Physics lab requirement

[V5RED]

At my school there is no physics lab for Calculus Based Physics I. There is a lab for the Algebra Based Physics I in which I can enroll, but I am wondering if medical schools will require a full year of lab when the class I am actually taking does not offer it. They do, however, offer a lab for Calculus Based Physics II.

I can take the algebra based one if this will be an issue, but it seems odd to take a lab affiliated with a class I am not taking just to technically say I took a year of physics lab.

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[Morsetlis]

At my school there is no physics lab for Calculus Based Physics I. There is a lab for the Algebra Based Physics I in which I can enroll, but I am wondering if medical schools will require a full year of lab when the class I am actually taking does not offer it. They do, however, offer a lab for Calculus Based Physics II.

I can take the algebra based one if this will be an issue, but it seems odd to take a lab affiliated with a class I am not taking just to technically say I took a year of physics lab.

It doesn't seem odd at all, and I doubt anybody will care if it's the only option available at your institution.

 

[ShockDoctrine]

I don't think it matters which one you take.

 

[V5RED]

I don't think it matters which one you take.

If I don't actually need to take a year of lab, it matters to me.

The algebra based lab would be a pain to take since it covers topics that are not part of calculus based physics 1(ie the class I am taking), and if it gives me no actual benefit is a waste of my time.

edit: This isn't really an either or type question. I am asking about whether just taking the one lab associated with calculus based physics at my school meets the lab requirement.

 

[ShockDoctrine]

If I don't actually need to take a year of lab, it matters to me.

The algebra based lab would be a pain to take since it covers topics that are not part of calculus based physics 1(ie the class I am taking), and if it gives me no actual benefit is a waste of my time.

edit: This isn't really an either or type question. I am asking about whether just taking the one lab associated with calculus based physics at my school meets the lab requirement.

I am saying you NEED a year of physics lab, but it doesn't matter whether it's algebra or calc based.

look at various med school websites and see what they require.

 

[Morsetlis]

If I don't actually need to take a year of lab, it matters to me.

The algebra based lab would be a pain to take since it covers topics that are not part of calculus based physics 1(ie the class I am taking), and if it gives me no actual benefit is a waste of my time.

edit: This isn't really an either or type question. I am asking about whether just taking the one lab associated with calculus based physics at my school meets the lab requirement.

How can you not know Algebra if you're taking calculus-based Physics?

Taking 1 Physics lab, of any kind, will satisfy the pre-med lab requirement.

There are no Physics in medical school, except Physi...ology. Whatever path you choose, it will be irrelevant for your practical knowledge, although obviously knowing Physics is better than not knowing Physics. The lab is super easy anyway, I took calculus-based Physics Lab (for engineers, with error analysis) and didn't have any prior knowledge of stats or engineering.

Generally, lab classes do NOT require prior knowledge of the subject and are usually taken concurrently with the subject (therefore not requiring prior knowledge).

 

[V5RED]

How can you not know Algebra if you're taking calculus-based Physics? .

When did I say I don't know algebra?

The algebra sequence covers physics topics in a different order than the calculus one.

I will not get to some of the physics topics that are part of the lab for algebra physics I until calculus physics II.

 

[smarts1]

Well if you decided to take calc-based physics, you must definitely have some physics background from high school.

 

[V5RED]

Well if you decided to take calc-based physics, you must definitely have some physics background from high school.

That is a poor deduction. I know nothing of physics from high school. I am a non traditional student who forgot every single thing from high school science classes by the time I went back to school.

I have a background in calculus from college. I just finished calculus I-III(edit:with A's). That is why I chose calculus based physics.(edit:It would have been a waste of my calculus to take algebra based physics)

 

[seattlejunkie]

When did I say I don't know algebra?

The algebra sequence covers physics topics in a different order than the calculus one.

I will not get to some of the physics topics that are part of the lab for algebra physics I until calculus physics II.

Why don't you just take the algebra based physics class AND lab? That way they will all go together. I don't think it's crucial that you take the calculus based physics, IMO (a lot of 4 year schools don't even offer calculus based physics).

