So I got into a med school I liked but now I'm freaking out because I forgot to take a required core curriculum class. I'm taking it this summer but that means I dont "graduate" till Sept. However, med school starts in August. What should I do?
Got into med school might not be able to attend, plz help
- Thread starter zempa
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You should contact the school instead of SDN.
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When do your classes end? When do they start?
As long as your finish your final requirement for graduation before you start medical school, you should be fine. But call them up and make sure, because it might be tight getting them your final transcript. You may even need a letter from your dean/adviser stating you have completed all the requirements and are graduating in Sept.
I'm just basing this on people I've known in grad school who graduated in September but started medical school in August. It might be a different for that case, but I've never seen a person have an trouble doing it. But again, it might be because grad students already have an undergrad degree so it doesn't matter as much.
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Call the school. Like now. You can ask anonymously if you want, but you need to ask them.
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If you'll be done with the class before med school starts, you should be fine. You won't have your final transcripts, but as long as you call the school and explain your situation, I would hope they'd understand. A friend of mine didn't get his official diploma and complete transcripts until after his school year for MSI started. He had called the school early (around June I think) and explained it to them - they were fine with it. Once he did get his official transcripts he had them sent to his school.
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Seriously, how did you "forget" this?
I know at my college, and I would assume most other colleges, that at the beginning of senior year, we had to meet with the registrar to do an audit of our progress and to identify any classes that must be taken in order to graduate.
If you forget, when and how did you figure it out? Just now?
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My undergrad university is pretty huge. You meet with the adviser on your own accord, and even when you do it's not always helpful. My friend got screwed on graduation last year because she was missing a SINGLE credit, and was not allowed to graduate on time. She had to take another semester for that 1 course. If the course is a part of the departmental or med-school requirements, your faculty adviser might not even know about it.
OP, do you finish the course in september (ie school schedules overlap) or do you formally graduate in september? it sounds like you're just waiting for your final graduation/transcript, and you will be done in july before you actually start med school. Call the school, obviously, but if you don't majorly screw up the course, and you're just waiting on some administrative BS, i don't think there would be a problem.
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I believe as long as the class is complete before you matriculate, you are fine. But I would call the school. And if they say no, ask to be deferred before just withdrawing.
I didnt take calc cos it was not required for pre-med at my school. Most of the med school I got into did not require it either, but the one school I finally decided on going to had it as a pre-req. So annoying.
Had to take it over summer.
OP: Like everyone said - call school asap and start looking for other options to take the class - online, community college, etc etc. You'll be fine - the school already accepted you, and they should be understanding..
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This was a major fear of mine. I was part of a new major at my school that had a constantly evolving set of requirements, so it was very hard to tell if I had completed all of them. I also came into school with a number of strange credits from highschool and it was difficult to figure out how they applied to core education requirements.
I kept showing up to graduation-related things expecting to be told that my name wasn't on the list.
I kept showing up to graduation-related things expecting to be told that my name wasn't on the list.
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Does your med school even require a Bachelor's to matriculate? I know some do and some just require you have 90+ semester hours...
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This is wrong. They all require a bachelor's to matriculate, but only 90 hours to apply...
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Not true.
"The following minimum requirements must be met by the end of the spring semester prior to matriculation:
1. Applicants must successfully complete at least three full years of study (90 semester hours or 135 quarter hours) at an accredited college or university, including 30 semester hours (45 quarter hours) of upper division courses. Applicants educated outside the United States must have completed at least two full years of study (60 semester hours or 90 quarter hours) in an accredited college or university in the United States or Canada prior to application, including 30 semester hours (45 quarter hours) of upper division courses, as well as the prerequisites listed under #2."
from- http://www.admissions.medicine.arizona.edu/prerequisites.cfm
I only looked up two schools to make this point, Univ. of Arizona and Alabama. As for Alabama, they state that a minimum of 90 hours is required but that in most cases a Bachelor's is necessary but that they make exceptions in certain cases. I would expect this would hold true in more than just these two schools. I've also worked with an anesthesiologist who has bragged about getting into medical school without holding a bachelor's degree.
That being said, like everybody else I do strongly suggest the poster contact their school to ensure they're not in any kind of risk due to the oversight, it could very well be a non-issue if the school has no set requirements for a degree.
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You might not even have to take the course, call the school they might waive it for you. If not, attend enough classes to pass the course, once school starts if the class is still meeting, go back and sit for the final and do well enough to pass. You're already in med school, it doesn't matter how you do as long as you have the credit.
