Do upper-levels science courses needed in medical schools?

[_theartery_]

Hey, I’m a rising sophomore major in chemical engineering. Due to my major, I don’t have that much time to complete many upper-levels chem/bio courses as the tradition pre-med I definitely would take biochemistry 1 with anatomy and physiology. My questions is would it be enough to survive in medical schools later on? I’m worry that I won’t have a strong background as others.

In addition, I'm considering taking cell molecular too. Is is going to help me with the MCAT or do general biology good enough?

Thanks in advance!

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[M&L]

I have a friend (classmate) who is a PHILOSOPHY major. The only science courses he took were actually prereqs, thats it (whatever the school required). He did not take a single other course. He is doing well, - he admits it was harder at the beginning (the first two months or so), but when he figured out his learning style, he was just fine.
I am a biochemistry major - did it help? yeah... But would i tell you that getting all the extra courses is good enough reason to pay thousands of dollars for? definitely not. You will be fine.

 

[Goro]

Hey, I’m a rising sophomore major in chemical engineering. Due to my major, I don’t have that much time to complete many upper-levels chem/bio courses as the tradition pre-med I definitely would take biochemistry 1 with anatomy and physiology. My questions is would it be enough to survive in medical schools later on? I’m worry that I won’t have a strong background as others.

In addition, I'm considering taking cell molecular too. Is is going to help me with the MCAT or do general biology good enough?

Thanks in advance!

One of our valedictorians was a Psych major. Just do well in your courses.

Personally, I believe that you should have cell bio and/or molecular bio and/or genetics in your coursework.

 

[deleted1005514]

I have a friend (classmate) who is a PHILOSOPHY major. The only science courses he took were actually prereqs, thats it (whatever the school required). He did not take a single other course. He is doing well, - he admits it was harder at the beginning (the first two months or so), but when he figured out his learning style, he was just fine.
I am a biochemistry major - did it help? yeah... But would i tell you that getting all the extra courses is good enough reason to pay thousands of dollars for? definitely not. You will be fine.

Second this...I have classmates with finance and music degrees that are doing great. I have a BS and an MS in Biology with a minor in chemistry and an emphasis in physiology, and while I don’t regret a single upper level course I took, they haven’t helped much past the fundamentals course. Knowing how you learn and having good study and time management skills will carry you far.

 

[M&L]

Success in medical school is much more about knowing HOW to study, vs having necessary knowledge prior.
Also, - BE FLEXIBLE. I changed by study strategy 4 times over the first semester till i found exactly what works for me (and i have 3 prior degrees, so i thought that i know everything about studying. hahahah. Naive).

 

[_theartery_]

Thanks a lot for all the input. I just got anxious as I heard my biology professor said that I wouldn't be as prepare since I am engineering major. She also said that I would be left behind compared to my premed classmates.

@Goro, I definitely would take into consideration of those courses.

@M&L, I was fortunate that my A&P teacher in high school taught me how to study. I still remember coming crying as I make a B in the intro to health care class, and I thought I can never become a doctor, lmao. That's why I have quite a good GPA In my freshman year, but I definitely would try different methods in the future.

 

[M&L]

Thanks a lot for all the input. I just got anxious as I heard my biology professor said that I wouldn't be as prepare since I am engineering major. She also said that I would be left behind compared to my premed classmates.

@Goro, I definitely would take into consideration of those courses.

@M&L, I was fortunate that my A&P teacher in high school taught me how to study. I still remember coming crying as I make a B in the intro to health care class, and I thought I can never become a doctor, lmao. That's why I have quite a good GPA In my freshman year, but I definitely would try different methods in the future.

Ok I don’t mean to be rude, but : did your professor go to medical school ? I’m just saying . We did/do. So you will be ok. Hard work and due diligence and you will have as much chance at success as a chemistry major .

 

[_theartery_]

Ok I don’t mean to be rude, but : did your professor go to medical school ? I’m just saying . We did/do. So you will be ok. Hard work and due diligence and you will have as much chance at success as a chemistry major .

Thank you so much

 

[deleted1005514]

Thanks a lot for all the input. I just got anxious as I heard my biology professor said that I wouldn't be as prepare since I am engineering major. She also said that I would be left behind compared to my premed classmates.

@Goro, I definitely would take into consideration of those courses.

@M&L, I was fortunate that my A&P teacher in high school taught me how to study. I still remember coming crying as I make a B in the intro to health care class, and I thought I can never become a doctor, lmao. That's why I have quite a good GPA In my freshman year, but I definitely would try different methods in the future.

Yeah, I’ve had more than one professor tell me I’m not med school material. They were both jerks. Hang in there, OP. If you want it badly enough, go get it.

 

[Goro]

Thanks a lot for all the input. I just got anxious as I heard my biology professor said that I wouldn't be as prepare since I am engineering major. She also said that I would be left behind compared to my premed classmates.

Behind? Maybe. Not as prepared? Not really. The goal of college is to have you learn how to learn. In med school, you apply that to both dealing with the fire hose, and to think clinically.

 

[M&L]

Btw .... since we are being honest here, that philosophy major guy kicked my ass the first few exams , then I went to academic development and they helped me reevaluate my studying technique (FYI - I am chemistry major -biochem concentration , math minor, Mensa member, blah blah blah). Now we are doing about the same .... so SERIOUSLY. Do I think having taken all those extra courses helped me? Yeah (maybe put my mind at ease at bit). Do I get higher grades than my classmates you didn’t take anything? Nope. So I am convinced that 99% of success in medical school is what you do every day IN MEDICAL SCHOOL. Once you are in- you ARE qualified. That’s it. The rest is simply hard work .

 

[ferocas]

Just wanted to weigh in on this as an engineering student applying this cycle. DO NOT sweat it! If your engineering program is anything like the ones at my school, you are probably being prepared pretty well. I'm not saying that medical school isn't its own beast, but engineering programs generally do a pretty good job at teaching you how to manage a large workload, and, more importantly, how to learn! If anything, I would expect that you might be at an advantage compared to people coming in from other majors. Like others have said, it's not so much about the content, but about learning how to study. ChemE programs are not easy by any stretch of the imagination. You'll be fine!