Anonymous
10/31/2025 14:53
Subject: Did your pre-health student go abroad for a semester?
Anonymous wrote:It should be completely manageable if it’s a priority. If they go to a small school where Orgo I is offered in the first semester only they should be able to take it elsewhere during the summer before studying abroad jr year fall, for example. They could combine that with lab or clinical experience.
Their home institution may not give credit for that science class taken elsewhere (bc some schools simply won’t accept outside credits post matriculation) but it would be fine for med school application requirements and mcat prep.
In my experience this type of worry results from the pre-med culture at many schools that involves winding each other up about intense/demanding/impossible things are. It’s to opt out of that thinking!
Medical schools frown upon taking orgo outside home institution. Unless it’s somewhere as rigorous as home institution (not community college!). This is bad advice.
Anonymous
10/31/2025 14:51
Subject: Did your pre-health student go abroad for a semester?
Anonymous wrote:My DC is a freshman looking at going abroad for a semester. A challenge is that they are planning on going to PA school or med school after undergrad. They've been told that all pre-pa/pre-med courses need to be taken in the US. So, they couldn't work towards that goal at all during the semester abroad, but just knock out the other credits. That seems very limiting for the other semesters. There are summer programs, but DC always envisioned spending a semester in Europe. Did your pre-med/pre-pa kid successful navigate this process? Did it require summer classes for the pre-reqs?
My kid navigated by not doing one. Her schedule was so tight she couldn't possibly do one. She's now doing her residency, so it worked out okay.
Anonymous
10/31/2025 14:47
Subject: Did your pre-health student go abroad for a semester?
It should be completely manageable if it’s a priority. If they go to a small school where Orgo I is offered in the first semester only they should be able to take it elsewhere during the summer before studying abroad jr year fall, for example. They could combine that with lab or clinical experience.
Their home institution may not give credit for that science class taken elsewhere (bc some schools simply won’t accept outside credits post matriculation) but it would be fine for med school application requirements and mcat prep.
In my experience this type of worry results from the pre-med culture at many schools that involves winding each other up about intense/demanding/impossible things are. It’s to opt out of that thinking!
Their home institution may not give credit for that science class taken elsewhere (bc some schools simply won’t accept outside credits post matriculation) but it would be fine for med school application requirements and mcat prep.
In my experience this type of worry results from the pre-med culture at many schools that involves winding each other up about intense/demanding/impossible things are. It’s to opt out of that thinking!
Anonymous
10/31/2025 14:40
Subject: Did your pre-health student go abroad for a semester?
My kid is still debating between PA school and med school. There are pluses and minuses to both, but the patient care hours required to even apply to PA are a little shocking.
Anonymous
10/31/2025 14:35
Subject: Did your pre-health student go abroad for a semester?
My DD did a semester in Ecuador. Fall semester of her junior year. She was pre-med with a biology major and Spanish minor. LAC. She focused on her Spanish classes and required core classes during her semester abroad. It was tough, but she made it work. That said, she knew she wanted to study abroad since before she even started college, so she sequenced her classes to make it work and there was a lot of very careful planning. I think it would not have worked out had she not done that.
Also, she was still able to do a lot of volunteering and gain some clinical hours while abroad. Those don't need to be done in the U.S.
She did not take a gap year. Currently an M1 at her top choice medical school.
Also, she was still able to do a lot of volunteering and gain some clinical hours while abroad. Those don't need to be done in the U.S.
She did not take a gap year. Currently an M1 at her top choice medical school.
Anonymous
10/31/2025 12:32
Subject: Did your pre-health student go abroad for a semester?
DS did summer abroad as Engineering student. Worked out great. Plenty of time overseas.
Anonymous
10/31/2025 12:19
Subject: Did your pre-health student go abroad for a semester?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Summer abroad, not for premed classes.
There aren't many premed classes, so it's not a problem
Exactly. Just do summer abroad. The typical progression: Calc, Gen Chem, Gen Bio, Gen Physics, Pysch, Socioiogy, Orgo I, Orgo II, Bio Chem, BioStats are taken during freshman and sophomore years. That's all that are required. You have plenty of time during the summer to study abroad.
You will need to add anatomy and physiology if you were talking about PA school. With the associated labs, that usually bleeds into junior year because it’s usually impossible to get all that in.
Anonymous
10/31/2025 12:07
Subject: Re:Did your pre-health student go abroad for a semester?
Friend of dd's who went to Middlebury did a semester in Copenhagen in a program that was specifically designed for students (it's called DIS, has a few campuses) on pre-med/pre-health track. I don't know how it worked out with all the requirements but she just got into a great med school (after gap year research program similar to what many are doing regardless of study abroad history.)
Anonymous
10/31/2025 11:46
Subject: Did your pre-health student go abroad for a semester?
Anonymous wrote:I have a pre-med junior planning to apply at the end of this school year (no gap). It would have been impossible to study abroad for him with the pre-reqs needed to be taken in the US, labs, clinical, and volunteering. Summer program or junior year semester abroad if you are taking a gap year is manageable.
+1
I have two who were pre-med and now in med school. It would have been virtually impossible to go abroad and not take a gap year. They ended up taking a gap year anyways. Might just want to accept the gap year already. Something like 75% do take one.
Anonymous
10/31/2025 11:26
Subject: Did your pre-health student go abroad for a semester?
I studied abroad at a non-science program in Italy for a semester and there was a girl there ho was a junior pre-med. She was a very organized and together person, so my guess is she did a good job early on figuring out how to fit all her classes in. She was planning on going to med school right after college. I remember her telling me this was her semester to be off and enjoy college. She was sobbing as we all got back on the bus to go to the airport to fly back to the States.
Anonymous
10/31/2025 11:24
Subject: Did your pre-health student go abroad for a semester?
My younger cousin is taking pre-nursing classes and she went to New Zealand.
Anonymous
10/31/2025 11:21
Subject: Did your pre-health student go abroad for a semester?
Anonymous wrote:Summer abroad, not for premed classes.
There aren't many premed classes, so it's not a problem
Exactly. Just do summer abroad. The typical progression: Calc, Gen Chem, Gen Bio, Gen Physics, Pysch, Socioiogy, Orgo I, Orgo II, Bio Chem, BioStats are taken during freshman and sophomore years. That's all that are required. You have plenty of time during the summer to study abroad.
Anonymous
10/31/2025 10:58
Subject: Did your pre-health student go abroad for a semester?
Summer abroad, not for premed classes.
There aren't many premed classes, so it's not a problem
There aren't many premed classes, so it's not a problem
Anonymous
10/31/2025 10:54
Subject: Did your pre-health student go abroad for a semester?
I fear my kid may need to accept summer is a much more viable option. In addition to the lab heavy coursework, over 1000 clinical hours are also required for PA school. They haven't ruled out med school, but I'm sure it's similar.
Anonymous
10/31/2025 10:53
Subject: Did your pre-health student go abroad for a semester?
Anonymous wrote:A lot of premed kids at liberal arts colleges manage it!
This is false, particularly if you don't plan on taking a gap year.
Premed track is very intense. It's best to consult with school premed Advisory before you make a decision.