I am a nursing major, but I am thinking about going pre med. I’m afraid it’s going to be to late to switch to premed and get everything done in time though. I’ll start my sophomore year this coming fall, but schedule sign up has passed so I dont think I can get into the sciences I need now.
So far I’ve had my General biology(ap credit), general chemistry(duel enrollment), a and p I, and over the summer and next semester I’ll have a and p II, micro, and patho.
Should I try to just get into organic chem or physics?
The journey to medical school is a marathon, not a sprint. You have a long, hard slog ahead of you. You do not have to be ready to apply to med schools at the end of junior year. Plenty of students apply after graduation or even later. You will not be “too old” for med school at 23 or even at 30 or 35.
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You need to check to see how your college handles science coursework for nursing and other allied health professions. Some colleges maintain 2 separate tracks: one for allied health science/nursing majors and one for “pure” science majors. If any of your coursework is labeled as being for allied health science/nursing majors in your college catalog–it’s not acceptable to medical schools. (So A & P for nursing majors will not fulfill bio admission requirements for med schools.) You need to be enrolled in the science classes that science majors would take.
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Although you have AP credit for bio, not all med schools accept AP credit and many of those that so may require upper level bio coursework to fulfill admission requirements.
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Why the switch from nursing to med?
I’m not suggesting there’s anything wrong with the decision, but have you done any shadowing of physicians vs, nurse practitioners? Make sure you know which path you want to pursue.
Be aware that every year 60% of med school applicant fail to gain an acceptance anywhere.
- Although fall sign-ups have passed, you can always try to get on waitlist for Ochem and/or physics. You may be able to get a seat in one of those classes in the fall. You can also try simply attending ochem or physics lecture during drop/add and see if any seats open up. You might get lucky.
See if you can enroll in other pre-req classes—psych, soc, statistics, calc. Have you completed 2 semesters of English/writing? If not, that’s another course you can enroll in.
- Applying to med school requires more than just having the proper coursework. Pre-meds are expected to have all of the following: physician shadowing, clinical volunteering, community service, leadership positions in their activities, and bench or clinical research.
You can start working on those activities over the summer.