<p>Is it necessary to take calculus to get into medical school? I have already taken the AP and at I should at least get a 3 which will allow me to get credit for the course or at least wave my requirement. Would medical schools frown upon this? I have heard so many contradictory things and am now very confused. I would rather just take statistics to fulfill any math requirements I might need.</p>
<p>Subject has been frequently covered and the reason for the confusion is that all med school requirements are the same.</p>
<p>In summary:
- Not every med school requires math as a pre-requisite but they do require Bio, Chem, and Physics. How you would successfully get through college level science without math would be a mystery. Most college science is Calc based.
- If the individual med school does require math, they will look more favorably on higher levels vs. intro. This is true with whatever coursework you select. Just know that a 4.0 in Intro beats a 2.5 in Calc IV any day.
- Med school does not care about your AP. The fact that your undergrad school gives you credit has no bearing on Med school requirements.</p>
<p>You really need to talk to your premed advisor. Whether the med schools will accept your high school AP varies by school and state, and it also may depend on how it appears on your transcript. </p>
<p>You are probably better off taking intro calculs again in college. If you got a 3, then this is marginal mastery of the subject, and you could be in trouble in your physics course. Plus taking it again will give you a good chance at a good grade. </p>
<p>There is usually no point in taking extra math beyond the requirements unless you are really good at it (and will get A's), or you need it for your major. You do not need math to practice medicine, just to get into medical school.</p>
<p>I'm going into my 2nd year, and my advisor(as well as others) told me that med schools do not count any of your math/science ap's for the requirements of 1 year bio, chem, physics, math(if they have it). If you use ap credit at the college, you have to then take the next level in that subject to fulfill the requirement. Another option is to forfeit the ap credit at your college and just retake it if you dont want to take a more advanced course.</p>
<p>Most med schools, I believe, require 1 semester of math. There are a few that require two semesters or none.</p>
<p>I'm going to be a Bio Major... In high school i took AP Calculus and had about a B+ average. My college recommended me to take Calculus II instead of Calculus I... I'm wondering what I should do... I signed up for Calc II but now I am considering having it changed to Calc I, becuase I hear that basically 1 year of Calc is needed for Med School and also I know I will do well in Calc I, which will boost my GPA and give me time to focus on Bio and Chem. Calc II might consume too much of my time and if i struggle, my GPA will be low my first year (which is not a good thing).</p>
<p>any suggestions...?</p>
<p>That is exactly what I did. Which AP did you take? BC or AB? I took BC calc and found Calc I to be a breeze. </p>
<p>While it is true that most med school require only one semester of math, taking Calc I may not be as impressive as Calc II or III. But then again, math is not as important as the science courses/electives. </p>
<p>My thought is that go for Calc I and take more advance science courses/electives. Since you are a bio major, you should have no problem going that route.</p>
<p>i took AB, but my teacher told me that we probably covered alot of stuff that they will start with in Calc II, but regardless i think i'm gonna go for Calc I and do as you said, take the more advanced science courses..</p>
<p>You want to retake a class that you have already successfully completed just to get an A? That's not the right attitude to have if you want to become a doctor or anything else for that matter. Why don't you challenge yourself by taking Calc II? It's based on the principles of Calc I, so you should be fine. I just don't think that avoiding a more difficult class shows how determined you are to be a doctor. But...that is only my opinion.</p>
<p>Most premeds do that. They're "avoiding" the more difficult course so that they can concentrate on the more difficult/advanced science courses.</p>
<p>But everyone has their preference on the route to take.</p>
<p>Hey Charman20 you need to realize that in the pre-med game its all about grades. No one cares if its fair or not. You do it to increase your chances of getting in. Most people do it so its not a bad thing. By taking a harder class you are less likely to get a good grade and a med school will not care that it was a harder class, they will however care that you didn't do well.</p>
<p>This is really a cup half full or empty situation.</p>
<p>Both views have their pros and cons. But it all comes down to how well you do academically AND outside of school.</p>
<p>With that said, just do what you feel would help you succeed and be competitive.</p>
<p>Just because everyone does it doesn't mean it isn't bad. Did you fail Calc I? Did you come anywhere close to failing it? If the answer the both of these questions is no, then you shouldn't retake it. Besides, a high GPA doesn't guarantee anything for med school. One extra A doesn't increase your chances of acceptance. You should go to AAMC website. The 1st standard deviation from the mean GPA of accepted students goes as low as about a 3.3 GPA. People with 3.3 GPA's obviously don't get straight A's, nor should they have to. It's a little more than just grades.</p>
<p>That one A will help you a little. If you don't believe in doing it don't. Everybody else will including me.</p>
<p>Take Cal I. Get an A. Taking more math than you need or want is a waste of time and effort. Risking something other than an A when you are premed is foolish if there is nothing to gain. Here there is nothing to gain.</p>
<p>chanman:</p>
<p>don't forget that the standard deviation includes grade deflation schools (Chicago, Swarthmore, Cornell, the UC's, fill in your favorite), where a 3.5 is extremely rigorous, and it includes the grade INflation schools, H, P, and S, for example, which give out B's on a much different curve.</p>
<p>I say take calc I if you're not sure of what you will get in Cal II and if Calc II might bring down your average. I'm in the same boat as you. I took the AP class and I passed it usaully getting around 80's, but i'm a wonderful test taker so on all the important test i got 90's and above. did i understand it very well?... eventually, but it was time consuming and i honestly kept on telling my teacher "hold on, can you explain that again" and sometimes i just had to block out everything to grasp part b when everyone else was on part d. So passing doesn't really mean anything. I bet i got a 4 on the ap, but i know that college calc II will be too hard, too time consuming, and i wont have the one on one attention. I dont want to pull a 3.0 or even worse, so i rather do what i know i'll get a 4.0 in than risk it. its about being honest with yourself. can you do it, and will you be able to put out enough effort to do it.</p>
<p>What is grade deflation? Schools like Swarthmore are really difficult and they don't really inflate grades, but that doesn't mean they deflate them. I don't even know how that would be justified. Grade inflation, although it might not be a myth, cannot be proven statistically. It would be too hard to get a representative sample of student's grades. However, assuming there is grade deflation and grade inflation factored in, these effects would probably neutralize each other for the most part. </p>
<p>The following is my final argument, because I'm pretty convinced that all you guys care about is getting a 4.0. Medical school is supposed to be extremely difficult. I would think that by taking a more challenging course load, you guys would be better prepared for the rigors of med school. Furthermore, a lot of kids will have a 4.0 on their med school applications. So, what makes a 4.0 so impressive? It's the quality of the classes and the quality of the volunteer experiences that will get you in. Independent research would also be a nice advantage.</p>
<p>ideally what you say sounds right, but it doesn't matter how prepared you are for med school if you don't have the grades to get in...a poor but applicable analogy is like in hs when some students study the material to gain a wider grasp of the mateiral while others study for the the test...more often than not the second student does better on the test even though the first may be able to understand the knowledge better and apply it to real life</p>
<p>Charman not all too many people have 4.0s who apply to med school. A 4.0 in college is very hard to get. Med schools software programs don't care about the rigor of your courses when they are doing initial screening. They see your BCPM GPA and MCAT and they decide if they school will persue you further. One class especially math won't make you less prepared for how hard med school will be. Math has a very very small role in med school, and most med schools could care less about what math you finished they just care that you finished the necessary math classes. The quality of classes and quality of volunteer experience is not what gets you in. You GPA is the number one factor, next is MCAT, then clinical volunteer experience, then Shadowing experience then non-clinical experience and everything else is under this. This is what every med student who has gone through the process says. It may not be well liked but its the truth.</p>