Postbacc Timetables

[Anbessa]

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For those of you who are postbaccs, or were postbaccs, taking ALL or most of your pre-med requisite classes during your postbacc, what was your EXACT timetable for the 1 or 2 years that you took classes? I've heard a lot of people say they did their postbacc in just one year, and i'm wondering if they mean they did all the classes in a full academic year plus 2 summers, or if they just took a few needed classes/labs in that one year working part-time or full time, etc??

 

[seacatch]

I'm Post-bacc now. My schedule is Chem, Bio & Physics 1 & 2 for this Fall and Spring sessions. I will take organic chem 1 this summer. I am planning to blow off orgo 2 until after the mcat. I will take that, in August. I could have taken orgo 1 & 2 this summer while preparing for the mcat. Some programs let you take chem 1 &2 over the first summer. You would then sub orgo for chem during the year and could possibly take an April mcat. Early is better if given the choice. I hope this makes sense.
J

 

[Peaches]

Hello I am also a postbacc student. I am at Temple. We don't NEED orgo 2 for the MCATS??? I suppose I could do the same thing and take the MCAT in August. I never would have thought about that before. Not certain if that is the way to go now.
Any advice appreciated 🙄

 

[r_salis]

My post-bacc was similar to seacatch's with a couple differences:

fall 1:
bio I
chem II (had already taken chem I)
phys I

spring I:
orgo I
phys II
microbio

summer:
orgo II

fall:
bio II
psych

(my program required micro and psych -- without those I could have done the whole thing in a fall/spring/summer run)

 

[seacatch]

Peaches....

NEED is your decision. I want to take the MCAT in August and I feel my time is better spent studying for the whole test rather than cramming orgo 2 into my head. I hear that there is minimal orgo 2 on the mcat. Most schools require orgo 2 so I will take it in the fall.

 

[ussdfiant]

I was a Temple post bacc-er a few years ago and this is how I did it:

Summer 2000 - Chem I and II

Fall 2000 - Physics I, Organic I, Organic lab I, Bio I

Spring 2001 - Physics II, Organic II, Organic lab II, Bio II, April MCAT

Fall 2002 - Start medical school...

 

[AndrewWKRules]

ussdefiant, was your post-bac a program for students who had never taken pre-med courses before?

 

[ussdfiant]

Originally posted by AndrewWKRules
ussdefiant, was your post-bac a program for students who had never taken pre-med courses before?

Yes, it is for those that have not taken the pre med reqs.

 

[AndrewWKRules]

hey guys....do you know what med schools mean by "English requirements"? most of the schools i'm looking at require at least one-year of English; however i've never taken an English class in college (cuz i'm a dork engineer). but, i did take 19 creds of history.

does that count?

 

[CaMD]

I don't think that History counts. (I, too, have some History, Philosophy etc classes that I wish wish wish could be used.)
If you know what schools you want to apply to, I would call each individually and ask their policy. I am sure that a few schools allow such courses, and maybe you'll get lucky. Unfortunately I don't know what schools I'll be applying to yet, and I don't really want to play the odds...

 

[AndrewWKRules]

You're right about that. I am going to email some schools in my home state and see what they say.

I'm thinking I need to take one intro level writing course and one literature course with essays, etc. Hahahaha...It's going to be funny...I have literally not written ANYTHING other than technical reports for the last 4 years!!

Good luck...Here is my timetable if I decide on GTown:

Fall 04: Chem1, Phys1, Bio1
Winter 05: Chem 2, Phys2, Bio2
Spring/Summer 05: Orgo. 1, English 1 (Writing)
Fall 05: Orgo. 2, Biochem., English 2 (Lit.)
(Graduate with Certificate in Dec. 2005)
Winter 06: MCAT Study and EMT Squad
April 06: MCAT

Word.

- The Dude

 

[medworm]

ussdfiant

Hey, I'm planning to go that route too. Chem 1 & 2 this summer. Physics, Bio and Or in the Fall and Spring. Then April 2005 MCATs for Fall 2006 admission.

How did you manage the MCATs when you haven't finished all your prereqs yet? Should I plan to start as early as Winter breaks? I'm very curious and could use studying tips! Thanks!!

 

[AlphaKi]

Though Organic II or Biochemistry I are pre-reqs for med schools, the MCAT only tests in chemistry through 1 semester of Organic.

Also, I've been told taking biochem before the MCAT can help you get like 1 question right ( which is why I will take it after the MCAT ).

 

[DrTex?]

I think that the one year plan is a good one. I am going to do my best to do that at a local state school.

Andrew... Have you thought about taking the MCAT a year earlier and then doing the EMT stuff on your glide year? You already have 4 years of medical school and 4 years or so of residency... why add an additional year now? I am planning on doing that. Basically, I will start Summer of 05 and go to school following a schedule similar to ussd's schedule, (the difference is that I am going to take the English credits distance learning starting soon.) Between now and Summer of 06 I am going to do volunteer work and spend free time trying to understand chemistry, (I haven't taken it since High School, and the only chemical that concerned me then was THC. I have already got some books off Amazon and am only waiting.) In Summer of 06 I am going to do the EMT thing, and continue that until I start med school. It won't appear on my apps, but I figure that if I can kick ass on the MCAT, and get an interview, I can bring it up then.

