Is a Pre-Med track possible with the College of Applied Health Sciences?
Arts and Sciences has multiple departments which have provided detailed map - like this - Typical 4-Year Pre-Med Program | School of Integrative Biology | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign – but finding any information on AHS is difficult regarding anything related to pre-med. Some of the pages on AHS were last updated in 2021. Is that college (AHS) an active college within UIUC with sufficient student body or is it an isolated experience with only 4-5 smaller programs?
@njparentf23 really…a student can major in anything and apply to medical school. Just make sure the required courses for medical school applicants are either included in your course of study…or can be taken as electives.
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Thank you. Would you know if it’s possible to take the required courses for MCAT by the end of the second year with a major at AHS?
I don’t have any idea…but what is the rush? Do you have to start medical school the fall after you get your undergrad degree?
You need to check the courses required for medical school applicants and see if those can be completed in your timeframe.
@WayOutWestMom what courses really need to be completed before MCAT is taken? For best preparation?
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Thanks again. EVerything I am reading about MCAT - it’s suggested in the junior year spring of college. So, I am guessing the courses should be done in the first two years of college - then refresh the concepts in summer before Junior year and take MCAT in the junior year?
@njparentf23 that timeline is ONLY for those who plan to apply to start medical school the fall after getting their bachelors degree.
The average age of first year medical school students is in the mid 20’s so clearly there are many who do NOT start the fall after their undergrad degree is received.
Many take one or two gap years to do a number of things:
- Prepare for and take the MCAT
- Get significant shadowing experience.
- Work in a situation where you will have direct patient contact (MA, CNA, EMS…all require certification).
- Volunteer with disadvantaged folks.
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Probably not.
What specific major within the Applied Health program?
I looked at kinesiology, community health and interdisciplinary Health Science. None of those 3 required any chemistry or physics classes and didn’t have much room in the schedules of the first 2 years to allow a student to add extra classes.
Even a traditional hard science major usually can’t be finished with pre-reqs by the end of sophomore year. The issue–biochem which typically requires a year of gen chem and a year of ochem as pre-reqs. I would not recommend taking the MCAT without biochem since 1/3 of questions in the BS section are devoted to biochemistry.
BTW, your understanding of the timing of the MCAT is faulty. Students finish pre-reqs at the earliest during fall term junior year. They study for the MCAT either during spring term and take the examination late April-May-June. Or they do 6 weeks of intensive prep as soon as spring term ends and take the MCAT in June-July.
Taking the MCAT in August or later is typically too late to apply for the admission cycle done during their senior year for matriculation directly into med school after graduation.
I think your child may have a difficult time getting the pre-reqs done as student in the Applied Health Sciences College though with some overloads and creative schedule planning, it may be possible to get them done in 4 years.
Plus there are a couple of additional issues to consider.
First, none of the 3 programs I looked at require any chem or physics classes. None of them require Intro bio either. Kinesiology requires only anatomy & physiology. Community Health requires 9 credits in natural sciences. IHS only requires 6 hours of natural sciences.
Second, not specifically related to UIUC’s Applied Health Sciences, but a general comment. Applied health majors are the group of majors with the
lowest acceptance rate into med school, even adjusting for the fact that this group has the lowest average MCAT score and the lowest average GPA of all students applying to med school.
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I looked up the enrollment numbers for AHS.
It’s not the largest college at UIUC, nor is it the smallest.
AHS represents about 10-12% of undergrad enrollment.
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One thing to think about: Quite a few (if not all) of your required premed courses are going to be very academically demanding. Also, there will be quite a few very strong students in these classes. Assuming that you are a strong student, are highly motivated, and consistently stay ahead in your class work (all of which are nearly required to succeed in getting accepted to medical school), you are likely to be a stronger student as you mature through at least your first two or three years of your bachelor’s degree.
Occasionally we hear from students who are taking organic chemistry as a freshman at university and who are suffering (and quite likely getting a grade that will not help their medical school application). One daughter waited until either sophomore or junior year (I cannot recall which) and said it was the most difficult B- that she ever had in her life. Our other daughter took it junior year and was very much ready for it and did well. Waiting certainly helped our second daughter and probably helped both of them.
Also it is common to take a year or two (or three) off between getting a master’s degree and starting an MD program.
I would be cautious about trying to complete the premed requirements early.
Every student is however a bit different.
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