What is "pre-medical"?

[Singh]

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Hello,
Can someone please tell me more about "Pre-medical" in the US?
What does one learn? How long does it take? Is it a requirement to start studying medicine?

Best regards Singh (stud.med.)

 

[Amy B]

There are no degrees in Pre-med anymore. You have to get a 4 year degree at a college or university. Most schools require the degree although there are some that have taken a student after only completing 90 credit hours. Most degree programs are about 145 credit hours which for most people takes 4 years.

To apply to medical school in the states you have to have the following required courses at college.
1. 1 year of General Biology with lab
2. 1 year of General Chemistry with lab
3. 1 year of Organic Chemistry with lab
4. 1 year of Physics with lab
5. 1 year of college math
6. 1 year of English


After you take the MCAT, then you can apply to med school. Applicants do not have to major in science in order to apply to med school. Just as long as you have taken the above mentioned requirements. Although most schools look to see if an applicant has taken higher level science courses such as genetics, physiology, microbiology, cellular biology, etc....

 

[Singh]

Thanks Amy B.
It's quite different from the Danish procedure of applying to medical school.
Always nice to know how it's done in other places. 🙂

Best Regards,
Singh

 

[HollyJ]

Don't forget the English -- many schools require a year of writing-intensive coursework.

 

[Sweet Tea]

some schools also require a semester of biochem and specific math courses (i.e., at least 1 semester of calculus), but that varies from school to school.

 

[smc927]

Originally posted by Amy B
There are no degrees in Pre-med anymore. Most degree programs are about 145 credit hours

Penn State still offers a four year "pre-med" degree. Others still do, too.

And many 4 year degrees are only 125 - 130 credit hours.

 

[kwanny]

I think some schools specify that you need to take Caculus to fulfill a year's worth of math.

 

[skypilot]

In most countries you go to med school straight out of high school and it takes 6 years. In the U.S., most students have a college degree and many are quite a bit older.

😉

 

[dara678]

To the OP -

How do they do it in Denmark?

 

[jlee9531]

Originally posted by skypilot
In most countries you go to med school straight out of high school and it takes 6 years. In the U.S., most students have a college degree and many are quite a bit older.

😉

yeah...korea is like this.

high gpa, high test = med. ed.
can only apply to around 3 schools too i think.
no real emphasis on ECs, just #s.

its why i think that the us system is very goood. 🙂

 

[Amy B]

Originally posted by HollyJ
Don't forget the English -- many schools require a year of writing-intensive coursework.

Ooops I did leave that off my list, but have added it now. Thanks for the reminder

 

[calcrew14]

Originally posted by skypilot
In most countries you go to med school straight out of high school and it takes 6 years. In the U.S., most students have a college degree and many are quite a bit older.

😉

Originally posted by jlee9531
yeah...korea is like this.

high gpa, high test = med. ed.
can only apply to around 3 schools too i think.
no real emphasis on ECs, just #s.

its why i think that the us system is very goood. 🙂

I agree that the 8 years system here is better. But I am not sure that it is necessary. I heard that dudes here work much harder all the way through their eight years. Still, there are numerous graduates from those 6 years foreign schools who have been as successful in every facet of medical practice here as if they were home grown. Disadvantage in English doesn't seem to be any real barrier and home court advantage rarely exists. How and why such a disparity in standard is allowed to exist?

It doesn't help to hear how dudes here are excluded from medical career because of poor Verbal Section. So much about COMMUNICATION!!

🙄 🙁 👎 🙁

 

[Singh]

To Dara 678.
In Denmark, there are two ways of getting into med-school.
1) By achieving high grades in high-school
2) By gathering credits through a specific point system. (Working with handicapped, taking additional courses, doing voluntary work, etc.)

There are some 1800-2000 applicants at Copenhagen Uni per year, and about 400 are taken in.

 

[wclubin]

kljasdfasd

 

[Rendar5]

A Danish Sikh? Are there large Sikh communities in Scandanavian countries? Sorry, completely off-topic, I know. Just curious.