Getting into MedSchool: Courses for First Years

[medschool_hopeful]

Hey,

 

As first years in university, what courses should we take and which ones should we avoid? Like I know about biology,chemistry, physics, etc, etc.

But it would be great if you could give us specifics. Like WHICH biology, chemistry, physics courses to take as first years.

There are so many choices to choose one, but i want to know which ones are best as in they give loads of vital information, good overall experience, helpful in preparation for the future, etc.

 

Any help would be great, Thanks!

[Kyleh]

Take whichever ones you can get the highest possible mark in.

[neuropsy]

For first years, there's generally only one biology course that you can take.. introductory biology/chemistry/physics etc. There isn't much choice involved. they serve as a sample of the many courses you'll take later on, and these first year courses are prerequisites for later courses. It's second year where you may choose to take either physical chemistry or organic chemistry, anatomy vs cell biology, etc.

[BigM]

One thing I would add... if you are good in English I would recommend taking a 100 level English course. This will open up at lot of options in American schools and non-Ontario schools. Most universities will require you to get some essay credits and an arts credit - this should take care of both of those requirements.

[medschool_hopeful]

Take whichever ones you can get the highest possible mark in.

 

Lol that's kind of hard to do, seeing as I've never been to a university lecture before. I'm guessing take things that I did well in highschool?

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For first years, there's generally only one biology course that you can take.. introductory biology/chemistry/physics etc. There isn't much choice involved.

So basically, everyone doing a BSc will have a similar timetable?

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It's second year where you may choose to take either physical chemistry or organic chemistry, anatomy vs cell biology, etc.

 

So does that mean that first year is just to basically get a taste of each subject. Then after that, one can go deeper into subjects that are interesting to them?

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One thing I would add... if you are good in English I would recommend taking a 100 level English course

So, i'm taking it that you mean if i did well in Grade 12U English? So what is "good in english", like what grade would you say?

[shannn]

Don't feel obligated to take physics, bio, and chemistry all in first year.

 

If you don't need to (and most pre-meds don't need it), take physics later (like in 3rd or 4th year). Having 3 labs in 1 year is crazy to fit into a schedule

[rollester]

Lol that's kind of hard to do, seeing as I've never been to a university lecture before. I'm guessing take things that I did well in highschool? Like things you're good at and enjoy doing

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So basically, everyone doing a BSc will have a similar timetable? In first year, everyone has more or less the same timetable except, of course, non-tech electives (social science etc.)...

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So does that mean that first year is just to basically get a taste of each subject. Then after that, one can go deeper into subjects that are interesting to them? Yea, you specialize after 1st year... or you could go into something like BMSc right from first year

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So, i'm taking it that you mean if i did well in Grade 12U English? So what is "good in english", like what grade would you say?

I'd say, if you like english, reading shakespeare or creative writing, then take those courses... there are many different types of english courses. You could also look into Children's Lit, in which you read novels and all. It all depends on your likes and dislikes as well as your aptitude. There's no mark level that would make you better suited for it.

[medschool_hopeful]

Don't feel obligated to take physics, bio, and chemistry all in first year.

 

If you don't need to (and most pre-meds don't need it), take physics later (like in 3rd or 4th year). Having 3 labs in 1 year is crazy to fit into a schedule

 

So if i take physics later on, would that make it harder for me? Because trust me, physics and I are not on good terms at the moment.

 

Yeah i dont want to overdo it with all sciences together at the same time so that seems reasonable. I'm going to see my enrollment advisor in a while so ill be sure to ask them what they can do for me about that!

[Nobodycirclesthewagons]

Hey,

 

As first years in university, what courses should we take and which ones should we avoid? Like I know about biology,chemistry, physics, etc, etc.

 

But it would be great if you could give us specifics. Like WHICH biology, chemistry, physics courses to take as first years.

There are so many choices to choose one, but i want to know which ones are best as in they give loads of vital information, good overall experience, helpful in preparation for the future, etc.

