Is Data Analysis=Mathematics/sGPA? How AMCAS decides if other dept courses=BCPM

[kaleidoscopes]

*PLEASE DON'T TELL ME IF IT'S UNDER THE MATH DEPARTMENT, IT'S MATH: THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY TRUE*

I need to improve my sGPA and thinking of taking a math class from the Child Development department that teaches data analysis and statistics. If I classify it as BCPM but AMCAS disagrees, would they ask to see the syllabus to decide? From the syllabus it seems like it is a Statistics course but it mostly has to do with interpreting outputs from statistical analysis programs like SPSS and R. Does that count as math, or would only a class that involves doing a majority of math by hand count?

If anyone can give opinions if it classifies as BCPM, that would be great; the syllabus is here:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-_mQB1ue82bMjA3cktjMFJRalU/edit

and some lectures: http://www.schoolscount.org/slides/unit03.pdf and http://www.schoolscount.org/slides/unit07.pdf

Basically, I don't know if it's worth it to take the class if it's most likely not going to be classified as sGPA

Thank you!!

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[kaleidoscopes]

anyone willing to offer some advice? :/

 

[j0tt3r]

I believe if AMCAS disagrees they will just change it to what they think it is, but then you can petition to have it classified as Math using supporting docs and your prof as a contact. Your syllabus looks like it's really more of a stats course than a general research course, so I think a petition to change it would be successful. You might want to talk to the professor to see if this issue has ever come up for them in the past (my psych stats professor had some experience with helping students petition AMCAS, but it didn't become and issue for me).

 

[BigBlueBear]

Just put it down as Math. If AMCAS disagrees with you they'll just change it to something else. No big deal.

 

[justkeepswiming]

I had a class in the econ dept. that was basically statistics/data analysis, and I called it math. The course name was slightly ambiguous too, so it could easily have been flagged/changed by AMCAS, but they didn't.

I called AMCAS about it, and they told me it was basically up to my own discretion how I wanted to classify it, and that I should base it on course content rather than which department it was. They suggested I have the syllabus on hand in case it got changed and I wanted to challenge it, but fortunately that never came up.

 

[kaleidoscopes]

I had a class in the econ dept. that was basically statistics/data analysis, and I called it math. The course name was slightly ambiguous too, so it could easily have been flagged/changed by AMCAS, but they didn't.

I called AMCAS about it, and they told me it was basically up to my own discretion how I wanted to classify it, and that I should base it on course content rather than which department it was. They suggested I have the syllabus on hand in case it got changed and I wanted to challenge it, but fortunately that never came up.

What was the name of the econ course?