BSN Looking for Programs without Pre-reqs

[btdn311]

Hello there,

I am hoping to drink from the knowledge well of this website and ask about Med Schools who seriously consider applicants without the traditional pre-requisites.

I am a BSN educated Nurse of 1.5 years with a little research experience, tons of volunteer work, and a GPA of ~3.69. My course work included microbiology, physiology, and of course nursing courses.

In a nutshell, If I were to preform very well on the MCAT, have stellar letters and personal statement, is there a chance I could be accepted to med school (minus the pre-reqs)?


Thank you!!!

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[DrMikeP]

NO!

 

[DrMikeP]

A bit longer of an answer. The prereqs like organic chem, bio, etc are part of the way you are objectively evaluated and likely by someone who is of secretarial level who is going off a check list. Some COM's even do this in a semi-automated way. Many places use the required check boxes to reduce the applicants from ~6000 to say 3000. Not to mention that some of the info in those classes is actually needed for the MCAT and med school.

AACOMAS even has a section to indicate if you've taken XYZ requirements for each COM. So it's glaringly obvious if you don't. You can try it if you have an extra $1000 laying around, but would in your current position would you want to hire an ICU nurse who applied with no trauma skills that you specifically stated you wanted 2 years of?

 

[popopopop]

Unfortunately, the pre-reqs will teach you the basic sciences needed to do well on the MCAT. The MCAT is a beast of an exam and hold back many applicants, both traditional and non-trads.
Just take a look at what you're up against. The pre-reqs should be building your knowledge foundation in order to do well on the MCAT.

https://aamc-orange.global.ssl.fast...a-4c00-83dd-c17cee034c47/mcat2015-content.pdf

 

[bbca]

"Specialized Health Sciences" majors post the worst MCAT scores (https://www.aamc.org/download/321496/data/factstable18.pdf) and probably not by coincidence have the worst admission rates. I believe it at least partially stems from ideas such as this. I applaud your desire and drive to make the transition from nursing to medicine (I'm on the same path), but there are no shortcuts. Many nurses (this may not include yourself but I post as a notice to others considering this), especially those in academia, would like to think the nursing school pre-reqs are similar in rigor or breadth to pre-medical requirements. Don't be lulled into a false sense of security because this simply isn't the case. Even if you could do this, would you really want to? We are at least in part on this journey to truly understand the science behind what we've been doing and seeing, so dive in and devour every last morsel of it. Even the pre-reqs.

 

[DrMidlife]

On occasion a med school aspirant can ace the MCAT without doing prereqs, and get into a school like Northwestern that doesn't care about prereqs.

But 99.9% of the time it doesn't work, because as a med school aspirant you are competing not just with the most ambitious US kids, you're competing with their parents and the dreams of generations. Find the AAMC FACTS tables to get exact numbers of what you're up against. Respect your competition if you want to win a seat.

Best of luck to you.

 

[brainnurse]

On occasion a med school aspirant can ace the MCAT without doing prereqs, and get into a school like Northwestern that doesn't care about prereqs.

But 99.9% of the time it doesn't work, because as a med school aspirant you are competing not just with the most ambitious US kids, you're competing with their parents and the dreams of generations. Find the AAMC FACTS tables to get exact numbers of what you're up against. Respect your competition if you want to win a seat.

Best of luck to you.

This. One of the hardest lessons to learn when you're competing against people so young you can't help but think of them as ridiculous children. Yet they take more med school seats than non-traditionals and nurses like ourselves. So I guess my answer is, no, I don't think there's a reasonable chance you'll get accepted. Plus, you need the pre-reqs not just for med school but for the MCAT. Please don't underestimate that test. Nursing does not prepare you for that. At all. Good luck!

 

[NoTownPreMed]

Even with the experience you have in the health field, it still doesnt justify that you will automatically be a good candidate for interviews w/ a good MCAT score minus the prereqs. Hell even some CRNA programs would brush those stats off without any additional science classes. There are a few programs that allows acceptance without the prereqs, but at these institutions, you'll be going against applicants with far better stats. Save yourself the trouble and start taking the necessary classes, it'll benefit you anyways.

 

[jl lin]

"Specialized Health Sciences" majors post the worst MCAT scores (https://www.aamc.org/download/321496/data/factstable18.pdf) and probably not by coincidence have the worst admission rates. I believe it at least partially stems from ideas such as this. I applaud your desire and drive to make the transition from nursing to medicine (I'm on the same path), but there are no shortcuts. Many nurses (this may not include yourself but I post as a notice to others considering this), especially those in academia, would like to think the nursing school pre-reqs are similar in rigor or breadth to pre-medical requirements. Don't be lulled into a false sense of security because this simply isn't the case. Even if you could do this, would you really want to? We are at least in part on this journey to truly understand the science behind what we've been doing and seeing, so dive in and devour every last morsel of it. Even the pre-reqs.

Sigh. Sometimes they are EXACTLY THE SAME. Depends upon the program. Core curriculum for Gen Bio I & II is same across the board. Same thing for Gen Chem I. You have to check to be sure, but there are programs that will not allow students to take the required Microbiology or A&PI and II, needed for nursing programs, if they do NOT first have the pre-requisite Gen Bio, etc, which is determined by the Dean of those sciences at the particular school.
The student should check to be sure it is the same pre-req Gen Bio and Chem that is required for a degree in a Bio or Chem program of study. Everyone assumes there are dumbed sciences, but this is not at all necessarily so. It is very school dependent, and you have to find this out for your particular program. Again, many schools, regardless of the declared major, will not allow registering for Microbiology or A&P I & II w/o the required Gen Bio curriculum, which is standardized as a pre-requisite for entry into the Micro or A&P class.

So check out YOUR program for yourself to find out how these courses roll.

So if your college required General Bio, for example,in order to meet pre-reqs for Microbiology, regardless of your major (nuclear med tech, RT, nursing, etc), if you did well in it and it truly meets the curriculum requirements, unless you want to re-take to refresh, you're good. ONLY you can meet w/ academic advisor and check this out for yourself. Not anonymous strangers on SDN.

After that, take all the rest of the science pre-reqs and some higher math, stats if you haven't had it, but you probably have or will have to take it--don't know a BSN program that does not require stats in order to take the other research courses. So depending upon your college/program, if you haven't taken Gen Bio II, Chem II, Organic I & II, Physics I &II, take those courses first before the MCAT. Also take Biochem. You will have been required to take the necessary social sciences, unless someone is now trying to say they are some "dumbed down" version also. I also recommend some higher math courses--at least Algebra and pre-Calc. So, regardless, you still have a course work you must take, in which you must understand fairly well, and in which you must do well (sGPA).

Good luck