Arginine said:
I took a full year sequence of biochemistry and one semester of genetics. Neither was required for my applications, but I found them tremendously helpful for the MCATs. Also, the pace of med school lectures is super high velocity! They cover genetics and biochem at warp speed. This is not a problem for hard core science majors who just graduated from college, but it's a challenge for those of us who may be learning this material for the first time! Cell bio, physiology, and anatomy would be helpful too, but not completely necessary.
I felt like I was working really hard to "catch up" during the first month of med school when they covered a lot of basic science material (while my younger, very science-oriented classmates felt it was an easy review because they had been exposed to the material over & over again during undergrad). But once we hit pathophysiology, everything evened out because this material was new to everyone.
Clinical experience is important in your med school application, and having some volunteer experience shows your interest in helping others. But if you had to choose between doing extra volunteer work vs. taking extra science, I would strongly recommend taking extra science. You will have plenty of time for clinical experience in med school, but it's difficult to absorb all the science that gets thrown at you initially; the more science you have under your belt, the more smoothly your transition into med school will be.
I am wondering what your main objective is right now? Is it actually getting admitted to a med school?(That is mine) or do you think that you are a shoo-in and you are more worried about excelling once you are in? (That is a whole different group of people's worry...)
Because although I do agree with Arginine that the extra science will probably be helpful if you are just learning it all for the first time or if you have been out of school for a long time, there is a reason that med schools have the prereqs that they do. They believe that the prereqs will give you the basic foundation to learn the theories of medicine that they teach and from there, the more advanced knowledge can be learned. They wouldn't admit somebody that they were afraid wouldn't be able to hack it. That is why they have the MCAT.
My advice would definately be to study really hard, take that biochemistry (as it is a prereq for most places) BUT make sure that you have plenty of clinical exposure. I cannot stress this enough, especially being a non-trad. Your prereq grades will speak for themselves, assuming that you do well. But, with the huge amount of competition for those coveted few class seats, you need to PROVE your motivation for medicine and your knowledge of the field of medicine. I have personally spoken with Admissions Directors from a number of different schools and all of them have told me basically the same thing: "Your grades, even from classes after graduation (as in my case) and your MCAT scores are the way for us to decide if you have the intellectual capability to be a doctor. Your clinical exposure and your shadowing experiences are how we know that you want to be a doctor and that will make all of the difference in the world."
Anybody can walk in with stellar grades and great MCAT scores, the ones that really want to be physicians will have done everything they can to learn about the many aspects of the healthcare world and all of its diverse attributes. Volunteer at an underserved clinic, volunteer in the ER, call your own doc and ask him/her if you can shadow once a month for the next year. These are easy ways to get this kind of exposure. Especially for those of us with full time jobs, families and other committments. Finding time to get that clinical exposure/volunteer work into our schedules is very hard, we don't have the great opportunities to work in a foreign country for the summer or spend our days organizing healthcare rallies at the capital like some of our traditional-student competition does. But rest assured, there are so many ways to get that kind of exposure right in your own town that all you have to do is look. There are a variety of opportunities. Carpe Diem!
Your experiences will speak volumes to the adcoms who are trying to separate those who want it the most. Yes, you will get plenty of clinical exposure in med school but in order to get to med school in the first place, you need to show that you know what the life and career of a physician is really all about.
Good Luck, do as much research as you can on what it takes to be a good candidate for med school and do it, don't wonder, don't wait, be bold and keep your goals in mind.
