@beangoals Science classes typically begin some time in August or early September and run through December. I am confused about a biology class that runs for 6 weeks during the fall. Did you mean summer?
If finances are an issue wouldn’t it be best to save the money for classes, books, medical school applications etc…instead of travel? Medical school applications are expensive.
I also wish you the best.
@Beangoals Much appreciated. It also explains why I didn’t come up with any. We’re on the east coast and all of the students I know from school have gone to med schools somewhere in the eastern half of the US (except one who went to CA). Most schools west of the Mississippi aren’t on my radar (except WUSTL).
I agree with your assessment, so won’t be suddenly recommending CLEP.
Best wishes to you with your future.
@twogirls my school offers 6 week courses. I’m very surprised that you guys haven’t heard of them being offered during the spring / fall. When I self enrolled through my uni’s portal, I typed in the course code and section number and was given a list of the open classes. Different professors, start and end dates, hybrid, online, in person. I chose BIOL I that starts in August and ends the last week of September. Then I chose a BIOL II course that runs from October to November. I’m still young at the end of the day, tomorrow isn’t promised. I could save the money, but then I would be complaining over the amount of work that I’ve been doing without a vacation. I’ve literally worked and went to school for every holiday vacation for the past two years. If I can get away for a week or two and have the time of my life, I will do so. I’ll just share books or go half and half with someone from class if it comes down to it. As far as med school application fees go, I have been putting aside a little money here and there for it. How much do you think I should save for them? I was thinking about $1000 to be safe? As one of my friends said he spent $1500-2000 on applications alone (he applied to over 40 schools).
Applying to med schools is expensive…$1,000 will probably not cover it. MCAT fee is $315. There is the AMCAS application fee ($170 for first school, $40 for every additional school), and not all schools are on AMCAS. Most schools do not have fee waivers for low income applicants. https://students-residents.aamc.org/financial-aid/article/the-cost-of-applying-to-medical-school/
Then, there are the travel costs for interviews…obviously these can vary based on how many interviews one gets and their locations…but short notice flight costs, plus hotels, can add up quickly. Many applicants have spent $5K+ on the application process. I am sure there are CC threads you can reference.
It’s not just the applications and cost of the mcat. Yes …applying to 25+ schools seems to be the norm and it gets pricey. It’s also the cost of travel should you be lucky enough to interview. Clothing, plane fare, hotels, etc. It adds up to a lot more than $1000.
I guess I am out of touch. My daughter (just graduated) took traditional science classes during the fall. She stayed for one summer class.
Working hard is the norm for many college students…especially those who are considering medical school. I can’t begin to tell you how much my daughter worked over the years to achieve what she has. She had breaks between semesters, spring break etc…but any traveling was limited to visiting a friend in a nearby city ( despite her love for exploring countries…she did study abroad). We don’t have all of this extra money to allow for so much travel abroad during breaks…nor does she. We need to save it for future expenses. If you can swing it…that’s great!
@Mwfan1921 $5000?!! The travel costs and hotels won’t be a problem as I receive major discounts from a friend of mine. I already have money set aside for the MCAT. Sending them is another mini saving I’ll have to start. Geez, $5000? That just gave me a headache.
All the talk of MCAT and med school application costs is putting the cart before the horse…but, the $315 MCAT fee includes distribution of scores, see link in post #103. You do also have to budget for MCAT preparation, including the materials and a review class and/or tutoring…this can easily cost a few thousand dollars.
@beangirls I understand the travel bug. But unless you have a money tree growing in your backyard, you need to budget for everything that has been mentioned…in the event that you do continue on this med school path.
@Mwfan1921 I’ve purchased some workbooks, flash cards, and a “course” from eBay all Kaplan brand. I’ve also been attending the Kaplan free classes online. I didn’t plan on taking a physical course for the exam as there’s so many free and easily accessible resources such as khan academy. What are your thoughts on khan academy’s prep? Thanks for the advice and tips 
I don’t know enough about the pros and cons of various MCAT prep courses to weigh in, so I will tag @WayOutWestMom…perhaps she can answer your question.
@twogirls I understand, this trip will probably be it for my travels for some time, I guess. Without a doubt I’m continuing the med path, I’ve made life altering decisions for this, and I’m prepared to make many more. It’s not easy seeing my friends take elaborate summer trips to Dubai, Cairo, and Azerbaijan while I’m stuck home studying. It’s been this way for many years, as I was the kid that lived in near the higher income area but didn’t belong or have enough means to fit in. Kind of a keeping up with the Jones situation.
I don’t know…my D isn’t there yet. She has a gap year position and is deciding between med school and a DNP program. She took a baseline practice mcat…she will decide how she wants to proceed.
@Beangoals
Different people like different prep materials for different sections of the MCAT. Kaplan is fine if that’s what you have access to.
You should also take a look at Khan Academy’s MCAT prep materials. Khan Academy in conjunction w/ AMCAS, has developed a whole series of MCAT prep videos & tutorials. Everything is free.
