MCAT w/o prereqs

[dividebyzero]

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Hi all,

What few threads I could find about this subject strongly recommend against what I'm proposing, and I certainly understand the concern.

However, I'd like to know if there are a) any American osteopathic schools or b),
which of the Canadian medical schools, do not have prereq courses.

Let me explain my situation before I get lambasted for an apparently hare-brained scheme. I am considering medical school, but only have a liberal arts degree. But, thanks to the nature of my current job (it's touchy, I'd rather not say what exactly it is) and a lot of non-credit research done in college, I have a pretty extensive, but unofficial background in chemistry and microbiology.

I'd rather avoid spending 1-2 years going through prereq classes, relearning material I already know, and accumulating the subsequent debt, if I can, which is why I'd like to know which schools there are that do not have prereqs.

Thanks in advance!

 

[DrMidlife]

Since you spelled harebrained correctly, you're probably a troll, but whatever.

You can take the MCAT with or without any preparation you want. Actually, take it now and see if your unofficial education holds up. If you ace it, you have a leg to stand on. And then you can go talk to some admissions offices and see what they have to say. (Probably the same thing they tell most well-qualified but foreign-educated students: "sorry.")

Having worked in the real world for 20 years before doing premed, I think it's safe to say that real world experience is incredibly valuable in general, and sometimes it can make you a subject matter expert, and it's utterly useless as a substitute for traditional academic performance. Med schools won't accept you if they don't think you can do the work; they have to measure this somehow. Your real world experience will give you great LORs and you should interview well. But you have to take the prereqs.

I have the MSAR just about memorized, and there are no allo schools that waive prerequisites in the US or Canada. There are some schools that don't require a bachelors degree. There are a LOT of programs for high schoolers that combine undergrad and med school. Canadian med schools look really hard to get into, from where I sit.

Osteo has nonoptional prereqs as well: http://www.aacom.org/data/cib/04-prereqs.html.

Best of luck to you.

 

[medicalbound]

I don't know anything about Canadian schools, but I don't know of any DO or MD schools that have zero prereqs. Even if there were, the vast majority of your competitors will have taken them and would be less of an unknown quantity to the school. The admission requirements include not only your MCAT scores, but also GPA (science and non-science) shown separately.

Aside from the obvious concerns, you'll have a bear of a time getting the LORs that most med schools require from your science profs.

I say that if you know the material as well as you say you do, take several concurrently and get them done faster. If you hold up, great, if not, then you know.

 

[scpod]

I have the MSAR just about memorized, and there are no allo schools that waive prerequisites in the US or Canada.

Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) has no prereqs; however, they do favor in-state applicants. That said, the chances of doing well on the MCAT are usually greatly diminished without taking ALL the normal prereq classes, no matter how much "unofficial background in chemistry and microbiology" one might have.

 

[DrMidlife]

Now that I have my apparently-not-so-memorized MSAR in front of me, plus I'm intrigued, here's a list of allo schools with recommended coursework, but no actual requirements. I'm absolutely stunned by this.

Northwestern! with MCAT average 35Q
Southern Illinois, no OOS, avg 28O
Cincinnati, avg 31P
Penn! avg 35Q
MUSC, avg 29O
Calgary, no non-Canadians, avg 31Q
Memorial/Newfoundland requires a year of college English, avg 27Q
Dalhousie/Nova Scotia requires MCAT 30, 3.7 out of 4.3 GPA for non-maritime students
McMaster/Ontario appears to require only a minimum 3.0 and 3 years of undergrad
Queens/Ontario requires one year of some kind of physical science and that you be Canadian. avg 33O
Northern Ontario seems to only require that you're Canadian

 

[dividebyzero]

Thanks everyone for your responses!

 

[trustwomen]

Now that I have my apparently-not-so-memorized MSAR in front of me, plus I'm intrigued, here's a list of allo schools with recommended coursework, but no actual requirements. I'm absolutely stunned by this.

Northwestern! with MCAT average 35Q
Southern Illinois, no OOS, avg 28O
Cincinnati, avg 31P
Penn! avg 35Q
MUSC, avg 29O
Calgary, no non-Canadians, avg 31Q
Memorial/Newfoundland requires a year of college English, avg 27Q
Dalhousie/Nova Scotia requires MCAT 30, 3.7 out of 4.3 GPA for non-maritime students
McMaster/Ontario appears to require only a minimum 3.0 and 3 years of undergrad
Queens/Ontario requires one year of some kind of physical science and that you be Canadian. avg 33O
Northern Ontario seems to only require that you're Canadian

Good list.

However, re. the Canadian schools, it is worth knowing what province the OP lives in. Out-of-province admissions are much, much more difficult. And the numbers above can be misleading; McMaster's average entering GPA last year was 3.88, despite only a 3.0 "cutoff" to apply. Ontario schools are swamped with admissions these days, but the Maritimes have two schools and a relatively small population.

Wow, Memorial's average MCAT is just a 27?

 

[ForbiddenComma]

That's amazing that Penn does not officially require the prereqs.

Most U.S. schools will require the usual though: 2 semesters biology, 2 of physics, 2 of gen chem, 2 O-chem. Adcoms are not given much flexibility with this, especially with state schools.

