<p>I am a Chem major starting my sophomore year of college. I have heard various “advice” about taking as easy a schedule as possible to go into medical school. I got "5"s on my AP tests so my college advised me to take Honors/Accelerated first year courses. My college also recommended that I take advanced science courses. It’s been going pretty well (3.9 GPA end of last quarter), but I feel I’d have gotten a 4.0 easy retaking the classes I had AP credit for. Just for kicks, I took practice MCAT workbook from my public library at the end of HS and it looks like I could score a 31-32 without practice or prep.</p>
<p>My question was whether or not taking these courses would make any difference in medical school applications. I mean, there is a pretty real difference if you look at the syllabi between the Honors/Accelerated and regular classes. There’s an even bigger difference between taking molecular genetics and regular bio, or taking multivariate and vector calculus and intro calculus. I know GPAs count a lot, but I’d imagine taking a rigorous curriculum should also factor in. I am reluctant to take the premed advice and major in the easiest thing I can find while filling my next three years with intro to sculpture, physical education, women’s studies basics, or sport fish of the Midwest, and other junk intro classes.</p>
<p>First, do not think that pulling high MCAT will not require prep.<br>
Second, I heard feom several poster here and my own D. confirmed that taking Physiology and Genetics is really beneficial for MCAT. I do not know about Cell Bio. Other than getting high GPA and decent MCAT and having EC’s, I am not sure if taking difficult classes is beneficial. However, at D’s UG all Bio were killer classes, including the very first one, which most top caliber HS kids with “5” in AP Bio did NOT skip. And good % of these top kids fell out of pre-med track after taking this first Bio class. </p>
<p>For sure, 200% correct answer - you do NOT need any high level math, unless math is your passion and you are interested in it. You just need 2 semesters of math (AP credit is OK, but please, check with adcoms of Med. Schools on your list, which my D. did). D. did not take single Calc at college, she took Stats which was one of the easiest “A” and much more useful for pre-meds than calc, since Med. Research Labs procedures are based on Stats. However, do not hesitate taking anything that is in your personal area of interest. Med. Schools really appreciate to see a real person with real interests / passions outside of pre-med track. So, go ahead, UG years is your chance to pursue your personal interest(s). D’s involvement with music was the major topic at most of her Med. School interviews, not her Research or other medically related activities. Another one was her unusual (for pre-med) volunteering that she pursued primarily because of her personal interest in psychology.</p>
<p>OP, they just don’t have enough time or experience to analyze all 120+ credits from every applicant. The fact is that an honors class at your school may be much more rigorous than one at another school. Frankly, I’m of the opinion that college classes are more than about just getting the grades for medical school. I would have rather had an A- in a class or two if it meant I got to take what interested me. Also, beware the MCAT practice exams. They can lead to overconfidence.</p>
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Maybe you would have, maybe you wouldn’t have. Doesn’t matter. Your 3.9 won’t be differentiated from a 4.0.
Completely worthless and, as pointed out above, possibly harmful. My kid did the same thing (except on-line and under “test conditions”) after first-year and it did make her over-confident, IMO. Prepare for the test. It is as important as everyone says it is.</p>
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Nope. Whether it should or not is irrelevant to your application process. </p>
<p>And BTW, most of us have never suggested taking the easiest major or fluff courses. What we do suggest is taking courses that are interesting to you and add value to your life, while being cognizant of how those courses are graded and the time commitment required to get an excellent grade. </p>
<p>Don’t take hard courses (or pick a hard major) because they are hard and you think you get a “application boost” because of it. Take them because they are interesting, or help on the MCAT, or help prepare you for medical school, or because the cute kid you are crushing on is in the same class.</p>
<p>I agree with Curmudgeon (despite that screen name) 100 % on this one.</p>
<p>There may be one more reason. The harder courses may prepare you better for the research you are conducting.</p>
<p>I am a chem major out of choice, and I don’t intend to walk into any admissions exam anymore without thorough practice (Although I did just that for the ACT and SAT!). I just heard advice that I was shooting myself in the foot, metaphorically, but I feel that I am just following my personal interests. I always saw college as more than just a tool to get to another school, and I hope graduate or medical school admissions people realize that and allow a little lenience towards students who really pursue difficult higher-level courses in their area of concentration.</p>
<p>^Maybe a little, but even high level undergraduate classes tend to be too general for most laboratories. The biggest prep would probably be in the knowledge of using certain machines, but that in itself isn’t a huge jump forward.</p>
<p>I would not major in the easiest major that I can find…I don’t think med schools would take that seriously.</p>
<p>That said, there are a variety of majors that are “serious majors” that aren’t the typical pre-med majors. </p>
<p>A friend of my son will be starting med school (top 25 MD school) this year and she was a French major. It’s a serious major, but not traditionally “pre-med.”</p>
<p>Major in what you LIKE and what you’ll do well in. Don’t burden yourself or trip yourself up by trying to “double major” or anything like that IF it will mean that your GPA will suffer.</p>
<p>"admissions people realize that and allow a little lenience towards students who really pursue difficult higher-level courses in their area of concentration. "</p>
<p>-I do not think “a little lenience” is happenning. That is why engineering major is not advisable since it is the hardest of them all. Chem. should be OK, though. Most pre-meds also pursue their personal interests with double/triple majors and minors. However, Med. School admissions are not paying any attention to those either, and they also affect your GPA, even singing classes in Music Minor will. They are just to keep you relaxed and engaged in area outside of science classes and Medically related EC’s.</p>