freshman year classes for pre-med

I have heard that some schools prefer you to take prerequisites during a fall or spring semester, but I think taking Orgo over the summer would allow me to focus on such a tough course exclusively and hopefully earn a better grade than I would have. I also would definitely take it at WashU, not a local school near me

There is a lot of advice on this topic on premed forum. Specifically about taking ORGO in summer. Go on that forum and check it out. Generally it is not advised to take ORGO in the summer for various reasons. Google permed college confidential.

@ee1025 Physics 197/198

Also, in response to the discussion on taking classes over the summer: don’t confine yourself to the advice that other’s try to preach as if it were scripture. There is no legitimate source that will tell you not to take pre-med courses over the summer. If you are taking a pre-med requirement at an institution that is equal to or greater than Wash U, and do well, no one is going to give a damn. When it comes down to admissions, if you were meant to get into medical school, you will. The fact that you took general chemistry at school X versus Y is not going to be a make-or-break decision for any application as long as the option Y is at an equally respected institution.

However, my personal advice as a Wash U pre-med is this: don’t take courses over the summer simply because you’re afraid of taking them at Wash U. As someone who will soon be applying to medical school, you should be able to make it through tough courses - since this is all to prepare you for the incredible challenges of medical school. You should really only be taking summer courses if you have scheduling issues or want to accelerate your pre-med process. This will help you truly understand where you lie as a medical school applicant in the Wash U community.

I hope this all made sense!

I want to follow the bottom plan
https://prehealth.wustl.edu/Documents/PreMed%20Options.pdf

option 11 except I want to take the MCAT spring of my junior year, apply the following summer and enroll after graduation

idk why they suggest a gap year for that option

i also am wondering if MedPrep II counts as clinical experience and how difficult is to obtain clinical experience as well as do research as an undergrad?

@Rivero were you allowed to take Chem 1 and Bio 2 concurrently the fall of your sophomore year? And then chem 2 and bio 1 in spring of your sophomore year?
That sounds like a really good plan for me actually, if possible

@ee1025 in option #11, you would be taking the MCAT the same time you are applying to medical school so you would have to take a gap year if you didn’t take the MCAT in time for the scores to get sent. you should apply to med school once the application opens in june, even though it seems like you have all summer. interviews are given on a rolling basis.

if you take the MCAT in the spring of your junior year, then you should be fine to not take a gap year - depending on if you need to take the MCAT again.

you CAN take bio 1 and bio 2 out of order, but it’s not recommended.