 

For my school, everyone took the same first-year General Chemistry courses in the first two semesters. Those courses will help you in the Physical Sciences (Chemistry) section of the MCAT.

 

Also, there were two types of first year Physics courses that were offered. One was for kids in physics programs, the other was for kids in the general science, biomed, kin etc. programs. The former type was sort of a rehash of Gr.12 physics, and has the kind of information that is on the Physical Sciences (Physics) section of the MCAT.

 

For bio, there were various first-year courses offered. There was cell bio, microbio, zoology, physiology (2nd year course, but a lot of first years took it), and genetics. Different programs were required to take different courses. For the MCAT, I felt cell bio, genetics, physiology and microbio were useful. Biochemistry, a 2nd year course, was also valuable for the MCAT.

 

With all of what I said, you can still manage to get by on the MCAT without taking the aforementioned courses in uni. I didn't take physics in uni, (took it in Gr.12), and managed a good score in the physical sciences section. I did however take Chem, bio, genetics, biochemistry, physiology and microbio (not all in the same year though, however. It's not a bad idea to spread things around). Having a background in the courses helps making MCAT studying a refresh and review process rather than a brand new learning experience. It also saved me a lot of time.

 

Any help would be great, Thanks!

 

 

 

Lol that's kind of hard to do, seeing as I've never been to a university lecture before. I'm guessing take things that I did well in highschool?

----

 

If you can, try to look at the course descriptions of the potential courses you'll take. They're fairly brief, but maybe they can serve as guide to determine which courses you'll excel in. If you're going into a BSc, you probably won't have too much choice for your first year courses.

 

So basically, everyone doing a BSc will have a similar timetable?

 

Not necessarily, as there are various BScs that your schoolmates will be taking. Some will be in Biomedical science-type programs, some in General Sciences, some in Biochems, some in Kins, some in Health Sciences. Different programs may have different first year required courses and different amounts of electives. There will be some overlap though, and there will likely be a mix of those disciplines in your first-year chem, physics, and bio classes.

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So does that mean that first year is just to basically get a taste of each subject. Then after that, one can go deeper into subjects that are interesting to them?

 

Depends on your degree. I would say such is true if you're going into a General Science degree, where your only requirement is to take a certain amount of courses from the science faculty each term. If you're going into a Biochem or Biomed degree, a lot of your courses will be set for you ie. you won't have many electives. Thus, you won't be able to choose to go deeper into courses that are interesting to you, but instead, will take the courses that are mandated by your program's academic plan.

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So, i'm taking it that you mean if i did well in Grade 12U English? So what is "good in english", like what grade would you say?

 

Honestly, there is so much variation in high school grading across the province, it's very hard to say what a good Gr.12 English grade is. As an estimation, I'd say high 80s or 90s though would be "good" for high school. But take that with a grain of salt, as you could have a teacher that marks very hard or you could have one that throws out 90s like they're nothing. Take a look at your class median for English and see where your mark is/was in reference to it.

 

 

10 characters.

[BigM]

So, i'm taking it that you mean if i did well in Grade 12U English? So what is "good in english", like what grade would you say?

 

What I meant to say is if you feel that you can pull off an 80+ in English then I would recommend taking it as your elective. Some people just are not great at writing and analyzing literature so they would be better off with something like psychology for an elective. However, if you can do well in a first year English course you will be getting a requirement for a number of schools and knocking off an arts and essay credit all in one course.

[medschool_hopeful]

What I meant to say is if you feel that you can pull off an 80+ in English then I would recommend taking it as your elective. Some people just are not great at writing and analyzing literature so they would be better off with something like psychology for an elective. However, if you can do well in a first year English course you will be getting a requirement for a number of schools and knocking off an arts and essay credit all in one course.

 

 

Ohh i see what you're trying to say. Would psych count the same way though? Like would it be an arts course and meet the requirment for non-Canadian medical schools?

[BigM]

Ohh i see what you're trying to say. Would psych count the same way though? Like would it be an arts course and meet the requirment for non-Canadian medical schools?

