English!

[breenie]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Alright, bear with me guys, this might make me sound a little stupid/ridiculous.

So. Where I go to school, we have a "communications" requirement, and then depending on your school/major, a literature requirement. The communications kinda = english. We have Com A and Com B that you must satisfy. Com A is like, basic college English, but you can test out of it (which I did).

Com B is satisfied by taking a writing intensive course. For me, this was a biology course that included a huge 20+ research paper. So, in order to GRADUATE, all of my "englishy" stuff is done, even though I've never really taken an "english" class.

Sooooo... my IS school recognizes these requirements as fulfilling its English requirements. I am interested in applying out of state, though, and here's where things get sticky.

When I spoke with Illinois, they recommended trying to get credit through a CLEP test, since they wouldn't accept my placement test scores/biology + writing class. I could do this, but I'm a little nervous about how I get it onto my transcript half way through college, and if more schools will accept it.

I could always suck it up and try and fit an "English" class into my schedule, or do one at the community college, I suppose!

My question for y'all is this: What did you use to fulfill English requirements? Do you have any insight into what schools will accept as an English course?

 

[twelvetigers]

I always thought "communications" meant speech...

 

[PrimalMU]

Just apply to your IS school. Maybe its because I don't have a vet school in my state, but I think its absolutely insane (as I'm sure many others do) that someone would choose an OSS school over an IS school. My recommendation would be to apply to your IS school first, and if you don't get in, start thinking about taking some actual English classes on your off year before reapplying.

 

[PrimalMU]

i always thought "communications" meant speech...

+1

 

[quantized]

I handwaved and stuck a business class on negotiating in for communications/speech and a class about zen buddhism in for my english. No one complained lol....so I guess try and handwave it and otherwise I'd try and get into some blowoff lit class of some sort so that you have a class you can use that didn't take too much time away from your more difficult classes. That's probably what I'd do, but ymmv.

 

[Tiktaalik]

Alright, bear with me guys, this might make me sound a little stupid/ridiculous.

So. Where I go to school, we have a "communications" requirement, and then depending on your school/major, a literature requirement. The communications kinda = english. We have Com A and Com B that you must satisfy. Com A is like, basic college English, but you can test out of it (which I did).

Com B is satisfied by taking a writing intensive course. For me, this was a biology course that included a huge 20+ research paper. So, in order to GRADUATE, all of my "englishy" stuff is done, even though I've never really taken an "english" class.

Sooooo... my IS school recognizes these requirements as fulfilling its English requirements. I am interested in applying out of state, though, and here's where things get sticky.

When I spoke with Illinois, they recommended trying to get credit through a CLEP test, since they wouldn't accept my placement test scores/biology + writing class. I could do this, but I'm a little nervous about how I get it onto my transcript half way through college, and if more schools will accept it.

I could always suck it up and try and fit an "English" class into my schedule, or do one at the community college, I suppose!

My question for y'all is this: What did you use to fulfill English requirements? Do you have any insight into what schools will accept as an English course?

I used a complete English major, lol. I have no idea which one they picked, but I'm guessing it was the first one on there - a 200 level lit class.

I'm fairly certain, though, that most schools require you to actually have taken a class listed in the English department, and the ones that want communications are looking for a speech class in particular. They don't really care about what fulfills the school requirements - they evaluate the transcripts themselves for requirements, and pretty much completely ignore any input from the school. At my school, for example, there are two genetics classes, either of which could count towards a bio major, but the vet schools I applied to would only take one of them (Genetics, as opposed to Human Genetics). You'll probably have to go CC or CLEP.

CC is likely the better choice, because you're pretty much guaranteed that all schools will be cool with it.

 

[breenie]

Communications =/= speech here. It's all writing. Should have clarified, sorry!

Just apply to your IS school. Maybe its because I don't have a vet school in my state, but I think its absolutely insane (as I'm sure many others do) that someone would choose an OSS school over an IS school. My recommendation would be to apply to your IS school first, and if you don't get in, start thinking about taking some actual English classes on your off year before reapplying.

I am applying to my IS school, and would go there preferentially. Am I not allowed to apply OOS, as well?

 

[Tiktaalik]

Communications =/= speech here. It's all writing. Should have clarified, sorry!



