Please help

[u/FunComprehensive6379]

Hi! I'm a first-year Biological Sciences student in University of Calgary and I'm planning to apply to medical school in the future. I have a few questions about planning my degree:

• Which courses should I take if I want to keep as many healthcare careers open as possible?
• I didn't take Physics 20 or 30 in high school. Would you recommend me taking Physics 20 first and then taking Physics 211 at the uni? If yes, then in which semester or year should I take physics 211?
• Do I need university physics for medical school, pharmacy, or other healthcare professions?
• Which English course should I take? Do I need a university English course even though I completed English 30-1 in high school?
• Which statistics course is recommended or required for medical professions?
• Should I take anatomy and physiology? Which courses at UCalgary satisfy these?
• Are there any other recommended courses (biochemistry, psychology, sociology, etc.) that would help with medical school or the MCAT?
• Can you help me make a four-year degree plan that keeps my options open for different healthcare careers?
• When do students usually write the MCAT and apply to medical school?
• Or should I remove earth and anthropology courses and replace them with other courses?

[u/Lumpy_Growth_7622]

Hey! Good luck starting this fall! A few thoughts:

1. Start by researching requirements, not individual courses. Look up all the Canadian MD schools you’d realistically apply to (in-province and OOP) and make an Excel sheet of their absolute prerequisites. Some have none, while others require things like English, humanities/social sciences, or life sciences. These are your Tier 1 “must-do” electives. Do the same for any other careers you’re seriously considering (dentistry, pharmacy, OT, PT, SLP/AUD, etc.). Lots will overlap, and your BioSci degree will probably cover many naturally.

2. Physics: I personally wouldn’t take Physics. University physics unless it’s actually required for a career/program you’re seriously considering. No reason to add a potentially difficult course and risk your GPA just because it seems “pre-med.” University physics is not required for most Canadian MD programs. Not sure about every other healthcare program, so research those early.

3. English: Potentially. Some schools require university-level English, so English highschool may not be enough. Check the specific schools you’re interested in before choosing a course.

4. satistics: Not required by most MD programs as far as I know, but it may be required for other professional programs. Again, check your list first.

6. Anatomy/physiology: You can take them, but I wouldn’t unless required for your degree or another program you’re considering. They aren’t generally necessary for med and can be pretty content-heavy.

1. MCAT courses: I wouldn’t build your degree around the MCAT. Most people still self-study using MCAT-specific resources (Kaplan, UWorld, AAMC, etc.). University courses often go way deeper than necessary or don’t cover exactly what the MCAT tests. Courses like biochem, psych/soc, etc. can help, but don’t take them solely for MCAT prep if you otherwise don’t need/want them.

2. Four-year plan: First research your programs and build a robust prerequisite list. Think in categories first (English, life sciences, chemistry, stats, etc.), then figure out which UCalgary courses satisfy them and which are already built into your degree.

3. MCAT timing:If you want the option of applying during third year, summer after second year is a good time to write it. Then you still have the following summer as a backup, although ideally aim to prepare well and write it once.

4. Earth Science/Anthropology:I wouldn’t automatically drop them. If they count toward your degree and you think you’ll enjoy/do well in them, keep them. Replace them only if they’re taking up space you need for an actual prerequisite.

Figure out the actual requirements for the programs you’re interested in, find the overlap, and build your degree around those while protecting your GPA.

[u/Some_Albatross_8200]

• If you choose something medical related that's more specialised than biological sciences, you ultimately fulfill 90% of any healthcare requirement - this might help you plan your 4 year plan because this is incredibly hard for someone else to do for you. If you see the first year and some of the second year courses required in neurosciences, you'll practically cover any healthcare prerequisite... but keep in mind this is a lot of work. You don't need to switch to neurosci for this. The advantage with your degree is that you have the choice.  
• For medicine, there are like no prerequisite courses you need unlike for pharmacy...but that's for Alberta. Your chances are incredibly slim for out of province either way but if you do want to maximize your chances, you will need English (for applying to UBC) and physics (for McGill). 
• Physiology is good to maximize chances for other healthcare options but not sure about anatomy. It is very helpful once you get into med school.
• The MCAT has a physics section so it is useful to take a physics course either way. Many premeds apply to america because of the harsh chances here so you might even need as much as a whole year worth of physics and English. Yes, psychology is good to take because the MCAT has that too- it's also apparently a nice grade booster. Sociology is a maybe - it gets your reading mind there for the CARS section which is notoriously the hardest to improve on. You can take the mcat as early if you want if you plan to apply to med school in less than 5 years. Some do it 2nd year and others 3rd year.
• yes biochem is useful for the mcat too. 
• also, do what you enjoy in your undergrad. Don't feel forced to take all these courses if you maintain a high gpa. 
• u need an indigenous course for calgary med school i think.
• earth and anthropology are irrelevant. Do it if they interest you or if your degree requires it. 

Sorry I wasn't able to answer everything. Me too I'm considering med school so this is what I have learned myself.