<p>Hello everyone.
I have a few questions about being premed and medical school and I would really appreciate any opinions.
I am a freshmen right now and I won't be starting my pre-reqs until my sophomore year because I wanted to make sure it was what I really wanted to do. Because I will be starting my pre-reqs late does this mean that I won't be able to start med school right after college? And if I do end up having a gap year, I was thinking about volunteering abroad (Africa, India) in hospitals/clinics, does that sound like a good idea? Also should I take orgo and physics in the same year or is that a bad idea? Here's what I have planned as far as the sciences go:
Sophmore year:
Bio I & 11
Chem I & 11
Junior Year:
Org. Chem
Sociology
Senior year:
Physics I & II
Biochem.</p>
<p>Also I've been hearing mixed responses about taking calc I, my advisor told me that it is not required for med school, can I get by with just taking a semester of statistics? or should I definitely take calc I (Math is my weakest subject)
Finally, I chose to major in Psychology because I truly enjoy learning about human behavior, is that a bad idea? has any of you majored in something other than the sciences?
Any responses/opinions are greatly appreciated =]</p>
<ol>
<li><p>We have no idea what courses you should take since each school defines the premed requirements.</p></li>
<li><p>You need psychology, one year of English and one year of math.</p></li>
<li><p>When you apply depends on when you take your MCAT. Based on you current set up, it might be almost at the end of senior year since you are planning classes that late.</p></li>
<li><p>It would be hard to spend an year abroad during the application year. Someone needs to attend them interviews.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>If you want to go directly from undergrad to medical school, it is still possible even though you started late. However, it is not possible with the schedule you have posted. In order to not have a gap year, you need to finish your pre-reqs by the end of junior year at the latest. You can’t take the MCAT without having taken physics or biochem. You should take physics your junior or sophomore year, I’d go with junior year. You should be able to handle two science classes at once, otherwise you will have a tough time in med school.</p>
<p>Different schools have different math requirements. To be safe, I took a year of calculus (up through calc III) and will take a semester of stats, but I think this is excessive. I think you should be fine with calc I and statistics. I would take both, because it would be foolish to count yourself out of any medical school because you are lacking a semester of math.</p>
<p>As for majoring in psych, that’s fine. I’m a Spanish major. When I tell med students that, they typically say, “good choice! That will stand out to admissions committees”.</p>