No more Pre-Reqs?

[preMedDonut]

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http://www.etsu.edu/com/sa/admissions/requirements/academicreq.aspx

I would like to see what everyone thinks about this. Personally I see a lot more applicants and the average MCAT going down. Also do you think other medical schools will follow this route?

 

[sinombre]

http://www.etsu.edu/com/sa/admissions/requirements/academicreq.aspx

I would like to see what everyone thinks about this. Personally I see a lot more applicants and the average MCAT going down. Also do you think other medical schools will follow this route?

The MCAT is curved, so the average will never go down. The average score for successful applicants will probably continue to go up each year as more an more people apply though.

 

[SnakeOilForSale]

Sounds like they pretty much want you to major in everything.

"The continuum of scientific discovery that impacts diagnostic and therapeutic practice requires that applicants have an adequate preparation in the pre-clinical sciences, particularly in biochemistry, bio-molecular mechanisms and genetics. In addition, the Admissions Committee looks for a broad educational foundation in the behavioral and social sciences, humanities, literature and the fine arts."

 

[inycepoo]

http://www.etsu.edu/com/sa/admissions/requirements/academicreq.aspx

I would like to see what everyone thinks about this. Personally I see a lot more applicants and the average MCAT going down. Also do you think other medical schools will follow this route?

There's currently a trend towards stressing the attainment of skills rather than completion of specific courses at schools like Harvard, but never will most med schools require absolutely no prereqs to be taken. Furthermore, though it is not too hard to take the MCAT and do well without having any coursework in the subjects, for the majority of applicants and the country, this is not an option. Requiring the MCAT and stressing that a "competitive score" is needed for admission but saying that there are no cold and hard prereqs is a obvious PR tactic used to differentiate the school from others. The average MCAT taker who scores a 25 would not have gotten there without taking a full course in the subjects. This type of policy would only benefit those who are robust self-learners and can teach themselves the fundamentals of orgo and physics out of review book. Stripping labs off of the prereqs would be a much better option, as they contribute a very arguable amount of value to a budding physician.

Other than, it's a PR tactic. Pay no attention. A true philosophy of ridding premed prereqs has only thus far been embodied at Mt. Sinai in their (previously HuMed) FlexMed program. They admit sophomores and forbid them from taking the MCAT. http://icahn.mssm.edu/education/medical-education/programs/flexmed

 

[gyngyn]

There are excellent schools with enviable matriculant stats that have no required courses.

 

[inycepoo]

There are excellent schools with enviable matriculant stats that have no required courses.

"Enviable matriculant stats" surely includes MCAT scores, no? Top college students and other self-learning machines aside, how is the average applicant who can't afford the tutoring fee supposed to get a competitive score without having taken those science courses? It amounts to the same thing, regardless of what's explicitly "required."

 

[Doudline]

^Many people write the MCAT without having taken the prereqs literally all the time. Prep/review books generally do the job very well.

 

[gyngyn]

"Enviable matriculant stats" surely includes MCAT scores, no? Top college students and other self-learning machines aside, how is the average applicant who can't afford the tutoring fee supposed to get a competitive score without having taken those science courses? It amounts to the same thing, regardless of what's explicitly "required."

Sure.

 

[inycepoo]

^Many people write the MCAT without having taken the prereqs literally all the time. Prep/review books generally do the job very well.

Anecdotal evidence in a small sample size, I'm sure.

The medical profession is a ***** for subjective grading. There is no trend towards decreasing prereqs. If there were, they would've gotten rid of lab requirements a long time ago. Adcoms like this bull****.

 

[SoulinNeed]

As a former law school applicant, this is a huge mistake. This will just lead to more and more applicants (which may be what this school wants, as it'll lead to more money), with a confusing measure of how to compare them. I understand that the MCAT will be changing, but I believe it will still primarily test the sciences.

Law schools don't require any specific pre-reqs because the LSAT doesn't test any one specific subject. It's just logic and reading comprehension. That's not the case with the MCAT, or the new MCAT.

 

[ScholarStud]

I gotta say, this looks pretty good at first glance. If you're smart enough to self-teach yourself MCAT material with no previous experience, you'll likely be able to keep up in medical school as well.

 

[MVP]

this is not a great idea. to be a doctor you have to be trained in biology, chemistry, and laboratory environments. you can't let random sociology, computer science, or economics majors apply to medical school because they are not equipped to receive broad medical training in preparation for the full range of medical fields.

 

[inycepoo]

this is not a great idea. to be a doctor you have to be trained in biology, chemistry, and laboratory environments. you can't let random sociology, computer science, or economics majors apply to medical school because they are not equipped to receive broad medical training in preparation for the full range of medical fields.

They won't. They'll never do well enough on the MCAT. Ridding prereqs will make very little difference in the successful applicant population over the long run.

In any case, a doctor does not need to know physics or have lots of lab experience. These are merely things adcoms use to differentiate then "smarter" ones from the others, however the quoted term is to be defined.

 

[LiveLoveLearn]

I feel that they removed the hard and fast requirement, but their language still strongly suggests that they would favor applicants with several science courses under their belts:

"Applicants should demonstrate scientific curiosity and enthusiasm for life-long learning. The continuum of scientific discovery that impacts diagnostic and therapeutic practice requires that applicants have an adequate preparation in the pre-clinical sciences, particularly in biochemistry, bio-molecular mechanisms and genetics."

I'm guessing that they are just trying to be more flexible on what science courses that they will accept to meet these more subjective requirements, but likely wouldn't take in a philosophy major with 0 science courses.

Additionally, it is true that most people that haven't taken science courses are not going to do very well on the MCAT. Are there some freaks of nature out there that can and do? Sure, but the n is pretty small.

 

[MVP]

They won't. They'll never do well enough on the MCAT. Ridding prereqs will make very little difference in the successful applicant population over the long run.

In any case, a doctor does not need to know physics or have lots of lab experience. These are merely things adcoms use to differentiate then "smarter" ones from the others, however the quoted term is to be defined.

they're always looking for the smart ones, gpa and mcat were supposed to be indicators of intelligence and hard work until schools grade inflated, and people paid for prep classes.

if you've ever seen someone pass the toefl with flying colors without speaking a word of english, you know that the mcat can be broken haha.