Prereqs for USC MD not listed on website

[ratman7]

Hi,

i am an Arizona resident and was looking into applying to USC Keck in the future. however there are no specific prereqs listed by USC Keck on their website or on MSAR.

Does anyone know what the prereqs are? (other than bio, chem, physics, organic)
Do they have a Biochem or MolBio or English or Humanities requirement?

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[Goro]

Nothing is required by Keck, but a lot is recommended. I recommend that you take what they recommend.

O wise @gyngyn, what say you?

Hi,

i am an Arizona resident and was looking into applying to USC Keck in the future. however there are no specific prereqs listed by USC Keck on their website or on MSAR.

Does anyone know what the prereqs are? (other than bio, chem, physics, organic)
Do they have a Biochem or MolBio or English or Humanities requirement?

 

[gyngyn]

Nothing is required by Keck, but a lot is recommended. I recommend that you take what they recommend.

O wise @gyngyn, what say you?

Many forward-thinking schools have moved away from required courses and have moved toward competencies in the basic and social sciences and well as personal competencies. These schools (including USC, apparently) really don't care what you take as long as you distinguish yourself in your chosen field of study and perform well on the MCAT. My friends at Tulane have said that elimination of pre-reqs has saved hours of useless review of differently named courses.

Since nobody is likely to apply only to the schools without pre-req's, it seems reasonable to choose courses needed for the majority of schools you are likely to apply to and don't worry about the ones with no specific required courses.

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

You might find this link useful:
http://med.stanford.edu/md-admissions/how-to-apply/academic-requirements.html

 

[gyngyn]

You might find this link useful:
http://med.stanford.edu/md-admissions/how-to-apply/academic-requirements.html

Exactly. This is the wave of the future.

 

[ratman7]

Great! I like how schools are starting to become less restrictive and encourage students to explore more areas. However, would not taking some of these "recommended" courses get you screened out... As in, are the "recommended" an unwritten rule for "required" courses? [like how shadowing is not explicitly a requirement but you can't get in without it]

 

[gyngyn]

Great! I like how schools are starting to become less restrictive and encourage students to explore more areas. However, would not taking some of these "recommended" courses get you screened out... As in, are the "recommended" an unwritten rule for "required" courses? [like how shadowing is not explicitly a requirement but you can't get in without it]

No. I think it's a transition period in which schools want to give some guidance without mandating choices.
You still need to have a good gpa, a strong MCAT and a validated commitment to the missions of any of these schools to get an interview. They are just not going to mandate the road you take to get there. You need to be self-directed (or have good advice!).

 

[gyngyn]

In addition to Stanford, USC and Tulane, U VA, E TN State and MUSC (Charleston) have moved to competencies instead of pre-req's.

 

[premedfellow]

We can also add UCSD to the list.