Transferring from CC with statistics - do I have to take algebra?

[medicalchimp]

Hey guys confusing title but let me explain. I am transferring from a community college to a 4 year CSU to study pre med. I completed statistics at my community college, but one of the pre requisites for chemistry at the 4 year university is Alegbra I and II. I never took algebra, but statistics is technically a higher class than Algebra and transferable (whereas Algebra is a non-transferable lower division class) so do you think they will make me take Algebra to meet the pre req - or is this a freshman pre-req and since I’m a junior transfer who already completed Statistics I already fulfill the pre req for chemistry?

Also, does anybody know if med schools require Calculus? I’ve seen people on here say only like one or two med schools in the country require Calc but they all require Stats.

also, is trigonometry a usual requirement for med school?

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[Wolvvs]

What math classes did you take in high school?

 

[medicalchimp]

What math classes did you take in high school?

Algebra but I didn't pass and ended up dropping out (lol).

 

[Wolvvs]

Algebra but I didn't pass and ended up dropping out (lol).

Did you take any other math classes? Algebra is going to be necessary for some parts of general chemistry and for physics as well, but since you've taken statistics my sense is that it won't be a problem for you. If you agree, this is going to be a question for the school, and you should probably ask them ASAP. If you have any other math classes that are normally taken after algebra, it will probably help you. It depends a lot on the school but a lot of times this sort of prerequisite can be waived.

Very few schools require calculus, and although some require stats, I would say they're in the minority. I haven't ever seen trigonometry as a prerequisite for medical school, although it is used in first semester physics so I guess having a basic understanding of trig is de facto required.

 

[medicalchimp]

Did you take any other math classes? Algebra is going to be necessary for some parts of general chemistry and for physics as well, but since you've taken statistics my sense is that it won't be a problem for you. If you agree, this is going to be a question for the school, and you should probably ask them ASAP. If you have any other math classes that are normally taken after algebra, it will probably help you. It depends a lot on the school but a lot of times this sort of prerequisite can be waived.

Very few schools require calculus, and although some require stats, I would say they're in the minority. I haven't ever seen trigonometry as a prerequisite for medical school, although it is used in first semester physics so I guess having a basic understanding of trig is de facto required.

thanks so much for all this info. I would definitely say I have plenty of algebra experience (the path to stats Class I took did a lot of algebra) so I’m not worried about that aspect. It’s just I don’t want to take algebra again when I could be getting my med prereqs done instead. You are probably right, it’s going to be up to the school ... but I would imagine they would see I’m a transfer student with statistics and not even think of making me take algebra.

 

[medicalchimp]

Did you take any other math classes? Algebra is going to be necessary for some parts of general chemistry and for physics as well, but since you've taken statistics my sense is that it won't be a problem for you. If you agree, this is going to be a question for the school, and you should probably ask them ASAP. If you have any other math classes that are normally taken after algebra, it will probably help you. It depends a lot on the school but a lot of times this sort of prerequisite can be waived.

Very few schools require calculus, and although some require stats, I would say they're in the minority. I haven't ever seen trigonometry as a prerequisite for medical school, although it is used in first semester physics so I guess having a basic understanding of trig is de facto required.

Hey Wolvvs, just a quick question if you don't mind. I'm from California and my CSU school states that Calc is a pre-req for "most" med schools. I wonder why this is? I have looked a lot around the internet and everyone seems to agree with what you're saying that calc is not required by most if not nearly all pre-med schools. Do you think the CSU is wrong?

 

[Wolvvs]

Hey Wolvvs, just a quick question if you don't mind. I'm from California and my CSU school states that Calc is a pre-req for "most" med schools. I wonder why this is? I have looked a lot around the internet and everyone seems to agree with what you're saying that calc is not required by most if not nearly all pre-med schools. Do you think the CSU is wrong?

I think it's important to take premed advising with a very large grain of salt, I really wish that everyone could have access to high-quality advising but unfortunately it can be incredibly variable between schools. I don't know anything about CSU, but the best thing you can do is take a look for yourself. Here are prereqs from all the MD schools in California:

Eligibility and Recommendations
UCSF's website is broken, but IIRC they don't require calc

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Only two of them seem to have a preference for calc, and for either of them you can satisfy the prerequisite by taking another math class. Many schools (as is the national trend) have shifted to competency based prerequisites rather than prescribed classes, which further reduces the need to take calculus.

Generally speaking, SDN (preferably a critical mass of people/actual adcoms rather than just me) is a good source of information. But wherever you can go and check things yourself, that's really your best bet as everyone's going to be a bit biased by their own experiences.