I’m a first-year neuroscience major. I hope to get into the best MD school that I can (whatever that may be). When looking up requirements for medical schools it seems like school differ in terms of their math requirements.
I’m planning on taking intro to statistics next year and then biostatistics w/lab after. Would these courses satisfy the math requirement for a majority of medical schools or is it necessary that I take calculus? I genuinely hate calculus so I’d rather avoid taking it if I could.
Thanks!
Med school admission requirements in math do differ among schools. There is no one answer to your question. It depends on what schools you plan on applying to.
Most schools require a year of “college level mathematics” (generally accepted to be 1 semester of calc and 1 semester of either stats or biostatistics); some require specific courses. Some med schools have moved to competency based admissions and don’t require specific coursework, but do expect applicants to present proof of skills mastery in various academic areas, including mathematics. Providing that proof is on you. Typically this is done either through coursework or by extensive research experience. (MCAT scores are not proof of competency.)
Among top 10 schools–
WashU currently requires 2 semester of calculus, Harvard and JHU each require at least 1 semester of calc for admission. Carle- Illinois requires calc 1-2-3 and differential equations.
Penn expects applicants to demonstrate competency in mathematics “including knowledge of algebra, equations and interpretation of graphic representations of data …”
I suggest you consult MSAR for math requirements of any schools you’re interested in applying to see what the current admission requirements are. If in doubt, email the admission office and ask
Be aware, however, that admission requirements can and do change from year to year, and what satisfies requirements this year may not 3 or 4 years from now when you’re applying.
P.S. Some majors require calc-based physics as a graduation requirement.
Some colleges require pre-meds–regardless of major–to take calc-based physics if they want a committee LOR when applying to med school. (D2’s undergrad did…) Check with the health professions advising office at your university.
In either of the above cases, you’ve got to take at Calc 1 if you want to pass physics.
Thanks for the advice @WayOutWestMom
Thankfully my major doesn’t require physics and my college doesn’t require calc-based physics so all I’m planning is to take a year of introductory physics w/ labs and I will probably end up talking calc 1 before that to satisfy med schools that require that. Honestly I hate anything to do w physics and calculus so i’m probably going to save physics till senior year when i’ll have a slightly lighter course load and If a school requires calc 2 then it its probably not a school I want to go to LOL.
When are you planning on applying/enrolling in med school if you’re going to take physics senior year? You know there is physics on the MCAT, right?
Knowledge of calculus will allow you to understand statistics better, at least if you take statistics courses that use calculus.
Also, if you know calculus, you won’t have to spend any time rediscovering it: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2011/11/10/apparently-calculus-was-invented-in-1994/
Good Question lol. Maybe I’ll be taking physics earlier than planned.
If you take biostatistics, a number of the topics covered in the class really require some calculus background in order to understand them–: probability analysis, curve fitting, variance and regression analysis.
Are you sure your neuroscience major doesn’t require calc? Those I’m familiar with do (but I’m certainly not familiar with all of them).
Nope, no calculus required