As far as I know, at some private colleges, the lab is a “course” (with fewer credits) by itself, totally separate from the lecture class with the same name. So the student may choose what lab to take, if his/her department does not require this lab specifically.
</p>
<p>This reminds me of the following:</p>
<p>When DS was an UG, it was rumored that, for a particular lecture class, if you have not had enough related lab experience (say, obtained by either joining a research lab or taking several labs that are designed to prepare you for a PhD-track career), it is very difficult to get a good grade by just studying – it is already too late to accumulate the needed lab experience to do well in a lecture class.</p>
<p>The professor who taught this lecture class was said to be close to receive a Nobel Prize due to her research. (Her husband at the same school had already got this prize.) This kind of professor is really interested in educating the next-generation researcher, and does not care about the premeds. (BTW, this is a two-semester version of Biochemistry, not some very advanced class.)</p>
<p>Is my understanding correct? I did not mention research in MS, due to some schools require, some do not. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>MS1-2, mainly study. MS3-4, mainly clinical practice?</p></li>
<li><p>take step1 at the end of MS2 to prepare for residency prog. But due to residence happens two years later, why takes the test so earlier? Would taking it at the end of 3rd year be better?</p></li>
<li><p>when the student starts residency, he already chooses the specialty which interests him (ex: family practice, oncologist)? it lasts 3 years?</p></li>
<li><p>the fellowship after residency is making the student better on the specialty he picks. maybe family practice does not need this anymore. some definitely need. last another 3 years?</p></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>Mostly right. But some schools have shorter (say, 1.5 year) preclinical years. Some med schools allow the students to take it later than the end of MS2. I think at DS’s school, the deadline is the end of the “fall” semester in MS3. But most students seem to take it the the end of MS2. (Hmmm…no wonder the winter break in MS3 is slightly longer. Maybe the school is being considerate here.)</p></li>
<li><p>Taking step 1 is a part of the efforts for getting the medical license. It is not only for “preparing for residency.”</p>
<p>You may forget about what you have learned in preclinical years if you take it later. Also, the rotations in MS3 are very demanding in term of time commitment (sleep starvation and all that.) You will likely not have ample time for intense study (e.g., 10+ hours of study per day – although I heard DS was only capable of committing 9-10 hours per day.)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Residency/fellowship stuff is beyond my understanding now. But I think only Family Practice Residency is 3 years. All others are longer. I think the length of residency (maybe followed by a fellowship?) for oncology is much longer than that of the family practice.</p>
<p>Some schools have what’s called early clinical immersion. While they are taking classes, students are also working in clinical settings. (Boston U, UNM have esp. intense early clinical experiences.)</p>
<p>Some schools have compressed didactic years (MS1-2) where all academic classes are completed in 12-15 months. Vanderbilt, Baylor, Emory, UNM (and others) have this.</p>
<p>2) you take your STEP 1 as soon as you complete your academic classes. It’s taken at the end of your second year because of all the exams, it’s the most academic knowledge driven. Many (all?) schools require students to pass STEP 1 before they advance to the clinical portion of their training. Also because realistically you won’t have time to study for STEP during the clinical portion of your training. STEP 1 scores are also used to help ‘qualify’ you for certain residencies so you can choose your elective clinical rotations accordingly. STEP 2 is taken at the end of MS3. You’re expected to have both completed–or at least Step 1 completed and Step 2 scheduled when you apply for residencies at the beginning of MS4.</p>
<p>3) oncology is fellowship program, not a residency. Oncology requires a IM residency first. Length of reisdency varies by specialty. They can last from 3 to 6 years. A fellowship is more deeply specialized training. They last 1-3 year more years.</p>
<p>depends whether you’re talking about hematology/oncology (a sub specialty of medicine) or radiation-oncology (it’s own specialty with a medicine prelim year).</p>
<p>I know the difference. Believe me, I know. Have dealt at length and ad nauseum with both kinds of specialities at multiple national cancer centers from Seattle to New England and a couple in between. As well as corresponding with cancer centers in 4 countries. (Hint: if you or a family member is going to develop cancer, make sure it not a a very rare type that has fewer than 25 cases diagnosed per year in the US. None of the local oncologists had even seen a case in their entire careers. BTDT, have the case study in an academic medical journal to prove it.)</p>
<p>You are right, I am not! Still do not understand what ‘radiation-oncology (it’s own specialty with a medicine prelim year)’ means. :(</p>
<p>‘medicine prelim year’ means the 1st year in residency?</p>
<p>I would like to know why cell bio and organic chem courses are so hard! It’s because it needs too much memorizing, too much analysis like studying math ad physics, or too much trick like doing Math Count, or too much HWs and Labs, or just time consuming? Or it needs all of those?</p>
