Quarter versus Semester requirements

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TibiaOrNotTibia

Full Member
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Hey all, I am REALLY looking for any insight on how prerequisite requirements work for med schools.

Long story short, my college was on a quarter system and I am struggling to figure out whether I need to take all these extra classes now or not. I do have a year's worth of organic chemistry + 2 Q lab, a year's worth of gen chem and gen bio + lab, and a year of physics + lab. However, there are discrepancies with writing, biochem, and math. Here is what they suggested most of us (including STEM majors) to take:
- 2 QUARTERS of college level English
- 1 QUARTER of "accelerated" biochem (combined 1&2 basically, called "Physiological Biochemistry")
- 1 QUARTER of calculus
- 1 QUARTER of statistics

So... I now have a dilemma, as I've noticed that a lot of schools simply list "a semester of biochemistry" or "a year of college level writing" or "a year of college level math" in their requirements. I only have 1 quarter of biochem, 1 quarter of calculus, and 1 quarter of statistics.

I did reach out to a few schools to clarify, and some told me I met their requirements, but others just sent back an automatic link their admissions page.

I am currently taking a 3rd quarter (which will fulfill 1 year) of writing through a CC, and plan to take an entire semester of biochem (which is annoyingly expensive). It's frustrating because I already have a quarter of biochem, and I technically only need 1/2 of another quarter to fulfill 1 semester however that's obviously not possible. Does anyone know if schools will absolutely not take 1 quarter of stuff vs. 1 semester, and if I should go through with taking the (redundant) biochem class?

(I should note I am applying this upcoming cycle)
 
What does your prehealth advising office say?
Nothing very useful. I graduated in 2024, so I don't have access to all the resources but they told me that a lot of schools will not require all those classes, but if they do I could always "consider taking them." Like I haven't gotten a direct answer from anyone