The Physics Requirement Of Medical Schools

[kelpy]

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[TTSD]

Not entirely sure about that.. but I would heartily recommend college level physics because if you're going to do any science major.. you gotta retake physics.

 

[kelpy]

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[Gleevec]

I APed out of intro chem, intro physics, and intro bio in regards to med school reqs. Most schools dont seem to care too much, esp. if your MCAT and other coursework shows you moved beyond the intro level courses as opposed to just avoiding them at a college level.

Best thing to do is check out med school webpages before you apply, in general most will cut you some slack in reqs. if you have AP credit and have taken other sciences courses and did well on those sections of the MCAT. If not, you can always take it 2nd semester senior year or even in the summer, though I imagine that is pretty rare. Remember, the requirements are generally pre-matriculation, not pre-acceptance, though I dont know if some schools do the latter de facto.

 

[kelpy]

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[thackl]

AP physics is college level. I did the same as Gleevec and the med schools don't seem to care. Don't retake anything. Intro stuff is a waste of time. The only thing I've heard is they would like to see you take upper levels at a major university if you have done the lower levels in HS or CC.

Remember, MCAT physics/chem/bio/org is not like what you take in class. It's a different beast. I took the damn test last apr without org2, org lab, bio and 11yrs out of HS (where I took the physical sciences). The review books are good help for the MCAT and teach you everything you need to know.

 

[Gleevec]

Originally posted by kelpy
Gleevec, did you move straight onto o-chem without taking intro chem? I heard that o-chem is insanely hard as it is and if you take it without taking college level intro chem first you'll have a very difficult time handling it. Also, did you take upper level physics courses to compensate for the lack of college level physics?

Hi kelpy,
Yeah I took orgo my freshman year, my school has a special section of orgo for freshmen that is supposed to make things easier. In fact, the class was much harder and more competitive than the upperclass person because it was full of overachievers. But all in all it was definitely worth it, it was the hardest class Ive ever taken to this day, and Ive taken a little more than half a dozen graduate classes.

I would just skip redoing intro chem if you feel you have a good background in HS. No point in repeating something. Also, I generally do better in classes that interest me, and retaking gen chem would probably have lowered my GPA due to my sheer boredom. Orgo was pretty new and interesting to me, so it worked out well.

Physics is a similar situation, except if you're done, you're done with it til the MCAT unless its part of your major. The physics class at my ugrad is considered the worst class here due to poor teaching and interaction, so I am glad I avoided that and replaced it with a more interesting science course.

In general, it should not be assumed that intro classes are easy As if you have already taken the AP. If you bore easily when having to listen to repeated material, like I do, then it can actually hurt you.

While I had to review gen chem and physics a little more for the MCAT than my classmates did, it works out well because you learn the basics in AP and from Kaplan/Princeton review and you avoid the excesses. I dont think missing out on intro classes hurt my MCAT at all, in fact I think it helped it in terms of the classes I took instead. Also higher level classes tend to have a lot more learning (and are WAY more interesting) and have less competition, and if that is your style you can flourish in them and get an ever better GPA.

So I would advice anyone who is confident about their AP credits, well to first talk to their advisor, but after that consider the classes you can take instead of intro classes. There are very few intro classes that are worth taking, the intro chem class was pretty good at my school, but thats about it. So talk to upperclassmen and see what they say. I think APing out of physics wont hurt you at all, and chem if you have a solid background you might as well jump into ochem.

Good luck.

PS.. I didnt take upper level physics to "replace" intro physics. If that is a problem with med schools, Ill just take some second semester senior year or over summer. It hasnt been a problem in terms of me getting secondaries or interviews, but if anyone knows that it affects you at the acceptance stage I would be curious to hear your experiences. Thanks.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Originally posted by kelpy
Gleevec, did you move straight onto o-chem without taking intro chem? I heard that o-chem is insanely hard as it is and if you take it without taking college level intro chem first you'll have a very difficult time handling it. Also, did you take upper level physics courses to compensate for the lack of college level physics?

Intro chem, or inorganic chem, has very little to do with organic chemistry.

I flopped and flailed in inorganic chemistry, but had no trouble getting As in organic chemistry. In fact, organic chemistry was my favorite undergrad subject. I don't think your success in organic chemistry is at all based on your success in inorganic.

 

[kelpy]

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[group_theory]

Originally posted by ItsGavinC
Intro chem, or inorganic chem, has very little to do with organic chemistry.

I do hope you are not interchanging intro chem (general chem) with inorganic chemistry?

Inorganic chemistry deals with group theory (point groups, symmetry, character tables), molecular orbitals (the construction of them and the interpretation), the chemistry of all groups and periods, field-ligand theory, etc.

General chem is your standard stoichiometry, acid-base, ideal gas law, electrochem, kinetics, etc. that are taught to someone beginning chemistry.

But Intro chem OR inorganic chem have little to do w/ INTRO organic chemistry. Once you take advance level organic chemistry, you will see that the concepts taught to premeds in intro orgo are vast oversimplification - and there are lots of overlap (in terms of subject material) with inorganic chemistry (such as orgometallic).

 

[IrishOarsman]

i'm applying to a few schools that highly recommend that i take physics on top of the ap (yale is one, u of c says so on the web but in person one of the deans said not to worry about it) and one that requires it (harvard) so i'm taking this total BS "medical physics" class.

 

[umass rower]

I placed out of all the required physics classes at my school, but I took a higher level intro course as a refresher (physics for engineers and applied physics majors). I decided not to take the lab, and I didn't bother with a second semester. My advisor had recommended taking a semester just to prove to schools that I could do it, but that they're usually lenient if the grade and MCAT are both fine. Mine are, so hopefully it won't be a problem.