Could somebody explain what exactly pre-med is?
Both my parents are foreign to the American education system so I sort of have to figure things out myself.
- What is pre-med
- What courses should I take in college
- is UPenn a good college for pre-med?
Pre-med is a classification that prepares undergrads for medical school. Pre-med students are normally required to take certain STEM courses that are needed for admission to medical schools. You’ll have to major in something on a pre-med track. Most pre-med students major in STEM.
Your college will have a list of classes that you need to take to for pre-med. Most med schools will require at least: one year of biology with lab, one year of general chemistry with lab, one year of organic chemistry with lab, one semester of biochemistry, one year of physics with lab, one year of English.
UPenn is a good school for pretty much anything. Here’s the link to their pre-med site: https://careerservices.upenn.edu/channels/pre-medicine/
Not exactly.
Actually you can major in any field so long as you complete the pre-med coursework required for med school.
In addition to the coursework listed above, you’ll also need introductory level courses in sociology and psychology and at least one statistics or biostatistics class. While not all medical school require social sciences (most now require stats), there is an entire section of the MCAT, worth 1/4 of your final scores, devoted to the psycho-social-bio foundations of behavior. You won’t be able to score well on the MCAT without classes I n psych, sociology and stats. Stats is included all 4 sections of the MCAT.
@WayOutWestMom Yes, exactly. You have to major in something along with a pre-med track. That’s what I said. I also mentioned “Most pre-med students major in STEM.” in case you missed that.
The coursework I included was the very minimum med schools will require.
UPenn’s pre-med is very good from what I hear—excellent course selection to get all requirements finished, personable academic advising, various resources to volunteer/research. A big plus is having access to UPenn Medical School faculty for research or mentorship
What can seniors do after graduating and before starting the undergrad direct med program