Pre-Med courses in one year?

[Rhys]

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Hi everyone, I'd love some advice from the experienced science students! I did my B.A and M.A. in English, and now am going to apply to med. school. I want to finish the required science courses in one year (2 semesters, possibly 3.) I don't want to take 2 years, as I already feel 'behind' and plus I don't want to waste any more student loans than absolutely necessary. I believe I'm determined enough to pull this off--plus I figured it would be a good test for med. school--but I have NO science background and wonder if it's possible. For instance, I would take 4 classes each semester: Chemistry I, Biology I, Physics I, and Organic ChemI, then the second part of those the next semester. These seem to be all med schools require. In the third semester, I'd probably take an anatomy or biochemistry course. Is it possible to take Organic Chem and Chem I (which I assume is Inorganic) at the same time? Or does one build off the other? I guess what I'm asking is if these courses are different enough so that one isn't a pre-requisite for another. I'd appreciate any help, thank you!!!!!!!

 

[DesiDentist]

I wouldn't rush it. It depends which school you are going but from my experience you need the right prerequisites to take certain classes. Ochem is much easier than general chem, but some schools will not let you register for it concurrently. If you have no background in the sciences I think you should take a deep breath and take it slow or you will seriously get even more behind. I would recommend taking gen chem with biology and ochem with physics. But it comes down to how much time you have, not how much motivation you have. Some people just don't get it no matter how much motivation they have. Physics is not fun. Ochem is not fun. So when you are taking classes that you aren't interested in you don't do as well. I'm pretty sure you majored in English because you enjoyed it, but this is something different. Hope this helps.

 

[Amy B]

I certainly wouldn't rush all those courses. Don't forget it is not just these 4 courses, BUT it is also the labs that go with them. That would mean you would be taking 4 major science courses PLUS 4 labs for a total of 8 classes. Impossible unless you are superman with an IQ of 200. Take your time.

Our school wouldn't let you take Gen Chem and organic at the same time. Don't do it. This is your time to shine in the eyes of the admissions offices. To prove you can handle your major science courses. Don't blow it by doing an impossible load. Take three plus labs and leave something for summer if you want to get through asap.

Unless your 40 years old and don't have much time left, there is really no reason to rush it. Good luck. 😉 😎

 

[none]

I don't know of ANY undergrad schools that allow concurrent ochem and general chem. They don't allow it for very good reason too. These classes should be done over AT LEAST two full years.

 

[moo]

I concur with the above. I don't know any school that would suggest/recommend you take GChem and OChem together. Considering you have no background in quantitative science, I definitely would not recommend you rushing it. YOu can probably squeeze Bio, GChem, Phys and Calculus (I'd take calc just for the beauty of it... plus some schools require it) in the first year and OChem and biochem in the second year. You can probably squeeze another course in the first year, but NOT OChem. At this point, if you rush it and not make good grades, you will have wasted a year and be even more behind in the process. ANd it won't save you much in terms of tuition... Take your time. Life isn't a race.

 

[Focus]

I wouldn't suggest that, there are many labs attached to those courses. Furthermore, some classes, such as Organic chemistry requires you to have some background of inorganic chemistry to do well in it. At my school, we aren't even allowed to register for Orgo until we're done with both semesters of Inorganic chem. I'd suggest taking a look at your school's catalog and hitting all the prequisites first.

 

[Wednesday]

If you take GChem over the summer before you start, you might be able to take Organic, Physics and Bio concurrently. But you still have to take Calculus and study for the MCAT during the spring. I did my post-bacc over two years and am very glad I took the extra year. I got to take a whole year of Calc plus stats (which is a VERY helpful class) and still had time to volunteer and get some research experience. If you've never taken science classes before, you may want to take it slow at first. They take a surprising amount of work. If you think about the time in med school and the time in residency, one extra year at the beginning doesn't really matter all that much especially when you are making sure you have a good foundation.

