Anat & Phys vs. bio, timing of MCAT

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
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Hi, all!

My S has discovered a major he’s pretty interested in - a BS in Emergency Medical Services. It’s got a STEM core that dovetails fairly well with pre-med requirements, and S is already working on his EMT-B, which he’ll finish the summer after his senior year of HS.

The normal course progression for this program has students spending their entire junior year getting their Paramedic certification, including a summer field internship between junior and senior year.

S will have completed almost all of his core classes before he enrolls, so he could move his Paramedic year into his sophomore year if he wanted.

Senior year lets students tailor the EMS degree to specialize in: Mountain Medicine (sounds like search & rescue stuff?), International Disaster, EMS Instructor, EMS Administration & Operations, and Pre-Health Professional (MD / PA / Allied Graduate Health).

Here are my questions:

  1. S will have a year’s worth of bio credit thanks to AP Bio. We know med schools usually don’t take AP credits, but most say they’ll accept more advanced courses instead. Initially, S was planning to retake the general bio classes until he learned that the BS in EMS requires a year of Anatomy & Physiology for Health Related Sciences with labs. Now he wants to know if he can use those instead. Is this likely to satisfy SOM bio requirements, and if yes, with what possibly unforeseen ramifications? (He will take biochem at some point, too.)

  2. When do pre-meds typically take the MCAT? The Paramedic year is 17 credits one semester and 16 the next, plus the summer internship. I’m thinking sophomore year is better for the Paramedic year, then do the MCAT after junior year? Does that force a glide year? Would anyone do it differently?

As always, many thanks in advance!

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  1. I don't think Anatomy and Physiology can replace the premed bio requirement. Especially it is a prerequisite of the intro bio. In college, there are different levels of into bio classes, which one will qualify premed requirement will depend on the syllabus and the depth of coverage, the premed advisors in that school should be consulted before taking the classes.
  2. There is no time limit for a student take MCAT, as long as all the med school prereqs are satisfied, you can take MCAT, it could be as early as the beginning of Junior year and as late as several years after graduation. But you want to make sure that you have been fully prepared before taking it and the best results from one take, not to take MCAT repeatedly. My nephew took MCAT in his junior year because it was the last "old" MCAT offered , but since it was a rush decision he did not do well, as a result, he is still struggling with his med school application. Most likely, he had to retake it under the new MCAT anyway.
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  1. Even if MCAT is taken during Junior year, still can apply for that year cycle (without gap year).
  2. First get a copy of that college's pre-med office course sheet. That will list all the courses that need to be taken. In general that list is a super set of what is expected from various MD schools and also the required course to prepare for MCAT. The variation you need to be aware is, though that college may waive a pre-med course because of AP, the potential MD school may have different requirements/expectations. In general some MD school may expect to do higher level courses in college if a student not taking the intro course (due to AP). In the example below for Bio, it is not an issue since pre-med of that UG college expects to do multiple higher level bio course. But in Chem/Phy below. if a student really wants to meet all MD school reqs, then student should plan to do a higher level chem course beyond what is listed in pre-med or do the intro course (though AP Chem is taken).

For example in OU, pre-med course sheet under biological sciences it lists (all are 1 sem each)

  1. Intro to Bio (waived if AP Bio done)
  2. Generics AND (either Cell or Molecular Biology)
  3. Principles of Physiology

pre-med course sheet under biological sciences it lists

  1. 2 semesters of Chem (waived if AP Chem)
  2. 2 semester of OChem
  3. 2 semesters of Physics (waived only 1 semester if AP Phys)
  4. 1 semester of BioChem)
  5. 2 semesters of Calc (waived if AP Calc BC)

pre-med course sheet under behavioral sciences it lists

  1. 1 sem Pscho
  2. 1 sem Sociology
  3. 1 sem Stat

pre-med course sheet under critical analysis it lists

  1. 2 sem of English (waived for AP English)
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Mountain medicine is high altitude wilderness search & rescue. Unless your son has rock climbing (outdoor, not at the gym–including lead climbing experience), X-country skiing, map reading/orienteering and backpacking experience, I would strongly suggest he not concentrate in this area. (These are skills students are expected to have in order to participate in the coursework and are NOT taught as part of classes.) Mountain medicine coursework is intended for certified wilderness guides or those very experienced in outdoor recreation (like NOLS grads). D2 will be taking wilderness medicine in August (I think, maybe September), but she has been backpacking since she was 5, is a certified lead climber, used to teach the high ropes course in high school, is an experienced skier and has solo backpacked the Appalachian Trail, the Sierra Nevadas and the Andes in Peru and Chile unsupported for up to 3 weeks at a time.


1) the A&P class I think you're talking about (at UNM? ) is NOT a class that will earn graduation credit for biology majors. It's a class for NON-majors (allied health sciences--nurses, paramedics, dental assistants). If you look at the course description--the pre-reqs are bio for the NON-major. Because this class will not earn graduation credit for bio majors, medical schools will not accept it as substitute for the biology pre-req.

UNM has 3 biology tracks--bio majors, allied health science majors, and everyone else. Any course that has "Health Sciences" in the title or description will NOT fulfill graduation requirements/earn credits for bio majors.

Your son needs to take genetics (with lab) and another upper level non-ecology-related bio class with lab (probably cellular & molecular bio) if he wants to  use his AP credits to skip intro bio and still fulfill med school pre-reqs. UNM really doesn't offer an introductory biology class for majors. 

D1 took A&P at UNM, but she also took 3 other additional upper level bio classes to fulfill admission requirements for med school. (Even UNM SOM won't accept A&P as fulfilling for admissions requirements.) 

2) Pre-meds take the MCAT after they have completed all their pre-req classes--biology, gen chem, ochem, biochem, physics, math, biostats, sociology and psychology--and have put sufficient time into preparing for the exam. 

MCAT scores are "good" for up to 3 years from the date of the test according to AMCAS; however the exact shelf life of a MCAT score will vary by school. Some only accept MCAT scores that are 2 year or less old; a few will accept MCAT that are up to 4 years old. Most say 3 years from date of test.
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Thanks everyone! As always, you’ve been extremely helpful. :slight_smile: