Course selection

[Turkishking]

I'm currently enrolled in Bio 111, which is introductory biology. It says on AAMC that students need one year of Biology. If I take Cell Biology next semester, will that fulfill one year?

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[Lannister]

Yes. I'm surprised that intro bio is only one semester at your university, I think that's unusual.

 

[Turkishking]

Yes. I'm surprised that intro bio is only one semester at your university, I think that's unusual.

Yeah, I'm suprised too. I thought it was one year, however, it's not. My adviser told me to take environmental biology next semester... But since I'm transferring and following a non-traditional route, I believe taking Cell Biology is more important.. or does it matter?

 

[Lannister]

Yeah, I'm suprised too. I thought it was one year, however, it's not. My adviser told me to take environmental biology next semester... But since I'm transferring and following a non-traditional route, I believe taking Cell Biology is more important.. or does it matter?

I'd go on the AAMC's website and look at the topics that you are expected to know for the biology section of the MCAT. If you feel that one semester of intro bio covered all of those topics (doubtful), take whatever you want. If not, take whichever class you feel would be most helpful for the MCAT (definitely cell bio rather than environmental biology).

 

[Turkishking]

There are two different things you have to worry about.

1) AAMC guidelines, which are general and mostly designed for MCAT prep https://www.aamc.org/students/download/377882/data/mcat2015-content.pdf
This is usually designed around the typical full year Introductory Bio class. Most applicants find that additional courses above this are needed to give a solid foundation for MCAT.

2) Specific Medical School requirements. Many medical schools state introductory Bio I/II with labs as prerequisite. So have Bio I with an advanced Bio may not
satisfy this requirement and you would not be able to matriculate at that school. A few examples below

So, in short, you need a full year of Intro Bio and likely a year of advanced Bio to be competitive

http://www.upstate.edu/com/admissions/faqs.php
Frequently Asked Questions
Applying to the College of Medicine at SUNY Upstate

What prerequisite courses do you require?
We require the following prerequisite courses:
*General Biology I & II w/labs
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.

http://weill.cornell.edu/education/admissions/app_faq.html#prereqs
Prerequisites
What courses are required for admission? Is there a lab requirement?
We require two semesters or their equivalent in biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics; and two semesters of writing intensive courses. In the sciences, these will typically be comprehensive introductory courses with laboratory. In biology, coursework will typically include molecular biology, cell biology, and genetics

http://sls.downstate.edu/admissions/com/requirements.html
Prerequisite courses required for entrance into SUNY Downstate Medical Center include:
General Biology or Zoology including labs 8

Thank you. I'm stuck now because my school offers Intro to Biology for one semester... only.. and the 3 other schools don't offer it completely. I'm transferring to University at Buffalo in a year, and following a non-traditional students path. However, they go by

BIO 200 Evolutionary Biology

BIO 201 Cell Biology

BIO 203 General Physiology

BIO 205 Fundamentals of Biological Chemistry

BIO 319 Genetics

Buffalo State College doesn't offer it...
University at Buffalo doesn't offer it, they only have students go by what's listed above
Daemon College, which is a private school only offers a semester like the school I currently attend..

Any ideas on what I should do then?

 

[Turkishking]

You should ask the advisor on the campus. If anything, premed advisors should know what classes on their own campus fulfill the requirement. I am sure you can email the campuses and ask. Looking quickly at SUNY Buffalo, it would seem 200-201 are the prereqs for everything else. Dont assume that intro Bio must be 101-102 numbers

Yeah, I was planning on taking Cell Bio next semester, then if my GPA can handle it Cell Physiology, or Evolutionary Biology

 

[DocMcMommy]

So you are at a cc now? My CC also only offered one semester of Intro to Bio. The university I transferred to accepted to the first section's credit and offers the second part. I would think that the University you are transferring to will have some counterpart equivalent, regardless of you "traditional" or "nontraditional" track.

 

[Turkishking]

So you are at a cc now? My CC also only offered one semester of Intro to Bio. The university I transferred to accepted to the first section's credit and offers the second part. I would think that the University you are transferring to will have some counterpart equivalent, regardless of you "traditional" or "nontraditional" track.

No, not a CC.