Biology + Lab Requirement Confusion??

[ashBKD*]

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I met with my advisor today for the first time ever. I just transfered to my university last semester and we were reviewing my courses i've taken and making sure i'm on track for med school with my prereqs. Up until literally today (like 4 hours ago) I was under the impression I had completed all my biology prereqs at my community college. My CC offered 1 semester of general biology + lab, and then I took microbiology + lab, Human Anatomy + lab, and human Physio + lab. I figured that was plenty of "biology" courses to satisfy the one year requirement. However, he told me that my micro, anatomy, and physio classes don't count for the 1 year biology requirement. He said it specifically needs to be 1 year of GENERAL biology + lab. So now I have some questions as a result of this news.

1.) Is it true that micro, anatomy, and physio all with labs don't count?

2.) If they don't count, then I can take another general bio + lab next semester (fall 2020) to give me a total of 18 units that semester. HOWEVER, my question is that my general biology class I took at the CC when transferred over to the university doesn't count as their bio 1, it counts as like some "inquisitory/introductory biology." So it'd be like taking general bio 1 at my university even though i've definitely had 1 semester of general bio as is. Does this matter for med schools? Will they see i've taken 1 intro bio at one school and then the other general intro bio at my other school as an issue? I hope my questions are clear, thank you to anyone who responds. 🙂

 

[Cornfed101]

You're fine. I went to BYU and they don't offer 2 semesters of general bio. Micro is the second biology course offered and there are typically 400+ students that apply to medical school every year from my university.

You can double-check with the schools you plan to apply to, but this won't be an issue

 

[Cornfed101]

Well hopefully OP isn't planning on applying to SUNY upstate. None of the 30 schools I applied to had this strict of requirements, so I stand corrected.

 

[ashBKD*]

That is not correct. Some medical schools may have specific requirements that state "General" or "Introductory" Biology and you risk having issues after acceptance but before matriculation when prereqs are checked. Assuming you will be granted a waiver is just that an assumption. Medical schools are review at re-accreditation for adhering to their published admissions requirements and can "dinged" for being too liberal with waivers for those requirements. While it used to be you could squeeze in a course in summer before medical school for a missing prereq, many medical schools either start much earlier or have a completion of prereqs much earlier in the matriculation year. Lastly, not having the broadest array of requirements limits you to what schools you may be able to apply to. With level of competition across schools, any limits on your opportunities to apply should be avoided.

In the examples below please note differences in how prereqs are listed

Admissions Requirements
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View attachment 294835

Frequently Asked Questions | College of Medicine | SUNY Upstate Medical University (emphasis added)
What prerequisite courses do you require?
We require the following prerequisite courses:

• General Biology I & II w/labs
• General Chemistry I & II w/labs
• Organic Chemistry I w/lab
• Biochemistry*
• General Physics I & II w/labs**
• Writing/Composition
• English elective
• Statistics*** (3hrs)

- Applicants should avoid taking more than one or two prerequisite science courses during the summer and avoid taking them at community colleges.
- Applicants can apply without having completed all the prerequisites however, if accepted, it would be on the condition that any outstanding required courses be successfully completed prior to enrolling.
* Organic Chemistry II will not meet the Biochemistry prerequisite.
** While it is recommended, we do not require your Physics courses be calculus-based unlike other medical schools.
*** Calculus will not meet the statistics prerequisite.

Can other science courses like Organic Chemistry II or Microbiology be used to complete your prerequisites?
No. We will not accept any other science courses as substitutions for our required prerequisites.


Application Requirements
Applicants must have:

• At the time of application, at least three full academic years at a regionally accredited college in the United States or Canada.
• Baccalaureate degree prior to matriculation.
• One year of English or other writing-intensive course.
• One year of Biology with labs.
• One year of Physics with labs.
• Two years of Chemistry, one of which must be Organic Chemistry, both with labs.
• Biochemistry, Statistics and Biostatistics are highly recommended but not required.

Selection Criteria & Requirements | Medical College
Requirements
Basic Sciences
WCMC requires two semesters or their equivalent, in biology, chemistry and physics. These will typically be comprehensive introductory courses with laboratory work. In biology, coursework will typically include molecular biology, cell biology and genetics.

All required premedical coursework should be completed by January 31 of the year for which admission is sought.

Thank you for the response this is incredibly helpful and in depth. Based on your response and the response of others I would say it's probably best I just tack on that extra class next semester to cover my bases entirely. Besides, one more science class always helps a science gpa right?

 

[ashBKD*]

Well hopefully OP isn't planning on applying to SUNY upstate. None of the 30 schools I applied to had this strict of requirements, so I stand corrected.

Yeah I'm surprised too tbh, but I think what I'll do is just thumb through the websites of all the places I'm interested in and just take notes for each. Thanks again for the response 🙂