<p>Firstly to help anyone out, I'm going to CUNY Hunter. I wasn't really a prepared student in highschool like everyone else here so I have to take some extra math classes instead of starting out at Calc.</p>
<p>Here's War Chant's designated schedule:
[quote]
Freshman Fall: General Bio 1 and General Chem 1
Freshman Spring: General Bio 1 and General Chem 1
Sophomore Fall: Organic Chem 1 and Calc 1
Sophomore Spring: Organic Chem 2 and Stat
Junior Fall: Physics 1
Junior Spring: Physics 2
Junior Summer: Take MCAT and Apply
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This is what I'm planning for freshman year in order to catch up:
Freshman Fall: General Bio 1, Algebra
Freshman Spring: General Bio 1, Pre-Calc, General Chem 1
Freshman Summer: General Chem 1</p>
<p>The reason why I have to take Algebra is because in order to take General Chem 1, I require a pre-req/co-req of Pre-calc or higher. And then taking Pre-Calc requires a pre-req of math 101</p>
<p>Now, I understand that i'll have to be putting in a ton of work and will have to miss out on my freshman summer since I slacked off in high school but I'm prepared to do that. But even though I'm aware of that, how tough will my freshman spring semester actually be? I'm also on the track team and I'm probably going to be taking 2 more classes to fill out my general requirements. Is that too much? Should I wait until senior year or something for those general requirements? </p>
<p>Is there any way someone else can structure this to ease the workload on me?</p>
<p>Coming from experience…take all liberals your freshman semester at college. Seriously, I was just like you all eager to prove I could handle science classes with a weaker background in the sciences and it blew up in my face. The first semester of college is a transition semester. It is the time where you learn what college is about, you learn how to study, good techniques etc. Also it is a very exciting time to be at school and there are many distractions (you can say you will hit the books all you want but very few actually succeed). If you take more fillers you will have a little more free time to see the campus, spend time with friends and really develop those good study habits. Then start loading on the science classes winter semester. Also they tend to be much smaller than fall classes depending on where you go so you can get more 1 on 1 time with the teachers if you do struggle. Especially being an athlete, I would say take either Gen Chem 1 or Bio 1 first semester, don’t take them at the same time for the first semester.</p>
<p>I would suggest adding lots of upper Bio (cell, genetics, physiology - for MCAT, anatomy, Biochem - some Med. Schools require these). First Bio is not on MCAT according to my D.
In regard to toughness of freshman year, it depends on school and you. D. also took Bio (weed out killer) and Gen. Chem in first year, but Chem was very easy, her grades were always over 100% (with extra credit) and she was offered an SI job. We do not know how you feel about your Chem. Bio was definitely a killer and very very time consuming with incredibly torturous lab. reports. D. was also on sport team, she dropped it after freshman year, she wanted to pursue other interests. She was very busy at college all the time because she had to do all her EC’s at college, we did not have naything available in our hometown during summers, she was in sorority, had un-related minor and took trips abroad.<br>
I would advise to talk to your pre-med advisor and students at your school. they will be more familiar with specifics of your school.</p>
<p>@nmubunny: thanks for the advice, i’ll stick to taking only bio freshman year, especially since i’m on a team.</p>
<p>@miamidap: i also plan on declaring a minor - in spanish and plan on going abroad to spain. Looks like it’ll be difficult no matter what I do, that’s okay though.</p>
<p>@bluebayou: wow, i can’t believe i didn’t think of that earlier! This whole time i’ve been thinking about catching up with everyone instead of realizing that I have external factors that need to be considered. Thanks for the advice, i realize I have to practice my math a ton more. I read that most take their MCAT twice - once in the summer of junior year and then their senior year. I want to take the MCAT twice aswell, when should i take them during my senior year?</p>
<p>Thanks for all the advice, everyone, i really appreciate the insight.</p>
<p>Where did you read that? For what it’s worth, it’s contrary to all MCAT advice I’ve received, read, or given. In my experience, it’s recommended to take it as early as possible in the year you’re applying–so, if you’re planning to apply in June 2012, you should take the MCAT in January, April, or May 2012. Under no circumstances should you plan on taking it twice–you should prepare diligently before taking it, and only take it once.</p>
<p>In my opinion the best way to execute the 4 year plan is to take the MCAT late summer after junior year, not right after graduation. This allows you to focus on it (along with research or volunteering or whatever) the entire summer and then allows you to submit your apps with MCAT score in hand in june after graduation.</p>
<p>^Well, again, from D’s comments, she found it to be beneficial to take MCAT (she took it once -decent score) right after junior spring finals. She herself scheduled it 2 weeks after and said that she wasted 2 weeks of her summer. She said that it worked in her case because she took Physics and Physiology in spring and they were very fresh in her mind right after finals, so she wished that she scheduled her MCAT maybe couple days or so after finals, not 2 weeks later.