 

[V5RED]

Why don't you just take the algebra based physics class AND lab? That way they will all go together. I don't think it's crucial that you take the calculus based physics, IMO (a lot of 4 year schools don't even offer calculus based physics).

Bull****. Algebra based physics is a made up version to be easier for non science majors. There is no way that schools do not offer calculus based physics.

 

[Hotshy]

My undergrad institution offers, Algebra-Based physics and calculus-based physics. I took algebra-based physics with labs. Why?

1. Admissions committees don't care
2. MCAT Physics is Algebra-Based
3. I'm not bad at math or physics, I actually got A's in Calc I and II, but I don't particularly like the subjects. So why do something that you don't want to, if you don't have to?

-Just take Algebra-based unless you really want to do the calculus based physics.

 

[mike2281]

Unless you are an engineer, take Algebra based.

1. They do it the same way at my university. Cal based Physics I has no lab, Physics II,III do.
2. I had to take all three, bigger pain than its worth.

 

[V5RED]

I am currently taking calculus based physics and am enrolled in the algebra lab.

There is zero chance of me switching to algebra based, and I would be pissed at myself if I did switch to the easier version.

The reason for the thread is to see if it would be okay to drop the algebra lab.

I already know the medical school attached to my university would be okay with me only taking the one semester of lab offered with calculus physics II.

I was wondering if people actually knew the policies of other schools. It seems like my question will not be answered here, so I have emailed a bunch of schools to ask this question.

I will post a paraphrased version of their replies here.

 

[Hotshy]

I am currently taking calculus based physics and am enrolled in the algebra lab.

There is zero chance of me switching to algebra based, and I would be pissed at myself if I did switch to the easier version.

The reason for the thread is to see if it would be okay to drop the algebra lab.

I already know the medical school attached to my university would be okay with me only taking the one semester of lab offered with calculus physics II.

I was wondering if people actually knew the policies of other schools. It seems like my question will not be answered here, so I have emailed a bunch of schools to ask this question.

I will post a paraphrased version of their replies here.

Most schools require two semesters of physics each with a lab if that's the question you are asking. I would take the classes in such a way that you can have lab for both semesters, whatever combination that may be. Some schools, like Harvard, don't require Physics Lab (Source: MSAR), but most do, so make sure you have two semesters of physics each with lab.

 

[seattlejunkie]

Bull****. Algebra based physics is a made up version to be easier for non science majors. There is no way that schools do not offer calculus based physics.

Woah...chill out bro, just trying to help.

 

[V5RED]

Woah...chill out bro, just trying to help.

It is not helpful to post misinformation.

 

[Morsetlis]

I am currently taking calculus based physics and am enrolled in the algebra lab.

There is zero chance of me switching to algebra based, and I would be pissed at myself if I did switch to the easier version.

The reason for the thread is to see if it would be okay to drop the algebra lab.

I already know the medical school attached to my university would be okay with me only taking the one semester of lab offered with calculus physics II.

I was wondering if people actually knew the policies of other schools. It seems like my question will not be answered here, so I have emailed a bunch of schools to ask this question.

I will post a paraphrased version of their replies here.

None of us understood what you were trying to do. Most people would be trying to satisfy the premed prereqs in the most expedient way rather than complete a marginally more difficult class... the rewards of which (of any) will be obliterated by the fact that you have a W (drop) on your transcript (if that would be the case, deadlines and school-specific policies applying).

Furthermore, there are many schools that only require 1 lab (1 semester / 2 quarters) for the lab requirement.

And then there are schools like UCSD SOM that don't require any laboratory coursework.

The answer is: It varies, and schools are unlikely to care what kind of X-based lab in Physics you take, if they require one. Furthermore, a W on your transcript is worse than a disparity between taking a Calc-based Physics Class and an Algebra-based Physics Lab, if the difference is even discernable at the transcript level without knowing your school's class codes.

 

[V5RED]

Update:
Thus far every school who has responded to me has said that they do NOT require a year of physics lab. They only require whatever is normally paired with the classes.

