Important yet basic question

[tikiman]

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Hello everyone, now i know that i should already know the answer to this question as i am a pre-med but i am not sure abt it. Q: What exactly are the pre-requisites for med school (MD and DO)?

Your quick and honest input on this question would be most appreciated as i am in kind of a messed up situation right now, academically.

 

[MollyMalone]

The basic, general prereqs are:

1 year gen chem w/lab
1 year organic chem w/lab
1 year biology w/lab

Most schools require:

some math (some are OK with algebra/trig, some want calculus, some will let you sub stats for one or the other)
some English and/or writing intensive class

Some schools want:

biochem
genetics
psychology

Every school is slightly different in their specific prereqs. Check out a book called the MSAR (should be at your premed office or school library, or available on the AAMC website). It lists the requirements for every school.

 

[ATrim7]

The basic, general prereqs are:

1 year gen chem w/lab
1 year organic chem w/lab
1 year biology w/lab

Most schools require:

some math (some are OK with algebra/trig, some want calculus, some will let you sub stats for one or the other)
some English and/or writing intensive class

Some schools want:

biochem
genetics
psychology

Every school is slightly different in their specific prereqs. Check out a book called the MSAR (should be at your premed office or school library, or available on the AAMC website). It lists the requirements for every school.

you forgot 1 year physics w/lab

 

[MollyMalone]

you forgot 1 year physics w/lab

Whoops, HELLO!

Can you tell what my least favorite subject was??

My bad.

 

[tikiman]

k, i got two more crucial questions to ask:
- How bad would two W's in the same subject in the same year (calc I) look on my resume? (plz be brutuly honest!)

- Does it matter if u finish ur bachelors degree in 4.5 or maybe 5 yrs?

 

[robh]

k, i got two more crucial questions to ask:
- How bad would two W's in the same subject in the same year (calc I) look on my resume? (plz be brutuly honest!)

- Does it matter if u finish ur bachelors degree in 4.5 or maybe 5 yrs?

Med school admissions are very competitive, so everything matters. Are a couple of W's the kiss of death? No. Is taking 5 yrs to complete your degree a problem? By itself, probably not, but if things start to add up, like a GPA on the low side with a light course load across 5 years and less than 30 on the MCAT, then you are going to have a problem.

 

[JamieMac]

Med school admissions are very competitive, so everything matters. Are a couple of W's the kiss of death? No. Is taking 5 yrs to complete your degree a problem? By itself, probably not, but if things start to add up, like a GPA on the low side with a light course load across 5 years and less than 30 on the MCAT, then you are going to have a problem.

DO schools would likely be more forgiving for these issues. Do you intend to complete the Calc class? It is my impression that if you retake the class, that most DO schools will take the most recent grade, or the average. Its worth looking into.