Scheduling dilemmas - starting pre-med a year late

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

Hi guys, I am starting the pre-med track this coming fall (start of my sophomore year), so I’m a bit concerned about fitting in all my pre-med prerequisites into my schedule before the end of my junior year as well as my graduation requirements by the end of senior year. I really do not want to take a gap year or take a 5th year because the medical journey is long enough. I am willing to work extra hard if it means I can accomplish my goals and ON TIME. Note: The typical course load per semester at my university is 4.

Here is the situation: Out of the prereqs (2 sem of bio, 2 sem of gen chem, 2 sem of math, 2 sem of physics, 1 sem of biochem, 2 sem of English, 1 sem of psych, and POTENTIALLY 1 sem of sociology), I have only completed the 2 sem of math and 1 sem of English.

Out of my major requirements, which involves completing 9 courses, I have only completed 1 course, so that leaves 8 more to go in the next 3 years (keep in mind my major is super intensive and time-consuming and does NOT overlap with any of the pre-med reqs).

I still have about 4 graduation requirements to complete.

I am willing to overload my schedule to about 5, but I don’t think anything beyond that is doable. I think it’s not humanly possible to handle anything above “triple-labbing.”

The biggest thing that worries me is that my options are limited for next semester, as registration for that was LAST SPRING, and here I am, having to completely restructure my schedule. Fortunately, I am currently enrolled for bio. I was planning on taking gen chem as well, but I am not yet registered for it. As it is an intro class, many freshmen will want to take it, and I am HIGHLY worried that by the time add/drop period arrives, the lecture section and lab that fit my current schedule will be filled, and no one will want to drop. So that would push starting gen chem to spring 2016…

So in case you’d like to see the math laid out: I currently have about 22 required courses I must take, and around 24 slots in my 4-year schedule left (assuming I take the standard course load every semester). So the math works out. The problems are: next semester scheduling is difficult, and I HAVE to complete all the pre-med requirements before senior year. So it’s pertinent that I schedule things in a way that is efficient and won’t cause me to get straight Bs or worse.

My question is, with all of this in mind, how should I realistically and EFFICIENTLY plan my schedule for the next 3 years (particularly the next 2) without sacrificing time and chances of making it into a decent med school (I am aware quality of med school does not matter for getting an MD, but it matters to me)?

Please help!!! Thank you so much.

2

There’s a saying that occasionally pops up that getting into med school is a marathon, not a sprint. The last time I looked there were only 24 hours in a day. Where do you plan to jam in MCAT prep, ECs, etc? Med schools won’t give you bonus points for your efforts. I’m sure you are “willing to work extra hard” but in last reported application cycle out of approx. 49K apps, almost 60% did NOT start at any med school. I suspect that many, many of those that failed to start were hard workers as well. IMO, you need to seriously rethink your plan to try to apply to med school in 2 years. I think you’re setting yourself up for failure, sorry. Maybe others will respond differently.Good luck

3

@Jugulator20
Please do not underestimate the power of hard work and the abilities of college students these days. I know plenty of students juggling many demanding things at once. A physics/computer science double major who is a pre-med who also tutors in CS. An entrepreneur starting businesses on the side who also manages to be involved in res life and orgs and maintains a 4.0. I’m sure I have it better than them. And isn’t that what medical school is about as well? Residency? What about as an attending physician?

I’m trying to plan it out myself right now, and it doesn’t seem to be so bad (even if I take into account starting gen chem a semester later… which I REALLY hope does not end up happening) until junior year. One semester of junior year will be utter hell. I think. I’m thinking of starting studying for MCAT next summer and then hopefully taking it summer after junior year.

4

You’re operating under a huge misconception. All US medical schools are “decent”. They’re accredited by the same accreditation body (LCME) and they teach the same identical curricula (required for accreditation). All US med students take the same national standardized exams (USMLEs) and are all able to enter any of the specialties the the same Match process.

The med school you attend has very little bearing on your future specialty or future success as physician.

Now regarding your scheduling—

Chemistry requirements are a 5 semester sequence. I don’t see anyway for you complete this before the end of junior unless you take summer coursework. (2 semesters of OChem over next summer)

The downside of this plan is that your summers will be consumed by classes and won’t be available for the developing the ECs expected of all med applicants (community service, clinical volunteering, physician shadowing, lab research, teaching/tutoring, leadership positions).

I strong recommend not taking 3 lab classes in a single semester. (D2 did it for 2 semesters and she said it was exhausting. She also earned the worst grades of her undergrad career those semesters.) Stick w/ 2 sciences and take 2 or 3 major or GE requirements for your other classes.

P.S. don’t forget you need a semester of statistics or biostatistics before the MCAT.

