Need help with prerequisites!!!

[jeniffer lopez]

Hi everyone,
I am a little bit concerned about the classes that MD/PhD programs want to see in the transcripts. I know that the most important thing is research experience, and I have plenty of that, but I am afraid a mistake I made during my freshman year will affect me too much: In my school, Neuroscience majors are encouraged to take more stats than calculus, and the calculus that is suggested is intro to calc. I then took a year of physics without calculus, and had a series of wonderful research experiences that made me realize I wanted to go for the combined program. Do you guys think I should retake a year of calculus and physics? I am about to graduate, but I will be doing full-time research for a couple of years while applying to MSTP programs. What classes do you think are absolutely fundamental to be successful in those programs (I know this varies enormously according to the area of PhD emphasis, but there must be some basics). In my school, not many people go for the MD/PhD route, and so far I will be the only female that has ever considered it. Therefore, I have nobody else to ask. You guys are awesome!!
Thanks again,
JLo

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[Neuronix]

Originally posted by jeniffer lopez
Do you guys think I should retake a year of calculus and physics?

For physics, No. No adcom will notice or probably even care that you took algebra-based physics vs. calculus based physics. I took algebra-based physics and so did a bunch of people I met who were interviewed and accepted at schools that supposedly require "calculus based physics". It's silly. They won't check to actually see that it was calculus based. The only flag could be if the title of the course actually says "algebra based physics" or something like that, and I doubt it will.

As for calculus, MD/PhD programs likely won't care, however some MD programs could have a calc requirement and this might trip you up if the school is prissy about it. Very few schools require a full year of calculus (and I bet you could get it waived with all that stats anyways), so I think taking a full year isn't necessary. However, a bunch of schools do require at least a semester. The one option you have is that if you do end up accepted to one of these schools and they stick you to a requirement, you could take the course over the summer as a condition of matriculation. It would kinda suck to do it this way, but it's up to you if you want to take calc I now or risk having to take it later. Perhaps it would be good to survey the schools you're most interested in at this point by website and see if they have calc requirements. You might even want to e-mail the MD/PhD administrators at ones that do and ask if it will be a problem if you don't have calc, just alot of stats.

It's always tricky to advise for this, because for some programs this may not be a big deal, and for a few it could be. I ended up taking some prerequisite classes that only were required at one program each (Biochemistry - UMich, extra semester of calc for the full year required by Harvard). While I was rejected to both programs, I'm now very satisfied that I took these courses.

Good luck!

PS: There are some other nebulous program requirements. Some require biochemistry, most don't. Some require a semester of stats, which you have covered. Some weird ones even require a full year of English, but that's pretty rare.

 

[pbp4]

i would not worry about this- at my undergrad, you would not know what physics was taken without reading the course discription- which i doubt anyone is going to do. but if you feel your future will not calc then by all means take it. i personally think higher level math is more important than most upper level biology type courses but i loved calc so....

as for courses to take if you have the time- if you can get into graduate level journal club courses. these classes really help you learn to read and think- the more broad the subject matter the better.

good luck- there need to be more women interested in the mudd/phud route.
p

 

[Vader]

It is great that you are interested in MD/PhD programs. As the others have mentioned, most programs don't really care what type of physics or calculus you have taken as long as you meet the minimum requirements.

For graduate classes and for your future career, it may or may not help to have extra math or physics. Like you, I did not have a strong quantitative background. Definitely for medical school this did not matter. For graduate classes, however, there have been times in which I had to do a little more background reading to understand the principles being taught. Especially when we have read quantitative biological or biophysical papers.

I would say that at your stage, it probably isn't worth going back and spending an extra year to get the additional math/physics background. What you will need to know for graduate classes can be picked up during that time.

Hope this helps.