How many bio labs do I need?

[Patrick Mahomes]

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I am on the quarter system and I see most medical schools have the biology prerequisite listed as 1 year "(w/lab)". However some schools say you only need one quarter of it and I can't seem to find a definite answer. Does anyone know how many quarters of lab I need? Also, do research units count for the lab prerequisite?

 

[907914]

I am on the quarter system and I see most medical schools have the biology prerequisite listed as 1 year "(w/lab)". However some schools say you only need one quarter of it and I can't seem to find a definite answer. Does anyone know how many quarters of lab I need? Also, do research units count for the lab prerequisite?

If for some reason your intro bio series does not have a built in lab then you should lean to the cautious end and take a year of bio lab. However, your upper division anatomy, micro and other related classes should have lab components. In addition, doing biology department research should count for some schools.

 

[907914]

That is incorrect. In most schools it would be unlikely that biology research will count towards a prereq requirement. Additionally, at many schools the specific requirement is a year of general / introductory general biology with lab and some schools may be sticklers on this. The real risk for applicants is that preqs are not checked for fulfillment until AFTER you have been accepted during pre-matriculation. So you wont get a definitive answer until then. Therefore to reduce risk and be able to apply to the broadest array of medical schools, the OP should have 3 quarters or a full year of gen bio lab

How do schools verify labs? My gen bio included a lab each week, but the online course catalog doesn’t mention anything.

 

[wildesfeuer]

@gonnif In the past 17 years, my undergraduate program has had 95 MD matriculants and 42 MD/PhD matriculants to a wide variety of schools, none of whom have taken intro bio (lab or lecture) -- and I would estimate 20% of these people also never took intro chem (lab or lecture), instead going straight to upper level chem classes (orgo, then physical/inorganic). I assume this is because we're required to do 3 years of research by the time we graduate. It's very rare that med schools require fulfillment, and in the case that they do, a strongly worded letter from the program director sorts it out.

 

[lalalallala]

I am on the quarter system and I see most medical schools have the biology prerequisite listed as 1 year "(w/lab)". However some schools say you only need one quarter of it and I can't seem to find a definite answer. Does anyone know how many quarters of lab I need? Also, do research units count for the lab prerequisite?

I would ask your school's pre-med office. They should be the experts on your school's classes and pre-reqs. That being said I think MVPat should stick to football 😉