Is Calc II required for most medical schools?

[Law2Doc]

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I guess it depends on [1] the undergrad program and [2] how much of it you can retain, but I 't have trouble believing that going in knowing, at the very least, where everything is or at least being familiar with the cranial nerves can't help a little.

Not only does it depend on the two things you listed but also (3) whether you are the type who will get burnt out and bored studying the same material over and over again -- it happens. And (4) whether you are the kind of person who doesn't study that hard if you think you already know something.
So sure, if you want to learn the cranial nerves, go ahead. We are talking about a single lecture hours worth of material in med school -- hardly going to give you a competitive advantage.
I wouldn't bother, unless you know you won't get bored, ease up, forget most of it, or be wasting your time with material in undergrad which is not well focused or as detail oriented as you will need for med school. Med school teaches you all you need to know in these courses, and few people seem to be able to prepare in advance as a premed particularly effectively. While you will hear some people indicating that they had some advantage from college courses, there are plenty of people with strong backgrounds in such courses who do not rise to the top of each med school class. And advantages like this tend to be very short lived anyhow and can be overcome by classmates who work harder. So plan on working full tilt in med school regardless.

 

[MedStudentWanna]

Not only does it depend on the two things you listed but also (3) whether you are the type who will get burnt out and bored studying the same material over and over again -- it happens. And (4) whether you are the kind of person who doesn't study that hard if you think you already know something.
So sure, if you want to learn the cranial nerves, go ahead. We are talking about a single lecture hours worth of material in med school -- hardly going to give you a competitive advantage.
I wouldn't bother, unless you know you won't get bored, ease up, forget most of it, or be wasting your time with material in undergrad which is not well focused or as detail oriented as you will need for med school. Med school teaches you all you need to know in these courses, and few people seem to be able to prepare in advance as a premed particularly effectively. While you will hear some people indicating that they had some advantage from college courses, there are plenty of people with strong backgrounds in such courses who do not rise to the top of each med school class. And advantages like this tend to be very short lived anyhow and can be overcome by classmates who work harder. So plan on working full tilt in med school regardless.

I think you completely misunderstood my motives. I wasn't suggesting this would give anyone a "competitive edge" or an "advantage" in relation to his or her peers. Far from it. My only motivation for suggesting taking A&P or that A&P be a pre-req for med school is strictly for yourself. Whether it's one lecture or two or three or four or five, having some kind of foundation in some of these courses, IMO (based on what current med students have said), may help you mentally. You still have to study and you still have to put in as much time as possible, but at least you're familiar with the vocabulary and the basic concepts. I don't see why that has to translate into giving one a competitive edge. Not everything has to be about competing against your classmates.

 

[Law2Doc]

I think you completely misunderstood my motives. I wasn't suggesting this would give anyone a "competitive edge" or an "advantage" in relation to his or her peers. Far from it. My only motivation for suggesting taking A&P or that A&P be a pre-req for med school is strictly for yourself. Whether it's one lecture or two or three or four or five, having some kind of foundation in some of these courses, IMO (based on what current med students have said), may help you mentally. You still have to study and you still have to put in as much time as possible, but at least you're familiar with the vocabulary and the basic concepts. I don't see why that has to translate into giving one a competitive edge. Not everything has to be about competing against your classmates.

Ok, that's fine, and being non-competitive with your classmates is certainly a good and healthy attitude. My reference to "competitive advantage" was not necessarilly classmate dependant -- you take tests for grades and even if you are only competing against yourself it is still a competition -- you want a foundation presumably so you can do "better". However you are better off just reviewing the lecture material the night before rather than risk boredom by creating a situation where you are taking a class that in some form you have taken already. Anatomy is one of those classes that is rough enough once -- why do it twice? If more of a foundation was required, med schools would require it. But they don't and most people who take anatomy in med school have no such foundation and do fine.