I need help.. PLEASE!

[premedicine555]

Ok. So I think most of the people on this board are pre-med.. obviously.

I'm a senior in high school and am planning to be in pre-med. Does anyone know the "timeline" for pre-med students... I plan to go to UCLA or Berkeley (leaning towards UCLA) and want to know what courses I have to take for pre-med. I know I'll probably have a counselor, but can anyone tell me?? Thanks.

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[premedicine555]

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[tardyturtle]

Four years of undergrad in any major you choose.
MCAT at end of sophomore year (or around then)
Four years of medical school = 2 years of hardcore classes + 2 years of rotations
3-4 or so years of residency ($50,000/year)
optional fellowship to further subspecialize
then you're a doctor

Classes:
General chemistry
Organic chemistry
Usually calculus I
Biology
Physics
Anatomy (recommended)
Genetics (recommended)
I think a writing class... not sure

... i feel like I'm forgetting something, but that pretty much covers it. Don't worry just yet. Talk to your counselor first.

And please search before posting. There have already been like a bazillion threads like this.

 

[premedicine555]

Thank you! Yeah. kinda new to this forum.

 

[Law2Doc]

Four years of undergrad in any major you choose.
MCAT at end of sophomore year (or around then)
Four years of medical school = 2 years of hardcore classes + 2 years of rotations
3-4 or so years of residency ($50,000/year)
optional fellowship to further subspecialize
then you're a doctor

Classes:
General chemistry
Organic chemistry
Usually calculus I
Biology
Physics
Anatomy (recommended)
Genetics (recommended)
I think a writing class... not sure

... i feel like I'm forgetting something, but that pretty much covers it. Don't worry just yet. Talk to your counselor first.

And please search before posting. There have already been like a bazillion threads like this.

Undergrad Anatomy is actually not recommended by most med schools. It is one of those courses that most of the class will not have had. Biochem is the one that many med schools may recommend. A lot of people take the MCAT later than sophomore year.

Just to correct, not all residencies will pay $50k, and some are longer than 3-4 years. A lot of residency salaries start in the high 30s/low 40s, with small raises each year. And you are a doctor after your first year of residency (so the "then you're a doctor" post-residency statement above isn't factually accurate).

 

[EpiPEN]

Four years of undergrad in any major you choose.
MCAT at end of sophomore year (or around then)
Four years of medical school = 2 years of hardcore classes + 2 years of rotations
3-4 or so years of residency ($50,000/year)
optional fellowship to further subspecialize
then you're a doctor

Classes:
General chemistry
Organic chemistry
Usually calculus I
Biology
Physics
Anatomy (recommended)
Genetics (recommended)
I think a writing class... not sure

... i feel like I'm forgetting something, but that pretty much covers it. Don't worry just yet. Talk to your counselor first.

And please search before posting. There have already been like a bazillion threads like this.

I think the MCAT can be Junior year too probably, but all depends on when you complete the basic science courses and when you feel ready, and whether or not you want to take some time off.

And yeah most schools require some kind of english class, and some require some form of foreign study class.

 

[167649]

All medical schools require:
1 year of general chemistry
1 year of organic chemistry
1 year of general biology
1 year of general physics (can be non-calculus based)

Some require:
Almost all: recommend 1 semseter of biochemistry (some require it)
Almost all: recommend courses in the humanities (some require it)
About half: require 1 year of english (composition, literature)
Some: require math (Usually calculus)
Occasionally: recommend 1 semseter of genetics

That's about it for course requirements. I'll reiterate that few recommend undergraduate anatomy (I can't think of any that do). You can major in whatever you like, so long as you take the pre-requisites.

Since there is a lot of chemistry in the core pre-req's, and since you have to take those classes in order, most take Gchem as freshman, Ochem as sophomores, and Bchem as Juniors.

 

[premedicine555]

thank you so much! I'll definitely be planning to take these classes...So can I take the classes any year? For ex: i can take organic chem my sophomore year, calculus another year? or does it follow a certain sequence?

 

[ColKurtz]

thank you so much! I'll definitely be planning to take these classes...So can I take the classes any year? For ex: i can take organic chem my sophomore year, calculus another year? or does it follow a certain sequence?

You can take the pre-reqs at any time but material from alot of them is on the MCAT so you will want to have those classes out of the way before taking it.