I agree with most of what WayOutWestMom said except for this:
“For med school, you will need to have all of the following coursework:
2 semesters bio w/labs
2 semesters gen chem w/ labs
2 semesters ochem w/ labs
1 semester biochem
2 semesters physics w/ labs
1 semester of college level mathematics (calc 1)
1 semester of math-based statistics or biostatistics
1 semester psychology (tested on the MCAT)
1 semester sociology (tested on the MCAT)
2 semester of writing skills”
I am involved in medical school admissions, and very few applicants and admitted students have taken psych, sociology, or stats. Some students test out of math with the AP. Non-science majors are valued for the diversity they bring. Medicine is not all about science; it’s about connecting with people and understanding values and ethics.
Nope, never heard of a 4 year college with 6 week “fall” sesions that weren’t lite or remedial.
Too much we don’t understand here. While I respect OP’s determination, many bullets here make little sense. Plus, some testiness toward some posters.
If you fly to 10 cities for interviews, find airfare at $300 RT, that’s $3k right there.
@beangoals I agree that some of what you are doing here is hard to follow or understand. You intend to apply to med school, yet you are taking many non-traditional type classes which don’t seem to have the rigor that other students have. I don’t understand the concept of a 6 week biology class that is not a summer course. My daughter’s college sends many to med school…it doesn’t have the classes that you describe. My other kid’s school didn’t have them either.
Did you take biochemistry or organic chemistry 1 and 2…with labs? I am confused. Your approach seems very piecemealed to me…possibly due to my misunderstanding. Can you lay out for us the science classes you have taken, where they were taken (CC etc) and whether they were 6 week, online etc or traditional semester? That may help us to follow more clearly.
Have you met with an advisor who can review your courses? What kind of life altering decisions did you make? Do you mean that it’s hard to watch your friends travel while you are home studying?
Not just met with a general advisor (which I think she did.) But meet with the pre-med track advisors. I’m having trouble believing a 6 week course will fully meet med school app needs.
It never matters what one-two or ten exceptions one finds. It’s a matter of identifying the right, prescribed procedures, and following them. It’s not about mixed goals of travel and med school. One goal needs to predominate, be the driving focus. It’s not about the past, what one accomplished and how fast, in the first college. It’s about manifested determination through the upcoming challenges.
So many kids with wealthy families skip free vacations, paid for by their parents, to do things that take them toward their professional goals. Relaxation comes later, when earned.
This thread is confusing. It’s going nowhere. Few threads can go forward when an OP has it all figured out and thinks we’re off track.
To me the bottom line is the OP likes her path, thinks she has a decent chance, and is willing to consider the Caribbean or similar if it doesn’t work. If she’s content with doing that as a back up, knowing the residency matches could be problematic down the line unless looking for primary care (and maybe even then), then Best Wishes as she follows that path. Note that my med school lad just shared the average Step 1 score at one of those schools (maybe Trinity? I didn’t focus on the name…) and they were below the average for Step 1 in general overall so take that for what it’s worth. He shared it with me because we briefly considered those schools (cost issues), before deciding they weren’t worth the savings for him - he’s very high end with his scores and more and always has been. We wanted a school that would let him reach his potential.
In the end, med schools choose who they choose. They have their minimum requirements and most of the time seem to look for much more than that (as do many selective college admissions), but if there is some sort of other unique story, none of us know what will happen. Someone fills in all the data in the charts.
I suspect anyone reading/lurking for info can sift through what makes sense for their personal situation.
@jazzing Assuming this is true (anonymous forum and all - nothing personal), please keep posting on various threads on this forum. Old fogies like me whose kids are well past figuring out their future use this forum to try to keep up with admissions info to help the future students I come across at school.
I work in an average public high school in an area where most kids do not have even college educated parents. With my own lad in his third year of med school, I’m automatically considered an “expert” among them for med school - someone far better at answering their questions than our guidance office - so I do my best to keep my info up to date. I use the info from my own lad as well as those who have been successful from my school (going on 20 years of having been there this year), but the more info out there, esp current info as things change, the better. Guidance is not my primary job (math/science teaching is), so I’m hardly a real expert. I just try my best.
Oh, boy. The idea is to offer accurate info or explain where it’s limited (eg, “imo” or “ime,” or that different colleges require x and y course while others do not.) Any one school may handle it differently and can’t be considered a universal standard.
And maybe not on this thread.
It’s not unusual to find “minimum of x semester hours is required in areas of humanities (English, History, Classics, Foreign Language, Philosophy, Arts, etc), social science (Sociology, Economics, Political Science, Anthropology, etc.) and behavioral science (Psychology, etc.)” Columbia advice to undergrads. There’s a nice pdf with many med schools detailed and a search on “psychology” shows how many recommend or require. But it’s 2013.
UCB advises: "Some medical schools require coursework in the behavioral and social sciences- in these cases, we recommend engaging in a variety of courses from Anthropology, Psychology, Sociology and other similar departments. In addition, we recommend exposure to these topics as part of your preparation for the Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations of Behavior section of the MCAT. "
Arizona recommeds, not requires: "Social/Behavioral Sciences (e.g. Psychology, Sociology, Economics, Anthropology, Public Policy, Behavioral Health, and History)
The idea is to do the digging.