pre med requirements

Pre-Med & Medical School
1

<p>I already have a bachelors and masters in psychology. After all of this I have finally chosen to go into psychiatry (really late, I know). I am looking into going back to school for all of the pre-med requirements. I just wanted to know specific information about the requirements. Will I be able to use classes like 'intro to chem w/ lab' in order to meet these requirements? Will I have to use exactly chem 1/2? There are about a billion biology courses and I'm not sure if I need, specifically, bio 1/2. I have a lot of catching up to do as it is and there are many pre-requirements to these courses, so I'm just trying to figure out the easiest way to play catch-up.</p>

<p>Hopefully I'm in the correct area to ask this question. Also, I'm going for my D.O. and I'll be applying at Midwestern University.</p>

2

<p>The courses you’ll need are:</p>

<p>1) 2 semesters of general chemistry for science majors with labs 2) 2 semesters of organic chemistry with lab</p>

<p>3) 1 semester of biochemistry</p>

<p>4) 2 semesters of general physics for science majors with labs (Physics can be an algebra-based course intended for bio & chem majors. It doesn’t need to be a calc-based physics for physics and engineering majors. But either is acceptable.)</p>

<p>5) 2 semesters of introductory level biology for science majors with labs</p>

<p>6) 2 semester of “college level” math, one of which should be statisitics</p>

<p>7) 2 semesters of “writing intensive” classes (a writing intensive course is college-specific designation. Some medical schools specifically require 2 semesters of English classes. You need to check what Midwestern requires.)</p>

<p>Note the common denominator of all of the above. You need to check that any course you enroll in is the course required for a science major (not allied health science majors, not nursing, not liberal arts majors). This is the most important thing. </p>

<p>Bio should be a general course that covers all the basic topics in biology, including genetics.</p>

<p>Even if your target school does not (yet) require biochem for admission, you will need biochem in order to take the MCAT. </p>

<p>Here is AMCAS preview guide to the 2015 MCAT. </p>

<p><a href=“https://www.aamc.org/students/download/266006/data/2015previewguide.pdf[/url]”>https://www.aamc.org/students/download/266006/data/2015previewguide.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>~~~~</p>

<p>A word of advice–while it’s great you’re aiming at a particular medical college, please understand the med school admission is incredibly competitive. Applying to only 1 med school is a recipe for being shut out. You will need to apply to a number of DO programs if you truly want to attend medical school. (A minimum of 12-15 is the usually suggested number. More if your application packet is lacking in any aspect, including ECs.)</p>

3

<p>Thank you very much for your insightful reply! I have decided against fast tracking and taking my time. Thanks again for the help.</p>

4

<p>the new MCAT is different and includes sociology and psychology (i guess you should be fine there)</p>

<p>that goes into effect for the first MCAT in 2015</p>