Anonymous
10/31/2025 15:32
Subject: Did your pre-health student go abroad for a semester?
A summer program will be a better idea if they want to stay on track for pre med.
Anonymous
10/31/2025 15:31
Subject: Did your pre-health student go abroad for a semester?
One of the challenges students face, especially when they have a life science major, is that things like gen chem are only 4 credits, but have a heavy time commitment (3 hours lecture, 1 hour discussion, 1 hour lab discussion, 3 hours lab). By comparison, they would also have a writing class that meets for 3 hours total and is also 4 credits. Putting together lab schedules can be tricky and can limit how quickly one can knock out requirements.
Anonymous
10/31/2025 15:18
Subject: Did your pre-health student go abroad for a semester?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote: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.
They also frown on cookie cutter applicants who just rolled off the pre med assembly line. if a kid wants to study abroad they should and it’s entirely possible.
Taking orgo at another institition isn’t even necessary to study abroad if a student plans for it. And if they did and do well the marginal (potential) ding from taking it another institution is a tiny, tiny sliver in their application that’s unlikely to make a difference in admission.
I don’t think you know what you’re talking about. Stop giving bullshit “advice”.
Anonymous
10/31/2025 15:08
Subject: Did your pre-health student go abroad for a semester?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote: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.
They also frown on cookie cutter applicants who just rolled off the pre med assembly line. if a kid wants to study abroad they should and it’s entirely possible.
Taking orgo at another institition isn’t even necessary to study abroad if a student plans for it. And if they did and do well the marginal (potential) ding from taking it another institution is a tiny, tiny sliver in their application that’s unlikely to make a difference in admission.
np - it maybe but the margin of error/differences between applicants are so small, even tiny ding can make a difference. When my kid interviewed for med school a few years ago, interviewers from multiple schools zoomed in on one C kid received. They wanted to know what happened. I thought that was so odd - out of tons and tons of accomplishments, they quickly focused on one and only C in college...
Anonymous
10/31/2025 15:01
Subject: Did your pre-health student go abroad for a semester?
Anonymous wrote: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.
They also frown on cookie cutter applicants who just rolled off the pre med assembly line. if a kid wants to study abroad they should and it’s entirely possible.
Taking orgo at another institition isn’t even necessary to study abroad if a student plans for it. And if they did and do well the marginal (potential) ding from taking it another institution is a tiny, tiny sliver in their application that’s unlikely to make a difference in admission.
Anonymous
10/31/2025 14:59
Subject: Did your pre-health student go abroad for a semester?
+1 to ^^poster.