About going into med school for grad studies

WayOutWestMom
Wed, 16 Jul 2014 02:11:07 +0000

Are bio, chem, physics, and math a core-requirement in college?



No. Unless your major requires these courses, you don’t need to take them.



Or is it some pre-req for med school?



Yes, these are all required for admission to medical school.

Med school admission requirements are:

2 semesters intro bio w/labs
2 semesters gen chem w/labs
2 semesters organic chem w/labs
1 semester biochem
2 semesters intro physics w/labs

2 semesters of “college level mathematics” (Specific math requirements vary by school. Some med schools require calc 1; some require stats; some require both; some require other math classes. Statistics is included on the MCAT.)

2 semester of English or other “writing intensive” classes

Some medical schools require the 2 classes below and material from the courses below will be asked on the MCAT:

1 semester intro psychology
1 semester intro sociology

And to make it even more confusing, some medical schools have other required courses. Courses like : genetics, anatomy, physiology, ethics, upper level humanities, upper level social sciences and calc 2. When you get closer to applying to medical school, you will need to look at the requirements of the specific schools you plan to apply to.



If someone majored in Spanish, does that mean he has taken science/math classes (all bio, chem, physics, math) as minor classes?



A Spanish major who is applying to med school will have completed the required math, chem, bio, physics, etc listed above. Otherwise medical schools wouldn’t even consider her/him for admission.

Generally, these classes wouldn’t taken as a minor. A minor is 5-6 classes taken in the same department. (Five bio classes, or five math classes.) Each school will have specific requirements for completing a minor. IOW, the minor dept will have a list of required and elective classes a student needs to take to complete a minor. A minor just isn’t a set of random classes.

And it’s good to ask questions! It’s the only way to get answers.