Need Opinion + Advice

[Prestone]

I decided to take the plunge and head back to school full time to get my pre-reqs completed. Quick background, 3.97 uGPA for a BS in Aviation, going back to a local 4 year University and have good study habits.

The question is if this schedule would be feasible. When applying for med school do you have to have all of your pre-reqs already completed or can you still be in the process of finishing?? I know this isn't a sprint but a marathon and I would hate to screw up my GPA by overwhelming myself but if I figure If I cannot handle this schedule I have no reason even trying to get in to med school.

Spring 09'

Biology 1
Chemistry 1
Physics 1

Summer 09'

Calculus
Statistics

Fall 09'

Biology 2
Chemistry 2
Physics 2

Spring 10'

Organic Chemistry 1
STUDY STUDY STUDY FOR MCAT (Act like its a 10 hour course)

June 10'

-Apply For Med School (assuming a good score) (DO or Allo)

Fall 10' (While awaiting interviews etc....)

Organic Chemistry 2
Upper division Bio Classes (Anatomy, Biochemisry etc... to show commitment)

Spring 11'

Since I'm in school and already in classes try to finish up a second BS....

Fall 11' Hopefully be in some kind of Med School...

I know this sounds pretty ludacris but is it possible....? First of all can I be finishing up that Organic Chemistry 2 while awaiting interviews? I would be volunteering, doing research during the entire duration of this venture, as I know when applying I may be a little short for most schools but by the time interviews come around I would be competitive... Sorry for the long post but any suggestions??

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[davis749]

I decided to take the plunge and head back to school full time to get my pre-reqs completed. Quick background, 3.97 uGPA for a BS in Aviation, going back to a local 4 year University and have good study habits.

The question is if this schedule would be feasible. When applying for med school do you have to have all of your pre-reqs already completed or can you still be in the process of finishing?? I know this isn't a sprint but a marathon and I would hate to screw up my GPA by overwhelming myself but if I figure If I cannot handle this schedule I have no reason even trying to get in to med school.

Spring 09'

Biology 1
Chemistry 1
Physics 1

Summer 09'

Calculus
Statistics

Fall 09'

Biology 2
Chemistry 2
Physics 2

Spring 10'

Organic Chemistry 1
STUDY STUDY STUDY FOR MCAT (Act like its a 10 hour course)

June 10'

-Apply For Med School (assuming a good score) (DO or Allo)

Fall 10' (While awaiting interviews etc....)

Organic Chemistry 2
Upper division Bio Classes (Anatomy, Biochemistry etc... to show commitment)

Spring 11'

Since I'm in school and already in classes try to finish up a second BS....

Fall 11' Hopefully be in some kind of Med School...

I know this sounds pretty ludacris but is it possible....? First of all can I be finishing up that Organic Chemistry 2 while awaiting interviews? I would be volunteering, doing research during the entire duration of this venture, as I know when applying I may be a little short for most schools but by the time interviews come around I would be competitive... Sorry for the long post but any suggestions??

Your schedule seems hard, but do-able. This will be dependent upon how well you can handle the subject matter. I, for one, struggle like hell in Chemistry. I took pre-reqs, Chem I, Chem II, Calc, Stats, and Genetics courses my first year, but had to withdraw from Chem II because it was just too much for me to handle. The following year, I retook Chem I (to maintain my understanding) while taking Physics I, then took Chem II and Physics II together. I was still beat up by chem, replacing a C+ in Chem I with a B+, and gaining a C+ in Chem II. With the right study techniques already known, I believe that you would fare better than I did.

The biggest problem with your proposed schedule is the timing of the classes in relation to when you need the knowledge from the courses rather than the combined difficulty. The MCAT is a comprehensive course; it combines subject matter from intro bio, genetics, chem, o chem, and physics; your academic weakness will be o chem. While o chem has been seen less on the MCAT in recent years, it still plays an integral part. There are mechanism questions; mechanisms are generally what you are taught in O Chem II.

If you do proceed with your schedule, understand that the MCAT review will not be as much of review as it will be learning. You will have to learn the format of the questions in addition to new material... this could also benefit your grade and understanding of o chem for the following year.

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

Definitely not required to have all prerequisites done before applying to school.

The plan looks mostly OK, only major red flag that I see is amount of time studying for the MCAT after all prereqs are complete; I did something similar to your plan, got burned on the MCAT (high 20's w/low bio section score), and am having far better luck this year with a higher MCAT. My GPA is higher than average for most schools.

Would suggest you take a look at the MCAT posts, what got me to the needed 10+ on my bio section was coursework in cell & molecular biology and anatomy and physiology - these were heavily covered on my MCAT and I don't think one could have done that well without strong a strong background here. I felt somewhat "taken" by the AAMC's statement that only basic bio/physics/etc were required; having gone through it & earning a 30+ on the second sitting, I strongly disagree.

Also, although I'd earned over a 3.9 on 40+ hrs of premed courses, for me it took around 7 weeks fulltime prep (50 or so hrs per week) to be pretty well prepared. This was review time only for materials that I'd pretty thoroughly covered before, it's just a lot of material to stuff into one's head.