<p>BDM, BRM & norcalguy,
First of all thanks for all the great information and for taking the time to help out others! I'm wondering what Chemistry course you all would recommend for my D who's a freshman. She took AP Chem and got an A in the course but didn't take the test because she had a weak teacher, doesn't like chem much and she was a senior(itis). She tested out of general chem, will start the OChem 2-sem sequence next semester and will take biochem sophomore year. So, she needs one more chem course, what should she take and when should she take it (ie. would it help to take it before the MCATs or can it wait until sr year)? Thanks for your help.</p>
<p>I would have recommended redoing AP Chem. Options:
1.) Second semester of Biochem (recommend)
2.) Physical chemistry (no!)
3.) Analytical chemistry</p>
<p>The problem is that some schools require biochem and will have odd requirements regarding it. I got by without a problem (1 GC, 2 OC, 1 BC), since a couple of schools counted BC towards both the chem requirement and the explicit BC requirement. I can't promise you that all places will do that, but I think it'll be okay.</p>
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<p>None of these are helpful for MCATs and all can be pushed into senior year. She should not do that with too many of her requirements, though.</p>
<p>BDM,
Thanks for the advice, I will pass this on to her. It looks like the only other classes that might be held over until sr year would be the year of physics (based on some of your earlier posts about the level of physics on the MCAT). </p>
<p>Her school gets out in April, so the current thought is for her to self study and take a Kaplan course from Jan-early May and then sit one of the May exams. The disadvantage is not getting scores early to help determine where to apply, but in her case the advantage of taking the MCATs after finals may be more important. Any pros and cons on this schedule would be welcome.</p>
<p>3 semesters into senior year might actually be quite a bit. Premed science courses are only eight courses to begin with (4 chem, 2 bio, 2 physics), so pushing 38% of them into a period where the adcom is blind is probably a bit much.</p>
<p>Is she planning this for summer after junior year? She could also do it a year earlier -- fresher off of organic (relatively) and such, as well as just having it out of the way earlier. Plus, if something awful happens (car crash on the way to exam, etc.) she can have the option of retaking.</p>
<p>Another advantage: she could have the whole summer to study for it, if she wanted to.</p>
<p>Pushing Physics to sr year was a thought to spread out the load, but I think you're right about having too many courses outstanding when applying. </p>
<p>Yes, this is planned for summer after jr year. I doubt it could happen earlier as she took only humanities courses first semester and she's planning on spring of soph year abroad. If anything, it might work better for her to target a MCAT in late summer after jr year and delay applying one year. </p>
<p>I'm afraid that at this point in time she has too many other priorities to do the premed/MCAT part as efficiently as possible. Which is OK, as long as she understands the trade-offs involved. Thanks again for your help with figuring out the premed process!</p>
<p>If I read you correctly, she's got Chem in semesters 3, 4, 5. Is she taking any biology during semesters 3 or 4?</p>
<p>Is This a pretty solid schedule for Spring Semester 2008?</p>
<p>General & Inorganic Chemistry (3 credits)
Chemistry Laboratory II ( 1 Credit )
Survey of Calculus I ( 3 credits)
Introductory Psychology ( 4 credits)
Writ: Evolution of Amer Thght ( 4 credits)
Total : 15 credits</p>
<p>I ' am just wondering what everyone thinks. I am a freshmen and just want to make sure I 'm on the right track for pre-medical!! If you have any suggestions for me please leave a posting. Thanks!!</p>
<p>Classes already taken...</p>
<p>General Chemistry, Chemistry Laboratory I, Society and the Individual (D) (Required class at MSU) , College Algebra & Trigonometry.</p>
<p>School dependent requirements vary so much that there's no reasonable way to answer this question for you without a detailed knowledge of those. Plus, there's a lot of other considerations involved.</p>
<p>BDM, so far it's looking something like this:</p>
<p>sem 2: OC, Calc (diff eq), neuroscience (I know this isn't necessary, but she wants to take it)
sem 3: OC, genetics
sem 4: abroad (I'm assuming even if offered, it's not a good idea to take premed courses)
sem 5: cell biol, BC, physics
sem 6: physiol, physics</p>
<p>I don't know if the order of the bio classes matters, so they can be moved around however it makes sense. The intent of this schedule is to complete the necessary premed courses by semester 6 and to balance premed and humanities courses each semester.</p>
<p>Rip it up, I'd rather hear it now than later :).</p>
<p>Any chance she can switch Neuroscience with Physio? That would put her in excellent position to take MCATs after semester four.</p>
<p>I 'am looking on applying to the medical school's at University of Michigan , Duke University , Northwestern University , Wayne State University , and Wisconsin University . Looking at your id name I know that you probably go to Duke lol , what a beautiful school . I ' am majoring in human nutrition so I got to throw those classes in as well.</p>
<p>Way too early for you to pick specific schools. And I have no idea what your last sentence means.</p>
<p>Thanks, I'll pass that on and see what she says!</p>
<p>While I'm at it -- does she need DiffEq? (She should try to get a full year of math, but it could include, say, stats -- esp. if she's in CA.) If she could move Cell Bio there instead, that might be nice too.</p>
<p>entomom, when you said your D tested out of general chem (assuming it was on a placement test b/c she didn't take the AP test), was it required that she go directly to Ochem?</p>
<p>BDM, She got credit for AP Calc AB and so I believe that will count as 1 sem of math, so she needs one more math class. We're not in CA. Do you think stats would be more helpful? I will note moving up the cell bio, if not for the math, perhaps adding it to semester 3. I can see the benefits of doing the MCAT in the summer after sophomore year rather than waiting.</p>
<p>sports, yes, she took a placement test. I'm don't know that she's actually required to go directly to OC, I think it's more not wanting to repeat gen Chem.</p>
<p>The concern is that some medical schools do not accept AP Credit -- some do, some don't, and a comprehensive list is something we're all still waiting for.</p>
<p>Stats is very helpful, and is actually required if she's going to be applying to UCLA. Certainly more helpful (and easier) than DiffEq.</p>
<p>oops, I can't believe I forgot, she took 2 quarters of Vector Calc at the local university (not a CC). So, between that and another course in math or stats, I'm assuming she should be OK for most med schools. </p>
<p>This AP stuff is such a mess, I wish they'd either do away with it completely or just count it all.</p>
<p>Yeah, one more should do it. I recommend stats, although I understand the appeal of higher-level math, too.</p>
<p>Can anyone give some advise on my situation?</p>
<p>Because of schedule conflict, I am forced to take orgchem2 before orgchem1 (neither can be satisfied by AP credits).</p>
<p>Ive learned a lot of org by myself so I think I can handle it, but will medical schools happily accept this?</p>