First semester pre med schedule.

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>Basically, at my school there is regular intro to bio where all the basic concepts are explained (with a lab) and then there is a bio 1 class for people that are majoring in bio, does it matter for med schools which ones you take?</p>

<p>Also, does anyone know a site with a recommended schedule for pre-med students per semester?
I am majoring in biochem, but since i registered for class late in the process( i was a spring transfer), some intro classes werent available. As of now, I am taking calc I, seminar, chem +lab, psy, and english + 15 credits. This schedule is not nearly rigorous enough for me, so i was looking to add another gen class that was science related before the term begins.</p>

<p>In summary, what is the typical first semester schedule for a freshman who is a premed?
any comments are appreciated.</p>

2

<p>You're a first semester frosh, how do you know that's not rigorous enough for you?</p>

<p>It's better to err on the side of caution...you're taking 15 credits so you're not off pace to graduate. If you need more to do, why not get involved on campus, start your volunteering, line up a couple of shadowing opportunities, and pick up an off-campus job? There are lots of other things that would be more beneficial than another class.</p>

<p>As far as a typical pre-med 1st semester sched, it's going to vary campus to campus.</p>

<p>At my alma mater, a state u in the midwest, the typical schedule looked like this:</p>

<p>CHEM 109 General Chemistry with lab (4 hours)
MATH 106 Calculus I (5 Hours)
ENG 150 Composition I (3 Hours)
Intro Course in your major (3 Hours)</p>

<p>Mine freshman looked like this:
CHEM 109
MATH 106
ENG 189H - Honors Program required seminar
SOCI 101 - Intro to Sociology (my major)
total of 15 hours
I was also in a fraternity, the College of Arts and Sciences Student Advisory Board (I got an exec position at the end of the semester), I was mentoring a disadvantaged 3rd grader, was in the Humanities in Medicine Club (as an exec), and a tour guide for HS Senior Visit Days.</p>

3

<p>
[quote]
It's better to err on the side of caution...you're taking 15 credits so you're not off pace to graduate. If you need more to do, why not get involved on campus, start your volunteering, line up a couple of shadowing opportunities, and pick up an off-campus job? There are lots of other things that would be more beneficial than another class.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Actually another class may be beneficial. It'll give frasifrasi an option to drop a class several weeks into the semester if the course load is too demanding, or if he just decides that he doesn't like a particular class.</p>

4

<p>Thank you for the help guys. Bigred, i talked to a couple advisers and they also recommended taking only 15 credits in the beginning to see if I can handle, which was frustrating since I wanted to take a rigorous courseload from the start. I added a bio course today ( I wanted to take phys, but all classes were full). Like clutch said, at least i can spare droping a class and still have 15 credits if it turns out that I don't like a certain class. One thing that I found surprising is that the biochem major at my school does not require students to take an intro to bio class, only genetics. I am guessing some of the concepts will be discussed in the actual classes for the major. Nevertheless, I will definetily sign up for bio I next semester as it may help with the mcats. Bigred, have you taken the genetics course? Is similar to the gentics sections covered in AP bio or does it go into more depth? And what are the typical requirements from premed-medical school?</p>

5

<p>Look, here's where I'm coming from, and why I say, start small, you can always add other outside activities later to fill up your time. </p>

<p>1) The first year at college is a period of tremendous growth and maturation. There is a lot of adjusting that must take place as one leaves what they've always known to start new things. For some people this takes place pretty readily, for others not so much. However, EVERYONE has, at some point, a slip up of some sort, some crisis in which the world seems to be falling down around you. It might be a fleeting moment, it might be a week, it might be a month - you never know. It could be anything from homesickness, to a bad test grade, a bout with mono or influenza, or even something more serious. A smaller courseload decreases your investment during this transitional period. I'm not saying something horrible will, just that if you're only taking 15 hours, the damage is not as bad. Even taking another english course is better than something that is going to go into your science GPA and be counted against you twice.</p>

<p>2) the attrition rate for pre-meds is tremendous. Part of that is due to burnout. People go pre-med, think they have to be a science major and then get stuck with a too many labs or a poor prof, and then find themselves in trouble. There are thousands of reasons why people stop being pre-med, but one of the main ones is having to deal with too much science at once. If you truly love science (like wouldn't mind being a PhD in the field) this is less likely, but there are plenty of people who like science enough to be doctors that end up as bio majors b/c they think they have to be and then despise having to take 2 or 3 lab courses a semester. Why set yourself for this early?</p>

<p>3) GPA is one of the few things that if you mess up early, it stays on your record and medical schools will see. Even dropping a class shows up, and if you, heaven forbid, end up with a 'W' that does have a negative effect on your application. Plus, courses cost money. Any of the other things I've mentioned, don't, and if you really don't like them, there's no harm done to your application. If you hate the Doc that you shadow, you can still put down you did it, and then find another. If you realize that volunteering in the ER is not what you hoped for, you can find a different hospital or another floor to work on. If the pre-med club is worthless, no big deal. If your job sucks, you can get a new one. You get a B- or worse in a class, that matters.</p>

<p>4) Classes aren't everything, and medical schools don't care about how many hours you take a in a semester. While GPA is important and follows you around, it is most certainly not the only consideration. If your school work prevents you from taking part in the other activities necessary to secure admission into medical school, then it's hurting your application, even if you get A's in all your courses. Med school admissions are a very holistic evaluation of the candidate and you can't get in on just GPA and MCAT.</p>