PS I wouldn't suggest taking biochem before orgo either. Everything builds on what is supposed to come before it.

 

[TXMike]

If you can handle it, I would go ahead and get them over with. I took AP Biology, AP Chemistry and AP Calculus all at the same time in my senior year, and having them out the way is best thing I did.

At least at my University, Organic and Gen Chem are totally different subjects. If you have a strong science background, you can take them concurrently. Very very minimal general chem knowledge is required for success in Organic.

Trust yourself and don't bite off more than you can chew. Having completed all my prereqs by the end of my soph. year, I would take all of them in one year if there were no non-science courses to bog me down- If you think you can handle it, go for it!

You would have to take incredibly hard courses, and lots of them at the same time in med school, so 4 introductory level science courses isn't all that bad in the big picture.

Good Luck!

 

[racergirl]

Rhys,

I'm a returning student too, so I understand your pain, but there's really no way to take Gchem and Ochem concurrently. let me repeat that: NO WAY. Did I say NO WAY? Ok, good. No realy, don't do it, especially without a science background. You'll just end up with poor grades.

What you CAN do is take Gchem over the regular school year and start Ochem over the summer, but really, the prereqs take two years. I can't see any way around it. Two years MINIMUM.

 

[mj]

Another take:

Your goal is application, which only happens in June. So, if you started this semester (which based on the date, I have to believe you aren't) you would only have two semesters before the next app cycle. In that time frame you must:

*Complete 4 course with labs each semester.
*Study for and complete the MCAT in April
*Begin personal statement and rounding up rec letters
*Maintain enough extra curriculars and volunteering to keep your app competitive

You could apply without all of your pre reqs. complete, but that means you have to put in more for the MCAT. With no science background, I doubt many here would advise that, not to mention your schedule is pretty intense already.

If you didn't start classes this semester, you have missed the next app cycle (June of 2002) by default. This means that you have an extra summer and two more semesters that you will HAVE to wait. So why rush it.

It bites, but you are at the mercy of the calendar.

If you are planning this for next fall and are hell bent on the two semester plan, I would recommend that instead of taking gen chem and organic concurrently that you take gen chem 1 and 2 concurrently and organic 1 the next semester and pushing organic 2 to the summer. You will still have to deal with the pre requisit problem, but from a studying point I think this is more doable.

mj

 

[Pinki]

Hate to jump on the "no way, dude!" band wagon, but chances are slim you can do it in one "college" year. However...

As a post bacc, BA of English, BS of Economics with only Calc and Stats under my belt, here's what I did:
Gen Chem I & II - Summer School
OChem, Bio, Physics and accompanying labs during the Fall/Spring semester.
MCAT - next April (or maybe next August, depending on how Princeton fits in!)
I also volunteer at two community health clinics, each once a week, for a total of 8 hours which I do on weekend nights - (no, it's not cool, but you have to fit it in and this is time you probably would have blown anyway. Your determination to get in depends on your attitude!)

What I liked about this plan was that because summer school was SO INTENSE - with 2 hours of class and 3 hours of lab DAILY, it got me in the swing of science and reinforced some serious study habits in a hurry.

Don't forget, that as a post-bacc, you'll still have the "lag year" to do research/volunteer/save money/retake MCAT so you won't even be in med school for at least 2 years, and that's betting on getting in the first time around, which I understand isn't a sure thing.

Contact your local school to see if they have a post-bacc program - the post-bacc advisers and counselors will know exactly how to tackle your situation!
Good luck! Take it easy! Have fun! (And don't make plans for Friday and Saturday nights because you've got Hospice to do!)

 

[Rhys]

Thank you all so much for your help and wonderful advice! I think I can save myself years of headaches and heartache just by asking you brilliant people questions. 🙂
It's so great to hear about people in the same situation--it really gives you hope. I've got to sit down and figure out the logistics--I had no idea about the application process taking a year, etc...thanks again and keep us updated on all your adventures--I love to read about them! 🙂
--Rhys