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Beg, borrow, and don't take no for an answer. Schools make special arrangements for students all the time maybe they can find a free elective you took "equivalent" to the core and change the way the free elective counts.
Keep in mind sending you to medical school makes your undergraduate institution look good. Its not a 1-way street. Explain to the president of the school if you must.
I knew plenty of students who had free electives turned into things like philosophy cores because Black Studies was "related" in that 1/20 of the assignments were on African philosophy.
If you go this route you may not even have to take the core.
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Where in your link does it say one doesn't need a bachelor's degree to matriculate? All I see is the requirement to have 90 hours to apply...EDIT: ok, I see the first paragraph says the reqs must be met in the spring term prior to matriculation, but I wonder if that is a typo? Not clear to me...a statement that a bachelors or 4 year degree is NOT required would be much clearer if that is in fact their intent. Otherwise, this suggests that applicants need only complete 2 years or 60 hours of credits prior to applying, and I have never heard of that.
Regardless, touting 2 schools that may have some technical exception to the rule of the vast majority of med schools is not very helpful - far safer to assume that one must complete a bachelor's prior to or concurrent with med school matriculation - there may be exceptions for people in combined BS/MD programs, for instance, or for people who attended college overseas and earned something other than a bachelors equivalent.
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most do not require a bachelors, just the 90 hours thing, but the majority of schools expect you to have completed your bachelors and since most applicants will have theirs, if you don't you're at a disadvantage in a way. Just like volunteering in a hospital in not required, but if you haven't, then good luck getting in.
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I simply don't believe that. I got accepted to 6 schools, and prior to matriculation each one required a final transcript showing degree received...clearly I can't comment on the policies of all 125+ med schools, but I just don't believe it.
Assuming you are correct, why would someone who has been accepted to med school be at any disadvantage for not completing a bachelor's degree if it isn't required?
IMO, if there are allo schools that do not require completion of a bachelor's degree prior to matriculation, they are the exception, not the rule.
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I recall most of the schools I applied to explicitly stating that you must have a degree to matriculate. Unless things have changed dramatically in the last 2 years, that's still the case.
Texas schools don't require a degreee, just 90 hours of coursework.
"Baccalaureate degrees are highly desirable. However, exceptionally mature students without a degree, who have outstanding academic records, superior performance on the respective admissions test and highly desirable personal qualifications may be considered for admission."
http://www.utsystem.edu/tmdsas/medical/education_Requirements.html
"Baccalaureate degrees are highly desirable. However, exceptionally mature students without a degree, who have outstanding academic records, superior performance on the respective admissions test and highly desirable personal qualifications may be considered for admission."
http://www.utsystem.edu/tmdsas/medical/education_Requirements.html
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Key qualifying phrase: may be considered is a far cry from only 90 hours necessary; degree is not required.
I would be very careful about reading too much into these "exceptions" to the general rule.
Proof is in the pudding. I would like to see the number of matriculants in any given year to any allo school, including Texas schools, who did not earn a bachelor's degree. My guess is zero...or a handful of exceptional cases...outliers.
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I completely agree. Additionally, if they accept you assuming you will complete your degree and then you don't, I am pretty sure that is grounds for them to revoke your acceptance even though a degree is not technically required.
We were just talking about whether or not medical schools require a degree and the answer to that, for several schools, is no. I think its interesting that this is still the case. I am thinking, at least in Texas, that maybe its a statutory thing. The basic requirements for the state schools might be laid out in Texas law and since its not a big deal and the legislature has better things to do, they just haven't bothered changing it. Just guessing though, no basis for this thought.
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That is a pretty decent guess. I think you may be right - probably some sort of anti discriminatory thing in the state law, and that may be the case for other schools (notice in the example an earlier poster gave it was 2 state schools).
Who might be granted such an exception? For example, say a military vet who did not complete a degree, etc.
Otherwise, with such a loophole, I would think that a large number of people would take advantage of it - save a year of college expense? Hell yeah...
Suffice to say that no matter what the technical rules are, i believe a degree is in effect a de facto requirement to matriculate at every allo school, and any exceptions would be limited and the applicants would have to be quite exceptional to be granted this exception. I seriously doubt if many 20 or 21 year old applicants would routinely qualify for such an exception - seems more likely it may apply to a non trad who never finished college for some reason, someone likely to have an impressive post college work experience, etc.
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