It is a pain in the gluteus maximus. I took the MCAT before taking O-chem or the second semester of physics, but the adcoms were not impressed. I had to take the courses anyway. But on the plus side, by rushing the MCAT I got in a year ahead of schedule, which is all the more important if you're a nontrad.

 

[Nasrudin]

Hi all,

What few threads I could find about this subject strongly recommend against what I'm proposing, and I certainly understand the concern.

However, I'd like to know if there are a) any American osteopathic schools or b),
which of the Canadian medical schools, do not have prereq courses.

Let me explain my situation before I get lambasted for an apparently hare-brained scheme. I am considering medical school, but only have a liberal arts degree. But, thanks to the nature of my current job (it's touchy, I'd rather not say what exactly it is) and a lot of non-credit research done in college, I have a pretty extensive, but unofficial background in chemistry and microbiology.

I'd rather avoid spending 1-2 years going through prereq classes, relearning material I already know, and accumulating the subsequent debt, if I can, which is why I'd like to know which schools there are that do not have prereqs.

Thanks in advance!

Hey I know what you mean....i got mad science skills form the school for the streetwise. I think med schools should recognize! I'm a G! But then they got all dis bs and pre-reqs and ****. It cramps my style, yo.

Unless you've got some serious balls and you know you can knock the MCAT out of the park, Just make like the rest of us, and crank out the coursework.

 

[mshheaddoc]

Just so you know recommended in SOME cases also means required. I know a few schools that say recommended but have been knowns to reject if you don't have it. Although they don't state you need the pre-reqs, most of the applicants wouldn't have a chance on the MCAT (especially with all the nit-picky questions!) without formal education. 🙂

 

[Scottish Chap]

Good list.
And the numbers above can be misleading; McMaster's average entering GPA last year

Also, McMaster state they admit internationals, but they don't really. Only apply there if you are a Canadian citizen or a landed immigrant.

 

[NonTradMed]

I think people also need to realize that schools may say they don't require something as a way to let in 'special cases'---people who have done extraordinary research or have had some amazing jobs and have shown through other means that they are capable of med school level work but just never got around to getting the prereqs through. The thing is, med schools don't want to paint themselves into a corner. Will they waive the prereqs for the average joe that did well on the MCAT? Probably not.

I knew a guy who had a PhD from Cornell in physics who did not take the one year bio prereq. Instead, he got a bio text and studied on his own. He took the MCAT (aced it), but despite his background, NO MED SCHOOL WOULD ACCEPT HIM. They all told him, take the prereqs and call us back in a year. He was a bit peeved but did as he was told and got in and ended up in a competitive residency (rad) at a top rate program.

It's like people asking about needing to finish with their BS before going into med school. Just because med schools say they don't require it, doesn't mean they will do it unless you are a very special candidate in their eyes. Unfortunately, most of us are just your average Joe candidate and need to fulfill all of the 'recommended' and required stuff.

To the OP, I suggest taking the MCAT. If you did well, as others have stated, perhaps ask a few of your top choices about letting you in without the prereqs (I'm doubtful it will but...). If you dont' do well, take the prereqs.

 

[QofQuimica]

Hi all,

What few threads I could find about this subject strongly recommend against what I'm proposing, and I certainly understand the concern.

However, I'd like to know if there are a) any American osteopathic schools or b),
which of the Canadian medical schools, do not have prereq courses.

Let me explain my situation before I get lambasted for an apparently hare-brained scheme. I am considering medical school, but only have a liberal arts degree. But, thanks to the nature of my current job (it's touchy, I'd rather not say what exactly it is) and a lot of non-credit research done in college, I have a pretty extensive, but unofficial background in chemistry and microbiology.

I'd rather avoid spending 1-2 years going through prereq classes, relearning material I already know, and accumulating the subsequent debt, if I can, which is why I'd like to know which schools there are that do not have prereqs.

Thanks in advance!

I applied last year as a very non-traditional applicant in terms of my academic record (no grades for UG, no GPA, and no credit hours) and also with a superior MCAT score and a PhD in chemistry. Based on this experience, I strongly advise you AGAINST trying to get out of taking the pre-reqs if going to med school is something you really want to do. It's not because it's harebrained necessarily; if you know the material and you study, you could do fine on the MCAT. However, your application process will be much harder than it needs to be if you don't complete all steps of the application process. Medical schools have thousands of applicants, and they don't need you or me or any other applicant whose academic preparation is difficult to assess. Since you have no formal credentials in the sciences and you haven't ever even taken a course at the UG level, I suggest that you make it your business to jump through the pre-req hoops if you truly want to go to medical school. I can tell you that you're going to find many more hoops waiting for you once you get here to med school, and certain battles are not worth fighting in the overall scheme of things. Always keep the larger picture in mind. You basically have this decision to make: is it more important to you to go to medical school, or is it more important to you to avoid taking the pre-req courses? I chose not to do a post bac after my PhD, and I am sure some of my rejections were for that very reason. But I decided that I didn't want to go to medical school badly enough to re-take my pre-reqs for grades after having already taken them fifteen years ago and after having finished my PhD. For that reason, I was also definitely considering my plan B, and there was a time when I was starting to think that I wasn't going to get accepted anywhere. Your app will be even more far-out than mine was, because I had a very extensive formal record of science training. I think if you insist on going down this path, you'd better hold on, because it's going to be a really rough ride. to you.