mmmcdowe

Biophysical chemistry does relate to biophysics, as it just focuses on the physics of biological chemical reactions. It probably is more or less the same.

While I agree that doing well in Ap chem makes chem 1 and 2 pretty dull, they are easy As and an easy way to ease into college. I actually did what you are suggesting. I only took the 2nd semester of gen chem and then took physical chemistry to replace the first semester. I planned to take gen chem 1 during the summer before medical school if I had to (fortunately my school was ok with the way I did it).

entomom

Sorry to kick a dead horse, but with a kid who just finished 1 yr of OC and 1 yr of Biochem (on the recommendation of her premed advisor), this is keeping me up at night. I've been going to websites and looking at requirements for specific Med Schools, there's lots of variation out there to say the least. With all of the variables involved in deciding which Med schools to apply to, I'd hate to see lots of schools being ruled out already due to lack of the required classes.

Will it help if she contacts various schools now to see what their policy is about chem requirements in regard to her coursework? Will they actually give her a firm answer? She's a jr and so still has some time left and will likely take a gap year as well. Of course she doesn't want to take any more chem, but it seems like a waste of time and money to apply for schools without knowing if she meets the basic requirements.

Any help out there with the least painful, and hopefully most constructive, way to proceed would be appreciated!

mmmcdowe

There is a website out there that lists what schools have what policies on AP. I'm almost certain that it has been posted on CC.

Contacting the schools will help, in the sense that she will have the knowledge first hand. Her pre-med office should be able to offer some assistance too, but if she knows what schools that she is going to apply to...

entomom

^Thanks, I'm less concerned about her getting AP credit than the Biochem replacing the gen chem, but I'll look for that link.

Unfortunately we haven't done all of the research to figure out which schools would be the best to apply to yet since it's still a couple of years off. My main worry is that due to her chem sequence, she wouldn't have the basic requirements for a large number of schools to start with.

mmmcdowe

I think that its a pretty safe bet that any school that doesn't require biochem will probably accept biochem for gen chem credit. Don't know why that poster said otherwise. Despite the fact that gen chem and biochem are definitely different subjects, schools require that you replace chemistry with a higher level chemistry course, not specifically a higher level inorganic one. It doesn't hurt to check, and one could always cram the two gen chem classes in at a community college right before medical school.

pacificvista

I have a question. I'm a freshman and I took the Gen Chem 101 course. After three weeks, I realize that its for "non-science" majors (apparently) even though its not listed anywhere in the syllabus or class description and that I should've taken Chem 111. How much will this hurt me? The class is really easy so far, I think I took most of this stuff in early high school, but I'm worried it might be looked upon badly and I really don't want to take a year of Gen Chem and then Chem 111 on top of everything else.

entomom

Thanks mmmc, that's comforting. The reason I'm so concerned is that the poster that said that biochem wouldn't replace gen chem is norcalguy .

pac, can you talk to your premed advisor and see if that course will fulfill the gen chem requirements for Med school?

mmmcdowe

pac, it won't matter. It's still general chemistry for pre-meds, even if it isn't for chemistry majors. I took gen chem and o chem for non-majors.

pacificvista

thanks! you're right. I can take Orgo after 101 and 102. No need for 111 and 112. That makes my life a lot easier.

jdizzle

what do I do if I'm transfering from a community college to a four year and then going to med school. I've heard that Med schools look down on prerequists done at a community college. Is this true?

Techy233

somewhat, but if you do really well on your MCAT, I doubt they will care.

Focused

Just make it easy for yourself. Take one year of gen chem, one year of orgo, one year of bio, one year of physics, one year of math, and one year of English. The BCPM courses MUST be the ones for science majors. If you've taken so much gen chem that you're bored with it, be thankful you'll (presumably) have at least a few easy A's. Do NOT try to substitute the basic courses; it's not worth finding out you need a bunch of courses four years from now...trust me, it happens all the time. Many schools require at least one or two upper-level bio courses, especially biochem. Get acquainted with this site now:

Medical Schools - AAMC

Some schools don't even allow AP courses to substitute for the first year/semester of classes. I know a few people who found that out the hard way this year. Point is, plan your courses carefully!

ansar

One of the courses for my major is Molecular and Cellular Biology with Lab ... that counts as a biology course for the Pre-Med requirement, right?

EDIT: Additionally, how stringent are med schools about the English requirement? Would using AP credits for that be fine? :/

Taking English again in college does not sound fun.