Biobehavioral Health Premed Advisory
Organic chemistry requirements for medical school
If you want to go to medical school you will need a full year of organic chemistry. If your GPA is high enough that admission is a realistic possibility, you should take the CHEM 38 - 39 - 36 sequence for a total of 9 credits because that will satisfy the o-chem admission requirements of all med schools. [How high does a GPA need to be for a realistic possibility of med school admission? 3.5 – 3.6 is the typical minimum for allopathic medical schools.]
HOWEVER..... Not all students with medical school aspirations have a GPA high enough that admission to med school directly after graduation is realistic. Those students should consider the strategy to take the CHEM 34/35 sequence for a total of 6 credits and try to raise their grades high enough that a medical school admissions committee will even read their application. Some med schools only require "2 semesters" or "one year" of o-chem and students can apply to those schools that will accept the 2 semesters of 34/35. An additional strategy is to take BMB 101 and 102 and explain on a med school application that you took 4 credits of biochemistry with lab in addition to the 6 credits of organic chem.
At least one professor of CHEM 34 begins the semester with an announcement that "This is NOT the organic chem class to take if you want to go to medical school. You must take CHEM 38." Although that is the correct general advice, students need to know more information than that to decide which course is a better choice for their particular situation and strategy.