Thinking about it, how late summer is going to work at all? D. got her score early in a summer and was able to apply in June. Taking MCAT late in a summer will result in very late application and possibly missing the cycle (not sure about exact date, I might be incorrect, the deadline might be Oct. 15, but it is definitely late and everybody here has agreed that it is beneficial to apply as early as possible).<br>
Applying after graduation means having a gap year. Some have a gap year, but many families cannot afford it (including ours), so they apply in early summer after junior year. That also allowed D. yet another trip abroad right after graduation. Of course, we all agree that we will rent her apartment without her.</p>
<p>No catch up required. The average age of matriculation to med school is ~24 according to amcas reports. Thus, a gap year(s) is not unusual, and if that’s what it takes for you to strengthen your math skills and earn more A’s…</p>
<p>I meant take it summer after junior year so that you can apply summer after senior year. Your daughter did not do the 4 year plan nor was she a varsity athlete in college with a practice and competition schedule to balance, I did and I was, so while I am still only one voice it certainly holds more weight than hers. During my gap year I actually made money and made enough to save money over the course of the year. A gap year is not a vacation year.</p>
<p>^This is funny:
Quote:
Some have a gap year, but many families cannot afford it (including ours)…yet another trip abroad right after graduation. </p>
<p>Hahahahahhaha "</p>
<p>-First, her trip was FREE. Second, you compare trip abroad to GAP year? This has nothing to do with each other. There is no need to assume that “cannot afford” always means the same - $$$$. Sometime “cannot afford” means time. What if parents are too old? There is no reason to assume anything in regard to others. If you want to clarify, you can always ask what that means. If people feel like sharing, they will, otherwise, you have to assume that they have thier very VALID reasons. OK, I will not follow the slogan that laugh is only true for the last person laughing, just keep in mind that assumptions usually do not work, got to know facts…but again this is my job, not everybody has the job where you absolutely cannot assume anything, have to know facts, so I understand your honest mistake.</p>
<p>The only thing I assume is that a ~22-year old female, who is smart enough to get a full ride scholarship, is smart enough to find a job, even working retail, to pay the bills. Or, better yet, a funded NIH research slot; a year in DC can be fun. </p>
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<p>Not relevant since that is a personal choice. It’s not that she “cannot afford” to take a gap year, but that would prefer not to. Nothing wrong with that, but let’s differentiate between that ‘can’ts’ and ‘wants’.</p>
<p>“The only thing I assume is that a ~22-year old female, who is smart enough to get a full ride scholarship, is smart enough to find a job, even working retail, to pay the bills.”</p>
<p>-Again, we are not talking about money. So, your continuation with “money schema” is irrelevant. In addition, nobody can afford working while at Med. School, again not because of money, but because of time. Assuming that “affordability” is applicable to only money is incorrect. We told our D. that there will never be any gap years in her situation, more so she started school (kindergarten) early also, and it was not very easy to do either and actually cost us whole ton of money as no public schools took her. We really did not ask her what she wanted, so I have no idea what she wanted or could not or whatever, another assumption is not correct. And again, why this all of a sudden a topic of discussion? Many families will tell their kids “no gap year”, many more do so in our region where finding a job is practically impossible even for people with huge experiences, where many are driving to different cities on a daily basis and where most “summer” jobs, retail, fast food are filled with year around worker. Still another assumption that has absolutely nothing to do how one is smart or not.
Agian, who cares about my family and for that matter other families, everybody has their valid reasons to live certain way, we are in free country (yet), so enjoy your freedom while it lasts. And enjoy your weekend, it is Friday, no reason to be so hyped up about non-issue on FRIDAY!</p>