How do I know if prereqs have been accepted by schools to which I was accepted?

[Bearrie]

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I have a bit of a messy prereq situation having switched from a quarter school to a semester school, neither of which had standard chemistry sequences.

I have been accepted to schools that require a full year of prereqs with a full year of LAB. It is the lab that particularly concerns me, since I may nto have completed a full year of lab in some subjects.

None of my acceptance letters make any specific mention of any of my prereqs missing, but they all state offer is contingent on successful completion of prereqs.

Should I contact schools and specifically ask if I am okay? If there is a problem, I'd rather not bring it up. But, if it will be noticed anyway, I'd much rather plan now to retake classes with lab than to show up in August and find out there is a problem.

Does anyone (particularly current Medical Students) have any insights? When you send in transcripts, do schools then make sure you have all credits they want? Or, would they have already noticed during admissions committee review if there is a problem and would have specifically notified me?

 

[calimed214]

It's best to be proactive in this type of situation. It really is your responsibility to ensure that all prereqs are met, not theirs. Call the schools.

 

[Stratego]

And if they say you'll be fine, get the name of the person you're speaking to in case the issue comes into question in the future. Or save the email if that is the school's preferred means of inquiry.

 

[Bearrie]

It's best to be proactive in this type of situation. It really is your responsibility to ensure that all prereqs are met, not theirs. Call the schools.

But how do I know I won;t be creating a problem where none would otherwise exist? I'm leaning towards contacting the schools, but does anyone have any other insights?

 

[c4e]

I had this same situation. Personally, my undergrad only had 1 trimester of gen chem lab, 1 trimester of 1st year physics lab, 1 trimester of bio lab. But I did take advanced labs in most of the science courses (physics and biology), and still got into med school. But I called each school to make sure it was OK before I continued with the application. The folks in Admissions will let you know immediately or run it by the Dean of Admissions or the Associate Dean and let you know. Or they'll transfer you, and you can explain your situation. It really doesn't hurt to call, and they've always been friendly whenever I did.

If you're really worried about the reqs, you can always take the labs separately, though it'll be extra time and effort.

But call the school to make sure. Some schools did not accept my situation (Rosalind Franklin comes to mind), and I consequently withdrew my application.

 

[TheMightySmiter]

Call and ask.

 

[futureboy]

And if they say you'll be fine, get the name of the person you're speaking to in case the issue comes into question in the future. Or save the email if that is the school's preferred means of inquiry.

Yes, get it in writing. Email is probably ok, but see if you can get a signed letter. Also, make sure the person has the actual authority to verify the sufficiency of your coursework.