differences between 'pre-' classes and reg. bio, chem, etc classes

conf123 · 08-12-2006, 12:49 AM

hey
im gonna be senior this year so i've been looking at colleges

my final goal is to study pharm or med, of course in graduate school
so i was planning to take either pre-med or pre-pharm for undergrad
but i heard that getting into those majors are harder than other regular majors, such as bio or chem
do you guys know what the differences are between pre- classes and regular bio, chem, etc classes?

and is it true that it is harder to get into pre- classes?

for extra info, i live in california. and planning to apply for ucsd, usc, ucla, etc

conf123 · 08-12-2006, 12:52 AM

oh and is it true that getting into easier undergrad and getting better grades there is better than going to hard undergrad and getting worse grades? (will it benefit my acceptence chance at graduate school?)

RockyRoadAhead · 08-12-2006, 01:43 AM

GPA is a significant factor for admissions to GPA, not necessarily your major.

Golden Bear · 08-12-2006, 01:55 AM

For Pre-med, as long as you fulfill the Med School requirements, ones major doesn't matter.

Many top Med school admits majored in non-science majors like dance, econ, philosophy and etc., so no one does not need to major in MCB to go to Med School especially at Cal.

hsmomstef · 08-12-2006, 01:05 PM

GPA is a big deal when it comes to applying to med school, so you want to make sure you go to a school where you can make a good GPA. same goes for choice of major, course load and classes -- make sure you can maintain a high GPA.

the major doesn't matter, as long as you meet the science requirements. I have heard that philosophy majors are looked at closely because they learn to think and that is important in medicine. Consider taking a major that you are interested in other than pre-med -- or something that could be a fall-back career. Unless you are planning on going into research and getting a doctorate, you can't do much with a degree in biology (as my husband discovered).

Although the major doesn't matter, the quality of the classes you take in science to prepare you for med school does matter. You want to make sure that the schools you are applying to are successful at placing students in med schools. not all organic chemistry courses are equal -- and med schools know that. A high GPA will not compensate for a poor science background -- even if you get into med school, you might not make it through.

conf123 · 08-15-2006, 02:13 AM

thanks Rocky, Golden Bear, hsmomstef!! that really really helped!