Pre-Med Requirements

[spillsomepaint]

I was wondering if anyone might help me out with some info. I am currently a senior getting my BS in psychology. I am applying to Clinical Ph.D programs at the moment. If I decided I wanted to go to Med School instead, what requirements would I need to be a competitive applicant? I would of course, defer my graduation until I received these requirements. I've never taken a math higher than upper level stats, and I've only taken chemistry in high school. With that being said, I've taken on a hard course load for psych (lots of neuropsych, biopsych, research internship, and clinical placement.) So basically, is it too late in the game for me to shift gears?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

1 year general chem
1 year biol
1year orgo
1 year physics
some schools require biochem
Some Calc 1

You probably have the other ones already

So it would probably take you 2 years to get the prereqs
maybe one year and summer school

Good luck.

 

[146233]

It's never too late, if you're serious about pursuing medicine. It's definitely not a choice you should make lightly. The typical requirements are two semesters of General Biology (with lab), two semesters of General (Inorganic) Chemistry (with lab), two semesters of Organic Chemistry (with lab), and two semesters of College Physics (with lab).

Some schools require a semester of Biochemistry, a semester or two Calculus, and/or some social science courses (Psychology, Sociology). School-specific requirements can be found in the MSAR.

All told, if you haven't completed any of the requirements, you're looking at at least another 18 months; more likely two years (depending on the course load you select and whether you attend summer school). You should meet with a pre-health advisor at your institution, if you have one. As you know, SDN is a great resource, so feel free to consult us here whenever you need to! Good luck!

 

[spillsomepaint]

Is it worthwhile to pursue a Certificate program. A little searching around on the web seems to show that many universities offer programs to people whom have already graduated, but still need to obtain pre-med requirements. Or is it better for me to just stay enrolled and take them as an undergrad?

 

[ChubbyChaser]

I don't think it really matters. As long as you have a degree and have fulfilled the premed requirements.

 

[146233]

That won't make much of a difference. If you go into a formal certificate program, you're considered a "Post-Baccalaureate Student". If you delay graduation, you're still considered an undergrad. That's the only difference. Either way, you'll have a separate BCPM GPA calculated on your AMCAS the same way.

 

[spillsomepaint]

That won't make much of a difference. If you go into a formal certificate program, you're considered a "Post-Baccalaureate Student". If you delay graduation, you're still considered an undergrad. That's the only difference. Either way, you'll have a separate BCPM GPA calculated on your AMCAS the same way.

i hate being such a noob, but what does a separate BCPM GPA mean?

 

[Jolie South]

i hate being such a noob, but what does a separate BCPM GPA mean?

I think it means Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Math GPA. It's basically the GPA of any science courses that you have taken.

 

[146233]

No worries. The BCPM is also referred to as the "science GPA". All of the courses you take that are classified as Biology, Chemistry, Physics, or Mathematics are calculated into it. On your application, medical schools see your GPA broken down by year, they see a total cumulative GPA, the BCPM GPA, and an AO ("all other" - non-BCPM) GPA.

 

[spillsomepaint]

Is it unrealistic of me to think I can do:

Pre Calc and One Semester of Bio - Over the Summer 08

Calc, Bio, and ORG Chemistry - Fall Semester 08

Physics, INORGO Chemistry, ORG Chemistry - Spring Semester 09

INORGO Chemistry and Physics- Over the summer 09

And if I can do this, when would be an appropriate time to apply to medical school?

Note, I am extremely hard working, and I will not have take ANY other classes during these times. Also if this is too intense of a load, how else should I break it up?

Any advice/suggestions appreciated.

 

[Jolie South]

Is it unrealistic of me to think I can do:

Pre Calc and One Semester of Bio - Over the Summer 08

Calc, Bio, and ORG Chemistry - Fall Semester 08

Physics, INORGO Chemistry, ORG Chemistry - Spring Semester 09

INORGO Chemistry and Physics- Over the summer 09

And if I can do this, when would be an appropriate time to apply to medical school?

Note, I am extremely hard working, and I will not have take ANY other classes during these times. Also if this is too intense of a load, how else should I break it up?

Any advice/suggestions appreciated.

It depends on you and your aptitudes, but I don't personally think it would be that bad.

Also, you would start with gen chem and finish with org chem. And I would maybe take gen chem over the summer in 08 to start the chem sequence out better (sub for bio, take bio in fall). I think that you might have to finish those before starting Org. Chem.

I guess after that or towards the tail end (summer '09) you could prep for and take the MCAT. I don't really know what it's like to take classes and prep so maybe someone else could comment on this aspect.

if you don't take the mcat in the summer or early august of '09, it would probably be best to apply in june '10.

