Non-science major, but pre-med

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Los Angeles
1

<p>Hi =) </p>

<p>I want to be a history major but go to med school and I've talked to a couple med school admission people and they said that's fine as long as I fulfill the med school pre-reqs... but I was counting and that a LOT of classes to take before graduation... and I heard most people take 3 classes a quarter?? I think I'll have to take 4 for almost every quarter. =/</p>

<p>And I was wondering if anyone has done something similar for advice. Is four do-able for basically every quarter but right before the mcat?? And will it be difficult to graduate in four years with history, science, GEs and honors classes?? Any advice would be wonderful. =D</p>

2

<p>No, most people fluctuate between 3 and 4 classes a quarter.</p>

<p>It will be more difficult than majoring in a science, but possible.</p>

<p>Making optimal choices could reduce GE and Honors courses to only a few since a lot could be part of the major and pre-med requirements.</p>

3

<p>right, or you could take summer courses, or stay an extra semester or year</p>

4

<p>but who really wants to stay an extra year if med school is planned for the future? :)</p>

5

<p>No, most people take 4 clases a quarter. 3 classes only equates to about 12 units usually, which is the bare minimum to be a full time student. It isn't that many classes if you think about it: 3 physics + 3 life science + 4 chemistry lecture + 2 chemistry lab + 3 math courses. Most minors require about 10 classes, and by taking science classes, you're taking care of your science elective units to graduate at the same time. No matter what your major is (science or nonscience), you need to take care of the math and chemistry requirements ASAP, since they are the prerequisites to the other science classes (math for physics, gen chem for ls2, and ochem for ls3).</p>

6

<p>thanksthanks =) good stuff i knew cc would pull through</p>

7

<p>
[quote]
but who really wants to stay an extra year if med school is planned for the future?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I know plenty of folks who did. It lets some pre-meds go ahead and study abroad, or maybe do a minor in something fun, etc.</p>

<p>Or some just don't want to leave the wonderful, insulated, and protective walls of the undergraduate experience in a hurry.</p>

8

<p>mzlaura i wouldnt do the history major if i were you i was in your boat before i wanted to poli sci with pre-med and honors and i changed my mind. These people who tell you oh its not that bad because only 1 year bio 2 year chem 1 year physics either aren't pre-med or just don't care because those are MINIMUM requirements, most requirebiochemistry, other advanced bio classes, statistics etc . And then since you're other major would require ample time you'd spend all your time studying for your classes, leaving no time for ec's, which are needed for med. school. Just my thoughts.</p>

<p>P.S. LS 1-4 only fufills bio not the the lab req. <a href="http://www.studentgroups.ucla.edu/clubm/pathmed.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.studentgroups.ucla.edu/clubm/pathmed.htm&lt;/a> scroll down to med. school requirements and reccomendations</p>

9

<p>There are a ton of north campus majors who are pre-med, so this is nothing new at all, and they seem to fulfill everything just fine and still graduate in 4 years. It's all a matter of planning- you will have to end up taking summer classes. I forgot to mention biochemistry (and the lab component). 1 year of biology = LS2-4. LS1 is not covered on the MCAT nor required of any nonbiology majors, and LS2 & LS3 do fulfill 2/3 of the lab requirements, and by taking LS1 w/ the lab component, you could fulfill the year long lab requirement (that link has information that is from pre-Fall 98: classes have changed since then)- upper division biology courses are not required. Some med schools will require a quarter of statistics, and some require a year of english. 4 classes a quarter should still leave you with plenty of time for ECs (I've been taking 4 science classes a quarter for the past 2 quarters, including upper division science courses, and still have time to stay involved in all my activities).</p>

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<p>not required, RECCOMENDED, =do it or die</p>

11

<p>Spanish is recommended, yet not all medical students know spanish</p>

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<p>i bet all the uc med students do , and if not, a majority</p>

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<p>would the feshmen cluster count as english?</p>

14

<p>Nope, when I volunteered at the Lennox health fair last quarter where UCLA medical students went out to the Lennox community to perform basic health services, about half of them didn't speak spanish.</p>

15

<p>yancy is there anyway you can petitition to not recieive AP Credit for 31B if I want to retake it for unit credit?</p>

16

<p>I don't think so. You can try talking to a counselor when you go to orientation, but I doubt they'll grant it- never hurts to try though.</p>