 

[Wylde]

Science pre-reqs:

General Chem (2 semesters)
Bio (2 semesters)
Organic Chem (2 semesters)
Physics (2 semesters)

Non science reqs:

English (2 semesters)
Calc (1 or 2 semesters, whatever floats your boat)

Now that you know that, here's a good timeline:

Fresh Year:

semesters 1: Genchem 1, bio 1, calc 1
semester 2: Genchem 2, bio 2, calc 2

Sophomore year:

semester 1: Ochem 1, Physics 1, english 1
semester 2: Ochem 2, physics 2, english 2

Junior year:

semester 1: MCAT prep
semester 2: MCAT prep, take the MCAT around April (or whenever you want, but the AMCAS opens on May 1)

Junior summer:

May 1: send in your app to get verified by AMCAS
June 1: Start applying to med schools

Oct 15 onward: interview at schools.

You want to start trickling ECs, research, shadowing, etc. ASAP!!!

Disclaimer: Obviously you can switch around bio/physics, push back chemistry by a semester (I wouldnt recommend much more) and the english/math time line is just what I am doing. This is very ROUGH

 

[Virtucon]

Don't forget about labs. Those are the best part

 

[Perrotfish]

The exact timeline depends what, in your school, is a prereq for what. Talk to your premed advisor and find out what you should do (giving you a timeline is one of the few things a premed advisor can reliably do). Undergrad Anatomy is not usually recommended, Undergrad Phisiology is (though its not actually necessary).

 

[da8s0859q]

Don't forget about labs. Those are the best part

Or worst part.

OP, for the love of God, remember that having your medical school application milestones hammered down should come secondary to you actually enjoying undergrad a little bit. If you don't change to something else like most "premed" students do, you'll get them finished anyway.

For most intents and purposes, you're only an undergrad once.

 

[HoorayForMed]

If you go to UCLA, I can send you the sequence I took them in. Of course, it depends on your major which series of chem and physics you'll take, but feel free to send me a message!

 

[apricotattack]

Now that you know that, here's a good timeline:

Fresh Year:

semesters 1: Genchem 1, bio 1, calc 1
semester 2: Genchem 2, bio 2, calc 2

Sophomore year:

semester 1: Ochem 1, Physics 1, english 1
semester 2: Ochem 2, physics 2, english 2

Junior year:

semester 1: MCAT prep
semester 2: MCAT prep, take the MCAT around April (or whenever you want, but the AMCAS opens on May 1)

I would just caution against taking organic chem and physics at the same time. I waited til my junior year to take physics, and I did fine on the MCAT PS. (it was really fresh in my mind, in fact). But you don't want to take much at all the semester of the MCAT - in my case, spring Junior year. I took the minimum of credits and the easiest classes I could find, besides physics of course. You'll have plenty of time to think about this later, though. Just take gen chem and biology your freshman year and you can figure the rest out later! Also, FYI - you can take a calculus that's just 1 semester if you're not a science major at many schools.

 

[da8s0859q]

I would just caution against taking organic chem and physics at the same time.

OP: May or may not be sound advice. Would advise using Myspace's professor ratings, Pickaprof, or Ratemyprofessor - and take the comments on any of those three with a HUGE Gibraltar-sized grain of salt since so many of them are whiny jackoffs who didn't have it as easy as they wanted it.

I say this because I took biochemistry, organic chemistry, and pathophysiology in the same term, and landed As in each. Your mileage may - or may not - vary, but apricot(!)'s advice is certainly something to weigh.

 

[premedicine555]

yeah I might go UCLA.. MIGHHHHT.

so it's split into quarters... can i take these courses in quarters, too? (ex: calculus 1a, 1b).

so if i do a science major, i have to take math?

sorry if this sounds dumb.. so confused.

 

[sacrament]

And you are a doctor after your first year of residency (so the "then you're a doctor" post-residency statement above isn't factually accurate).

You're a doctor after graduating med school, and eligible to apply for a limited license to practice medicine. All those suffering interns out there would be saddened to learn that they're still not doctors.

After one year of residency you're eligible to apply for an unlimited license.

 

[iA-MD2013]

UCLA premed: http://career.ucla.edu/GraduateSchool&PreProfessionalServices/Medicine.asp
Berkeley premed: http://career.berkeley.edu/Health/MedFresh.stm

And, you have to take a year of calc, even if you have AP credit.