Questions about pre-reqs

[dmd299]

Hey guys. I am a little confused about the pre-reqs for med school. To my understanding, you need:

General Chem I & II
General Bio
Genetics
Physics I
Physics II
Orgo I
Orgo II
Microbio
Calc I and II

I am currently attending PSU, and the courses are numbered differently (most universities number them differently). How do I know if BIOL 141 (physiology) is the right course for General Bio? Et ceterea with the others?

Thanks.

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[bottles999]

Hey guys. I am a little confused about the pre-reqs for med school. To my understanding, you need:

General Chem I & II
General Bio
Genetics
Physics I
Physics II
Orgo I
Orgo II
Microbio
Calc I and II

I am currently attending PSU, and the courses are numbered differently (most universities number them differently). How do I know if BIOL 141 (physiology) is the right course for General Bio? Et ceterea with the others?

Thanks.

The list looks pretty accurate except for a few minor items.

1. Microbio & Genetics are NOT requried classes for Med school
2. The General Bio is usally a a full year of bio lecture + labs
3. Biochem is a requirement or strongly recommended elective for *SOME* schools. Certainly helpful for the MCAT and Med school. Just needs to be done prior to matriculation at the med school.
4. Don't forget the labs for Gen chem's, Orgo's, Physics, and gen Bio
5. English too I believe at most schools, one year

Chances are PSU has a Freshman biology class, generically put Bio101 & Bio102 w/labs. That will be your general biology requirement. Anything above that including Genetics, Micro, and physiology are not required, but certainly helpful for sure. Definitly an asset if you take them before taking the MCAT.

Good Luck!

 

[viostorm]

I did TMDSAS or me it was :

Bio I and II /w labs
Chem I and II w/ labs
Orgo I and II w/ labs
Physics I and II w/ labs
English 1 year
Math - Stats or calc

But you have to check because there are specific requirements on the TMDSAS site.

 

[dmd299]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I have been googling med school cost, and all I can seem to come up with is results from the 90s with projections around this year and next. Where can I find the current average med school cost and graduate (after residency) salary? Any ideas?

Also, I want to go to school in state (PA), any suggestions that won't totally break the bank?

Thanks.

 

[Non-TradTulsa]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I have been googling med school cost, and all I can seem to come up with is results from the 90s with projections around this year and next. Where can I find the current average med school cost and graduate (after residency) salary? Any ideas?

Also, I want to go to school in state (PA), any suggestions that won't totally break the bank?

Thanks.

Some projections of medical school debt are a little misleading - schools calculate an average debt of all students accepting loans as part of a financial aid package - but some students have partial family support - or live at home, etc. If you're going to be supporting yourself, including living expenses, your debt at a public institution is probably going to be in the $150,000 to $200,000 range. At some private institutions, if you don't receive tuition grants, your debt can be as high as $250,000.

As far as salaries - there are a lot of good websites, some of which are cited on SDN, that can give you accurate information. Having said that, a very rough figure is - primary care, $150-180K per year salary after expenses paid (pediatrics and family practice are a bit lower, internal medicine can go a little higher if you're willing to see a ton of patients each day). The medical specialties are generally somewhere in the range of $200-$350K, depending on specialty. Surgical subspecialties can go considerably higher.

Hope that helps.

 

[Faze2]

Hey guys. I am a little confused about the pre-reqs for med school. To my understanding, you need:

General Chem I & II
General Bio
Genetics
Physics I
Physics II
Orgo I
Orgo II
Microbio
Calc I and II

I am currently attending PSU, and the courses are numbered differently (most universities number them differently). How do I know if BIOL 141 (physiology) is the right course for General Bio? Et ceterea with the others?

Thanks.

I went to PSU too. Are you at Main or a branch campus? Either way, if you are looking at the courses, read the descriptions to see what they are first. If you look at BIOL 141 you will see that it has a BIO pre req, which is a usually a sure sign that it is not a general class, but a more specialized class. At Penn State I cannot stress two things enough.
1) Get a pre-med advisor and communicate with them frequently. (Don't stalk them, but update them and ask for advice) They will let you know which classes are the right ones.
2) Take the advice they give you BUT DON'T BE AFRAID TO QUESTION IT AND DO WHAT YOU THINK I RIGHT!!!! If they tell you something that you think might not be the right decision, get a second opinion from someone else. A prof., a friend, an upper classman, etc.

The reason I say so is b/c I spoke with an advisor who told me to take BIOL 141 even though I had not taken any BIO classes yet. She said it would be a good class to see if the human body was really what I wanted to study, and that if I did bad I could always retake it and get a better grade after taking regular BIO. Oh yeah, she taught the class as well. Being new to pre med classes I took her word for it.
Long story short. Did sh***y on the first 2 tests cause it was basically a cell bio review and most of the concepts were based on the fact that you had basic knowledge of BIO, which I did not. Did well on the 3rd exam (B) and even got an A on the final (which did not have much gen bio, it was the actual systems of the human body and their functions) but with the first 2 tests my grade for the class was a C+. Now DO schools will take a new grade if I retake it, and MD schools will combine the two. Either way though that C+ will not disappear.
The point of the story is that when I would tell this to BIO profs or admissions people in programs I was applying to or whoever, they ALL agreed that it was ridiculous and irresponsible for her to tell me to take a class without a BIO prerequisite, especially since she was the one teaching it, she should have know that her cirriculum included a lot from Cell BIO. And for an advisor to say "just take it over if you do bad" is insane in itself. Now Physio at another school may be completely different, so this situation may only be unique to PSU, but my point is be wary of advice that you may not necessarily agree with. It is better to take a little longer and do well than to rush through it and not do as well as you can.

Also, if you are up at U PARK, take summer classes. Summer up there is fun and it is beautiful in the summer time. Not as crowded but just as fun.

 

[dmd299]

I go to one of the sattelite campuses (Worthington/Scranton).

I am actually graduating in the spring with a bachelor's in bussiness. Should I put off graduation until my pre-reqs are done? I would rather graduate in the spring and then go back and take my pre-reqs.

Is there anything else I have to do besides take the pre-reqs and MCAT to get into med school (I know about shadowing, research, et cetera)?

 

[Beau Geste]

Technically, do get into most schools and to have the info for the MCAT you only need:

Bio I/II
Gen Chem I/II
Physics I/II
Organic Chem I/II

But, I also took A&P I/II, Calc, and Genetics. A&P and Genetics are helping so far with MCAT studying, but there's no benefit to Calc really except that it's a good weed-out class for pre-meds. I'm not sure there are too many schools that require Calc II, but then again I don't have my MSAR in front of me.

I wish I could have taken Micro prior to the MCAT, but from what I've seen in the practice material what I need to know was covered in Genetics (like bacterial reproduction) and Bio (general biology of microorganisms).