 

Psych won't count as an arts course. At UWO it belongs to the Faculty of Social Sciences and at other schools it belongs to the Faculty of Science. Medical schools will assign the credit the same subject as the faculty it belongs to. The graduating requirements may depend on the university but at UWO to graduate with a science degree you need one arts credt, one social science credit and two essay credits. I took psychology as my elective in first year so it took care of the social sciences credit. I took a 0.5 credit classics course and a 0.5 credit philosophy course in my third year to give me my arts credit and one of my essay credits. These courses were my lowest marks in university and did a lot of damage to my GPA that year. Also, since I graduated without an English credit it closed the door on a number of medical schools (none of the Ontario ones however).

 

This is why I recommend to anyone who can do well in an English course, take it as your elective in first year.

 

For those who do not feel they can do well in an English course it might be worthwhile to take one during the summer. This way it will still count as an arts credit and an essay credit but many medical schools will not count it in their calculations for admissions. Since you wouldn't need to do this arts credit during your normal fall or spring semesters you could replace it with a bird course that would net you a high mark.

[GriffithMD]

Hey,

 

As first years in university, what courses should we take and which ones should we avoid? Like I know about biology,chemistry, physics, etc, etc.

But it would be great if you could give us specifics. Like WHICH biology, chemistry, physics courses to take as first years.

There are so many choices to choose one, but i want to know which ones are best as in they give loads of vital information, good overall experience, helpful in preparation for the future, etc.

 

Any help would be great, Thanks!

 

Dear Med-School Hopeful,

 

I remember when I was in undergrad trying to get into medical school. It seemed as though there was absolutely no good advice out there. My pre-med advisor had nothing good to offer, and my physics professor actually told me that I would not make it into med school.

 

Thankfully, I didn't listen to any of them, and am now in my 6th year of neurosurgery residency.

 

When it comes to courses in undergrad, there are a few that you definitely need. Of course, everyone needs to take biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, and biochem. The important thing is which major to choose. Medical schools today have become much more liberal in accepting non-traditional majors, such as engineering, or economics, or liberal arts. My advice is to ONLY choose such a major if a subject like those truly interest you! Otherwise you need to focus on being ABSOLUTELY as prepared for medical school as you can possibily be. And for that, I recommend biochemistry major.

 

When I was in medical school at SLU, it seemed as though the people who were most prepared, and who performed the best during the first two years were the Biochemistry majors. They had seen most of the first-year content before, since they majored in that degree in undergrad.

 

Of course, you MUST make the grade in undergrade, but remember not to stress out about this. Just do the best you can. The most important grade that matters for medical school is the MCAT. You definitely want to crush this admissions test. But NO ONE IS GOING TO CARE if you have a 3.6 or 4.0 when applying to med school, IF you have a strong MCAT score.

 

To find out more about all of this, read a few of my posts at http://www.StephenGriffithMD.com and see more about what you are going to need for success in undergrad, on the MCAT, and in med school. And feedback to me on whether or not you feel this reply was helpful.

 

--Stephen

@GriffithMD

[BigM]

Dear Med-School Hopeful,

 

Of course, you MUST make the grade in undergrade, but remember not to stress out about this. Just do the best you can. The most important grade that matters for medical school is the MCAT. You definitely want to crush this admissions test. But NO ONE IS GOING TO CARE if you have a 3.6 or 4.0 when applying to med school, IF you have a strong MCAT score.

 

This is not true in Canada. At almost all schools your GPA is equally as important as your MCAT. There are also a few schools that do not look at your MCAT at all. A 3.6 would net you a lot of interviews at an American school but its putting you at risk when it comes to Canadian schools.

[discworldheavylight]

This is not true in Canada. At almost all schools your GPA is equally as important as your MCAT. There are also a few schools that do not look at your MCAT at all. A 3.6 would net you a lot of interviews at an American school but its putting you at risk when it comes to Canadian schools.

