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[liizziioo]

Hey everyone! I'm a junior & am planning on applying for medical school this year. My college runs on a quarter system (4 in 1 year), with each student usually taking 3 (or 1/2 more) classes each quarter. I'm currently in the 3rd quarter of my Junior year and I have the possibility of getting into a spring internship, that may or may not span over

Comments

[terseywersey]

First... Why do you need Physics IV? Is this a quarter system thing? I took Physics I and Physics II on the semester system with no problem. You should only have to have two Physics with labs. I'd clarify that, first. But, I'm not familiar with quarter system...

Second... You can definitely apply without the pre-reqs, but your main obstacle with that will be the MCAT, especially with Physics. If you find, with practice tests, that this is not the case, then go for it.

[liizziioo]

My physics classes+labs are only 7 weeks long each. I was told by my pre-med advisor that taking 3 of my college's physics classes would translate to the "standard" of most other colleges which run on the semester system.

Like I said, I've said I have taken Physics I and II which covered everything up to capacitance & I'm not really sure how far the MCAT covers further physics topics...

[terseywersey]

I remember my Physics II went beyond capacitance, but I honestly don't remember how much of that was on the MCAT. The main Physics II subject I had on MCAT was mirrors/optics.

I think your best bet would be to take some practice exams and see how you do on them, especially in terms of physical sciences. If you're planning on taking a course (Kaplan or Princeton Review) then you can probably make up any deficit there.

I don't want to discourage you; I know plenty of people who've taken the MCAT and applied without pre-reqs before (usually OChem II) -- but it's really more about the MCAT than applying, if your GPA is up to par and your science grades are good. My only other hesitation would be if you haven't taken any upper-level science courses (e.g. Biochem, Micro, Cell Bio)... especially if your science GPA is not up to par.

Good luck!!

[icephantom]

i agree with above. check your syllabus. for me, we went mechanics, electro, and then "misc" where misc was optics + waves. they don't cover *extensively* for that on the mcat but there a def a few questions in there on them and if you dont know it, it can be pretty hard. like from the tests i've taken so far (aamc's), i usually get one passage + 3 nonpassage questions on those topics. if you feel like you are comfortable enough doing it without taking the class, then that's your prerogative, but in ggeneral, i always find things easier after i've learned it once in school