I specifically asked about taking only one semester of lab since that is what comes with my calculus physics sequence and they all said that is fine.

The schools I have heard from plus my home insitution:
Albany Medical
SUNY Buffalo
SUNY Upstate
UC Irvine
New York University
University of Rochester
University of North Dakota

Unless I have a sudden influx of schools telling me otherwise, this means that everyone in this thread who said I need a year of physics lab should probably keep their uninformed advice to themselves. It is not just unhelpful, but it can lead people to make the wrong choice because they were misled.

Only one person(Morsetlis) had any useful advice for my question. The advice that W's are not good is true, and he acknowledged that he knew of at least some schools where they had minimal lab requirements.

edit:I will not be posting the emails I sent or recieved. If you think I am lying, just email the schools yourself.
edit 2: I have been checking websites and some schools I did not even need to contact because they only require the lab associated with the sequence or no lab at all. (University of Utah, Wake Forest Medical, Harvard) I have yet to find a single school requiring a full year. Given that I now have data for 10 schools I can do a little basic percent chance calculation for me finding 10 schools that do not require a full year of physics(if you are in a physics sequence that only has one lab) and zero that do.

If 50% of schools required a full year of lab, the odds of me finding 10 schools that do not are 0.1%.
If 25% of schools required a full year of lab, the odds of me finding 10 schools that do not are 5.6%
If 10% of schools required a full year of lab, the odds of me finding 10 schools that do not are 35%

In summation, either I got very lucky to find 10 that do not require a full year or most schools do not require a full year for people in a physics sequence that only includes one lab.

 

[Turpulus]

How important is the physics requirement? I only have 1 semester of physics with lab, not 2. I've met all the other requirements. My GPA is 3.6. In addition to my B.S. I have an M.S. in Toxicology. My MCAT is Phyics: 11, Verbal: 10, Writing: Q, Biology: 15
Additionally, I have been a biochemist, doing pharmaceutical research for the last 4 years. Considering all my additional experience will schools look past my only having 1 semester of physics or is it set in stone? Does anyone know schools that are ok with 1 semester of physics? Thanks.

 

[Morsetlis]

How important is the physics requirement? I only have 1 semester of physics with lab, not 2. I've met all the other requirements. My GPA is 3.6. In addition to my B.S. I have an M.S. in Toxicology. My MCAT is Phyics: 11, Verbal: 10, Writing: Q, Biology: 15
Additionally, I have been a biochemist, doing pharmaceutical research for the last 4 years. Considering all my additional experience will schools look past my only having 1 semester of physics or is it set in stone? Does anyone know schools that are ok with 1 semester of physics? Thanks.

It's pretty ****ing important to meet the schools' prerequisites, which are modeled after the AAMC prerequisites (some also require calculus, lab, or biochem, while some only "recommend", and others don't care). While the lab component is less important, the 1 year / 2 semesters / 3 quarters of Physics is pretty much required.

For SPECIFICS on your school, buy the MSAR (or find it online).

 

[V5RED]

The MSAR is not totally informative(at least my online one is not). For example my question about whether a school would accept a single semester of physics lab in a situation where only one lab comes with the physics sequence required me to contact schools.

Fortunately in my case it is nearly certain that most schools will accept me only having one lab since to obtain a second one would require me to take a lab for a class I am not in.

 

[isupsych253]

The MSAR is not totally informative(at least my online one is not). For example my question about whether a school would accept a single semester of physics lab in a situation where only one lab comes with the physics sequence required me to contact schools.

Did you also expect the MSAR to list the school supplies needed for med school?

 

[V5RED]

Did you also expect the MSAR to list the school supplies needed for med school?

What a useful comment. You really have added to the body of knowledge here by being a smarmy punk.

By the way, great job screwing up the quote feature. It really is difficult to use.

 

[catzzz88]

http://www.mayo.edu/mms/programs/md/admissions/prerequisites

Mayo Specifies that they require 1 year of physics lab.

I know that this is an old thread, but I have the same question.

Are there any other schools that SPECIFY 1 FULL YEAR of PHYSICS REQUIRED?