Classifying this class is hard

[instigata]

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Hi,

I am trying to classify this class but I am a bit confused. There is a cognitive science class offered by my school which goes over the "neurobiology of cognition," which is what the book is called too. I don't understand why my school classifies it as a non-science course. I want to classify it as science on the AMCAS. What would you classify it as?

 

[vtucci]

Hi,

I am trying to classify this class but I am a bit confused. There is a cognitive science class offered by my school which goes over the "neurobiology of cognition," which is what the book is called too. I don't understand why my school classifies it as a non-science course. I want to classify it as science on the AMCAS. What would you classify it as?

What is the course number/listing at your school? Is it psych or bio? Then list it as such.

 

[instigata]

What is the course number/listing at your school? Is it psych or bio? Then list it as such.

I'm not sure if it is either psych or bio, it is classified as cognitive science and that's why I'm confused.

 

[riceman04]

I'm not sure if it is either psych or bio, it is classified as cognitive science and that's why I'm confused.

did you call or email AMCAS

 

[Flopotomist]

Look on your unofficial transcript. Is it listed as a Bio104, or as a Psy104? That is a general guide to help you.

 

[drslc134]

Wouldn't you say that sometimes the actual title of the course makes a difference, though?

I feel like certain other dept classes are BCPM material...

 

[Looque]

If you look on the "Help" page for the course work section of AMCAS, you'll see that while psychology classes are not to be included in any of the BCPM classifications, neuroscience classes are to be included with the sciences. At my school, I've taken three different classes that were offered exclusively through the psychology department but were under the umbrella of the neuroscience minor (Introduction to Biopsychology, Advanced Biopsychology, and Psychopharmacology). The class that you described sounds as if it, too, would be considered a neuroscience course, and should thus be counted with the sciences. Check the "Help" page to see exactly which classification it is to be given--I believe it was Biology, but I'm not at the page to check.

 

[Zuerst]

Seems a bit off for applicants to categorize their class based on content doesn't it? How would the AMCAS staff know whether it was categorized correctly? Wouldn't some applicant just go "hmmm... this will drop my BCPM so I'll exclude it and hmmm... this'll definitely help, I'll count this as a science coure"

 

[Looque]

Seems a bit off for applicants to categorize their class based on content doesn't it? How would the AMCAS staff know whether it was categorized correctly? Wouldn't some applicant just go "hmmm... this will drop my BCPM so I'll exclude it and hmmm... this'll definitely help, I'll count this as a science coure"

But they would risk the AMCAS folks juxtaposing their transcript with their AMCAS classifications, determining a classification to be incorrect, and sending their AMCAS back, forcing what could be serious delays upon the applicant.

Read the "Help" page on the subject. I'm pretty sure it recommends considering the primary content of the course, not merely which department it was offered through, when determining its appropriate classification.

 

[Zuerst]

But they would risk the AMCAS folks juxtaposing their transcript with their AMCAS classifications, determining a classification to be incorrect, and sending their AMCAS back, forcing what could be serious delays upon the applicant.

Read the "Help" page on the subject. I'm pretty sure it recommends considering the primary content of the course, not merely which department it was offered through, when determining its appropriate classification.

But given that AMCAS suggest that one categorize base on content and not the course title, it would imply that sometimes the course title does not really describe the the content of the course. And I'm pretty sure every school is a little different and therefore it would be hard to standarize and check whether a class was categorized correctly or not? Some courses are blatantly obvious while others are not.

 

[georgeomally]

If you look on the "Help" page for the course work section of AMCAS, you'll see that while psychology classes are not to be included in any of the BCPM classifications, neuroscience classes are to be included with the sciences. At my school, I've taken three different classes that were offered exclusively through the psychology department but were under the umbrella of the neuroscience minor (Introduction to Biopsychology, Advanced Biopsychology, and Psychopharmacology). The class that you described sounds as if it, too, would be considered a neuroscience course, and should thus be counted with the sciences. Check the "Help" page to see exactly which classification it is to be given--I believe it was Biology, but I'm not at the page to check.

does this mean that intro to biopsych and psychopharm are considered science courses? or just at your institution?

 

[Looque]

does this mean that intro to biopsych and psychopharm are considered science courses? or just at your institution?

Well, they certainly fall under the neuroscience minor at my school, and I don't see how they would be more accurately described as psychology rather than biology, frankly. They just happen to be offered through the psychology department. (The professors for the biopsychology courses much preferred the term "psychobiology" rather than "biopsychology," feeling it was a more apt description, properly emphasizing the biology of the course.)

If you've taken a biopsychology course, I think you should feel comfortable considering it neuroscience, and thus biology for AMCAS purposes, irrespective of which academic department from which it was offered.

 

[Looque]

But given that AMCAS suggest that one categorize base on content and not the course title, it would imply that sometimes the course title does not really describe the the content of the course. And I'm pretty sure every school is a little different and therefore it would be hard to standarize and check whether a class was categorized correctly or not? Some courses are blatantly obvious while others are not.

As described in the AMCAS "Help" manual, "Each course must be assigned a course classification based entirely on the primary content of the course."

The primary course content descriptions it offers as examples fitting the "biology" classification are as follows:

Biology (BIOL)
· Anatomy
· Biology
· Biophysics
· Biotechnology
· Botany
· Cell Biology
· Ecology
· Entomology
· Genetics
· Histology
· Immunology
· Microbiology
· Molecular Biology
· Neuroscience
· Physiology

However, if someone who took a biopsychology course, or anything along those lines, truly believed that their course focused more on psychology rather than biology, classify the course as "Behavioral & Social Sciences," which encompasses anthropology, economics, family studies, psychology, and sociology.

 

[SpinEcho13]

I asked my premed advisor about all this today (she is not very helpful, but I thought I'd give it a shot) and she seemed to think it wasn't that big a deal how you classified classes, implying that they are pretty laid back about verifying stuff. She just said don't try to put "History of Biological Innovations" or anything like that as BCPM...

 

[mismd]

Hi,

I am trying to classify this class but I am a bit confused. There is a cognitive science class offered by my school which goes over the "neurobiology of cognition," which is what the book is called too. I don't understand why my school classifies it as a non-science course. I want to classify it as science on the AMCAS. What would you classify it as?

I took a similar course, it was called psychobiology but I felt it was a science based course and listed it under science in my AMCAS and i didn't have any problem with it.

 

[naru]

by how much does this really affect you science gpa? believe me, .02 in either direction isn't really going to help or hurt.

at this point, the worst thing that can happen is a delay in your application and you don't want that.

 

[kevster2001]

Class at my school have various designations for each course. Since psych itself isn't listed on the AMCAS, i just looked to the designations. Any course that had a NS (Natural Science) i put for natural/physical science.

 

[USArmyDoc]

Last year, when I was classifying my courses I had a Disease Course that was not under the bio department. Either way, I counted it into my BPCM because it was a lot of molecular biology. AMCAS didn't care and verified it as I put it.

 

[Dov]

Science (BCPM) are biology, chemistry, physics and math. It must have the Bio or Biol course number to qualify i believe. If you school does not classify it as a physical science then it is not according to amcas.

 

[fewchewrmd]

I took a similar class at UCI. It was Biology

 

[SexyLexie729]

My school uses the designation of NW (science) and IS (not science). I took classes in the psych department which were either NW or IS. For the AMCAS, I looked at those designations to determine if I would include some of those psych classes as part of my BCPM. If they were NW, then I included it in my BCPM.