I am applying to my IS school, and would go there preferentially. Am I not allowed to apply OOS, as well?

You should apply as broadly as possible if you want to maximize your chances of getting in first cycle. And not everyone thinks it's insane to pick an OOS over your IS 🙄 😉

 

[breenie]

I used a complete English major, lol. I have no idea which one they picked, but I'm guessing it was the first one on there - a 200 level lit class.

I'm fairly certain, though, that most schools require you to actually have taken a class listed in the English department, and the ones that want communications are looking for a speech class in particular. They don't really care about what fulfills the school requirements - they evaluate the transcripts themselves for requirements, and pretty much completely ignore any input from the school. At my school, for example, there are two genetics classes, either of which could count towards a bio major, but the vet schools I applied to would only take one of them (Genetics, as opposed to Human Genetics). You'll probably have to go CC or CLEP.

CC is likely the better choice, because you're pretty much guaranteed that all schools will be cool with it.

Thanks for the help! Do most schools consider lit as English, then? 'Cause I'm down with lit, it's just that I think I saw one school specifically say lit won't meet their req.

 

[moosenanny]

By all means apply to OOS schools as well, as long as you fulfill all of their requirements (including English). You should ask each and every school if what you've taken will satisfy their individual requirements (I typically emailed admissions with attached syllabi and course descriptions).

If you must take a more traditionally-recognized English class, I would recommend Introductory Poetry Writing, if your school offers it. I really enjoyed it - it allowed me to be creative and blow off some steam while taking some hard science classes. Not to mention, it is less intimidating than a lot of other English classes, and was graded relatively easily at my school . . .

 

[cowgirla]

There are also a few schools that accept "a bachelors degree" rather than a few specific classes. I can't remember which ones they were though...but basically, if you already had your degree, they waived all english/communication/etc requirements, assuming you had already filled them through YOUR university's requirements to graduate.

 

[Tiktaalik]

Thanks for the help! Do most schools consider lit as English, then? 'Cause I'm down with lit, it's just that I think I saw one school specifically say lit won't meet their req.

I took a lot of creative writing classes, too, so there's no knowing. MSU seems not to care at all (they don't even have humanities listed in their prereq list). UMN wants a composition course, but lit courses often contain composition. I would pick a few courses that look promising and call around to see if they'd take them.

 

[VeganSoprano]

There are also a few schools that accept "a bachelors degree" rather than a few specific classes. I can't remember which ones they were though...but basically, if you already had your degree, they waived all english/communication/etc requirements, assuming you had already filled them through YOUR university's requirements to graduate.

Specifically, I know Purdue waives the communications requirement if you have a bachelor's degree and Illinois has a shorter list of prereqs for those applying with degrees. I don't know of any others, though this list is almost certainly incomplete!

 

[variegata]

I used a social science/writing class to fulfill any English requirements, and nobody batted an eyelash, so if you have a writing-heavy history/political science/other humanities class, maybe that will be more convincing to them? I noted in my explanation statement that my school used that course as the freshman writing sequence, and nobody asked any questions.

 

[elliepants]

I don't know for sure, but I'm pretty sure you'd be all set to apply to Minnesota:

"English Composition (two courses, one course must be English composition or its equivalent). Oral communication or advanced composition may be used as an additional course. Normally, the graduation requirement at the college the student is attending."

 

[Allthingsequine]

Specifically, I know Purdue waives the communications requirement if you have a bachelor's degree and Illinois has a shorter list of prereqs for those applying with degrees. I don't know of any others, though this list is almost certainly incomplete!

Washington State is another school that waives the English requirement for applicants with bachelor's degrees.

 

[breenie]

Thanks a bunch, everybody! I'll definitely give Minnesota a call/email to double check. Purdue/Washington sound good, too.

 

[StartingoverVet]

The schools I applied to required minimum 2 semesters of English Composition and didn't mention the alternatives (Penn, Tufts, UCDavis, CSU). Not to say they wouldn't accept any, but I wasn't aware of any Bachelor's exemptions.

I had one semester AP English credited and had to take another class. I took my other Eng Comp thru UC Berkeley extension distance learning. It was self-paced and mostly painless.

