Pre-Req Question regarding OCHEM! HELP!

Started by DOHopeful2
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DOHopeful2

DOHopeful2

Full Member
7+ Year Member
I believe that I may be deficient on one of the prereq courses in that I had always been told by a few of my peers that 12 quarter units/ hours of OCHEM would be sufficient for the ACCOMAS and the AMCAS. Therefore I have only taken CHEM 140A, CHEM 140B, and CHEM143A which do add up to 12 units (that is two 4 unit lectures and one 4 unit lab)... Should I have taken OCHEM 140C (the third quarter)? I also took biochemistry for what its worth but I would rather not restrict my applications to schools that allow the substitution.
 
If a school requires 6 hours of orgo and you don't have 6 hours of orgo, you will not be meeting their pre-reqs.

Gen chem courses don't count towards orgo credits.


what are the titles of the courses you listed? sounds like maybe you took gen chem 1, gen chem 2, and orgo 1.
 
Oh well actually these were on the quarter system and they are as follows: CHEM140A = 4 unit ochem 1 ; CHEM140B= 4 unit ochem 2 ; and CHEM143A = 4 unit ochem lab ...... for a total of 12 quarter units/ 8 semester hours. That being said, i don't technically have 1 full year of ochem with lab but I do have the units. This was all taken at UCSD
 
**Meaning should I have taken the final CHEM140C = 4 unit ochem 3 in order to complete a "full year" of ochem? Therefore my total units would be 16 quarter/10.67 semester
 
all that matters is the semester hour equivalents.

usually when a school says "1 year of ochem" they mean 2 semesters worth which is typically 6-8 hours depending on labs. (my school used to not offer orgo II lab, but now they do).

best bet is to contact the schools directly. make sure you know how many SEMESTER hours of orgo you have and then you will know if you meet the pre-req or not.
 
baxt1412 said:
all that matters is the semester hour equivalents.

usually when a school says "1 year of ochem" they mean 2 semesters worth which is typically 6-8 hours depending on labs. (my school used to not offer orgo II lab, but now they do).

best bet is to contact the schools directly. make sure you know how many SEMESTER hours of orgo you have and then you will know if you meet the pre-req or not.
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I'll start by emailing them... hopefully it works out and I do not have wait ANOTHER cycle just to apply! Thanks baxt1412 !
 
My impression was that the required science pre-med courses were: Bio 1 w lab, Bio 2 w lab, Chem 1 w lab, Chem 2 w lab, Orgo 1 w lab, Orgo 2 w lab, Physics 1, Physic 2, Physics lab

I dont understand you course notation but you want to cover these classes
 
PlaqueBuster said:
My impression was that the required science pre-med courses were: Bio 1 w lab, Bio 2 w lab, Chem 1 w lab, Chem 2 w lab, Orgo 1 w lab, Orgo 2 w lab, Physics 1, Physic 2, Physics lab

I dont understand you course notation but you want to cover these classes
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that would be in semesters. OP's school does quarters. quarter/trimester hours can be converted to semester hours and it is usually indicated on the official transcript.
 
OP you need 140C. The majority of medical schools mandate a year of OCHEM which schools believe it TYPICALLY breaks down to 8 semester and 12 quarter units assuming that ochem 1 w/lab = 4 semester units and ochem 2 w/lab = 4 semester units. On a quarter system each ochem WITH lab = 4 quarter units x 3 = which is 12 quarter units

ochem 143 is so unit dense because it satisfies that lab component for a years worth of chem, but youre still missing the last lecture component.

I dont know why UCSD doesnt make 140C a requirement for all of their BIO majors especially when so many students apply to professional schools. I suppose that the problems lies with the fact that half of the professional programs out there only require 1 semester ochem and accept a semester of biochem (aka 2 quarters ochem and 1 quarter biochem) , whereas medical and dental schools want the whole thing. you need to take 140C for the schools who specifically require a year ochem, units in this case dont mean anything
 
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paingains said:
OP you need 140C. The majority of medical schools mandate a year of OCHEM which schools believe it TYPICALLY breaks down to 8 semester and 12 quarter units assuming that ochem 1 w/lab = 4 semester units and ochem 2 w/lab = 4 semester units. On a quarter system each ochem WITH lab = 4 quarter units x 3 = which is 12 quarter units

ochem 143 is so unit dense because it satisfies that lab component for a years worth of chem, but youre still missing the last lecture component.

I dont know why UCSD doesnt make 140C a requirement for all of their BIO majors especially when so many students apply to professional schools. I suppose that the problems lies with the fact that half of the professional programs out there only require 1 semester ochem and accept a semester of biochem (aka 2 quarters ochem and 1 quarter biochem) , whereas medical and dental schools want the whole thing. you need to take 140C for the schools who specifically require a year ochem, units in this case dont mean anything
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Shoot! That's what I was afraid of. Thank you so much for the great explanation! Yes, it really is annoying that they don't mandate CHEM 140C since there is so much misinformation out there (and some coming from faculty advisers). I guess I'll be applying to the expensive UCSD Extension next quarter and wait yet another cycle :/
 
DOHopeful2 said:
Shoot! That's what I was afraid of. Thank you so much for the great explanation! Yes, it really is annoying that they don't mandate CHEM 140C since there is so much misinformation out there (and some coming from faculty advisers). I guess I'll be applying to the expensive UCSD Extension next quarter and wait yet another cycle :/
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You don't need to wait a whole cycle just because of that one class. Most schools allow you to finish pre-reqs after you apply (but before you matriculate).
 
PlasticBag said:
You don't need to wait a whole cycle just because of that one class. Most schools allow you to finish pre-reqs after you apply (but before you matriculate).
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Hmmm I thought your app is automatically rejected if not all classes are not fulfilled/ concurrently taken...?
 
You list them as "current/future", including the semester when you plan to take them. This way schools know that you are aware of the missing pre-req. the official policies of most schools are that it's okay to take classes during your app year, as long as you finish before matriculation.

I don't know though if there is a disadvantage to doing so. Perhaps someone could say if they successfully got in while still taking pre-reqs?
 
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