I want to go medical school, and the medical schools I’m interested don’t have a math requirement, but most of the schools have a physics requirement, and in order to take physics at my school I have to take pre calculus as the prerequisite. I am willing to take pre calculus but I am not interested in taking Calculus I afterwards, will me taking pre calculus but not calculus hurt my chances with medical schools that don’t require math?
The reason why this worries me is because even though they do not require math, I fear they will look at m…e taking pre calculus but not calculus as weakness or lack of confidence.
*me
–Med schools won’t see your HS transcript.
–As far as I know (and I am not an expert) medical schools do require some college level math and many applicants do have a semester or two of calculus. I’d recommend taking calc in HS.
I’m actually in college currently and I know that pre calculus is normally a high school class but my college offers it as a credit course and not a remedial class I’m not even taking it to fulfill a math requirement as while it is true that some medical schools require math, the schools I’m looking at don’t require math except for one, but that school only requires one semester of college statistics and I already took that class. The reason I’m taking pre calculus is because I need it as a prerequisite to take college physics which is required by most of the medical schools I’m interested in attending.
Medical schools’ “machine” (algorithm) would likely cut your aplicztion from the pile if you didn’t have pre-calculus, calculus, and statistics - not to mention you’ll need excellent mastery of pre-calculus (at a minimum) or take the two semesters of physics medical schools require, and that the MCAT can’t be successfully taken without pre-calculus, calculus, and statistics.
Frankly, non calculus based physics is not competitive in medical school application, it will however fulfil the requirements. Most, if not all applicants have calculus and calculus based physics.
Have a plan B if you have math phobia.
^^^
Is that true? I thought many/most premed bio majors often only take regular calculus?
My son did take Calc-based physics, but that’s because he was an eng’g major. It seems that the premed prereqs list either physics as acceptable.
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while it is true that some medical schools require math, the schools I’m looking at don’t require math except for one, but that school only requires one semester of college statistics and I already took that
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How many med schools are you looking at?
The bottom line is that your app will be compared to others. If your app appears academically weaker than others, what do you think med schools will do? If you were in THEIR shoes, what would YOU do?
I’m wondering the same thing since my D’s college pre-med guide specifically states that either level of physics is acceptable.
As far as I know, as long as you took Physics, there’s no requirement it be calculus-based. Calculus-based physics tends to be for engineers or physics majors.
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Is that true? I thought many/most premed bio majors often only take regular calculus?,,, >>>>
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Ack! Meant to write “regular Physics”…
But it looks like folks realized what I meant, anyway.
^^ yes, I understood what you meant. 
I was questioning the post saying that the non-engineering physics was looked down upon my med schools. In everything I’ve read and what my D has heard from the pre-med advisor at her college we have never heard that one before.
I agree!
I really doubt that med schools look down on non-Calc physics. If that were true, the prereqs would have changed a long time ago. I think there may be some confusion. The physics for “non-majors” isn’t acceptable (same with bio, chem, and Orgo for “non-majors” …which are often the nursing or similar versions)
I think nursing students take an okay physics class too (I guess it depends on universities!)… what I see as “physics for non majors” tends to be gen ed exploration of physical science for students who take the class like engineers take English Composition, to be well-educated (well, because it’s mandated so that they are well-educated :p) There’s only some scientific reasoning and limited quantitative reasoning, as is necessary to be “well educated” and to be able to think critically about science, not “to become a scientist”. That would be a problem.