Possible,Risky, or Impossible?

[ShowandTell]

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Hello all,
I am going into my senior year of college and recently have been venturing on the idea of going to medical school. However, I am a physics major and thus, I have only taken intro chemistry and intro physics in terms of the pre-requisite classes. Without a doubt, I would have to take an extra year to finish the other 6 pre-req's, meaning organic chem I/II,Bio 1/2, and the accompanying labs. My question is would it be feasible to have taken 2 more of the pre-req's that I am missing during my senior year, in order for me to apply during the year 2013? I would worry that the MCAT covers material that I have not seen yet; I'll study independently but not sure if that would be advised.

 

[Stumpyman]

It's always good to have all/most pre reqs done before taking the MCAT. Additionally, you don't want to rush into applying/taking the mcat/etc.

 

[ShowandTell]

For sure, waiting till 2014 would be extremely beneficial and without most doubts, the smart thing to do. It's just more along the lines of me not wanting to spend one extra year of my life not significantly progressing my career plans. Ideally, if I were able to obtain a job in my field with my bachelor's degree; I would be fine waiting the year. Have you taken the test already? If so, what classes do you feel provided you with conceptually challenging material that you felt most warranted you undertaking that class before MCAT studying/testing?

 

[hiaips]

For sure, waiting till 2014 would be extremely beneficial and without most doubts, the smart thing to do. It's just more along the lines of me not wanting to spend one extra year of my life not significantly progressing my career plans. Ideally, if I were able to obtain a job in my field with my bachelor's degree; I would be fine waiting the year. Have you taken the test already? If so, what classes do you feel provided you with conceptually challenging material that you felt most warranted you undertaking that class before MCAT studying/testing?

I would say "risky".

I just took the MCAT (on 4/28) and agree with Stumpyman: It's best to have all of the prereqs completed prior to taking it. A couple of additional considerations:

1.) If you don't wait the extra year, you will be signing yourself up for an awfully hefty load next spring: at least organic chemistry II, biology II, probably 1-2 upper level physics course(s), and MCAT preparation. (I considered MCAT prep as equivalent in work load to at least one other 3-4 hour science course. You may find that you don't have to put in as much work, or you may find the opposite.) You may not consider orgo and bio particularly difficult, but at the very least they will be time-consuming, and you will definitely want to take the time to learn the bio through and through.

2.) Another consideration for waiting a year is that you could use that extra time to take an additional courses or two (physiology, biochemistry) prior to your MCAT and application. You could also use the time to gain additional clinical and volunteer experience.

 

[plumhill]

I would wait a year, or more if you feel like it's necessary. You still have time to take Bio and O-chem + labs before the MCAT changes, with plenty of time to study. Utilize your summers to get this done, if you feel like you can manage it. Taking a 5th year would also give you time to gain clinical exposure, if you have not done so.

 

[ShowandTell]

Good advice, it doesn't seem feasible to be prepared to apply within a year. I'll just have to bite the bullet and wait till I'll already be 23 to apply. Right now, I need only 25 credit hours to graduate, with 2 of those being free hours that I can take whatever. The only other option I've thought would be to exchange one of my upper level physics classes for bio 1/organic chemistry 1 during fall semester and enroll in the other as well, giving me either 17/18 cr. hours, and with that schedule along with the respective 2nd classes taken in spring, I could both finish my degree and the pre-req's(excluding org.chem labs) by late April(when my school's spring semester ends). I shouldn't sound high on myself, but I did take Chem2/lab and physics/lab in the same semester and came out with A's, so I don't believe the chem/bio courses would pose much difficulty or rather time consumption on my part. Regardless, I appreciate all the advice, and I'll take it to my adviser and see what he thinks.