If you can’t get a gen chem class this fall, you’re going to be particularly pressed for time and will have complete both gen chem 2 and ochem 1 over the summer. You will probably have to push back your MCAT into the early summer after junior year in order to finish biochem and give yourself time to prep for the MCAT. Pushing your MCAT back will delay your application and make you less competitive as an applicant.

You may want to reconsider your insistence of getting all your pre-reqs done in just 2 years, especially since you still have so many graduation requirements for your major outstanding. (Assuming a successful application, your senior fall semester needs to be a very light load with no lab classes so you’re available to travel for interviews–which are usually during the week and often offered on very short notice.)

Part of the pre-med process is all about learning to delay gratification and developing good judgement and maturity. Rushing any part of your preparation will not get you where you want to be.

Med school adcomms are looking for any reason to reject candidates since they get on average 15-20 applicants for each seat. Inadequate preparation (either academically or in ECs) is a really easy reason to round file an application. It’s better to apply only once and apply with the strongest possible portfolio. (Reapplicants are at disadvantage w/r/t med school admissions. And this doesn’t even consider the emotional stress or monetary cost of the application process which is easily several thousands of $$$.)

5

I agree with Jugulator20. A recipe for failure here. If your major overlapped (i.e., bio or chem), then it would be doable (although still a bit of a stretch). As is, I’d predict that you will burn out before sophomore year is over or your grades will suffer and you’ll not be able to get into med school at all. It’s short-sighted to try to save a year just to get into med school directly from college.

6

@WayOutWestMom
Chem is a 5-semester sequence?! I’m assuming you made a typo and meant 4?

So you guys are saying that any pre-med that starts after freshman year can forget about going to med school right after graduation?

@N’s Mom
Actually I started thinking of that as well. Maybe if I switched to a Chem or Bio major? The overlapping will surely help with the timing a lot.

Hmm, I don’t know. The thing is, I’m not a huge fan of research (from the limited experience I’ve had), and I couldn’t imagine devoting a full year to doing that before going to med school. Or even if I didn’t do research. What would the purpose of that year be? It’d feel like a year in limbo.

7

No chem is 5 semesters: 2 semesters gen chem, 2 semesters ochem, 1 semester biochem.

Most colleges have successful completion of ochem 2 as pre-req for enrolling in biochem.

Starting late and still applying after junior year used to be a lot easier than it is now. With the addition of biochem and stats (plus soc and psych), it’s upped the number of classes an applicants need to complete before they sit for MCAT.

8

@WayOutWestMom
Do you think it’s doable if I majored in bio/chem instead? That would reduce major requirement courses outside of pre-med reqs to 5 (for either one).

9

How’s your math? Do you like physics?

Chem/biochem majors need the entire calc sequence plus diff eq. Plus calculus-based physics and PChem.

PChem is also extremely math intensive. (PChem is basically quantum mechanics for chemists.)

Sure it’ll reduce the number of courses with no overlap, but as a chem/biochem major, you’re still behind the curve for finishing your major on time and getting your pre-reqs done by the end of junior year.


I recommend getting the college's course catalog out and drawing up spreadsheets with several potential course schedules using graduation requirements for potential majors and pre-med requirements.

And remember the college has the right at any time to change its graduation requirement/course offerings/scheduling.

(D2 had her 4 year course of studies all laid out perfectly! Then at the midway thru her junior year her U changed the course offerings and her perfect schedule evaporated. She had to scramble to fit in a required-for-graduation year-long class she had planned to take her senior year--and which was not being offered the next year.)
10

@WayOutWestMom
Yes, I’m very quantitative, although chemistry was not my strong suit in high school. I didn’t mean biochem. I meant bio OR chem major. Will being “behind the curve” be a disadvantage should I decide to apply to medical school after 3rd year?

I’m trying to weigh this out to decide if it’s worth it. I never expected to be the type to spend an extra year after college graduation not in school or a full-time job. But if I’m going to apply after 4th year, I might as well do the major I had originally planned on doing/is more practical anyway. However, medical school is my primary goal.

11

You mean starting to study in summer 2016 and studying/taking it in 2017? That sounds like wasted time during '16. Either take it the end of next summer or don’t waste time studying for it then and use those hours more wisely.

Do you mean applying late in the cycle? (i.e. not submitting AMCAS before august, preferably before july) Yes, that’s a huge disadvantage.

12

Okay, what do you think about the following 3-year schedule? Honestly, I would still prefer to not take an extra year because I’ve already taken bio, chem, and physics in high school at the university level (which would have allowed me to take two years OFF, so I wouldn’t feel good about instead taking an EXTRA year)… I’m not just any student who has no background in intro science (or easily fazed by a tough course load).

Do you still think it’s not manageable? I could probably take the MCAT during junior spring or junior summer (is that too late?)

