Pursuing post-bac with significant science experience

Started by sr719
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postbac premed
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sr719

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I finished undergrad in 2016 and I am looking to go to medical school. I majored in political science but I have quite the smattering of science courses. 3.998 GPA.

I am trying to figure out the following

  1. It's been quite a long time since I took some science courses. I excelled in these courses, but I'm probably rusty. Should I retake them or just relearn/self-study these subjects for the MCAT?
  2. Given my science background, is an organized post-bac a good idea? Or something more flexible like Harvard Extension School? I would hope to get everything done in one year given my background.
  3. I've heard that you can't use AP courses when applying to med schools but if you took a higher level course in a subject area then you don't need the more basic course that you AP'd out of.. Is this true everywhere?


Here is my specific background:


Biology : only high school biology

General Chemistry: AP Chemistry in 2011. (Later took undergrad course "Quantitative Analytical Chemistry")

Organic Chemistry: 2 semesters with lab in 2012. Loved it and knew it well.

Physics: AP Physics B. (Later took a undergrad course "Fundamentals of Engineering in the Physics Department.)

Calculus: AP Calculus BC (Later took Multivariable Calculus and Linear Algebra. I am not rusty at all on basic derivatives and integrals. Perhaps a little rusty on applications)

Psychology: AP Psychology in 2011

English: 5 on AP English Language.



I received an A in all the undergrad courses at a top 25 university and a 5 on the AP exams.



So I am here:

Missing: biology, biochemistry. (Maybe something else?)

Rusty: the rest



To my eye, I absolutely need biology and biochemistry. Confused about the rest.



Any help is appreciated!
 
How do you get a 3.998 GPA? Did you take 499 credits with a 4.0 GPA and then took a 1 credit course and got a B? :thinking: