Calculus - yea or nay?

[heartsink]

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In my current plan for the next year and a half, i have fit all my prereqs snuggly together with the exception of calculus, which appears to infrequently be asked for as a pre-req for some schools and is not on the MCAT. If i can avoid calculus, i can cut down on the time i'll need to be med school ready but i'm worried i'll be excluding too many potential schools if i haven't taken it or may not be viewed as competitively as those who did.

From what the rest of you have seen glancing at med school requirements at your respective schools of interest, how often do they require calculus? How much would i be shooting myself in the foot to not take it?

 

[theseeker4]

In my current plan for the next year and a half, i have fit all my prereqs snuggly together with the exception of calculus, which appears to infrequently be asked for as a pre-req for some schools and is not on the MCAT. If i can avoid calculus, i can cut down on the time i'll need to be med school ready but i'm worried i'll be excluding too many potential schools if i haven't taken it or may not be viewed as competitively as those who did.

From what the rest of you have seen glancing at med school requirements at your respective schools of interest, how often do they require calculus? How much would i be shooting myself in the foot to not take it?

This depends entirely on the schools you are interested in. Check out the specific requirements of each of those schools, and decide based on that. Few schools actually require calc, so you would probably be fine skipping it, but the only helpful advice for you is to check the schools you are interested in. Someone else commenting on their experience may or may not be related to your situation or the schools you want to apply to.

 

[QuantumJ]

3 of the schools in TX require it. 5 (or 6) do not. That gives you an idea of how it is in Texas at least. I can't say what it's like around you but it would be wise to look at some of the schools on your radar.


Don't be worried about calculus if you do have to take it. It's not hard in the least although some profs could make it harder.

 

[mcdtheta]

I am not a huge fan of calculus - however - it will really help you in your other courses to have the calculus. Better to be prepared to be the best

 

[DocWinter]

Most DO schools - (perhaps all, from memory) do NOT require calculus.

Many MD schools do. It would depend greatly, as these good people have said.

Check out schools you would like to apply to and make a decision from that info

 

[QofQuimica]

So you'll apply an extra year earlier if you skip calculus, which gains you...what, exactly? A stress-filled, hectic postbac that maybe shuts you out of some good med school options, and in return for...maybe an extra year of practicing medicine? You have the rest of your life to practice medicine. How much will one year less of it really matter to you a few decades from now?

Best advice is to prep for med school slow and steady, do things right the first time, and only go through this process once. If it takes you an extra year, so what? You won't be applying at age 21 regardless.

 

[GreenBlade]

Calculus is easy. Do if you are truly interested in math.

 

[Jewels86]

I could have written this question myself!!

Albeit, Calculus isn't necessary for physics, doesn't calculus help understand physics as well as help within med school? Won't it help boost an application more just for the sake of having it? I'm doing all 100% DIY post-bac courses and need all the help I can get!!

 

[QofQuimica]

You definitely need calculus if you want to truly understand physics or any other mathematically based science, including economics, astronomy, p. chem, etc. But no, it won't help you in med school. I don't know why some schools require it, to be honest, but I think they tend to be the more research-oriented programs. Even then, a good biostats class would probably be more useful for most future physicians than calculus, since even for community physicians, it would help them be better consumers of the medical literature....

 

[edgerock24]

Calc is a waste of time unless you plan to apply to schools that require it. Even then, you can simply take it even AFTER you are [hopefully] admitted to one of these schools before you matriculate.

I don't see any upside in taking it. Stats > Calc for a math requirement any day of the week.

 

[MedWonk]

If you're applying to a school that requires it, then take it. If not, then meh. If you like math, then go ahead, but if not then forget it.

 

[DocWinter]

Agreed with edgerock, Stats is a far more "practical" course for those bound for the actual work of getting into med school/being a physician.
Calc, no real application.

I'm not quite on board with Q - while it may, in some instances be helpful, I feel you can get a great physics understanding with algebra-based physics. It may help round out some finer points, but it's one sorry way to spend two semesters for the premed student, IMO. Lotta labor, little reward in the big picture. I really don't have a clue why some med schools require it.

It's a hoop to jump through. I advise against going out of your way to jump through, unless you're headed that way for some reason.

 

[Patassa]

Calc. is the backbone of Stats and Physics and so many other applied mathematics courses, but once the equations are derived, you don't need the calc. So unless you just like to know how the equations you're using came about, it's not necessary.

 

[heartsink]

I've had no problem with physics so far without any knowledge of calc; conceptually it's all pretty intuitive. I've also already taken stats during my first bachelors so I don't need any extra math really. And to the poster asking about my rush; I'm not in a huge rush but I'm 24 right now and as it stands I'll be 27 if/when I matriculate and 35 by the end of residency, which is not very old by any means but I'd like to eliminate unnecessary hoops if I can.

I understand this is a subjective question and that ultimately the schools I pick are what really decide this. Mostly I wanted to get a rough poll of how frequently other premeds have seen schools require this, especially for OOS friendly schools which I intend to be applying to for the most part.

I did appreciate the suggestion of taking calc after applications rather than before in case I find a school I really like that requires it. Barring that, I will likely avoid calculus. Thanks for the posts guys