<p>Harvard Medical School has recently changed its application Requirements. The classes it requires are mostly "biologically relevant" sciences (aside from all the other core and various recommended classes.) For instance, it requires biologically relevant physics...does that mean biophysics? And biologically relevant calculus??!! What school offers THAT?
Please review the info on the following webpage:
Harvard</a> Medical School: Requirements
How can I plan a curiculum that matches ALL their Requirements and beyond?</p>
<p>Don’t make your plan around Harvard’s requirements. Statistically, you won’t get in, and you want to be sure that you can meet requirements of other medical schools as well.</p>
<p>Why would you say I wont get in? How do you know? Hmmm…man! Maybe ur right. :(( but I still wanna know what biologically relevant physics and chemistry are.</p>
<p>Don’t feel offended. He means that Harvard Med is highly selective, and that nobody really has that great of a shot. I’m sure they turn down hundreds of highly qualified applicants every year. Sorry to repeat almost everyone, but Ivy Admissions are a crapshoot.</p>
<p>I understand…just answer my Q plz. Does biologically relevant physics and Chem the same as biophysics and biochemistry?</p>
<p>First, you might note that these new classes are optional for the class entering in 2011 and will be required for the class entering 2016. So perhaps you won’t have much to worry about anyway.</p>
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<p>I’m not exactly sure what biologically related chemistry is if it isn’t biochemistry. I assume if they meant biochemistry they would have written biochemistry, and I assume they wouldn’t have listed the two separately if they meant the same thing. Perhaps they would like you to take a class which uses biological models to illustrate chemical principles? I doubt these are widely available classes. </p>
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<p>You know what, if I were you, I’d take the classes you have available and leave the rest to the med school gods. Finding a class that meets Harvard’s requirements for competency in biologically related chemistry and physics sounds pretty tough–I mean, at my school at least, there are only so many options for general chemistry and physics. </p>
<p>Harvard Schmarvard ;)</p>
<p>Aha…that’s exactly what I mean. I did some research and found that only a couple of schools in the nation offer such courses. Idk wat 2 do.</p>
<p>For example, Duke offered three different kinds of introductory physics. One (the 53/54 series) was geared towards future premeds. The second (51/52) was geared towards future engineers. And the third (41/42) was meant for future physics majors. It was well-known that 51/52 were slightly less competitive. 41/42 were not competitive at all, although they assigned a lot more homework and lab time. I opted for 41/42.</p>
<p>I believe that HMS is now telling undergrads that they should be taking the equivalent of Duke’s 53/54 series rather than 51/52 or 41/42?</p>
<p>(Maybe?)</p>
<p>Maybe. I’m not sure. I think they’re saying “the standard Physics I: Mechanics & Physics II: Electromagnetism at any level is fine with us, but if you don’t like that, you can take Intro to Biophysics and another related physics course.”</p>
<p>No it means taking NON-CALCULUS based physics. You don’t need the numbers in medicine, you need the theory behind them. Physics makes you think differently, more analytically. That’s what they are asking for. Biophysics would not hurt but in most schools it’s a one semester course in biomechanics that will not adequately prepare you for the MCAT. Most schools do now offer non-calc based and it is geared towards premeds. Mainly we don’t go in-depth to many topics, but get a broad range of everything on the MCAT which is basically every type of physics~ electricity, magnetism, movement, force, liquid motion, optics, light… everything. My friends who took 2 semesters of calc based (cause of chem reqs) are all rather upset and felt unprepared during MCAT studying. I took premed physics, and I loved it. I can tell you about blood flow throughout the body, the force and electrical charge necessary to power the human heart, the complexities of brain waves, the amount of force exerted every time you chew, the sound you can hear, how it is created and how it changes based on the ear drum, bones in the ear, and how the cilia of the cells in your ear recognize sound on it’s three levels, why the cones and rods in the retina are in the basal layer and directed away from the origination of the light source… etc… you get the point… </p>
<p>It makes your world topsy turvy. I hated physics and now I live and breath it. Literally!</p>
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For even the current premed students, whether you are targetting HMS or not, it is a good idea to take this change seriously because the premise in their motivation for change in admission requirement applies to everyone unless you are planning your medical education to move backwards into the past 
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“The requirements for medical school have remained basically unchanged for many decades, despite the obvious change in medical knowledge (e.g., about disease mechanisms and our understanding of drug actions), the pace of new discovery, and the permeation of biochemistry, cell biology, and genetics into most areas of medicine.”</p>
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I thought all these topics (mechanics, thermodynamics, Waves, QM, E&M, and Optics) are coverd in a year-long general physics course. But some schools may skip QM and some other topics and maybe HMS is saying they will look at the content of the courses taken by the applicants more closely? I do not know what part of these topics have biological relevance or no-relevance though. Although one can easily guess the Optics will be important for the function of eye, and E&M in the neurology (in the functioning of synapses), etc. But unlike many here who have argued numerously that upper level courses in physics or biology are largely useless, this HMS’s new requirement says that studies in some upperlevel courses are deemed positively:
“We require a strong preparation in the sciences and mathematics basic to medical school studies. Candidates should take courses that are comparable to courses taken by students majoring in these subjects.”</p>
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I guess it means that the current requirement of general chemistry + organic chemistry is not sufficient. You should now need to learn biochemistry as an additional requirement.</p>
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does it mean that for the entering class of 2016 and beyond, if you do research throughout your UG years, then it is not necessary to fulfill lab hour requirements? De-emphasizing the formerly required and formally taken lab classes makes sense because many students simply don’t learn much in these classes other than a line item on the transcript :)</p>
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This means the year-long calculus course alone is not good enough. I always thought that the statistics (math and/or physics) should be very important for medicine and was wondering why some amount of statistics is not required for premeds. I guess future premeds will now have to do a bit more math (differential equation, statistics, … on top of calculus) whether you like it or not.</p>
<p>When son interviewed at Harvard this past cycle, his course curriculm was exactly! what they were looking for. He had a degree in econ that was calculus based-needed calc through def eq, and several stats classes. However, the school he graduated from with the econ degree did not offer other majors that he was also interested in, also cannot double major at his first school.</p>
<p>So he decided to apply to med school after graduation and transfered all his units to another school that did have a biochemistry, microbiology and genetics majors. He was able to complete them the following year( another BS degree) and will be matriculating in a few weeks to med school. It was mentioned that his math, biochem, stats, genetics and micro along with the econ was what they were hoping the pre-med curriculum would start to move towards. Lots and lots and LOTS of work, taking up much more units than previous pre-med curriculm. Tiring just hearing about it.</p>
<p>So if this is what the OP was asking about it, they are looking for it.</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>I hope other schools don’t change their requirements to these as well.