<p>With regard to college stuff. It really depends on the school and its given class, depending on how it’s taught any, all, or none of the things you said may apply.</p>
<p>Generally speaking, medical oncologists (who have completed a fellowship in hematology/oncology) oversee and coordinate cancer treatment. They principally use drug based therapies (chemo).</p>
<p>Radiation oncologist use radiation (X-rays,electron beams, proton beams, radioactive implants) as their principal modality of treating cancer.</p>
<p>And just to confuse you some more–there are surgical oncologists–who use (you guessed it!)–surgerical techniques to treat cancer.</p>
<p>Many cancer patients are treated by all 3 types during their treatment cycle.</p>
<p>Wowmom -sorry to hear you had to learn so much about oncologists.</p>
<p>On a side note, a well established cardiologist friend mentioned recently that radiation oncology is one of the most remunerative areas at the moment.</p>
<p>Sorry I brought this thread to live. I just wanted to put my questions in the same thread, so I can find the answers easier. </p>
<p>I have a questions regarding Physics. I have 5 on AP Physics B. MOWM posted a link for AP credit in medical schools. But I would like to know in general, if your son/daughter used the AP to skip the class (like usually for intro Bio) to place in upper Physics course. </p>
<p>Also if the medical school requires one year Physics, can I take one semester Physics and use AP to replace one semester?</p>
<p>DS just took physics again in college. Isn’t it a good review for MCAT?! Of course, this depends on whether your school allows you to retake the intro physics if you have had AP credits.</p>
<p>This also depends on how lenient the policy of the med school is. Since you do not know which med school will love you back, it is better not to put yourself in a disadvantage position (by relying on AP to meet the requirement) w.r.t. most med schools. Even in a more lenient state like TX, in DS’s college years, some TX college like Rice would recommend their premeds to take the related lab classes even if many (if not most) TX med schools allow them to use AP credits to fulfill the requirements. Most know that the science labs at many high schools are like jokes, unless you were so lucky to be at a superior high school (e.g., maybe private ones, or magnetic public high schools?)</p>
<p>I believe BRM (a CCer who came here to help the rest of us a long time ago, even slightly before BDM, according to one post by BDM) once posted that he thinks it is better not to take the upper level physics, unless you are really into it (IMHO, you probably should not be a premed if you are such a person.) After all, physicists are famed to eat their own :)</p>
<p>D1 didn’t use AP credits except in math. (As a physics major, her AP phys C did not fulfill her required course sequence.)</p>
<p>D2 didn’t used AP credits except for math. Her school does not allow pre meds to use AP credits in bio or physics and strongly suggests they don’t use them in chem.</p>
<p>“Also if the medical school requires one year Physics, can I take one semester Physics and use AP to replace one semester?”
-Very good question for Med. Schools’ adcoms. D. has asked several of such questions and was able to proceed with her UG classes without a geussing game but having real facts. I would strongly advise you to do the same.</p>
<p>…and again what pre-med advisor at specific UG indicated to a certain student, might not be the best at another UG with completely different student. UGs / students / Med. schools combo is different from case to case. What each of us have here may not apply to you at all in regard to AP credits.<br>
The general rule overall is limited to one aspect - acceptance to Med. School. The general rule - high college GPA/ decent MCAT score/sufficient amount of Medical ECs / reasonable list of Med. Schools will likely result in one/several acceptances.<br>
The specifics might not be applicable at all from one case to another.</p>
My son did exactly that. He took AP credit Physics I and took Physics II at his college. From my research, except for Vanderbilt, BU, some CA schools, one semester of AP credit works with pretty much every school I looked at. Even the schools that typically don’t accept AP Credits for any other subject, accept them for Physics - at least for one semester.</p>
<p>My son also accepted AP Credits for Inorganic Chemistry. That seems to be a bit more problematic. Most schools seem to be OK with it. A couple of my son’s schools seem to be OK with Biochemistry as a replacement.</p>
<p>Vandy, which clearly states that they don’t accept AP, CLEP or PASS/FAIL let my son through two screens so far. He has an interview scheduled with them. I suppose we will know more when he attends that.</p>
<p>
I see two advantages of accepting AP credit and taking higher level courses:
[ol]
[<em>]You get to skip those huge (>400) classes with brutal curves.
[</em>]You get to pursue other options like double majors, research for credit etc.
[/ol]</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for all the inputs. They are very helpful. Congrats to your D/S’s IIs. Great achievement! Hope 3 or 4 yrs later, I can share my good news with you!</p>
<p>quote from kal (I don’t know how to do the box quote like you guys did, so have to copy)
‘You get to skip those huge (>400) classes with brutal curves.’</p>
<p>Does it mean that upper class have better curves?</p>