<p>Hello all (especially long time members i.e. norcalguy, bigred, bluedevilmike, etc...),</p>
<p>It's been a while since I have posted here but I have made progress toward finishing my prereq requirements for Med School along with making progress for my MSE in Biomedical Engineering. I was working full time up until July and now have joined a lab doing research in drug delivery (~20hrs/week) and volunteering at a children's hospital.</p>
<p>I have a question about how or if these courses will count toward my premed requirements because I have taken them in the Biomedical Engineering department instead of the traditional Biology/Chem departments:</p>
<p>BME 519 - Quantitative Physiology (physiology course but even more intense as there is a large quantitative portion along with the typical course material the biology course would teach)</p>
<p>Math 559 - Special Topics in Math (this semester it is a Neural modeling course, modeling action potentials along a neuron and over multiple coupled neurons)</p>
<p>Also, I have taken Organic Chemistry (both semesters) but have not taken the labs associated with them. How will it look to med schools if I take the labs a year or 2 removed from when I took the lecture components of this course? When I took Orgo, I did not need the labs associated with the lectures as prereqs for the BME department.</p>
<p>My final question is, I have to take 1 year of Biology along with Lab, however I had AP Bio from HS and I am taking the Physiology course offered by the BME department, however there is no lab associated with it. I need to take one more biological science and a biological lab for my BME MS anyway and was going to take Cell Biology (400 level Bio course) along with a 3 credit lab (associated with the Cell Biology course). This 3 credit lab is obviously worth more than a typical lab associated with physiology or "Bio 101" type course, so is a second lab necessary? And if so, would it be okay to take a lab not associated with any lecture I have taken just to take care of the mandatory "prereq"?</p>
<p>My GPA is high (>3.7 overall, >3.85 Science/Math), I have 2 MSEs (EE, BME), obviously I am conducting research, the only area I am lacking that I see is my extracurriculars (volunteering) where I have only ~8 months experience in a Hospice and about a year and a half at a children's hospital. I am aware that I will need more extracurriculars and have been considering volunteering abroad for a month over the summer.</p>
<p>My final question is, assuming I ramp up my volunteering over the next year and a half, I can graduate with my MSE in BME after next year. Should I take the MCAT this year without having taken BioChem and my Cell Bio course (in other words, take the MCAT with no Biology other than my Physiology course), and apply next academic year? Or should I slow down, wait one more additional year, maybe take a few extra courses to boost my natural science background, boost my extracurriculars, study for the MCAT, and apply the following year?</p>
<p>I know I have asked a lot in this question and seriously appreciate any opinions/thoughts on my situation.</p>