But making your Undergrad schedule look like this could be potentially useful.</p>
<p>This thread should read "Meeting HMS Changing Requirements…</p>
<p>This is going to be a game changer because anyone applying in 2016 (rising HS seniors) will have to meet these new requirements…my guess is that most top 20 med schools will follow very shortly as will many top undergrad programs. It will be interesting to see how long it will take for most schools to re-tailor their undergrad premed programs to meet these new demands and more importantly if in these days of cost cutting they actually will.</p>
<p>Perhaps they just mean that you should not expect a non-majors’ “Physics for Poets” type course to fulfill any physics requirement?</p>
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<p>Shouldn’t the theory behind physics be easier to learn and understand with calculus than without calculus?</p>
<p>UC- No it’s not, I’d rather have regurgitated the work through several numeric equations, then trying to explain physics in a non linear term and explaining why certain equations are theoretically correct without using numbers. It’s very abstract and it comes down to how your brain is wired. </p>
<p>THE NEW COURSE REQUIREMENTS ARE GEARED TOWARDS THE FORMAT CHANGES UNDERWAY FOR THE MCAT! My former physics professor is a part of the committee of academics overseeing the changes.</p>
<p>KAT most East Coast College have undergrade premed tracks that already include all of those classes. We are told (at a Seven Sister) to take a year of general biology, cell biology, genetics, biochem, and immunology as part of our premed bio (without being bio majors).</p>
<p>Son didn’t want a semester of genetics, micro and biochem, rather he wanted to major in each and at Princeton you’re allowed 1 major. You can complete certificates in chem or bio but they do not offer majors in biochem, genetics, or micro. He was able to major in all 3 at our local uni (state flagship) in the year between med school and graduation from Princeton. It was the higher level micro, genetics and biochem that Harvard focused on, not the intro courses. Same with the calc, calc 1 through def eq that is necessary for Harvard’s/MIT HST program.</p>
<p>Kat
also the New Pathways program wants similar courses</p>
<p>When reading public forums like CC where one can find extremely valuable informations/ideas/advices, a difficult aspect is knowing the qualification of the poster especially when he/she puts out opinions/advices beyond mere factual info. This difficulty is the same when a K-12 kid uses Google search to do research and learn – info and judgement about the source quality can be lacking.</p>
<p>** katwkittens** posts are extremely valuable as they come from direct experience by his/her son. On the other hand, vpappas83 is either a Community College student or just transfered into a four-year school (Junior?) per her post:
<a href=“Eli Whitney Chance Me Please!!! - Yale University - College Confidential Forums”>Eli Whitney Chance Me Please!!! - Yale University - College Confidential Forums;
She tends to put out strong opinions - and readers better be aware who she is!</p>
<p>Really buddy? </p>
<p>I never said I was or wasn’t anything… I was a cc transfer (rising senior at a Seven Sister) and matteroffactly, I’m in the middle of this admissions cycle which starts officially on WED though AMCAS has been filled out since it opened on MAY 5th. My requirements ARE ALL MET EQUALLY DISTRIBUTED THROUGH BOTH SCHOOLS, and FYI NEURO MAJOR ALL REQUIREMENTS MET. So if you think you gain something by knocking me go ahead, but you asked for advice, and I may not have gotten in yet, but I’m pretty into the thick of it. As for info on schools, I did my research since I know exactly which 15 I am applying to… um in less than 48 hours. </p>
<p>Being a CC does not make me any less reliable or credible. Furthermore I never claimed to be something I’m not.</p>
<p>^vpappas83, it wasn’t meant to offend you – if it did, sorry. Some of your posts sounded as if you are more advanced in your med school, … so I wanted to put your posts in a better context. You said: “My former physics professor is a part of the committee of academics overseeing the changes”. So your Community College professor was on the HMS admission reform committee? </p>
<p>In any event, keep us informed how your medschool application progresses. It should be a very useful info for aspiring med school applicants starting from a community college. BTW, I am not familair at all with your school, Seven Sister. Is it public, private, religiously affiliated, …?</p>