Stupid Questions...

[bennyhanna]

I am a student majoring in molecular biology, minoring in spanish, and I hope to become a physician some day... (I have a problem with the term pre-med... I have yet to find a college that offers 'pre-med' as a degree).

While looking into many DO and Medical schools, I noticed that many of them list their pre-requisites as including 1 year of inorganic chemistry. http://www.aacom.org/data/cib/03-prereqs.html

Well, this is a bit confusing to me, as it is unclear to me the meaning of 'inorganic chemistry'... as my, and many colleges have General Chemistry I and II (which is inorganic), and then there is the actual Inorganic Chemistry I and II courses that have Organic I and II as a pre-requisite. So, are they meaning General Chemistry I and II, or Inorganic Chemsitry I and II (taken after organic)?

Thanks to all who reply!

 

[HunterGatherer]

general chemistry = inorganic chemistry
organic chemistry is usually not called by any other name.

Very few schools offer a pre-med curriculum and medical schools don't expect you to have this as your major. Most people major in biology or another science because all of the pre-reqs may be applied to your degree. Someone majoring in Economics or another non-science course will have to use a good portion of the science courses as an elective.

Majoring in a nonscience degree will not hurt your chances at getting into medical school so it is my opinion to try to take a degree you will enjoy or will find useful after graduating.

Feel free to ask any question you want. The only dumb question is an unasked question. These questions you ask were asked by all premeds at some point.

 

[HunterGatherer]

Did not see the second part of your question. Do you have a link to your school course catalog?

my school has 2 general chem courses one is for nursing, nutrition, and health science students and the other is for premed, science majors, and lab tech. You should take the one that is required for your biology degree and you will be fine.

Well, this is a bit confusing to me, as it is unclear to me the meaning of 'inorganic chemistry'... as my, and many colleges have General Chemistry I and II (which is inorganic), and then there is the actual Inorganic Chemistry I and II courses that have Organic I and II as a pre-requisite. So, are they meaning General Chemistry I and II, or Inorganic Chemsitry I and II (taken after organic)?

Thanks to all who reply!

 

[bennyhanna]

Did not see the second part of your question. Do you have a link to your school course catalog?

my school has 2 general chem courses one is for nursing, nutrition, and health science students and the other is for premed, science majors, and lab tech. You should take the one that is required for your biology degree and you will be fine.

I do... its in .pdf format...

http://catalog.unco.edu/2005-06HTML/05-06Catalog.pdf

And, the "Inorganic Chemistry" course is listed on page 249. It is a 400 level course, so I would expect it to be a Jr. or Sr. class.... especially since it has Organic Chemistry as a pre-requisite. It made me think something was odd if everyone talks about their difficulties with Organic, but not inorganic! Good to know its General College Chemistry I and II.

 

[fitnessexpert]

At my school they have the same thing. One is specifically for life science people (Chem 177 and 178) and the another is for the others that don't need as intense of a class (Chem 165 and 166). Just check with the Chem department and they should tell you. My school does the pre-med curriculm but you have to follow it under a major, like Zoology-pre-med.


Anne Marie

 

[HunterGatherer]

Your degree requires:
Chem 111/112 gen chem
Chem 331/332 ochem
Those will work for pre-med


you have the option of general and intro physics and I'm not sure if Intro physics is acceptable at most MD/DO schools.

 

[bennyhanna]

Your degree requires:
Chem 111/112 gen chem
Chem 331/332 ochem
Those will work for pre-med


you have the option of general and intro physics and I'm not sure if Intro physics is acceptable at most MD/DO schools.

Thanks... the way I understand it, either physics will do... Intro physics=Algebra based, General physics=calculus based. For my degree, I have to take calc based physics .

I appreciate your responses, YOU ROCK! It is good to know there is an end to the Chemistry courses ahead!

 

[HunterGatherer]

chem 441-443 is upper level chem for chem majors.
look at the prereqs for ochem(chem 331-331) they list chem 111/112 and this is usually standard for most schools:gen chem as pre-req for ochem.

clarify this with one of your advisors. Also you may want to see if your school has a pre-med office. It may be in the Pre-Professional office (Pre-med, prelaw,etc).You may need them for a committee letter.

I do... its in .pdf format...

http://catalog.unco.edu/2005-06HTML/05-06Catalog.pdf

And, the "Inorganic Chemistry" course is listed on page 249. It is a 400 level course, so I would expect it to be a Jr. or Sr. class.... especially since it has Organic Chemistry as a pre-requisite. It made me think something was odd if everyone talks about their difficulties with Organic, but not inorganic! Good to know its General College Chemistry I and II.

 

[bennyhanna]

chem 441-443 is upper level chem for chem majors.
look at the prereqs for ochem(chem 331-331) they list chem 111/112 and this is usually standard for most schools:gen chem as pre-req for ochem.

clarify this with one of your advisors. Also you may want to see if your school has a pre-med office. It may be in the Pre-Professional office (Pre-med, prelaw,etc).You may need them for a committee letter.

That sounds right... I have OrgoII and Biochem left... but after hearing the Chem Major's talking about 'Inorganic', and recalling it as a pre-req, I thought that med-schools were requiring quite a bit of chem, so I wanted clarification.

Thanks!

 

[HunterGatherer]

It is good to know there is an end to the Chemistry courses ahead!

Good luck in orgo lab. I had labs 6pm-10pm. I usually spent the whole 4 hours in fear I was going to screw up my experiment. Everynight I went home thinking I needed a beer! Orgo lab 2 is cool though because you are just refining what you learned in orgo 1 lab

 

[HunterGatherer]

with the biochem you are taking you can apply to KCUMB and UNECOM. Add some behavioral science and you can apply anywhere. good luck.

 

[OSUdoc08]

I am a student majoring in molecular biology, minoring in spanish, and I hope to become a physician some day... (I have a problem with the term pre-med... I have yet to find a college that offers 'pre-med' as a degree).

While looking into many DO and Medical schools, I noticed that many of them list their pre-requisites as including 1 year of inorganic chemistry. http://www.aacom.org/data/cib/03-prereqs.html

Well, this is a bit confusing to me, as it is unclear to me the meaning of 'inorganic chemistry'... as my, and many colleges have General Chemistry I and II (which is inorganic), and then there is the actual Inorganic Chemistry I and II courses that have Organic I and II as a pre-requisite. So, are they meaning General Chemistry I and II, or Inorganic Chemsitry I and II (taken after organic)?

Thanks to all who reply!

Inorganic is the freshman gen chem I & II that are taken PRIOR TO organic