Soph F:
bio 1
chem 1 (praying this works out)
major class
comp lit: cognitive poetics (for sure grad requirement, not sure about pre-med english requirement, have to ask)

Winter: maybe self-study Spanish? Since that’s helpful. This is one option. For the other, see senior year.

Soph S:
bio 2
chem 2
major class
req course for major (doesn’t count as one of 9 courses)
fifth course - psych (supposedly easy) or english (if needed)

Summer: will probably engage in some research activity and self-study orgo/maybe sociology/other things on MCAT I won’t be taking a class for so that I can be ready

Junior F (the hell semester):
physics 1
orgo 1
genetics
major class (will try to choose one that doesn’t have lab or just might die)
fifth course - major class (trying for no lab)

Junior S:
physics 2
orgo 2
biochem
major class
fifth course - psych/eng if needed

Senior F:
major class
major class
grad req
upper level science course/grad req
fifth course (maybe) - Spanish (credit/non?)

Senior S:
major class
major class
grad req
grad req
fifth course (maybe) - Spanish (credit/non?)

I feel like this might work lol… The only semester that’s super hard is Junior Fall, since I currently have no background in orgo and genetics and I’ll be overloading with a major class. Also, studying for the MCAT might be tough and a little hard on time, but… the power of hard work and starting early?

13

And so have probably half or more of your classmates…. don’t get cocky.

Also you should check admission requirements for specific med schools you’re interested in. Many schools have started to add social science course requirements for admission. (JHU, Duke, Indiana, Harvard…. just to name a few.) This means you can’t self-study–you need actual coursework.

14

@WayOutWestMom
Most of my classmates have taken AP classes in a high school; that’s slightly differently from taking science classes in a university. Although I acknowledge that probably won’t give me many real advantages in the classroom. I’m just saying I’m not scared of a tough course load.

I don’t currently see sociology as a requirement for any of the medical schools I’m interested in (all the other courses have been listed in the schedule I just made). If you’re talking about other humanities classes (history, etc), I’ve already taken a couple, and those will be fulfilled by my graduation requirements. As far as the schedule I’ve planned though… do you think it’ll work? Or is applying after 4th year still the best option for me.

15

Are you saying you took classes at a university while in high school? Don’t forget you will need a transcript from that school when you apply and those grades get factored in to your GPA. In fact, check with your pre med advisor, you may be able to get away with taking fewer pre reqs now if you want (eg maybe you only need orgo and 1 advanced bio). Not sure if it’s the best idea but if going straight from college to med school is that important then it might help.

16

Research is certainly valued by med schools, but it’s not a requirement by all med schools. I’d guess fewer ECs but of longer duration providing ample evidence that an applicant has the motivation and qualities med schools expect to see can be effective, but an applicant, like you, who waits the extra year simply has more time to create a more polished, competitive in all respects, and ultimately successful app. Why would you want to shortchange your chance at a “quality med school"?

New MCAT was introduced this year, adding a fourth multiple choice section. Concepts tested in this section are taught in first semester of Psych and Soc courses. Although many schools may not list these courses as reqs yet, I’d guess they will in years to come.

The purpose is, having started late on premed track, to give yourself the opportunity time wise to develop the strongest possible application. S’s goal from the onset was to apply after third year. However he dug a hole first year GPAs wise. An advisor strongly suggested he tap on the brakes a little and postpone applying for year to increase time available both for academics and ECs. ECs are not some afterthought to med schools, some check the box thing. They are essential/critical components (along secondaries, LORs, PS, interview) of a competitive and successful app. S took advice and waited until he graduated to apply. He’s a senior resident (aka third year post med school).

LOL. Obviously college students of today have reinvented the “power of hard work” wheel as us old timers never learned to juggle many demanding things at once such as earning degrees(s), raising families (sadly sometimes multiple families), working, running businesses, volunteering, etc, etc, etc.

17

Okay. So will the schedule I created not work??!

And if it comes to that, I will take sociology once it becomes a requirement.

18

I learned a long time ago that when you ask a question you can get an answer that you will not like. I think that’s the situation here. People are genuinely trying to help you offering you their best advice/opinions but it’s not what you would like to hear. IMO the focus on offering commentary/approval/advice to a schedule on the facts you provided misses the big picture (aka getting into med school) and does you a great disservice. At this point I’d say talk to counselor. Good luck to you.

19

The junior year schedule looks too challenging for keeping a 3.7 or higher, work on EC’s, and study for the MCAT.

20

You may not be able to take Bio 1 and Chem 1 concurrently. Many schools have Bio 1 as a prerequisite for Chem1. This would then throw Chem 1 into the spring semester and you’d have to take Chem 2 in the summer because Chem 1 and 2 are prerequisites for Organic Chem. It’s not wise to take a pre-med class in the summer. On top of classes, you would also need to fit in all of your EC’s.