Course Scheduling Advice

Incoming First Year Course Selection

Incoming First Year students interested in medicine should schedule their courses in the following manner:

• Taking CHE 131 in your first semester will facilitate getting most of your pre-requisite courses done in a timely manner for many of the pre-health professions.

  • If you have dual enrollment credit or AP credit for chemistry, you should consider enrolling in CHE 135. It's a good idea to email premed@centre.edu to discuss your situation.

• All first-year students register for DLM 110. This course will later satisfy your English composition requirement for medical school. Choose any topic that sounds interesting to you.

• If you know that your anticipated major will require MAT 165 or MAT 130, go ahead and take that course. If you placed into MAT 110, take MAT 130. If you placed above MAT 165, but your major does not require MAT 185 or above, then take any other class.

• Take your language course or another course that interests you. We do not recommend taking two science courses in your first semester because you will also be juggling the transition to Centre, developing a social life, and taking FYC. 

There are some options if you are unable to get into CHE 131. 

• If you are interested in a BIO or non-science major you should take BIO 110 or CHE 131 (or CHE 135) in the fall.

• If you are interested in a BMB or CHE major you should take CHE 131 (or 135) in the fall

• If you are interested in a PSY or NRO major you should take PSY 110, BIO 110 or CHE 131 (or 135) in the fall

• If there is space, take ANT 110 or SOC 110 in the fall, but these courses will probably be easier to schedule in subsequent terms

• AP credit is a little tricky because many medical schools do not accept AP science courses for their requirements. A student with a 4 or 5 on the AP Chem test should take CHE 135. If you scored 3 or lower, you should take CHE 131. A 4 or 5 on the AP Biology test will allow for a BIO elective credit, but it won’t help fulfill a BIO requirement for most medical schools.

• Note that some of the science courses above require math proficiency or MAT 110. If you enter Centre without math proficiency you will need to take MAT 110 or 130 in the fall term.

If you have questions about your schedule, email premed@centre.edu. The pre-med advisors would be happy to discuss your particular situation. 

General Scheduling Advice for Pre-Med

There are many possible schedules for students planning to attend medical school (or other pre-health professional schools). One of the most important things to remember is that pre-health professional schools are looking to see if you have taken a challenging curriculum, with an emphasis on science and math. You don’t have to major in a science, but all students need to demonstrate that they can handle a science/math load. It is up to you to investigate the course prerequisites for any pre-health professional school to which you are planning to apply. Each pre-health profession page has more specific information on course requirements. 

Required Courses for the MCAT and Most Medical Schools

• 2 general chemistry (CHE 131 and CHE 132); If you take CHE 135, talk to one of the pre-med advisors about options.

• 2 organic chemistry (CHE 241 and 242)

• 2 physics (PHY 110 or PHY 210 and PHY 120 or PHY 230 - depending on major)

• 2 biology (BIO 110 and BIO 210 OR BIO 210 and BMB 210 - depending on major)

• 1 biochemistry (BMB 210, BMB 310 or CHE 370 - depending on major

• 1 math class (MAT 130 or MAT 165 - depending on major and medical school)

Recommended Courses for the MCAT

• Psychology (PSY 110 or PSY 111)

• Sociology or Anthropology (SOC 110 or ANT 110)

Some Example Schedules for Select Majors

The following are some schedules for some majors at Centre that are indicative of the schedule you might have. These are not prescriptive and you should not feel that you must major in one of the five below! Again, these schedules are based on current medical school requirements but the early semesters will align well with many of the other health professional school requirements. 

These schedules assume the following:

1. 1. The current requirements for most medical schools (4 CHE with lab, 2 BIO with lab, 2 PHY with lab; science courses with an * are offered in both fall and spring terms); take a few minutes to look at the course pre-requisites for the medical schools to which you might apply.

   2. The proposed recommendations for the MCAT (1 biochemistry course, 1 psychology, 1 sociology)

   3. Taking all of the above courses by the end of the third year to prepare to take the MCAT between the third and fourth year. More flexibility will result if you plans to take the MCAT after graduation.

   4. Placement in MAT 165 (Modern Calculus I) since at least one medical school many Centre students attend requires calculus.

   5. Elective credit hours to bring the total to 110 (number of hours required to graduate).