What exactly is the situation with bio labs? I got credit for two semesters of bio and two bio labs with AP, but i know not all schools like AP credit. I will have taken genetics/molecular biology, cell/developmental biology, immunology, and maybe some others by the time it comes to apply, but no classes with an official bio lab. So do I need to search out two bio labs to meet the med school requirements? What if I am doing undergrad research and research over the summer? If anyone has had experience with this please respond. Thanks for the help!
Biology Labs as Med School Req?
- Thread starter jankanator
- Start date
Apparently not many people have had experience with this. I suggest you call the school(s) that require this come time to submit your secondaries. They will understand if you mention what you have above.
I'm in a sort of similar situation. I got AP credit, but I know a lot of schools don't accept it. I asked my advisor about it and he said that you do need some sort of thing on your transcript that says you've done lab work in bio. If your research shows up on your transcript, then that might work, but I'm not really sure about that.
In my school, if the research appears on your transcript as a biology course (i.e. Projects in Biology) then it can count as a biology lab course. However, this can only be counted once. You then had to actually take an additional biology lab. In my case, I took Genetics lab, which was really easy at my school.
I am basically in the same situation as you are. I emailed the schools that I was interested in applying to, and asked if they accepted AP credit. Most schools that accept AP credit will consider that you have taken the lab if you received credit for either a lab or a class that includes a lab on your transcript. I found that most schools that I was interested in do accept AP credit.
Just spoke with Stanford's Cassandra Sooter on this issue. She essentially said that if your courses/AP credits fulfill your school's laboratory requirements, then they will fulfill Stanford's bio lab req.
hmmm.... this is interesting.
I really dont think you should even consider using AP credits towards med school admissions.
More than that - I dont understand why you dont have any lab experience. I've heard that a lot of schools actually put a significant amount of emphasis on lab work - because thats what you're going to be doing a lot of.
On top of that - if you're applying to the top med schools, its pretty important to have some research experience (which would easily satisfy the lab requirement already). At the risk of sounding harsh - the issues you are having with fufilling the lab requirement might reflect deeper weaknesses in your application. Just take a lab!! they are so freaking easy - especially if you can find previous lab write-ups....
I really dont think you should even consider using AP credits towards med school admissions.
More than that - I dont understand why you dont have any lab experience. I've heard that a lot of schools actually put a significant amount of emphasis on lab work - because thats what you're going to be doing a lot of.
On top of that - if you're applying to the top med schools, its pretty important to have some research experience (which would easily satisfy the lab requirement already). At the risk of sounding harsh - the issues you are having with fufilling the lab requirement might reflect deeper weaknesses in your application. Just take a lab!! they are so freaking easy - especially if you can find previous lab write-ups....
Yeah david- Just take a lab 
You can take a bio lab with me next spring- I think I'm taking some organismal lab b/c of the bio major requirement...I hear its quite easy
You can take a bio lab with me next spring- I think I'm taking some organismal lab b/c of the bio major requirement...I hear its quite easy
I think DarkChild has misunderstood me. In part of my question I said, "What if I am doing undergrad research and research over the summer?" which was referring to the fact that I have worked in a lab and am working in a lab (right this second!) and will be working in a lab in the future. And also I am a biochem major so I have taken a good amount of lab classes and will be taking many more. So really the issue of research experience is not a problem. I was referring specifically to biology lab classes when I asked the question. (And also, I think it's pretty crazy that my question was interpreted as a revealing a "deeper weakness in [my] application." What!?) Ok, anyway, to clarify, I have 4 summers of research experience and will have maybe 3 semesters of undergraduate research (as classes) and many chemistry labs and many biology classes and I just want to know if there are medical schools that require you to specifically participate in actual biology laboratory classes or can other biology-related lab experiences serve in their place.
hey, i don't know if you still need insight, but i'm in a similar situation. i'm a psych major and doing an interdisciplinary concentration with neuroscience. between pre-med and the concentration, i'm actually completing a bio major (minus senior projects), but i can't claim credit for it - at my school, we can't double count classes and i love the psych major. anyway, i ended up giving up a french major so that i would be able to stay in the country this summer to do my apps and so that i can take biochem and animal physiology next year (i'm just minoring now). trust me, i have no real desire to take these classes except as preparation for med school classes....but c'est la vie, i guess. do you have to do research senior year for a thesis by any chance? that might count for you...my neuroscience thesis research "class" (it's really supervised research in a lab) is cross-listed with bio, but i'm taking it for psych. my advisor just told me that it was my decision, but that it might be risky to do this since i'm not a hard science major. i decided to strengthen my app since i've spent so much time working towards this goal. i guess what's left for you to do then is to check to see which schools accept AP credit for bio (it's in that pre-med advisor book and maybe in the MSAR?? or on school websites). after that, if it's not required, then it's up to you to decide if your science background is strong enough for you to not take more labs. if i were you, i probably would take the labs unless it meant sacrificing something you love, in which case...you do have a decent background! worst comes to worst, you can always take summer classes before med school, though that's kinda annoying, too.
good luck with whatever you decide!
good luck with whatever you decide!
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