calulus - the houseguest that won't go away

[aec563]

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I'm currently looking into post-bacc pre-med programs and the length of the programs seem to be at least somewhat dependent on whether or not you took calculus as an undergrad, whether or not you are willing to take calculus and whether or not you feel comfortable in ignoring calc altogether and taking non-calculus based physics as part of your med-school application pre-requisites. I have been told that some med schools require you having taken calc and some don't. Can anyone tell me what my chances are of applying to med schools (of a variety of rankings) without having taken calculus. Is calculus something useful to have studied to help with the general coursework in med school? I would really appreciate any input.

 

[ckent]

Calculus has nothing to do with your med school curriculum. If you have a year of college leve mathematics, I think that you should be alright when it comes time to apply for med school. I think that you should check the pre-med reqs at schools that you are considering to be sure though.

 

[absolutezero]

Many medical school do not have an outright math requirement. A few require one semester of any college level math course (some insist it be calculus, others are happy with stats). A handfull of schools require a full year of math. Harvard and a just a couple of other schools do require a full year of calculus. As far as physics is concerned, I don't think taking the calculus based course gives you any advantages on the MCAT (in fact I've heard it could be a disadvantage).