Not enough time for upper level science, hurt my MCAT chances?

[Aaron151]

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I am a nursing student in my junior year who is also pre-med. However, I am finding difficulty fitting in my pre-med courses with my nursing classes. The nursing program, although very different from traditional pre-med majors, is very demanding and I would find it impossible to take another class on top of my already full schedule of nursing classes. This puts me in a difficult situation as I am unable to take my pre-requisite medical school classes and subsequently unable to take upper level science courses such as biochem, medical physiology, etc. This is a current list of the classes that I have taken that I believe will count toward my BCMP gpa, my cGPA is 3.96
BIOL 1960 Microbiology - Lecture 3.00 A
MATH 1110 Beginning College Algebra 3.00 A
BIOL 1120 Gen Biol/Evol & Ecology 3.00 A
MATH 1170 College Algebra 3.00 A
CHEM 1110 Chem for Allied Health 3.00 A
BIOL 2925 People & Env: Biol Persp 3.00 A
BIOL 1110 Human Biology 4.00 A
STAT 2610 Applied Statistics 4.00 A
BIOL 2252 Anatomy & Phys I 3.00 A
BIOL 2253 Anatomy & Phys II 3.00 A
I know this list is very weak for a medical school applicant but many of these courses were required for me to take as my nursing pre-reqs. I will be finishing my nursing degree in spring of 2013. My plan is to take:
Summer 2013: General Chem I
Fall 2013: Genetics, Orgo Chem 1, Physics I
Spring 2014: Orgo chem I, Physics II, General chem II
Take mcat: sometime in May or June 2014 and apply July 2014.
My question is, will this list that meets the basic requirements for medical school hurt my chances to score well on the MCAT? I would like to take calculus but am finding it difficult to fit into my already full schedule. Do you feel that calculus is necessary for a medical school applicant? Is a calculus or algebra based physics more important for MCAT preparation? I am from rural Minnesota and attend a state university that does not offer a post-bacc type program. Any answers or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!! Thank you!

 

[sliceofbread136]

You have all the classes you need, upper division science really doesn't help (only biochem I would know is to memorize your amino acids). Your classes won't make much of a difference in how you do on the MCAT anyway, it will be your preparation for the test that will. I suggest using a whole summer to study and taking a test prep course, preferably TBR or TPR.

Most schools will need you to have 1 semester of calculus and then one other semester of another math class (most people take stats for this). For a premed calculus versus algebra based physics won't matter.

 

[docbrill]

I am a nursing student in my junior year who is also pre-med. However, I am finding difficulty fitting in my pre-med courses with my nursing classes. The nursing program, although very different from traditional pre-med majors, is very demanding and I would find it impossible to take another class on top of my already full schedule of nursing classes. This puts me in a difficult situation as I am unable to take my pre-requisite medical school classes and subsequently unable to take upper level science courses such as biochem, medical physiology, etc. This is a current list of the classes that I have taken that I believe will count toward my BCMP gpa, my cGPA is 3.96
BIOL 1960 Microbiology - Lecture 3.00 A
MATH 1110 Beginning College Algebra 3.00 A
BIOL 1120 Gen Biol/Evol & Ecology 3.00 A
MATH 1170 College Algebra 3.00 A
CHEM 1110 Chem for Allied Health 3.00 A
BIOL 2925 People & Env: Biol Persp 3.00 A
BIOL 1110 Human Biology 4.00 A
STAT 2610 Applied Statistics 4.00 A
BIOL 2252 Anatomy & Phys I 3.00 A
BIOL 2253 Anatomy & Phys II 3.00 A
I know this list is very weak for a medical school applicant but many of these courses were required for me to take as my nursing pre-reqs. I will be finishing my nursing degree in spring of 2013. My plan is to take:
Summer 2013: General Chem I
Fall 2013: Genetics, Orgo Chem 1, Physics I
Spring 2014: Orgo chem I, Physics II, General chem II
Take mcat: sometime in May or June 2014 and apply July 2014.
My question is, will this list that meets the basic requirements for medical school hurt my chances to score well on the MCAT? I would like to take calculus but am finding it difficult to fit into my already full schedule. Do you feel that calculus is necessary for a medical school applicant? Is a calculus or algebra based physics more important for MCAT preparation? I am from rural Minnesota and attend a state university that does not offer a post-bacc type program. Any answers or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!! Thank you!

