more classes?

[ramifications]

So I currently am sitting on the following stats:

3.54 cgpa
3.65 sgpa

Currently: I have yet to take biochem and psychology but I don't want to. I have taken allied health version biochem that is upper level (this is the same one they teach med students their first year). So is this good for the mcat? Obviously though none of my allied health courses will be included in the amcas science gpa.
My state school average is >3.6 for its med school. So I really want to know if I should focus on taking more classes or just focus on the mcat and obtaining a job?

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[md-2020]

Focus on the MCAT. That GPA will be ok for lower tiers.

 

[ramifications]

Focus on the MCAT. That GPA will be ok for lower tiers.

but the state school is top tier-type. So to what extent would I then have to increase my gpa to?

 

[md-2020]

but the state school is top tier-type. So to what extent would I then have to increase my gpa to?

#1 rule: don't focus on any 1 med school. Know that your GPA is okay, and focus on the MCAT. Anything under a 505 and MD anywhere becomes a reach.

 

[ramifications]

Note that many medical schools are requiring/recommending biochem and your allied health version may not fulfill that requirement

My state school said it would be fine with them. Not that I am interested in Duke, but it is one of the few schools out there requiring psychology so if worse comes to worse I'll plan on taking psychology as an online course. I guess at this point I am trying to determine if I should take biochem for this upcoming fall. It certainly will put me at a tight spot in addition to having a lot to catch up on.

 

[ramifications]

ok nvm I think what I will do is get together with a premed advisor and possibly evaluate the material covered in my major versus the material I should have covered specifically for medical schools. Does anyone know off the top of their head which schools might be more strict about the biochem upper level category that it should belong to? Perhaps that will aid me in my conversation with the premed advisor at my school.

 

[ramifications]

2 Different Questions:

1) MCAT biochem is rather detailed and I am not sure that an allied health course will cover all of it. You will have to judge from the AMCAS guidelines on MCAT
see https://www.aamc.org/students/download/377882/data/mcat2015-content.pdf

2) Prerequisites are typically checked as a post admissions/pre matriculation function after you have accepted an offer of acceptance. It is not an admissions issue. The strictness of this requirement will vary widely by each school as well as their process for waiver or appeal as well as the cut off date for prerequisites to be completed before matriculation. While I am no longer directly involved with admissions, I think most schools would frown upon it at least and it may cause a snag if you are admitted somewhere. My rule of thumb the course should be acceptable for the major in either bio or chem.

0k, well that's unfortunate, I guess I might have to see where I can squeeze in a biochem course this fall then.

 

[ramifications]

For the prerequisite issue, you can take biochem during glide year, but obviously that wont help in MCAT

true. But I can't help but notice that I did practically a lot of the same material that is tested in the mcat in my department's course. Maybe I'll take a look at my mcat biochem kaplan book and if the material looks much different than what I was taught, I am signing up for biochem. Just worried at this point about admissions frowning over allied health courses since for some unknown reason people think they are watered down but my department would say otherwise.