How to apply with a non-science undergrad?

I have, and did great in, grade 12 bio, chem, and physics, but am currently pursuing a business degree. My question is, is an MD still possible/plausible? What would you recommend for preparing for the MCAT, considering I haven't taken any university science courses? (e.g. some type of tutorial package, booklet, etc.)

Thank you

A science degree is not required as a prerequisite for medical school. Medical school classes will be composed of students who took any type of major in their undergrad - history, computing science, English, and even business. In fact, it's becoming more and more common to see Biology / Business double majors, or even Business majors applying to med schools, because running a family practice is, in many ways, like running a small business.

That being said, this is where you have to look up the individual requirements for each medical school you want to apply to. This is because most of them have specific courses that you have to take in order to be considered; these sometimes include a year of biology, English, chemistry, and biochemistry. These courses, however, vary from one school to the next, so you'll have to do a bit of research; fortunately, all of this information is complied in a booklet published by the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada, and is available online at www.afmc.ca/docs/2006_adm...s_book.pdf .

In terms of studying for the MCAT, there are a number of preparation techniques. Some students prefer to study on their own, using the information available on the AAMC website and purchasing their practice questions. Others prefer to get a study guide or book; these are available at Chapters bookstores and online - the most common would likely be Kaplan and Princeton Review, and runners-up include Examkrackers and Gold Standard. Still others choose to take a course. Kaplan and Princeton Review offer courses; check out their respective websites.

Thank you. Just curious, though. Do these study guides and courses start from a the basics? (i.e. assume the reader/student to have no more than high school knowledge) Or are they overcomplicated and assume that the reader/student has taken university science courses?

Also, in your link provided in the previous post, the page was not found. May you please kindly re-post it?

Finally, can anyone approximate a ratio of how many science students vs. non-science students get into med school? I know there is no science requirement, but do many non-science majors apply and get in as well?

Thank you very much.

You'll have to take a few science courses anyway, due to pre-reqs. The stuff schools want you to take as pre-reqs is pretty much all covered on the MCAT.


And yes, study guides start from zero, but they are rather compressed, so they can be hard if you haven't taken ANY science courses prior to taking the MCAT.

The link has been fixed.

I believe MSAR (med school adm requirements) gives you a break down of undergrad majors for those who got in. Also, it seems that most schools will give you a breakdown by the nature of degrees that the admitted students held - there is definitely a good amount of B.A.s at most schools.

Hi Student101,

The princeton review or kaplan course would be a great option for you. In these courses you have classes where the tutor teaches everything from scratch, although like Jochi said they go fairly fast so you might need to read before class so you have some background knowledge. These courses are however expensive and time consuming but in your case I would highly reccommend them!

Good Luck!

Hey,
Intro courses to the various subjects are definately a huge help when it comes to studying, you still need to do a fair amount with the MCAT specific books. I'll second, or third the point about some courses being prereqs for applying (I got screwed over Physics, i just studied from Kaplan but some schools wanted an Intro course). You might want to look to see if your school offers a minor type thing that includes all of those classes. Doing them will probably tack on an extra year to undergrad so it is nice to have a few more letters on your degree for the time

That being said, if the schools you are planning on applying to do not require a first year course in a specific class that is on the MCAT then an option, provided you are at a big uni is to unofficially audit a class... Basically go to all the classes and buy the book and a lot of science classes have their old exams available to students... This way you get the class but don't risk hurting your gpa if you don't get a "good mark". Obviously they will notice an extra person in the labs but not in lectures.

Good luck,

Thanks a lot everyone. I just finished my first year at the Schulich School of Business at York with an 8.1 GPA, but I feel I can definitely boost that in the coming years. I plan to take some bio and chem first-year courses, an intro "Intro to Health". Hopefully these courses give me a good scope on what I should be prepared for when I apply to Med School. One other question - I won many academic awards in my High school graduating class, most of which relate to science and overall academic acheivement. Can this be used to my advantage when applying to med school?

Thanks a lot.

One other question - I won many academic awards in my High school graduating class, most of which relate to science and overall academic acheivement. Can this be used to my advantage when applying to med school?

If you search through the past threads in the forum, there are several that deal with the issue of putting high school achievements on your medical school application. The short answer is that yes, you can include them, but they probably won't have much of an effect on whether you get in or not. Your more recent achievements are far more important.