You will be fine! Think about all the humanity and arts majors who take only the required basic science classes (gen bio, gen chem, o chem, and physics) and do just fine on the MCAT. Depending on how strong your preparation is in the basic sciences, you may or may not have to spend a little extra time studying for the MCAT. In any case, you don't need any upper level biology let alone calculus, and you already have A&P, so you have taken more than enough classes for the MCAT.

 

[Aaron151]

You have all the classes you need, upper division science really doesn't help (only biochem I would know is to memorize your amino acids). Your classes won't make much of a difference in how you do on the MCAT anyway, it will be your preparation for the test that will. I suggest using a whole summer to study and taking a test prep course, preferably TBR or TPR.

Most schools will need you to have 1 semester of calculus and then one other semester of another math class (most people take stats for this). For a premed calculus versus algebra based physics won't matter.

Thank you very much for the responses they are very encouraging! I have strongly considered taking the summer of 2014 to study for the MCAT but I would then be unable to apply during the 2014 cycle. On the same note I do not want to rush my studying time and do poorly on the MCAT which would essentially defeat the purpose altogether. My top two schools that I want to apply to are University of Minnesota twin cities and University of Minnesota Duluth do not require a semester of calculus. I am from and plan on working in rural Minnesota which would give me preference to Duluth. However, I do plan on applying broadly. Knowing this, would you still suggest a semester of calculus? It is not that I don't want to do it but finding an appropriate time to fit it in my schedule is difficult. Are there enough schools that do not require a semester of calculus if I apply broadly?

 

[JESSFALLING]

You will be fine! Think about all the humanity and arts majors who take only the required basic science classes (gen bio, gen chem, o chem, and physics) and do just fine on the MCAT. Depending on how strong your preparation is in the basic sciences, you may or may not have to spend a little extra time studying for the MCAT. In any case, you don't need any upper level biology let alone calculus, and you already have A&P, so you have taken more than enough classes for the MCAT.

I concur with this post. You're A&P background, along with the basic science courses should be ample background to excel at the MCAT. A good review book will help you pick-up any needed knowledge that you didn't get already.

My only suggestion would be that you could potentially find a more useful course than Genetics to take in the fall...especially because you probably learned enough genetics for the MCAT in the "BIOL 1120 Gen Biol/Evol & Ecology" course. I would recommend a cell biology course if you have that option. I think that a good background in cell/molecular is more important than adv. genetics for the MCAT and MS1. If that's not an option, though, stick with Genetics.

 

[deleted357625]

All you need for the potential to succeed on the mcat is:

Bio 1 and 2
GChem 1 and 2
Physics 1 and 2 (Algebra-based)
Ochem 1 and 2

Everything else (biochem, physiology, etc) is merely extra support.

On another note, some schools require a semester of calculus before matriculating.

or some require biochem before matriculating as well.

 

[Brachyury]

I am a nursing student in my junior year who is also pre-med. However, I am finding difficulty fitting in my pre-med courses with my nursing classes. The nursing program, although very different from traditional pre-med majors, is very demanding and I would find it impossible to take another class on top of my already full schedule of nursing classes. This puts me in a difficult situation as I am unable to take my pre-requisite medical school classes and subsequently unable to take upper level science courses such as biochem, medical physiology, etc. This is a current list of the classes that I have taken that I believe will count toward my BCMP gpa, my cGPA is 3.96
BIOL 1960 Microbiology - Lecture 3.00 A
MATH 1110 Beginning College Algebra 3.00 A
BIOL 1120 Gen Biol/Evol & Ecology 3.00 A
MATH 1170 College Algebra 3.00 A
CHEM 1110 Chem for Allied Health 3.00 A
BIOL 2925 People & Env: Biol Persp 3.00 A
BIOL 1110 Human Biology 4.00 A
STAT 2610 Applied Statistics 4.00 A
BIOL 2252 Anatomy & Phys I 3.00 A
BIOL 2253 Anatomy & Phys II 3.00 A
I know this list is very weak for a medical school applicant but many of these courses were required for me to take as my nursing pre-reqs. I will be finishing my nursing degree in spring of 2013. My plan is to take:
Summer 2013: General Chem I
Fall 2013: Genetics, Orgo Chem 1, Physics I
Spring 2014: Orgo chem I, Physics II, General chem II
Take mcat: sometime in May or June 2014 and apply July 2014.
My question is, will this list that meets the basic requirements for medical school hurt my chances to score well on the MCAT? I would like to take calculus but am finding it difficult to fit into my already full schedule. Do you feel that calculus is necessary for a medical school applicant? Is a calculus or algebra based physics more important for MCAT preparation? I am from rural Minnesota and attend a state university that does not offer a post-bacc type program. Any answers or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!! Thank you!

