Coursework Question

[travelbug73]

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Hey all,

First a preamble to my question. I plan to apply in the 2009 application cycle. I got my undergrad outside the US but got my Master's and Ph.D. at US institutions. In addition, I also took most of my pre-requisites (Physics, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry and English). However, I did not take any Biology prerequistes because I have upper level Biology courses such as Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Proteins, Bacterial Genetics, Cell Biology etc. I also have a lot of laboratory experience both from graduate school and from my current employment.

My question(s): do Admissions Committees accept upper level courses in lieu of General Biology I and II? Anybody ever been in this situation? If so, can you please share your experiences?

Thank you,

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

Hello, I applied last cycle after completing gen chem 2 but without gen chem 1 which I'd self studied. No school (of dozens) mentioned this at all, I spoke to a number of schools regarding which areas in my app needed to be strengthened such as clinical experience. I rec'd secondaries from a number of schools that screened, so presumably if this was a problem, I would have heard about it.

I've heard that schools will accept advanced level coursework in the place of entry level coursework, this would likely be done on a case by case basis, worst case scenario if you're accepted by a school and they DON'T accept your advanced bio coursework, you'd need to redo bio 1&2 that last summer prior to starting med school. It seems unlikely that a school would require this.

The other option (which I just completed) is to redo the missed course, realize it's an easy A/slight bump up on your gpa, and will make it that much easier for med schools to look at you the same way that they look at all the other applicants. They're looking at thousands of applications, if possible, I'd suggest making yours not "stand out" for missing a prerequisite.

 

[Lacheln]

Hey all,

First a preamble to my question. I plan to apply in the 2009 application cycle. I got my undergrad outside the US but got my Master's and Ph.D. at US institutions. In addition, I also took most of my pre-requisites (Physics, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry and English). However, I did not take any Biology prerequistes because I have upper level Biology courses such as Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Proteins, Bacterial Genetics, Cell Biology etc. I also have a lot of laboratory experience both from graduate school and from my current employment.

My question(s): do Admissions Committees accept upper level courses in lieu of General Biology I and II? Anybody ever been in this situation? If so, can you please share your experiences?

Thank you,

I would call several of the schools you would be interested and ask. I am sure it varies from school to school - I've heard opinions both ways.