<p>I have taken genetics course but I of course have not taken the genetics course you will take, since we go to different schools. I will guarantee that it will go far more in depth than any AP bio course, simply from the fact that you will only cover genetics topics during the ~45 hours you'll have of genetics class over the course of the semester. The fact that you even asked that question leads me to believe that you don't understand the nature of college courses and how they differ from HS classes. All the more reason to only go with 15 hours...</p>

6

<p>I think the most important point BRM makes is that the rigour of your courseload does not matter. As long as you take a load representative of other students at your school, you're fine, though you are encouraged to overload for a semester or two, but for your first semester it's probably not a good idea. It sounds like your still used to the undergrad application process where courseload is important; you must understand that this is not the case for med school.</p>

7

<p>Thanks for the lecture/advice guys, I can see how my perception was a bit immature. Does anyone know a site where I can find the usual premed requirements ?</p>

8

<p>you can find everything you need here.
<a href="http://www.bestpremed.com/premed.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.bestpremed.com/premed.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

9

<p>Remember, premed is an intention, not a major. Course suggestions are for helping you get required courses in a timely fashion. Consider your major, and take the toughest courses you can, and the credit load that suits you, not the typical freshman. No medical or grad school will criticize you for exceeding the minimum. I would "go for it", you can drop a course, but never will know if you can handle the work if you don't try. You can more easily explain poor freshman grades than later. Also, it's nicer to take a light load as a senior than to be scrambling to graduate. Try to get the best education for yourself, not one taylored solely to get into medical school. Remember also, take all the fun courses you will never have time for if you become a physician- I took a fantasy and science fiction lit course P/F as an excuse to read fun books. It helped my sanity, I was a chem major who became a physician eons ago.</p>

<p>Consider this, if you do not make it into med school, will you regret all the courses you did not take in pursuit of that goal, or will you be happy with what you got out of college regardless of your future professsion?</p>

10

<p>Thanks for your insightful advice, wis. Yeah, i decided to take another 3 credit class and drop a 1 credit, useless class that I had. Now I will have 17 credits in total. It is funny that you mention we should also take classes we are curious about. I was thinking about that last week and now plan to take art history 1 and 2 and then a couple of philosophy classes. then, a shakespeare and greek literature class. I will see if I can switch my major to CS next semester as well since I can envision myself working in that field and like computer stuff. If my plans of medical school end up not working, i don't like the prospect of being a biochem major ( I definitely don't want to be a teacher and lab work is just too tedious for me).</p>

11

<p>
[quote]
no medical school or grad school will criticize you for exceeding the minimum

[/quote]
</p>

<p>There are also aren't a whole lot (at least medical schools) that will reward you for going well above and beyond. </p>

<p>I'm not arguing for only taking the minimum, but as a freshman there are a host of other issues besides just classes that are going on, especially for the pre-med freshman who needs be starting in on the other things. It's all there in Post #5...</p>

12

<p>Taking more than recommended as a first semester freshman -- if that is indeed your situation -- is a no-win proposition.</p>

<p>A baseball GM gives an adage I like: "You can always recover from the moves you didn't make. But one bad move can doom you."</p>

<p>You have no idea what your academic capabilities in the context of your university. None whatsoever. Most of the kids at your school did well in high school, and less than most of them are going to excel at your college. There is no way to determine what side of that pool you fall on. Trust me, 80% of your class is currently planning on graduating in the top 20%. It doesn't work, mathematically.</p>

<p>It would be one thing if we were counseling you to go dramatically under the minimum. We're not. We are counseling you to take the advice of people who have seen many freshmen come in and burn themselves by being overconfident without having any experience on which to base their self-assessment.</p>

<p>You can always -- always -- discover pleasantly that you have enough ability to handle a normal courseload and ramp it up from there. You will NOT be able to erase a bad semester. Yes, they're forgiving of errors you might make, but only within limits. Why set yourself up to make those errors at all?</p>

<p>Especially given that medical schools will NOT reward you for the additional courseload, what in the world is the possible sensibility of defying the advice of people who have a great deal more experience?</p>

<p>Take 15 units. Taking yourself in stride is a big deal, and the overconfidence displayed prior to any actual basis for that evaluation could potentially be a very big deal.</p>

<p>First semester freshmen should ALWAYS take the advice of their academic advisors, because they have no better basis on which to judge their particular abilities.</p>

13

<p>wow, my grammar really sucked on that last post...strike that "are" in the first sentence.</p>

14

<p>BRM and BDM, how do you guys think switching to CS next semester will affect me in terms of premed requirents and applying to medical school? I am somewhat disappointed at the chem department at my school (<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=295683%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=295683&lt;/a&gt;) and would rather major in something non-science. I chose biochem solely because it was related to stuff I would study in medical school and since it involved bio and chem. However, i have no desire whatsoever of being left with this major in case I don't get in medical school or if I change my mind later on-- the career options don't attract me at all and I don't want to become a researcher. WOuld I have to reapply to the engineering department or is it only a matter of talking to my adviser?</p>

15

<p>Only you are going to be able to figure out what your school requires. And even within your university, the rules might be different for the various colleges (ie, at my university if you wanted to declare an Arts & Sciences major, you just had to fill out the paper work, if you wanted to get into upper level education courses, then there was an application process to get into the teacher's college).</p>

<p>I will always encourage people to follow their passions - if you genuinely enjoy computer science, then by all means go for it. If you are doing it simply out of career prospects with no other real rhyme or reason...then it might be better to just stay undeclared for a while to sort things out.</p>