 

[sumstorm]

Just apply to your IS school. Maybe its because I don't have a vet school in my state, but I think its absolutely insane (as I'm sure many others do) that someone would choose an OSS school over an IS school. My recommendation would be to apply to your IS school first, and if you don't get in, start thinking about taking some actual English classes on your off year before reapplying.

Sometimes it is cheaper to go OOS than IS, especially in states that allos IS tuition status after Y1. So, while I do think it is insane to spend 3x+ to attnd OOS, the equations are never that simple. Also, wasting a year, especially at a time of high unemployment, can be extremly costly. Also, you don't have to take a year off before reapplying. Plenty of folks who didn't get in for 2014 will apply in a couple months for 2015.

Find a CC or distance learning class, and/or contact the schools you are interested in to get their recommendations.

 

[moosenanny]

It almost seems as if you are deciding which OOS schools to apply to based on this one simple English pre-req. If not, then sorry and ignore this post. But if you are, I think there are many more important factors to weigh, such as OOS acceptance rates, price, location, average stats, etc. One E Comp class should not stand in your way of applying somewhere, especially if you really like the school otherwise.

 

[Tiktaalik]

It almost seems as if you are deciding which OOS schools to apply to based on this one simple English pre-req. If not, then sorry and ignore this post. But if you are, I think there are many more important factors to weigh, such as OOS acceptance rates, price, location, average stats, etc. One E Comp class should not stand in your way of applying somewhere, especially if you really like the school otherwise.

+1

Besides, (it sounds so paternal to say, I know!) a comp class is good for you - it develops skills you'll need in the personal statement and beyond. You'd be surprised at how many science majors emerge from college with low to middling proficiency in non-scientific writing - if you take comp and really take it to heart, you can leapfrog all of them on the personal statement.

 

[breenie]

It almost seems as if you are deciding which OOS schools to apply to based on this one simple English pre-req. If not, then sorry and ignore this post. But if you are, I think there are many more important factors to weigh, such as OOS acceptance rates, price, location, average stats, etc. One E Comp class should not stand in your way of applying somewhere, especially if you really like the school otherwise.

Well, I mean... it certainly factors into it, doesn't it? If If can't easily, cheaply, and correctly complete the prerequs for any given school, then it would be a waste of time and money to apply there. I don't want to get my heart set on getting accepted to University of Babylonia's Amazing School of Veterinary Musketeers and think I can weasel my way in to eventually find out that I can't meet their requirements the way they wanted. :/ Unfortunately my class schedule this year doesn't offer a lot of flexibility, so it's hard for me to squeeze in classes that I didn't anticipate having to take.

Thankfully, schools like Purdue and Minnesota were already on my radar, since I'm a midwestern gal. 🙂

 

[moosenanny]

Of course it is a total waste of time, money, and energy to apply to a school if you didn't fulfill their pre-reqs, so I absolutely agree there. I just think it would be worth it to squeeze in an extra English class, especially if it is an easy one (per my earlier post, I suggested Poetry Writing, but your school may not offer this, or it may be harder where you are).

Anyway, if you're satisfied with your list of schools that don't require further English classes, then that's great! 🙂

 

[breenie]

Of course it is a total waste of time, money, and energy to apply to a school if you didn't fulfill their pre-reqs, so I absolutely agree there. I just think it would be worth it to squeeze in an extra English class, especially if it is an easy one (per my earlier post, I suggested Poetry Writing, but your school may not offer this, or it may be harder where you are).

Anyway, if you're satisfied with your list of schools that don't require further English classes, then that's great! 🙂

Okay, gotcha! Yeah, I was looking at Missouri and Illinois, and I've talked to both of them. I would have either take a CLEP or do an extra class. I found a nice sounding creative writing class online over the summer at my local community college that sounds pretty good, per your suggestion. 🙂 I think I can handle that!

Thanks for all the input, guys!

 

[libster06]

Just apply to your IS school. Maybe its because I don't have a vet school in my state, but I think its absolutely insane (as I'm sure many others do) that someone would choose an OSS school over an IS school. My recommendation would be to apply to your IS school first, and if you don't get in, start thinking about taking some actual English classes on your off year before reapplying.

Sometimes it just doesn't work out with your IS school for various reasons and you just have to go with an OOS.... unless you didn't apply anywhere else and then you just don't go at all. It's not all that insane... when you're faced with either OOS or nothing