Deciding on Pre-Med Late (Won't Start Reqs Until after Sophomore Year)

[magnumxlv]

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[crazy_cavalier]

Hi,
I'm wondering what the best way for me to cram in 4 years of work into 2 is. I'll have Calc II done spring semester, and a 2nd semester of English done at some point so all I need to focus on is Bio,Chem,Orgo,Phys, and their respective labs.

Here's a proposal:
Summer after Sophomore year: Biology + labs
Junior year: Physics + labs, Gen Chem + labs
Senior year: Organic + labs (ALSO CONSIDER doing this Summer after Junior year, see text below)

The reason I suggest lumping physics in with chemistry during a year is because the Physical Sciences section of your MCAT is gen chemistry and physics, so having taken them together during the year might be beneficial to you (by means of activating various memory schemas )

Taking the MCAT in April of your Senior year will put you behind, obviously (you will have a lag year). YET, you can still catch up! If you take Organic + labs during the Summer after your Junior year, you can take the August MCAT and catch the bandwagon to the other premeds in your Class.

Also, regarding research and volunteer experience: Do I need premed courses under my belt already to do them? I want to shadow a doctor or volunteer at a hospital to learn whether I truly enjoy the medical environment, but I'm afraid that if I haven't taken these classes I won't end up learning anything that will aid me in truly deciding whether it's the field for me or will end up looking stupid an relegated to bitch work and not getting a chance to really watch or learn anything.

Any additional tips or comments are welcome. Sorry if this post was confusing, I know I was all over the place. Thanks for any help.

That's not necessarily true. You dont need to know the science in order to benefit from patient contact. Clinical volunteering is not a matter where your knowledge is tested and applied; rather, it is a setting for you to glean something about medicine as a field and to realize the human element involved. Also, shadowing physicians is a great move, and you should seek to get this opportunity as soon as you can. START NOW. Don't let your sophomore year slip by without getting some exposure. You'll need it right away so that (a.) you can deem whether or not this is what you truly want, and (b.) you can start constructing a commitment that you can show adcoms in the future when you apply (also you'll have material to draw from for your personal statement)

That said, get as much exposure as you can. Try to get a position volunteering where you get actual patient contact. Research in a lab is also nice, but not necessarily required.

Best of luck to you

 

[Pontifex Maximus]

Cav, I understand your mindset. Hell, I took P-Chem at the same time as Physics 2 😉 To the OP: do which ever one has you comfortable and scoring well. I didn't start until late either. I'll be a 4.5 year graduate, but its doable if you want it 🙂

 

[osli]

Well, remember that most medical schools only want degree + basic science requirements (and the degree is usually only preferred, not mandatory, but I think it's best to assume it is required). As you noted, if you already have your English and mathematics out of the way, all you need are the chemistries, biologies, and physics, and advanced sciences (for some schools). That's really only 8 courses in addition to your current degree program, plus possibly two more if you need the advanced sciences and nothing else you were planning to take satisfies that requirement.

But, don't think you are "late." I'm 29, received my BS and MS degrees, and worked for several years before deciding to go into medicine. So I'd say you're still pretty early relatively speaking! In fact, you'll find that a very large percentage of med students do not go straight through 4 years of college and right into med school. They either take longer to finish their undergrad, take a year off, have to apply more than one year, or are like me and come from other non-traditional routes. If it takes you an extra year to finish undergrad, you'll find that you are still right on the average entering age, or perhaps even a bit under it (skewed older due to the presence of a few much older students). I can understand if the cost of tuition at your private undergrad is a concern. Perhaps you could use some of these science courses as electives for your degree program? Would make for fairly difficult course loads, but hey - science majors do it all the time, and you better get used to it if you want to do well in med school. 😛

As for the shadowing/volunteering - do it now. Don't wait, don't worry about not having enough science under your belt. You want the exposure to patients and to the clinical environment, you want exposure to the lifestyle of a physician at work, and you want to find out for yourself that this is the career for you. You also want it on your resume if and when you apply for medical school, and the longer you've done it the better it looks. 👍