MedWorm... I am going to start working towards the MCAT now. I won't take chemistry until summer 05, but I have already bought a book and will start to study when it gets here. My thinking is that the more I do now, the less stressed I will be later. Also, if I can learn most of the basic concepts of chemistry on my own now, it will be an easier class, (One of my friends tried to take chem 1 and chem 2 in the summer and said that it was tough.)

 

[cher25]

Well I've taken the MCAT (Aug 03') and there was definitely Organic II material on there. If I remember correctly, there was more Organic II than I. I don't know about Biochem, I haven't had it yet.

 

[AlphaKi]

cher, maybe your school split up some material differently because every source I have looked at states clearly Organic I is tested on the MCAT not two semesters ( they say two semesters or 1 year of all other pre-med science pre-reqs )

:/

 

[liverotcod]

I ran into 2nd semester organic material in both practice tests and the real thing: carbonyl chemistry, amino acids, aromatics. These were all 2nd semester topics. I remember reading they dropped alkenes from the organic syllabus. But that's a first semester topic.

 

[AlphaKi]

Ah, that changes my study habits then. cher and liver, I read in all material I looked at only 1 semester of Organic is covered. Add this to the fact that so many med schools now say you can sub in 1 sem of Biochem for Organic II ( and some even say they want only 1 sem of Biochem and 1 sem or Organic ) and it just seemed to make sense. Why then would those schools say those things when it appears that material copvered in the second semester is on the exam and some don't ever get to that material?

Again, thanks guys because I'm not going to trust those exams. We're here to help us all ' get through this thing' and so I put more stock into this than that when so many people get average to below average scores!!!

👍

 

[AlphaKi]

There is one thing that I can think of that is simply differences in when they cover material. For instance, at my school, Illinois, general chemistry consists of 1 semester of Inorganic and 1 semester of what they call 'Pre-Organic' but with some topics also covered that semester typically in a second semester general chem sequence such as thermydynamics and enthalpy.

But, in most schools, Inorganic is all of gen chem and they don't see virtually any organic material until Organic I. But we even learn the structure of carbs, lipids, proteins and such in that second semester general chem sequence and finish off Inorganic by the 1st semester. And a school like Michigan has that 1 sem organic 1 sem biochem requirement so my guess is that different schools have different structures in presenting, organic I here is not the same as Organic I there. This makde sense because my friends who transfered with 4 semesters of chem only got 3 semesters of credit because the 4th class didn't cover all of the same material that we learned here in Organic II.

I don't know, what do you guys think?

😀

 

[cher25]

We always hear different things and different speculations from people and all sorts of sources. But I've taken the exam. I sat for it, and recieved a score. There was Org II on my MCAT exam definitely. Why don't you start a new thread, from people who've taken the exam, and ask if there was Org II on it. Maybe that'll help you decide whether or not to study Org II. And personally, I haven't yet seen a med school that doesn't require both Org I and II with labs. Which schools are you speaking of? Because of all the ones I've looked into (more than 25), they all required the general 8 hours general Chemistry, 8 hours Organic Chemistry, 8 hours Physics, 8 hours Biology.

 

[AlphaKi]

I know two off the top of my head, University of Michigan and University of Florida.

Also, many say that you can sub in that second semester of Organic with Biochem. I have the giant MSAR presented by AAMC book and it mentions that clearly in sentences underneath the requirements.

🙂

I have yet to see a source that says a second semester of Organic is even tested.

Of course, I will trust the testers and I planned on taking Organic II just prior to the exam anyways but now I must start sooner since I need to be more comfortable with Organic II material as well.

 

[liverotcod]

I just finished Orgo 2 and took the April MCAT. The only thing we hadn't completed by April was enolates, which I studied on my own. I actually think that it worked out pretty well; the organic material was really fresh when I took the MCAT. Of course, there isn't all that much organic on it in the first place, so no big deal.

 

[medworm]

DrTex?

Yikes! Thanks for sharing your plans. That means I familiarize myself with Org Chem now too!

My plan was to do Chem 1 this summer. Take a nice vacation!
Fall - Chem 2, Bio 1, Phys 1.
Winter - Org 1.
Spring Org 2, Bio 2 and Phys 2.

Then April MCAT.

I know it's aggressive, but I should aim high first and fall back to Aug MCATs if necessary.

As much as I dread locking myself up for months (no sun, no sleep, no fun : 🙁 ) I also dread dragging the timeline out and catching amnesia!

What other material is in Chem 1 and 2 that's beyond/more complex than baby Chem? It seems like the same topics. Thanks!