Math Requirements for Medical Schools?

[zoeblogrow]

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Hey guys,

ok so I have AP credit for Calc BC, but my stupid school only gives 1 semester's worth of credit for it(and it only accepts 5's on any AP test!!).

So if I am taking Calc II right now, would this fill the math requirement for any and all medical schools?

or are there some schools that require 2 semesters of math actually taken in college itself?


btw, is any stat course considered a math course as well? What if I take a stat course called "Introductory Business Stat"- has to do with economics

thanks

 

[WurangBlang]

Take freaking stats. I took three calculus classes instead, and it turned out that some schools require stats (like UC freaking I and LA). Seriously, sometimes doing it the hard way isn't always the best way.

I am so not excited for my stats class at CC (i graduated and finished all my courses already).

 

[Nataliemay24]

it completely depends on the school. some schools require 2 semesters college-level math, some 1 semester, some none, some don't care whether it's calc or stats or whatever, some do, some accept AP credit, some only accept it if it appears on your undergrad transcript, some don't accept it at all, some accept it but don't recommend it...you need to check with the specific schools that you're interested in. My experience with English classes is that one undergrad English class and 1 English AP class that appeared on my transcript was good enough for every school that requires 2 semesters of college English. ymmv

 

[emttim]

Just take stats. Every school I know of considers it a college-level course and as far as difficulty goes, it's a joke. Generally good information to know too because you can kinda get an idea of what constitutes a credible survey, report, study, poll, etc. and what constitutes a bunch of one-sided agenda-driven BS.

 

[Louisiana Girl]

I just changed my major to pre-med. I am good in science but not too good in math. Because of this I made a D in Cal about a year ago. I am going to take it over so I can show that I can do better, but when they calculate the BCMP gpa do they calculate all of your math courses including cal and statistics or do they just calculate you first year of math like algebra and trig? Same thing with biology. Do they calculate things like anatomy or just general biology.

 

[Nataliemay24]

ALL biology, chemistry, math, and physics courses count towards the science gpa.

 

[dcgirl2007]

i got a 5 in AP calculus in high school and it counted for my college math requirement, but they did not put it on my transcript. IF YOU ARE STILL IN COLLEGE MAKE SURE THAT AP COURSES APPEAR ON YOUR COLLEGE TRANSCRIPT EVEN IF YOU DO NOT GET OR NEED CREDIT FOR THEM. i could not fix this because they will not edit a transcript after you graduate.

end of story: only Dartmouth has cared so far and they rejected me, but probably not because of that but who knows. they told me that if i wanted to go there i would have to take calculous next summer!!!

 

[Drogba]

Even if you've taken AP Calc why not repeat it and get an easy boost to your BCPM GPA?

 

[zoeblogrow]

lol thanks guys

I've gotten a 5 on AP calc BC and got 1 semester credit of calc that shows up on my transcript.

this semester, I am taking Calc II.

next semester, I will take statistics just because it seems fun. My question is basically whether any and all colleges will be satisfied with these courses.

and will taking a stat course called "Introductory Business Statistics" be considered a full stat course by med schools? It focuses a lot on economics and financial data, etc. I'm considering this because I might minor in econ or something. Or would it simply be better to take the general "Introductory Statistics" course?

 

[Nataliemay24]

and will taking a stat course called "Introductory Business Statistics" be considered a full stat course by med schools? It focuses a lot on economics and financial data, etc.

med schools consider classes to be math classes if your amcas says it is a math class. amcas figures out whether or not to say it is a math class based in large part on whether you say it is a math class. so when it comes time to fill the course in on your amcas, categorize it as math. the amcas verifier will only change your categorization of a class if it is blatantly wrong, and in this case, it would not be wrong. as for whether med schools that require a stats course would consider that class to be specifically a stats course, you'd have to contact each school individually, but i can't imagine they wouldn't. btw, what dept is it in?