 

[stifler]

it can def be done in under 2 years...

gen chem 1 and 2 and bio 1 and 2 are done together in your school year. physics 1 and 2 in the summer or in the school year with organic 1 and 2. its totally do able... all the biochem majors do it.

if you cant handle it dont do it. you know yourself and how much you can do. best of luck (good choice heh)

 

[golftrippy]

Hey....I actually did this...so let me tell you how I did:

FR 1st semester: Bio I, Chem I
QUIT!!!
JR: 2nd semester: Bio II, Orgo I
JR Summer: Orgo II
SR: 1st semester: Calc, Phy I, Biochem
SR: 2nd semester: Stats, Phy II, Gen. Chem II (for us this is upper level inorganic/analytical chem)

So it can be done, and I fit in Biochem, Calc and Stats

 

[glp]

taking summer classes is expensive, but I figure that summer classes will be a necessity if I want to get through my classes with a decent GPA. My school does not accept transfer credits from community colleges, so that is out of the question, but I could take them at a local, public school for more than a CC, but a lot less than my own university. I was wondering if this is acceptable and how med schools look upon pre-med requirements taken outside your own university?

since you are not a science major, it really doesnt matter if your pre-reqs count toward graduation. but i do think a local state school would be better than a cc. that said, if you do take classes in the summer and money is concerned, i dont think it hurts you at all to take those classses in the summer at you local state school.

 

[jesswise]

Late?! LATE??!!??!!

Buddy, I'm 32, and I'm in the second year of my third degree! I'm applying to medical school for the fourth time, and my LOWEST MCAT was a 31. Lower, I should say, I only took it twice.

My point? Chill out man. Take another year if you have to, get your hands dirty, double-major while you take those pre-reqs, whatever. What difference is another year going to make? Contrary to the overwhelming popular opinion, getting into med school is not a race. You'll compete again fresh in any year you apply, whether it's 2008, 9, or 15. It is competitive, but it's not a race.

Don't mean to sound harsh if I do. Relax, grasshopper, the journey up Mount Doctor takes many steps. Focus on today's steps, and you will be prepared for tomorrow's.

And kick ass!

 

[tomias]

Hi

I did not know if this is an appropriate place to post this but it seemed like the closest topic to my own concern. I came into my public undergrad. with all of my science prereqs out of the way (except for organic) with no idea med. schools wanted physics chem and bio completed after high school. I did this through AP credits. Since I am a bio major I don't think I have anything to worry about there. I have also taken an intro. biochem course. I don't want to take upper level courses in phys. or chem because I would have to work for a year to make enough to go to school. Does this mean I am disqualified from applying to med schools or does it just look bad? Thanks in advance. 🙂

 

[lastrun82]

magnum,
i too was a late bloomer (senior year for me), and while i was trying to decide whether medicine was really for me i tried to get as much first-hand experience in as many facets of medicine as possible

medicine has so many dimensions that you can explore as an undergrad...you can volunteer as an emt to see if you like patient care, try clinical or basic sciences research, volunteer at a clinic, intern over the summer on a health policy project...the possibilities are endless

the point is that these things take up a lot of time, but i think that an extra year now is far better than spending 10 years in med school+residency then coming to terms with the fact that hey, this is not the field you thought you were getting into all those years ago when you were rushing to apply

and i guarantee you that when you apply, you'll have a far easier time getting into top med schools if you show them that you really know what you're getting into

life is not a race...if you take your time and still decide to do it, you'll be finished with med school + residency + fellowship at age 33 instead of 32 and be much happier

good luck

 

[Jwax]

Just as an idea, I kinda had the same revelation. I started during my junior year and took:

General Chemistry I
Gen. chem 2 + biology + bio lab

Senior year:

organic chem 1 + physics 1 + genetics
organic chem 2 + physics 2 + cell biology
Took the mcat in april

Second senior year (this is my fifth year of school)
biochem
animal development

Good luck!