English requirement

[PsychStudent]

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Hi everyone! I'm currently a post-bacc student and unfortunately I only took 1 semester of English in college, so I'm trying to figure out if/when I should take the other semester of English. I always assumed I'd have to take it, but two premed advisors have told me I can probably get the schools to waive it for me because I did my undergrad and MS degree in a social science, and I also wrote a senior thesis and a Master's thesis. Does anyone know anything about this? I feel really weird emailing the schools if this isn't true.

Thanks!

 

[drizzt3117]

Most schools let you use AP credit if you have that. The exception are the UCs, but I talked to an admissions person at UC Davis and she said that since I had my undergrad degree it would be OK for me to not take the course. UCLA will let you sub a writing intensive course instead of the english course.

 

[PsychStudent]

Thanks for the info! I took AP English, but I didn't take the AP test. However, my undergrad school (Yale) gave me credit for the AP class on my transcript because I had high enough SAT II Writing scores, allowing me to place out of freshman English. I hope this will count!

 

[Law2Doc]

Thanks for the info! I took AP English, but I didn't take the AP test. However, my undergrad school (Yale) gave me credit for the AP class on my transcript because I had high enough SAT II Writing scores, allowing me to place out of freshman English. I hope this will count!

I would check with schools once you get acceptances -- you may have to pick up that extra class before matriculation. From my experience many schools are sticklers for the English requirement, and in fact won't count social science type courses, thesis, or SAT writing scores. In fact, I know a couple of people for whom a "literature" course did not count because it was not offered by the English department -- it has less to do with writing ability and more to do with making sure you did all the exact prereqs the school requires. So while some schools may waive this stuff, quite a few won't.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

My school required 3 credits, and I had 2. However, I was able to get it waived by submitting syllabus information for a writing intensive course that I had taken. I had several of those as a history major. Based on my experience, it sounds like your advisors are right.