Some questions from a Canadian premed

[wonderbra06]

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Hi guys,

I am entering 4th year at UofT this upcoming fall and I am considering applying to US schools. I have some basic questions and I was hoping if you guys could help me out.

1. Are the general pre-reqs for most US schools 1 full course (e.g. 2 credits/ half courses) of Biology,Physical Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Physics (all with lab components) and English? From my understanding, some US schools require some additional courses but I just want an idea of what most schools require.

2.How do U.S. schools view pass/fail courses for pre-reqs? From the searching previous threads, it seems that this should be avoided. I was planning to to take English and Analytical Chemistry as pass/fail since I have a feeling it will hurt my GPA.

3. Since most U.S. schools require 2 credits (e.g. 1 full year) of physical chem with lab, will it be acceptable that only 1 of my 2 physical chem credits has a lab component? At UofT,the 2nd year physical chemistry course does not have a lab component unfortunately and our 1st year physical chemistry course was only 1 credit. Therefore I have taken 2 credits of physical chem but only 1 has a lab component. I am planning to take Analytical Chemistry since it has a lab component. Does anyone know if it would suffice as a physical chemistry credit?



Sorry for questions 1 and 2, I just wanted to make sure I had the right idea. Thanks for all the help and I greatly appreciate it.

 

[KeyzerSoze]

Hi guys,

I am entering 4th year at UofT this upcoming fall and I am considering applying to US schools. I have some basic questions and I was hoping if you guys could help me out.

1. Are the general pre-reqs for most US schools 1 full course (e.g. 2 credits/ half courses) of Biology,Physical Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Physics (all with lab components) and English? From my understanding, some US schools require some additional courses but I just want an idea of what most schools require.

Yep. 2 semesters, 3 trimesters/quarters, one year, whatever. Also, most people here would call it General Chemistry - Physical Chemistry is more advanced and mathematical.

2.How do U.S. schools view pass/fail courses for pre-reqs? From the searching previous threads, it seems that this should be avoided. I was planning to to take English and Analytical Chemistry as pass/fail since I have a feeling it will hurt my GPA.

Definitely avoid it. Note that some schools have English (writing) as a pre-req.

3. Since most U.S. schools require 2 credits (e.g. 1 full year) of physical chem with lab, will it be acceptable that only 1 of my 2 physical chem credits has a lab component? At UofT,the 2nd year physical chemistry course does not have a lab component unfortunately and our 1st year physical chemistry course was only 1 credit. Therefore I have taken 2 credits of physical chem but only 1 has a lab component. I am planning to take Analytical Chemistry since it has a lab component. Does anyone know if it would suffice as a physical chemistry credit?

Check with schools. I had a similar situation with Organic Chemistry, so I explained that the one semester lab course was the equivalent of the entire first year organic lab component, and the only other organic lab available was an upper level course which was beyond the scope of basic organic chemistry. Most schools were okay with one semester.

 

[Ponger]

1. Are the general pre-reqs for most US schools 1 full course (e.g. 2 credits/ half courses) of Biology,Physical Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Physics (all with lab components) and English? From my understanding, some US schools require some additional courses but I just want an idea of what most schools require.

It's one full year of general chemistry (alternatively called inorganic chemistry in some places) not physical chemistry. Usually whatever the lowest level full year sequence of chemistry is. Other than that you got the other general science pre-req's down. Most schools require atleast a semester of calculus if not a full year.

2.How do U.S. schools view pass/fail courses for pre-reqs? From the searching previous threads, it seems that this should be avoided. I was planning to to take English and Analytical Chemistry as pass/fail since I have a feeling it will hurt my GPA.

Agreed, avoid it if all possible. Analytical chem isn't a pre-req so that shouldn't be an issue.

3. Since most U.S. schools require 2 credits (e.g. 1 full year) of physical chem with lab, will it be acceptable that only 1 of my 2 physical chem credits has a lab component? At UofT,the 2nd year physical chemistry course does not have a lab component unfortunately and our 1st year physical chemistry course was only 1 credit. Therefore I have taken 2 credits of physical chem but only 1 has a lab component. I am planning to take Analytical Chemistry since it has a lab component. Does anyone know if it would suffice as a physical chemistry credit?

Again its general chemistry not physical chemistry, but I would expect that the full year sequence of gen chem with lab is non-negotiable.

 

[Rach83]

I believe some schools require calculus (or other math courses) as well.

 

[KeyzerSoze]

It's one full year of general chemistry (alternatively called inorganic chemistry in some places) not physical chemistry. Usually whatever the lowest level full year sequence of chemistry is. Other than that you got the other general science pre-req's down. Most schools require atleast a semester of calculus if not a full year.

Barely anyone requires a full year of calc, and most schools which require a year of math are fine with other courses such as pre-calc and stats.

 

[wonderbra06]

Thanks for the quick responses. I am considering taking Analytical Chemistry because I thought it would count towards General Chemistry. This is the lowest level chemistry course with lab at UofT that I can take.