<p>Hi all,</p>
<p>I have a couple of questions about math related to med school. I've posed the question to someone over PM and have gotten extremely helpful responses, but I thought I'd get some more opinions too!</p>
<p>1) In my third year of high school, I took Calc III and Linear Algebra through SDSU. I understand that this needs to be reported on the med school application. I retook the classes in my freshman year of college because A) it had been a year since I had taken math and more importantly, B) I thought it'd be a good experience since I have been told math in college is different, I'd gain a better understanding, great professor, etc. (all true, I personally thought it was a good decision). Will med schools look at this as me trying to boost my GPA (I got an A/A- the first time around, so they might think I took it again because it's easy?)</p>
<p>2) My science GPA through one year of college is a decent 3.71 (3.75 if you include the college courses from high school). On the other hand, if you take out all the math classes, I have a 3.52 (organic chem and lab, struggled a bit first semester but improved a lot second semester). So, my question: do med schools see math as equally important in BCPM? I plan on continuing math and may even become a math major; if med schools see a 3.8 BCPM, but a 3.6 BCP, will they look at the 3.8 the same way?</p>
<p>I'm not terribly worried, just curious since it seems like med schools do not value math that much :)</p>
<p>1) It is quite possible that a medical school could look at it as something you chose to take just to boost your grade up, but it should not be a big deal. If a medical school’s admissions team has a serious concern regarding it, it would be addressed in the interview (and you will have to explain the actual reasoning behind taking the class again), although this scenario is quite unlikely.</p>
<p>2) I think most medical schools care about grades in science courses more than those in mathematics courses. However, an applicant who takes many math courses and excels in them will not face a disadvantage when juxtaposed to an applicant who takes few math courses and whose sGPA mostly consists of grades from straight science courses. If anything, a medical school would look favorably at an applicant who takes advantage of math courses during his or her undergraduate education, since little emphasis is put on math in medical school… One’s undergraduate career is the optimum time to explore fields unrelated to medicine-related sciences, after all.</p>
<p>Thank you for the response!</p>
<p>I think you’re right about 1). I’m sure medical schools realize that many people retake classes in college, so I’m guessing it shouldn’t be a big deal. Mine is more obvious though since I actually have to report it both times on the application.</p>
<p>Any other opinions are appreciated, especially on 2) :)</p>
<p>I took calc II during high school and got college credit and I had to report it to my school too. I also took intro bio and gen chem and reported it. This is certainly not a problem guaranteed. It is common for students to repeat classes at their college. I actually had to repeat all classes I took PSEO that were in my majors. My pre-med advisor and biochem advisor assured me that their was no problem with this.</p>
<p>It’s BCPM for a reason. Math counts just as much as the others. Now, if you had A’s in math but C’s in the other courses… (And I would guess, that someone strong in math would also be strong in physics.)</p>
<p>And don’t forget, that ALL college courses must be reported, including those that you took in HS.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help!</p>