Note that in this schedule, the student takes courses in English, History and Philosophy which will help to develop her verbal reasoning skills. Also, in her senior year, she takes some economics courses. People in medical fields are finding that they must be more knowledgeable about the business side of their fields. Keeping up with a foreign language is also a good idea, especially if you anticipate serving a population that includes many non-English speakers. Two other routes for preparing for medical school are becoming increasingly popular.
Some students arrive at college with advanced placement in math and sciences.
They can comfortably complete their pre-med course work by the end of their sophomore year and may find it advantageous to take the MCAT in August before their junior year. If successful, this removes a lot of the anxiety of trying to prepare for the MCAT during the regular school year. Some students arrive at college without the background and study skills they need to do well in science and math courses. Rather than jumping into this course work immediately, they may prefer to wait until their sophomore year to begin the pre-med course work. Students whose math skills are weak may find it beneficial to take the Math 135-136 sequence, which satisfies the calculus requirement, in their first year, then start their science course work in their sophomore year.