General Bio Pre Req

[neuroiscool42]

At my undergrad, there were no labs offered with the general bio courses. Should I take an upper div bio lab instead and try to explain to med schools or should I take the general bio lab/lecture again at a CC?

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[altblue]

Are you sure a lab component isn't nestled in with lecture?

 

[Dox4lyfe]

At my undergrad, there were no labs offered with the general bio courses. Should I take an upper div bio lab instead and try to explain to med schools or should I take the general bio lab/lecture again at a CC?

It's fine if you take upper division bio labs and you most likely won't need to explain.

There are a few schools that don't have gen bio labs for bio majors and instead make them take upper division bio lab courses.

I would not advise taking it at a CC.

 

[neuroiscool42]

Are you sure a lab component isn't nestled in with lecture?

Yes. All labs are reserved for upper division bio majors.

 

[altblue]

Yes. All labs are reserved for upper division bio majors.

That's extremely unusual lol. Just wait for the upper div labs to pop up, make sure you have the prereqs or conceptual foundation for them, and kill those.

Grading in labs usually is a lot more lenient than lecture too, so I wouldn't worry too much

 

[boogiecousins94]

That's extremely unusual lol. Just wait for the upper div labs to pop up, make sure you have the prereqs or conceptual foundation for them, and kill those.

Grading in labs usually is a lot more lenient than lecture too, so I wouldn't worry too much

Mine were the complete opposite haha many of my labs nobody got higher than a B, TAs graded at their own discretion and some took off 10+ points of small grammar mistakes

 

[neuroiscool42]

It's fine if you take upper division bio labs and you most likely won't need to explain.

There are a few schools that don't have gen bio labs for bio majors and instead make them take upper division bio lab courses.

I would not advise taking it at a CC.

Can you explain why you advise taking it at a CC?

 

[altblue]

Mine were the complete opposite haha many of my labs nobody got higher than a B, TAs graded at their own discretion and some took off 10+ points of small grammar mistakes

Gotcha, my school ended up curving up and a lot of buddies from different schools said labs were easy but that's all anecdotal.

Just do the best you can and stay organized for lab OP

 

[Dox4lyfe]

Can you explain why you advise taking it at a CC?

I would "not" advise.

 

[neuroiscool42]

I would "not" advise.

whoops. That's what I mean to write. My bad. Could you explain your reasoning?

 

[Dox4lyfe]

whoops. That's what I mean to write. My bad. Could you explain your reasoning?

It's just not the best option, especially because you can take an upper level bio lab with nothing to worry about.

Taking anything at a CC should be the very last option and it shouldn't be one in your case. Some schools even penalize students (stony comes to mind iirc) for taking courses at CC for no great reason.

 

[cnchtaaa]

I'm in a similar situation where our bio labs are upper division and sadly my major does not allow me priority to get them and they are super impacted at my school. Im debating to switch my major to a bio major to have a better shot at getting them. I just got accepted into the honors program for my major though, and was wondering if it was bad to take these upper divs at a CC or switch majors and take them at my uni?

 

[Dox4lyfe]

You are making an assumption that may not be correct all medical schools. Some specifically require a year of general/introductory biology with lab and an upper level course may not be accepted in place

True. I did not look into the requirements at every school. I made the assumption based mostly on personal experience, since my school did not offer lab for gen bio and I did not have any trouble getting my acceptances. In fact, my school doesn't even have a gen bio 2, and all students take an upper level bio class instead. I've never heard of any students being turned down because they went to a 4 yr school with a unique undergrad curriculum. But yes, this is all based on experience and assumptions.

 

[cnchtaaa]

True. I did not look into the requirements at every school. I made the assumption based mostly on personal experience, since my school did not offer lab for gen bio and I did not have any trouble getting my acceptances. In fact, my school doesn't even have a gen bio 2, and all students take an upper level bio class instead. I've never heard of any students being turned down because they went to a 4 yr school with a unique undergrad curriculum. But yes, this is all based on experience and assumptions.

So did you not take gen bio labs at all or at a CC?

 

[Dox4lyfe]

So did you not take gen bio labs at all or at a CC?

We had labs for our upper level bio courses that students from my school have been using for years to replace the gen bio labs.

If for whatever reason we didn't have those, I would've taken them at any one of the four year colleges near my hometown. No reason to risk taking a course at a CC that some med schools might not accept.

However, you should be talking to the pre-med or honors program advisor at your school about your situation and what previously accepted students have done from your school.

 

[neuroiscool42]

So did you not take gen bio labs at all or at a CC?

I asked admissions at a few schools about taking it at a CC after graduation and so far Rosalind Franklin, Albany Medical College, and Wayne State said they didn't care as long as you complete the pre-reqs. At the very least, I haven't heard from any school saying no to taking pre-reqs at a CC post-graduation, but I would still contact schools and ask them directly.