 

[Ahmed786]

Dont take precalc its a waste of time and has nothing to do with Calculus

 

[spillsomepaint]

So if the general impression is that it wouldn't be too bad, I could try to be in med school by fall 09?

 

[Jolie South]

So if the general impression is that it wouldn't be too bad, I could try to be in med school by fall 09?

i was saying that you could apply in fall of '09 for fall of '10.

i'm not sure that you'd be ready to take the mcat before finishing all of those classes, which would be in summer '09

 

[ChubbyChaser]

So if the general impression is that it wouldn't be too bad, I could try to be in med school by fall 09?

My school only offers Inorgo 1 in the fall and inorgo 2 in the spring. so you might want to look into that.

 

[spillsomepaint]

So if I have to wait till Fall 10 anyway, should I space the classes out more?

 

[Jolie South]

So if I have to wait till Fall 10 anyway, should I space the classes out more?

No because you need the all those classes to be prepared for the MCAT which you need to complete your AMCAS which should be in by July '09 for a fall 2010 entrance into med school.

Fall '09 and spring '10 will unfortunately be lag time during which you will interview and wait.

 

[spillsomepaint]

thanks everyone for the information so far! you've all been really helpful.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

ANother good thing about waiting a year or two is the opening of all these new medical schools. Competition may go down slightly?, hopefully?, please?

 

[spillsomepaint]

ANother good thing about waiting a year or two is the opening of all these new medical schools. Competition may go down slightly?, hopefully?, please?

Haha there was even talk of this over on the Psychology Ph.D boards!

I guess if I pursue the Medical school route, it would still take me just about as much time as it would my PhD in clinical right?

PhD= 2 years for Masters + 4-5 for the actual PhD= 6-7 including internships but not postdoc

Medical School= 2 years for me to complete course work and do MCAT + 4 years of Actual Med School= 6 years.

How old are most people when they finish med school btw? I'd like to stay within my cohort.

 

[nabeel76]

Dont take precalc its a waste of time and has nothing to do with Calculus

I guess this depends on the person and how rusty their algebra is, I am a non-trad and I hadn't had a math course in over 10 years, so needless to say I had forgot practically everything. All of the algebra that we needed from calculus was pretty much covered in Precalc - I did have to refer to an algebra II book from time to time but for the most part precalc is where I relearned it all. And as you know, algebra can really screw you up in calculus, most people find the calculus easy. You also learn trig in precalc and I am not sure how calculus was at your school but my calc teacher loved to throw a lot of trig our way, you'll also need some basic trig for physics. So yes, you can skip precalc if your algebra is strong and have time to cross reference a trig book as it comes up, but the curve was pretty steep at my school and I wouldn't of wanted to compete for an A with that big a handicap. Just my 2 cents.

 

[pakbabydoll]

Most people are in there late 20's by the time they finish medical school.

 

[unsung]

I've been down that path too. It's definitely not too late, and pre-med course pre-reqs are really not harder than some of the upper-lvl courses in stats, etc. that you no doubt had to take for psychology.

Btw, not all schools require the typical 1 year organic, 1 yr physics, etc. U of MN only requires 1 year chemistry OR organic chemistry, and doesn't have a physics requirement either. Although they do require more courses in bio. I'm still trying to figure out whether this recent amendment toward their pre-req requirements is part of some "general trend", or whether it's just something local.

(Although, I would recommend taking the typical 1 yr organic/1 yr physics combo regardless, as it's very useful for the MCAT, as well as in general.)

 

[spillsomepaint]

I've been down that path too. It's definitely not too late, and pre-med course pre-reqs are really not harder than some of the upper-lvl courses in stats, etc. that you no doubt had to take for psychology.

Btw, not all schools require the typical 1 year organic, 1 yr physics, etc. U of MN only requires 1 year chemistry OR organic chemistry, and doesn't have a physics requirement either. Although they do require more courses in bio. I'm still trying to figure out whether this recent amendment toward their pre-req requirements is part of some "general trend", or whether it's just something local.

(Although, I would recommend taking the typical 1 yr organic/1 yr physics combo regardless, as it's very useful for the MCAT, as well as in general.)

Is there a reference or website that lists the requirements for each specific med school in the US?

 

[ScubaCat]

Is there a reference or website that lists the requirements for each specific med school in the US?

The AAMC publishes the MSAR. http://www.aamc.org/students/applying/msar.htm

It's a good book to buy in that it's the fastest way to narrow down which schools accept out of state applicants (or where the ratio isn't really skewed). I did not use it for course requirements, but I'd imagine it has those too. Or you can use it to find all the websites for each school. The requirements do vary a lot between schools, but Physics, Inorganic and Organic chem are definite musts for the MCAT.

I took Calc I, OChem I, Physics I, biology, and humanities all at the same time with the second parts of these the following semester. So your plan is definitely possible as long as you're committed.