Question about UCSD medical school requirements

[psycho.logymajor]

Since UCSD does not have requirements for pre-med but only suggestions how bad would it be if i didn’t do a year of physics? Thanks in advance.

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[gyngyn]

Take what you need to do well on the MCAT.

 

[psycho.logymajor]

Thanks.

 

[KnightDoc]

And remember that most every other applicant will have a year of physics

But, if OP is smart enough to get through the physics part of the MCAT, will that matter AT ALL if it's not a requirement, and OP did well in whatever classes were taken instead? In other words, and maybe this is OP's real question, is a suggestion really a suggestion, or is it some kind of a mind game where OP is supposed to know it's really a requirement?

 

[DNAJB6]

But, if OP is smart enough to get through the physics part of the MCAT, will that matter AT ALL if it's not a requirement, and OP did well in whatever classes were taken instead? In other words, and maybe this is OP's real question, is a suggestion really a suggestion, or is it some kind of a mind game where OP is supposed to know it's really a requirement?

This is an incredibly risky strategy which is very high risk with little reward. You don't roll the dice with one of the most important screening exams in your medical career. If he bombs the MCAT, it demonstrates incredibly poor judgment and an inability to assess one's own weaknesses/lack of introspection. No one will care or give him leniency that he took the exam without the classes. That may very well be fatal even if he later took the courses and retook the MCAT to receive a competitive score.

 

[psycho.logymajor]

But, if OP is smart enough to get through the physics part of the MCAT, will that matter AT ALL if it's not a requirement, and OP did well in whatever classes were taken instead? In other words, and maybe this is OP's real question, is a suggestion really a suggestion, or is it some kind of a mind game where OP is supposed to know it's really a requirement?

Yeah, that was my idea. To learn the physics on my own so it won’t lower my GPA. I know it’s risky but, hypothetically, if I still got a high MCAT score, I wonder if it would matter. Like you said, since it’s a suggestion I don’t know if it really matters.

 

[psycho.logymajor]

This is an incredibly risky strategy which is very high risk with little reward. You don't roll the dice with one of the most important screening exams in your medical career. If he bombs the MCAT, it demonstrates incredibly poor judgment and an inability to assess one's own weaknesses/lack of introspection. No one will care or give him leniency that he took the exam without the classes. That may very well be fatal even if he later took the courses and retook the MCAT to receive a competitive score.

I’m fully aware, this is mostly hypothetical. If I theoretically did well on the MCAT though, but just didn’t do the physics class (to keep my GPA up) would it hurt me?

 

[psycho.logymajor]

-Is it a requirement? No
-Can the OP/applicant ace MCAT without? Yes possibly
-Can the OP/applicant be competitive in a highly competitive, where a large fraction of applicants will have the full slate of typical prereqs? All depends on applicant, but I would want to minimize risk by being as competitive as possible and have the typical prereqs

You’re right, thanks.

 

[KnightDoc]

This is an incredibly risky strategy which is very high risk with little reward. You don't roll the dice with one of the most important screening exams in your medical career. If he bombs the MCAT, it demonstrates incredibly poor judgment and an inability to assess one's own weaknesses/lack of introspection. No one will care or give him leniency that he took the exam without the classes. That may very well be fatal even if he later took the courses and retook the MCAT to receive a competitive score.

Of course! And I certainly wouldn't (and didn't!) do it. But, it's not risky for someone who has a sufficient background and doesn't want to take the classes. It's not like the MCAT is a blind test. Anyone has plenty of opportunity to study review material, Qbanks and FLs to know what to expect, and to know whether or not they need to take a class in order to be able to handle any given topic on the MCAT. No rolling of dice involved.

I was told I didn't need orgo 2 for the MCAT. Sure enough, I made it through without orgo 2. And it wasn't a mystery. I had many months of MCAT review to be able to determine that I was able to handle MCAT orgo w/o orgo 2. Why couldn't that be done with any topic, depending on how good you are, or how good you are at teaching yourself what you need to know? And why is it risky when there are so many diagnostic tools available to measure just where you are prior to taking the test????

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

Is OP applying to UCSD only? No other school require 1 yr of physics?