Do I have a chance? And, orgo

[Nehama]

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Hi,
I have a couple of questions for everyone. I'll try to keep this short:

1)Freshman year, I really wanted to be pre-med, but got very discouraged by my science courses and ended up dropping everything mid-year. So now, I'm a junior, and all I have is 2 semesters of bio, 1 of bio lab, and 1 of chem. If I finish up my 1st year of chem and take orgo this summer, will I still be able to apply to med schools next fall?

2) Are there any med schools which don't require chem lab? What about orgo lab?

3) Is it permissible to simply learn material for certain subjects on your own, rather than taking a class? My fianc? is a physics major, so I was planning (if med schools would allow this) to just have him tutor me for the physics part of the MCAT, rather than taking a class in physics.

Sorry this post is so long-- thank you all in advance for your help! 🙂

--Nehama

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[brandonite]

It's not that long - relatively... 😉

Anyway...

1 - Yes, you should be able to. You'll have to probably take the August MCAT (taking the MCAT without Organic would be a bad idea), so you'll be a bit behind in the application process, but us August MCAT people are getting interviews already, so it's not that big a deal.

2 - I would think that they would all require the lab. You would have to contact the schools on an individual basis, though, to find out for sure. That kind of thing varies from school to school.

3 - Yup, that's fine. It's actually semi-common to skip the Physics section (which tears at my heart, as a Physics/Math double major). Provided you had him tutor you, and got a good MCAT book (I like both the Kaplan and TPR books in terms of the Physics section) to get an idea of what kind of material you need to know.

Hope this helps! And welcome to SDN!

 

[jargon124]

Hi Nehama,

Sorry, but taking the basic sciences as part of formal coursework is a requirement at most US allopathic medical schools. Some schools don't have stringent "requirements" as far as coursework, but not taking physics or chem/orgo lab is not advisable. It will look bad to be blunt about it. If you are set on applying to medical school, I would take another year in your undergraduate career to make sure you have taken the following courses:

1 yr English/Composition
1 yr Gen Bio w/lab
1 yr Gen Chem w/lab
1 yr O Chem w/lab
1 yr Physics w/lab
(also a semester or year of Calculus looks nice but by no means is it required)

As far as MCAT goes, it doesn't really matter if you have taken the courses as long as you know the material and are scoring well on practice tests. The key is to feel comfortable with the material and the exam format. Good luck!

 

[none]

Sorry, gotta have the coursework. 1 yr physics, 1 yr bio, 1 yr chem, 1 yr ochem. You'll do better if you take it then if you studied on your own anyways.

 

[doppl]

I agree, get the course work done and then take the MCAT. You should be better off that way even if you have to take an extra year.

 

[Firebird]

Originally posted by jargon124:
•I would take another year in your undergraduate career to make sure you have taken the following courses:

1 yr English/Composition

•••

Reading your post made me think of something. I will have completed my premed requirements at the end of next semester. However, I've got a question.

Instead of taking English 101 and 102, I instead took 201H, which was a much, much more difficult class than 101/102. It was worth six hours of credit, in fact...but not six hours towards GPA.

Will this count as my year of English, even though it was only a semester?

My guess is that it will; just curious if anyone thinks otherwise.

 

[jargon124]

Firebird,

I think you are OK. At U of AZ we have a similiar 1-semester course (109H-3 units) that honors students can take in lieu of 101/102 adn that is generally more challenging. Considering yours is 6 units it should be fine although a few strict schools might look twice at it. 🙂

 

[leorl]

Is English all that much of a necessity? I APed out of the English requirements here, and wasn't interested in taking another english course. However, I'm a classics major, where reading and writing papers is a heavy part of the course work...do you think schools will recognize this as a sign that I'm proficient in writing/communication?

 

[Amy]

Originally posted by leorl:
•Is English all that much of a necessity? I APed out of the English requirements here, and wasn't interested in taking another english course. However, I'm a classics major, where reading and writing papers is a heavy part of the course work...do you think schools will recognize this as a sign that I'm proficient in writing/communication?•••

You can probably list a couple of your classics classes as your "English" classes on your app. As long as there was writing involved, you're fine. Med schools just want to know that you're not illiterate. 😉 😛 😀

 

[drdrtoledo]

It's not that long - relatively... ••
That's what my ex-girfriend said! 😛

 

[Pathologist]

Originally posted by Nehama:
•

3) Is it permissible to simply learn material for certain subjects on your own, rather than taking a class? My fianc? is a physics major, so I was planning (if med schools would allow this) to just have him tutor me for the physics part of the MCAT, rather than taking a class in physics.

--•••

Nope, you have to take 1 year of physics.

 

[rajneel1]

hello,
you must take chem with lab and orgo with lab and physics with lab to have a shot at american medical schools. remember that everyone else you are competing with has all this coursework done. these are the basic pre med coursework.
most med schools require one year of english. so it is not about which class you took or how hard it was or whatever. it needs to be one year of english.
for the classics person, when you do your AMCAS you determine which classes are categorized under english, biology, etc. so if a classics course qualifies as english (i don't see how it does however...unless it's like comparative literature or something) you put it into that category. but before you classify any class as english, you should talk to your pre med advisor. hope this helps.

 

[The Fly]

drdrtoledo--
You have a DIRTY mind! I got a great laugh out of it, however. . .

😀 😉 😀

 

[nyskindr]

Not only is formal classwork in the above mentioned subjects required for med school entry it is also required for licensure in many states.If anyone considers on entering a med school either US or foreign without finishing the required courses they should check with their state medical boards to assure their eligibility for licensure.

 

[Nehama]

Hi,
Thanks to everyone (especially Brandonite!) for the great advice you've offered me. After talking to my pre-med advisor today, I think I may just take an extra year to finish undergrad-- that way I'll be able to take a year of math and physics w/out having to cram it in too much.

Thanks again!

--Nehama

 

[brandonite]

But I was the guy that got it all screwed up!

Thanks anyway... 😉

Best of luck with things next year!

For the record, you don't need Physics in Canadian schools. It's just strongly recomended. And usually things are the same in the US, so I just assumed this would be the same too.