<p>I'm a high school senior, and my next four years will be filled with pre-med classes.</p>
<p>I hate math and am terrible at it. </p>
<p>I'm a smart kid, I manage, but math is like hell for me. It's crashed my GPA for four years now.</p>
<p>What math classes will I be expected to take?</p>
<p>Have you taken calc as a high school student?</p>
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<p>You have to take a year of college-level math, including Calculus and Stats. These courses are usually co-reqs for the physics courses that you also have to take.</p>
<p>General chemistry and physics, both crucial courses, are very math-heavy. Many medical schools demand that you take a year of math. Medical school itself will involve a biostatistics course, along with subject matter (electrophysiology, circulation) which require math. Statistics comes up frequently on medical board exams. Many clinical rotations will need quick arithmetic/algebra in calculating dosages; especially important in anesthesia, but it matters elsewhere too.</p>
<p>Medical school math never gets very advanced, but it is very important.</p>
<p>So what level math would be expected of a pre-med?</p>
<p>Is college level calculus really hard if you never took it in high school?</p>
<p>Low level calculus is what’s expected in theory, but what’s really expected is fairly basic algebra. The level is not the problem; this is high school stuff (or, bluntly, eighth-grade stuff). The problem is that you have to be really, really good at it. You have to be able to apply it in context, do it with substantial accuracy, and – most importantly – do it fast.</p>