 

I'm pretty sure the person who posted that is a troll/spam, hence the inaccuracies in his comments.

[TheFonz]

I'm pretty sure the person who posted that is a troll/spam, hence the inaccuracies in his comments.

 

He's not really a troll, he's actually a neurosurgery resident at UTHSCSA who's pushing a book. The advice itself is not bad, but as BigM stated, it's more suited to an American perspective on admissions than a Canadian one. In Canadian admissions, GPA absolutely matters, arguably more so than the MCAT.

[medschool_hopeful]

Thanks for the awesome site GriffithMD. I am definitely going to be doing loads of research over the summer, just as soon as my exams are done!

Good for you, for not listening to those people. I think as long as you have the confidence and are prepared to WORK HARD, you can achieve probably anything.

Congratz! Six years!

Thanks for the tips and support and your site is like one of the first i'll be checking out this summer! Thanks again!

 

By the way, I think i'll play it safe and just try my best to get a killer GPA and really nail my MCAT

[nosuperman]

Thanks for the awesome site GriffithMD. I am definitely going to be doing loads of research over the summer, just as soon as my exams are done!

Good for you, for not listening to those people. I think as long as you have the confidence and are prepared to WORK HARD, you can achieve probably anything.

Congratz! Six years!

Thanks for the tips and support and your site is like one of the first i'll be checking out this summer! Thanks again!

 

By the way, I think i'll play it safe and just try my best to get a killer GPA and really nail my MCAT

 

You do realize all of that info is pertinent to American applicants only and advice like the reply he gave you is actually quite damaging to aspiring Canadian applicants such as yourself... right?

 

Alternate theory is the dude has multiple accounts and he's starting threads with one and replying with the other to get people to his blog... hence the enthusiastic response to a site that hosts very few posts and little applicable information.

[medschool_hopeful]

You do realize all of that info is pertinent to American applicants only and advice like the reply he gave you is actually quite damaging to aspiring Canadian applicants such as yourself... right?

 

Alternate theory is the dude has multiple accounts and he's starting threads with one and replying with the other to get people to his blog... hence the enthusiastic response to a site that hosts very few posts and little applicable information.

 

Hmm...so you're saying his blog is only applicable for American students?

Uh Oh

Have you checked it out yet?

[nosuperman]

Hmm...so you're saying his blog is only applicable for American students?

Uh Oh

Have you checked it out yet?

 

Ya well theres less than a dozen posts but certainly some generic stuff "work hard, don't give up, don't be satisfied etc." is applicable. There are key differences in the Canadian and US systems, however, that are important to understand. The major one to note here is the US emphasis on MCAT and the Canadian emphasis on GPA cutoffs.

[medschool_hopeful]

Ya well theres less than a dozen posts but certainly some generic stuff "work hard, don't give up, don't be satisfied etc." is applicable. There are key differences in the Canadian and US systems, however, that are important to understand. The major one to note here is the US emphasis on MCAT and the Canadian emphasis on GPA cutoffs.

 

Right, that makes sense. I know some medical schools do not even require the MCAT scores. So the safest way to go about this is just do well in undergrad.

[lynn333]

I agree that for Canadian schools you should concentrate on your undergrad.

 

If you say that physics isn't the best subject right now, I would take it in second year, but no later.

 

I don't agree though that 3 labs is hard. That is really for you to decide and if you are taking a BSc, you're probably going to have 3 or more labs a year anyway (I know some people schedule it so they don't but honestly its not that bad).

 

My first year I didn't know what I wanted to major in so I simply took 1st year bio, chem, physics, calculus and literature....all full year courses. They were fine although the literature course was an adjustment from high school.

 

The more important, and exciting, courses to take will involve your second and third years anyway.

 

So have fun and enjoy university this year!

[resumedocket]

This is not true in Canada. At almost all schools your GPA is equally as important as your MCAT. There are also a few schools that do not look at your MCAT at all. A 3.6 would net you a lot of interviews at an American school but its putting you at risk when it comes to Canadian schools.

 

 

 

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