Remember, you do NOT need to take the MCAT your junior year of college, you also do not need to apply to med school your senior year of college. The best piece of advice I can give to you is to take time off: you'll have real world experiences, you'll be able to save-up money for the application process, you won't have to rush taking the MCAT, and most importantly, you'll be able to relax

 

[Aaron151]

Remember, you do NOT need to take the MCAT your junior year of college, you also do not need to apply to med school your senior year of college. The best piece of advice I can give to you is to take time off: you'll have real world experiences, you'll be able to save-up money for the application process, you won't have to rush taking the MCAT, and most importantly, you'll be able to relax

I am a Junior this year (2011) I will be graduating with my BSN in spring of 2013 and I will be coming back to my university the following year to finish my pre-med credits. I did take two years off after high school one year to play junior A hockey and another year managing and setting up health clubs which I also did while playing hockey. I have a combined three years experience managing and setting up health clubs. I am currently 22 years old, I don't want to rush things and risk my chances of being accepted to a medical school but the soonest I will be admitted to a medical school will be fall of 2015.

 

[doulos2007]

All you need for the potential to succeed on the mcat is:

Bio 1 and 2
GChem 1 and 2
Physics 1 and 2 (Algebra-based)
Ochem 1 and 2

Everything else (biochem, physiology, etc) is merely extra support.

On another note, some schools require a semester of calculus before matriculating.

These Classes are almost absolutely necessary, from what I have been told, in order to do well on your MCAT. Please make sure that you have time to take them before taking your MCAT. Also, try to fit in BioChem and Calc if you have the opportunity. Even if it takes you an extra semester to finish, it will be worth it once you get a good score on the MCAT and in turn get into the Med-School you are shooting for.
Good luck!

 

[varsityblue]

Yup, you'll be fine. I have no intention of taking any upper-level science classes either.

 

[JESSFALLING]

Also, try to fit in BioChem and Calc if you have the opportunity.

Biochemistry may be helpful, but there is absolutely no Calculus on the MCAT. A few MD schools require a semester of it for admissions, though, so it might be needed depending on where you want to apply.

 

[Digs]

However, calc can still be very useful for graphical analysis, especially on the physical sciences section. (Ex: The area undera velocity-time graph is equivalent to the distance traveled. You *could* figure this out by dimensional analysis, too, but it's better to just intuitively know it.) Anything that saves you time on such a calculation-intensive section scores you more points in the end.

 

[johnisles2011]

All you need for the MCAT is the full year of orgo, gen chem, bio, and physics. I PROMISE you that's all you need.
Some people have said that taking classes like biochem or microbio are helpful, and that may be true, but again, I know for fact you can do very well without taking those classes (my lazy buddy who writes the blog in my signature did just that... and he's lazy).

I definitely recommend taking an MCAT course. They can help you shore up your knowledge in any areas that may be deficient, and, more importantly, they can get you thinking in the MCAT way. Seriously, it requires a different way of thinking

Good luck

 

[Aaron151]

Thank you for all the replies, they are very encouraging! The biggest struggle that I am facing right now is patience. Finishing my third year of college and knowing that I have at least two more full years of undergraduate work before I can even apply is sometimes overwhelming. I just want to go to medical school! haha But I do admit that I am excited about all of the classes that are required for me to take because I really do love learning! Okay, so instead of genetics in the fall semester following my bachelors in nursing I am thinking about taking Cellular biology, orgo chem I, and physics I. Do you think cell bio would be a much better class to take than genetics? The one other thing that I am worried about is that my anatomy and physiology, evolution and ecology, and human bio were taken my sophomore year and I will not be taking the MCAT until one year following my BSN so that is three years since I have taken my biology courses. Granted, my nursing classes do implement a lot of biology but not to the detail in which I think the MCAT would require. Has anyone else taken the MCAT a few years after their bio or chemistry courses? I plan on doing a 3-4 month review before taking the MCAT but I still am worried that due to the fact that it has been a while since taking those courses I will forget a lot of the information. While reviewing for the MCAT does anyone else feel like, "yeah I think I knew this at one point..." but basically have to relearn most of the material?