:: Premed Student Makes Progress with UEX
Posted: August 1, 2011
Premed Student Makes Progress with UEX
Many students begin college already on the path to medical school and a career as a doctor. Not Andrew Lupo. Andrew didn’t discover a passion for medicine until he was almost finished with his undergraduate degree. Now, with the help of University Extension (UEX), Andrew is starting over.
During his senior year at The College of William and Mary, Andrew traveled with a group of fellow students to Tanzania to do volunteer work as part of a school program called AIDS Tanzania. While on this trip, Andrew discovered a passion both for medicine and for helping others. Andrew completed his undergraduate degree in psychology at The College of William and Mary after returning from Tanzania. Then, instead of continuing on to a graduate program in neuroscience as previously planned, he moved to Texas and started attending UT Austin to take prerequisite courses for medical school.
Andrew is both taking classes and working at UT Austin in the School of Biological Sciences. With his busy schedule, Andrew has benefitted from being able to take chemistry, biology, calculus and other required courses with UEX in the evenings. He especially likes the small classes that UEX offers, which allow for a lot of personal interaction with classmates and instructors, while learning challenging new material. “It allows me to focus on my studies with individuals who have similar goals in life. The courses foster a sense of camaraderie between students and professors. They really want us to succeed.”
Andrew hopes to begin his formal medical training in the Fall of 2012. He has not decided what type of medicine he would like to practice, yet. At this stage in his education, he wants to keep his options open, but he has discovered a particular interest in both pediatrics and geriatrics. He is considering ways in which he could serve both populations by focusing on neurological rehabilitation.
Other students preparing to apply to a medical school in Texas can fulfill some prerequisite course requirements with the course options listed below.
Current Premed Course Options
UEX semester courses follow UT Austin’s academic calendar, beginning three times a year in late January, early June and late August. Classroom courses meet after 5 p.m. on the main UT Austin campus. UEX self-paced online courses can be started at anytime and taken from anywhere.
Semester Courses
Summer 2012 courses begin the week of June 4.
Fall 2012 courses begin the week of September 4.
- BIO 301L - Molecules to Organisms
- BIO 311C - Introductory Biology I
- BIO 325 - Genetics
- CH 301 - Principles of Chemistry I
- CH 310M - Organic Chemistry I
- CH 339K - Biochemistry I
- CH 369 - Fundamentals of Biochemistry
- E 316K - Masterworks of Literature: American
- M 316 - Elementary Statistical Methods
- RHE 306 - Rhetoric and Writing
Browse the complete Summer and Fall 2012 course lists to get started.
Self-paced Online Courses
- E 316K - Masterworks of Literature:
- M 408C - Differential and Integral Calculus
- M 408D - Sequences, Series and Multivariable Calculus
- PHY 301 - Mechanics
- PHY 302K - General Physics: Technical Course-Mechanics, Heat and Sound
- PHY 302L - General Physics: Technical Course-Electricity and Magnetism, Light, Atomic and Nuclear Physics
Browse the complete self-paced online course list to find a course that works for you.
Another way that UEX helps its premed students succeed is with the services of UEX’s Academic Advisor, Dr. Mike Raney. In addition to advising UEX students, Dr. Raney serves as an Assistant Dean for Advising in the College of Natural Sciences at UT Austin, where he advises students on medical school preparation regularly.
Andrew Lupo is taking UEX courses in the evening to fulfill prerequisite course requirements for medical school.
