Question about prerequisite courses

[Neurosis]

Yeah, since I'm a psychology major I was wondering if it would be necessary or prudent to take 2 science courses simultaneously. I'm a freshman and already taking Bio I and II this year, planning on taking General chem sequence during the summer and the rest I haven't really planned out yet.
tl;dr: do med schools really care if I don't take 2 sciences at once?

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[brahms11]

I only ever took one lecture and lab at a time as a non-science major. It hasn't hurt me this application cycle as far as I can tell (judging by interview invites.)

Plus, if you take 2+ science courses simultaneously, you will likely have to double up on psych courses another term. It makes sense to have things evenly distributed so you don't burn out, IMHO.

That said, make sure to fit all of the required courses in and try for biochemistry and at least one upper-level science elective to show that you can handle rigorous scientific coursework as well. For me, this meant two summers of courses.

Yeah, since I'm a psychology major I was wondering if it would be necessary or prudent to take 2 science courses simultaneously. I'm a freshman and already taking Bio I and II this year, planning on taking General chem sequence during the summer and the rest I haven't really planned out yet.
tl;dr: do med schools really care if I don't take 2 sciences at once?

 

[Noah Capurso]

Med schools won't care one way or another, as long as you are able to finish all the pre-requisites in time. It is good that you are already planning on how you will complete your pre-reqs as a freshman. That puts you ahead of a lot of premeds who try to jam in lots of requirements at the end.

That being said, it wouldn't hurt to try two science courses in the same semester for two reasons. First of all, med school is nothing but science and if you really should be able to handle two science courses if you are planning on going to med school. Secondly, if you are worried that your performance might suffer, it would be better to try this now, early in college, rather than later. Remember, in addition to your total GPA, adcomms will look at your grade trajectory over the 4 yrs of college. Basically, that means two low grades in your freshman year will matter less than two low grades in your senior year.

Hope this helps!

 

[Neurosis]

Med schools won't care one way or another, as long as you are able to finish all the pre-requisites in time. It is good that you are already planning on how you will complete your pre-reqs as a freshman. That puts you ahead of a lot of premeds who try to jam in lots of requirements at the end.

That being said, it wouldn't hurt to try two science courses in the same semester for two reasons. First of all, med school is nothing but science and if you really should be able to handle two science courses if you are planning on going to med school. Secondly, if you are worried that your performance might suffer, it would be better to try this now, early in college, rather than later. Remember, in addition to your total GPA, adcomms will look at your grade trajectory over the 4 yrs of college. Basically, that means two low grades in your freshman year will matter less than two low grades in your senior year.

Hope this helps!

I thought about this, but the fact of the matter is I suck at quantitative sciences (physics and general chemistry) which is one of the reasons I would rather not augment my coursework with math-leaden courses.

 

[thyKnight]

-_____ you're saying you can't handle more than one science course a semester or something? How will you ever prepare for the rigors of med school if not in undergrad?

 

[Espadaleader]

Hey. I'm a PHI major. You probably will have to do so eventually. Remember you should take at the very least biochemistry on top of the general pre-reqs.

 

[Neurosis]

-_____ you're saying you can't handle more than one science course a semester or something? How will you ever prepare for the rigors of med school if not in undergrad?

I never said that. I said I suck at math based sciences, therefore I wouldn't want to double up those courses and potentially fail (failing = anything less than a B)

 

[Neurosis]

Hey. I'm a PHI major. You probably will have to do so eventually. Remember you should take at the very least biochemistry on top of the general pre-reqs.

Will do.

 

[mauberley]

I never said that. I said I suck at math based sciences, therefore I wouldn't want to double up those courses and potentially fail (failing = anything less than a B)

But...everything's based on math.

 

[Stumpyman]

Science is just math in disguise.

 

[Neurosis]

But...everything's based on math.

 

[COMPLEXMIND]

My pre health club had a meeting with a medical school dean who said that they like to see you take Atleast one semester with two sciences to show that you can manage. Just my $0.02.

 

[LupaCupcake]

I used to say I hated math and math courses were my nemesis

Then I got an A in a math course...yay, good times...still hate it
Then I said ohh this class is going to be hard, lots of math....I got an A...

I could keep this up, but it would be boring. Do not think that you can't handle it, don't think that math is evil. Maybe it is a little evil...but we can let that slide.

The point is, don't doubt yourself and go for it. If you cannot handle two science courses undergraduate level then what will you do come med school?

 

[coyotelime]

I think you can work your way up to taking 2 or even 3 science courses per semester. Depending on the type of psych class you pick they may be neuroscience heavy, thus preparing you adequately for the more bio/chem based courses you would take in medical school.