 

[Nataliemay24]

I've gotten a 5 on AP calc BC and got 1 semester credit of calc that shows up on my transcript.

this semester, I am taking Calc II.

next semester, I will take statistics just because it seems fun. My question is basically whether any and all colleges will be satisfied with these courses.

i think there are a few schools that do not accept AP credits period, regardless of whether they appear on your transcript. i didn't apply to any of those, though, so i'm not sure what schools they are. but there aren't any schools that require more than 2 semesters of math, so either way, you're fine.

 

[jlq3d3]

med schools consider classes to be math classes if your amcas says it is a math class. amcas figures out whether or not to say it is a math class based in large part on whether you say it is a math class. so when it comes time to fill the course in on your amcas, categorize it as math. the amcas verifier will only change your categorization of a class if it is blatantly wrong, and in this case, it would not be wrong. as for whether med schools that require a stats course would consider that class to be specifically a stats course, you'd have to contact each school individually, but i can't imagine they wouldn't. btw, what dept is it in?

Some schools like UCLA and UC Davis said that computer science classes count as math.

 

[dcgirl2007]

after a few tense phone calls AMCAS accepted my AP calc 5 even tho it is not on my college transcript. Dartmouth still didn't though. clearly, depends on the school.

good news, my 24 other apps haven't balked.

 

[skyeblue0610]

I'm taking Stats right now but it's for psychology and my premed advisor said it won't work, which sucks since I'm doing good in it.

 

[qtpai]

wow ucla requires stats? lame!

 

[Kalu123]

I've taken psych stats as well and my premed advisor said it would probably work...

 

[skyeblue0610]

I've taken psych stats as well and my premed advisor said it would probably work...

My advisor said my stats wouldn't work because it's not taught by a math professor but a psychology professor. And that's the reason it won't work. has to be from someone in the math department

 

[postbacker]

My advisor said my stats wouldn't work because it's not taught by a math professor but a psychology professor. And that's the reason it won't work. has to be from someone in the math department

Your advisor may be basing that on past experience with applicants from your college, but in reality he is not the final judge in these matters, AMCAS is...and the fact that it is not taught by a "math prof" has nothing to do with it, it is the course content that matters (and not the department in which it is taught)...

 

[Mayday]

I'm just going with the safe route - 4 quarters of calculus and 1 quarter of stats (this is in addition to the quarter of algebra, quarter of pre-calc, and quarter of trig I had to take) I wouldn't bother with the 4th quarter of calculus if it wasn't required for all of my calc credits to transfer to the university properly.

 

[Nataliemay24]

Your advisor may be basing that on past experience with applicants from your college, but in reality he is not the final judge in these matters, AMCAS is...and the fact that it is not taught by a "math prof" has nothing to do with it, it is the course content that matters (and not the department in which it is taught)...

exactly. that's what my advisor and all my college profs said in college. they were REALLY sure about it, too. i still remember attending the meeting at the beginning of freshman year for students interested in pre-health, and they grilled it into us that it was the department that mattered, not the content of the class. that was the one thing they were all completely wrong about. i was very pleasantly surprised when i actually started working on my amcas and realized that it has nothing to do with the department the class is in.

 

[skyeblue0610]

I'm going to look more into it. But don't med schools consider stats the easy way out. Since Calculus is harder so they prefer you take that instead.

I think my stats psychology class has the same content as a basic stat class.

I don't want to just stick with it and have my application frowned on because I took stats instead of calculus

 

[Kalu123]

Just how heavily do med schools even weight math courses? Aren't the core sciences the most crucial? Let me know if you guys have ever heard of anyone using a psych stats class that actually counted.

 

[Louisiana Girl]

I took calculus the first time and got a D. Is it better to take it over or take some biology classes, which I know I can do better in. I would think if I took more science classes to try to raise my BMPC than to take more math classes it would look better.

 

[0Complications]

Just how heavily do med schools even weight math courses? Aren't the core sciences the most crucial? Let me know if you guys have ever heard of anyone using a psych stats class that actually counted.

I'm not sure what the actual answer to this question is, but I took Psych Stats I and II and my pre-med advisor said that they won't count...

However, one of my buddies applying this year had his Psych stats, from the same institution, classified as a Psychology course by amcas and not a math course.