<p>Hi! I'll be a pre med student this fall, but i'm not sure which classes i should take for my freshman year.</p>
<p>So i'll be needing about four classes worth 3-4 credits. Here's what i'm thinking:
-bio with lab
-intro chem with lab
-first year sem (writing intensive course)
-??</p>
<p>You should know that i'm an international student. My high school didn't offer AP/advanced classes. Chemistry was supposed to be taught to us for a year, but something came up and our classes had to be compressed into four hour lectures in a span of five months. I got an A, but I honestly don't remember anything because those long lectures fried my brain. Besides it wasn't very thorough, so i'm a bit worried about taking college chemistry. And no physics for now--my physics is horrible! </p>
<p>We also didn't have much lab work, so i don't really understand how it works. What makes it so hard? Would it be ok to have bio AND chem lab?</p>
<p>Should I take a math course instead? I had a ton of math classes in HS, so I know math won't be much of a problem.</p>
<p>Would it be ok to take a "fun" class, say, studio art? I expect a pre med sched to be tough and demanding, and i'll be needing a break anyway, but i'm afraid i'll be wasting time if I do.</p>
<p>Any advice would help. Thank you!</p>
<p>The first thing you should know is that it’s extremely difficult for international students to gain acceptance into a US medical school. </p>
<p>The number of US med schools which will consider internationals for admission is limited. Additionally, international students are expected to self-fund the full cost of their medical education. (IOW, there’s very little to zero financial aid, including loans, available for internationals. You will need somewhere in the range of $150,000-350,000 to pay for med school.) </p>
<p>In the past 10 years, the number of international students matriculating into all US med school combined has ranged from 53 to 197. Most of these international students are from Canada. (Partly because more med schools will consider Canadians for admission and partly because the Canadian government offers student loans for its citizen attending med school in the US.)</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.aamc.org/download/321462/data/2013factstable4.pdf”>https://www.aamc.org/download/321462/data/2013factstable4.pdf</a></p>
<p>(International students are listed at the very bottom of the table.)</p>
<p>Please consider this when making plans for your future.</p>
<p>~~</p>
<p>Taking a fun class is fine, but studio art requires a HUGE amount of time to do well in. Since you will already be taking 2 lab classes (which also require a huge time commitments), I’d recommend taking an academic class–maybe psychology or sociology. (Both of which will be included on the MCAT–the admission exam for med school.) </p>
<p>Hi WayOutWestMom, i was told it was difficult for internationals to get into med school in the US, so I’m coming back to my home country after i finish pre med 
thanks for your help!</p>