Prerequisite Course Questions

[Nailey13]

Hello everyone,

First of all, I want to say that this forum has been a great source of help for me and the breadth of opinions represented has given me a much better understanding of the profession as a whole.

As a non-traditional student, I will be taking the entirety of my pre-reqs at a community college this coming academic year (w/ the exception of the humanities courses I took while in undergrad) and I had a couple of questions for you all.

First of all, I was wondering whether anyone who has insight into DPT school preferences (and I know they can be disparate) knows whether Physics 1 and 2 with Calc a prereq would trump Physics 1 and 2 with only a algebra as a requirement. I took 2 semesters of Calc about 5 years ago (through Calc III), but would like to know whether I should stick my neck out to take the much more difficult Physics class with the calc requirement given that my knowledge is rusty to say the least. I realize that certain topics like light, magnetism and sound should be covered in any course, but would a good grade in a calc-based physics look better to admissions committees?

Second, I was wondering what everyone thought about a summer physiology course which had an online lecture component but two weekly in-classroom labs. I've tried to avoid being put in this situation (i.e. having to take phsio in the summer), but there's really no way of getting around it.

And third, and finally, what can you tell me about the two biology (not A&P) courses that some (but not all) programs require. While those that require two specify that they must be of the mammilian variety, has anyone who has taken (science) courses exclusively at a community college been able to adequately satisfy the year-long sequence requirement? If so, your experience/advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks, everyone!

Nathan

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[DancerFutureDPT]

Hi Nathan, welcome to my life. lol.

I took every prereq at several CCs, with the exception of stats, psych/humanities, and anatomy which I took at my university. And I managed to do it all in under a year.

To answer your questions:

1) Don't take calc physics. I have never seen a program that requires calc-based physics (only about half the schools require calc at all anyway). Physics is freaking hard (IMO) and there's no need to make it harder on yourself. Just take algebra-based if you can find a class that works with your schedule. I don't think taking calc physics would give you an "edge" as far as admissions are concerned.

2) Ask how it appears on your transcript...it sounds like it probably won't be listed as an online course, in which case the admissions committees/PTCAS won't know/care. I know several people who took calc online, and I took abnormal psychology online (it was the only psych class I didn't take as a psych minor, and a few schools required it). On the transcript these classes were listed just like any other class/there was no designation that it was an online class, so it didn't matter. Plus, since you're coming in for labs, I think that's legit. We have a few hybrid A&P classes at the CC I went to for prereqs (I never took it but knew the instructor), and it seemed like it would have been a good class. If it works better for you time-wise, and you think you can manage the material without an in-person lecture, I say do it. I did the majority of my physiology prereqs as an independent study where I read the book, did research and came in to the testing center to take written exams. I never even met my "instructor" until I presented my project on the final day. It was all email based.

3) I ended up taking two general bio classes in the same semester. I couldn't fit the normal Bio I/II into my schedule, and I wanted to be done with bio after the fall semester, so I took a general intro bio class and microbiology at the same time. Technically the intro class was a prereq to micro, but because I had taken an A&P special course over the summer, and intro bio was a prereq for that, they waived the requirement in the system so it somehow overroad it so I could register for any bio class (freaking sweet deal haha). It made micro a little harder since I hadn't had an actual bio class since high school, so I had to teach myself krebs cycle, glycolosis, and all that fun stuff on my own. But, it's doable. Check out what the schools you are applying to require (some require a year long sequence, others just require 2 general classes...some accept microbiology and some don't). Most CCs have some equivalent of "general college biology I&II" though, so if you can't do the 2 in 1 semester thing like I did, you should still be able to meet the non A&P requirement through a CC.

Hope that helps a bit?

 

[dizzy88]

Hi Nathan,

1. I agree with everything Dancer said about physics. If you feel rusty with calc, definitely do not go out on that limb!! PT schools really don't care, and you will only use the very very basics of physics in the program anyway (forces, torques, electricity, etc.).

2. If there's no way to get around it, then it's not a big deal. I say this with bias, but it really is better to be in the classroom with a class like physio. I would keep the online classes to a minimum as much as possible.

3. Sorry, I can't be much help with this one because my program didn't require the 2 bio courses!

Hey, best of luck with your classes! Hope all goes well

 

[Nailey13]

Thank you so much for your advice, guys. I definitely will opt for the Algebra-based Physics then. And with respect to the physiology course, as Dancer pointed out, the online-taught physio class will probably not be listed as having been "online" on my transcript. And when it comes to bio, it looks like taking a 1 year sequence is not possible at my community college.

It looks like I'll be taking Animal Biology and either Molecular or Cell Biology. Any recommendations on which of these two would be better?

 

[DancerFutureDPT]

those two are probably pretty similar...I'd go with whichever fits into your schedule best...maybe cell biology as far as relevancy is concerned might be a bit more useful, but I never took either so I'm not sure. At this point it's really just a matter of checking off the class on the list of requirements...do what you need to do so you can apply and start school

good luck!