedical Science ?reason? I want to be Doctor(ER). Then one that has a class about nursing....(reason im not in is because I really didnt know about that class...new to the area), so she starts asking me questions like what is this disease, what are the parts of the cells, or what can prevent it? So I tried answering some that I knew were right, but now im javing doubts if in college you are expected to know this or they will teach you some. My last biology class was in 2012(freshman) so i have forgoten some material. By the way this summer im going to check out books to study before freshman college.

You don't have to know pretty much anything science related coming in to college. Your intro bio course will teach you everything you need to know.
 
Thanks for the info. Im the first and oldest of my family to go to college so this is new to me thanks.

Congrats man, I was in the same situation and it worked out good, you can do it!
 
You go to medical school to learn about diseases and how to cure and/or prevent them . . .
As a premed, you need to learn enough science to get a good score on the MCAT. Check out AAMC's 2015 MCAT content list. Of course, it is great to know more and you will inveitably learn about diseases all the way down to the cellular level as an undergrad, but for the most part, no, "they" - as in your undergrad professors? - will not teach you what you will need to know to be a competent physician. That's why you have to spend 4 years in medical school.
 
I'd like to add that this isn't unusual to be asked stuff like this. As a premed, I was and continue to be asked ridiculous questions about medicine that I couldn't possibly know the answer to. You will get used to laughing and saying you have no idea. People unfamiliar with how becoming a physician works, may even ask for medical advice. Just politely say you are still in college studying physics and chemistry and won't be prepared to answer that type of question for a long time.


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Here is my 2 cents.

When I first started college 3 years ago, I did not know anything about biology. I was good at math and thats it.

From my very first class, I scoured the web to learn as much as I could for my classes and treated it like a job.

This really paid off as my GPA very high.

The biggest advice I can give to you is to be able to search for information and use the internet very well. In college, being self taught makes you a much better student than someone who relies on the professor as if its the gospel.
 
Nope, if you have good critical thinking skills and motivation you will be able to pick up all the foundational science you need. None of which includes causes of specific diseases...
 
Thanks guys this info is good for me. Yeah i told them I want to becomr a doctor and not that im a doctor...people think that just because you want to become one means that you know what a professional with a degree knows.
 
So this fall im going to start my "pre-med". My friends have asked me what Im going to major in, and I respond Biomedical Science ?reason? I want to be Doctor(ER). Then one that has a class about nursing....(reason im not in is because I really didnt know about that class...new to the area), so she starts asking me questions like what is this disease, what are the parts of the cells, or what can prevent it? So I tried answering some that I knew were right, but now im javing doubts if in college you are expected to know this or they will teach you some. My last biology class was in 2012(freshman) so i have forgoten some material. By the way this summer im going to check out books to study before freshman college.

Just to add to this you do not need to major in Bio or any other science, as long as you have the basic science prereqs that most medical schools require
 
Just to add to this you do not need to major in Bio or any other science, as long as you have the basic science prereqs that most medical schools require
Yeah I know you can have an English major and still get into medical school.
 
Whoever was pimping you was an dingus. As people stated - you dont need to know anything going in. Just work hard.

Is "pre med" an official major now? (Random question) lol. We've always said "premed" as "oh I'm going to take the pre-req classes to get into med school and some".
 
You don't need to know everything at the start. That girl who questioned you is an idiot. By the end of your college career you will know less than you thought because you'll understand just how much knowledge there is. Also you might not know anything about a science topic even after college if you didn't have much interest in it. I'm almost done with college but I know almost nothing about basic science techniques. I couldn't titrate for **** or run a good gel to separate proteins, but I could set up molecular dynamics simulations and derive wave functions. So your skill set and knowledge at the end will be what you want it to be based on interests.
 
Nothing beyond requisites in highschool...that's why they teach it to you.
 
You can always pick up an AP bio review book for preview/review purposes. That should be a good refresher on the basics and also a good intro to the higher level stuff you'll see in college intro bio.
 
Whoever was pimping you was an dingus. As people stated - you dont need to know anything going in. Just work hard.

Is "pre med" an official major now? (Random question) lol. We've always said "premed" as "oh I'm going to take the pre-req classes to get into med school and some".

I did use " " ,and said I was going to major in Biomedical Science.

Well in other words im going to take the classes required for med school
 
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