UOP rant...

[stkyrice]

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I just found out that UOP's not accepting two of the classes (microbiology and second semester o-chem) that I've retaken because I took them at a school that they don't like. Never mind that none of the other schools I'm applying to have that problem, and that I aced both of them.

I'm not going to spend another 5 months taking these classes just to fulfill a requirement that no one else is bugging me over, so I'm withdrawing my app.


*$&%($....

 

[steveysmith54]

What school is that? is it accredited?

 

[choylifut]

I just found out that UOP's not accepting two of the classes (microbiology and second semester o-chem) that I've retaken because I took them at a school that they don't like. Never mind that none of the other schools I'm applying to have that problem, and that I aced both of them.

I'm not going to spend another 5 months taking these classes just to fulfill a requirement that no one else is bugging me over, so I'm withdrawing my app.


*$&%($....

Before you withdrawal, you should talk to Veronica, better yet send her an email and see if the classes you took can be approved. You just simply send her a copy of the syllabus of the two unapproved classes, they'll review it and if it becomes approved, they will just simply update it on their website. My class did that for one of our chem classes, albeit this was done at Western, but it doesn't hurt to try.

 

[rxgales]

I just found out that UOP's not accepting two of the classes (microbiology and second semester o-chem) that I've retaken because I took them at a school that they don't like. Never mind that none of the other schools I'm applying to have that problem, and that I aced both of them.

I'm not going to spend another 5 months taking these classes just to fulfill a requirement that no one else is bugging me over, so I'm withdrawing my app.

*$&%($....

Great choice!! they told a classmate to retake a class and then sent a rejection letter, it's like they play admission games, not kidding!

 

[Allright]

i remember at my CC they had 2 types of microbio one being for science students and the other one was something else i guess..
maybe its the same with your case?

 

[cal687]

Aw, that's so lame! Sorry to hear that. I had to retake a class for UW because they wouldn't accept the first one, and it wasn't 100% clear from their website either. Luckily I had emailed the coordinator and I found out just in time to sign up for that class for last fall.

But it's okay, you didn't want to go there anyway right? Just gotta hope for that UCSF acceptance letter now. 😀

 

[stkyrice]

Sorry about not responding sooner!

I took courses at New College of California's Science Institute, which are intensive courses that are 4 weekends long (lecture and lab from 8 AM to 6 PM) to accommodate people who work full time. The school is accredited (at least for now--they've been threatened to lose their accreditation from WASC b/c of financial and oversight problems, but that only applies to people who try to take classes after Fall 2008), as UCSF accepts a few of their courses, and the other schools I'm applying to didn't have any concerns about these classes.

The UOP letter stated flat out, "We do not accept New College of Callifornia classes," so I'm not going to go even bother trying to appeal. The New College courses were actually really difficult, and I know that it's the same amount of material as a regular 18 week long semester course, so I was extremely happy when I got A+'s in both organic chem and microbio.

So UOP can just kiss my @$#....I'm applying to 4 other schools and I've gotten interview letters in my top 2 choices (UCSF and Hawaii-Hilo), so I'm happy.

 

[yazzman]

Sorry about not responding sooner!

I took courses at New College of California's Science Institute, which are intensive courses that are 4 weekends long (lecture and lab from 8 AM to 6 PM) to accommodate people who work full time. The school is accredited (at least for now--they've been threatened to lose their accreditation from WASC b/c of financial and oversight problems, but that only applies to people who try to take classes after Fall 2008), as UCSF accepts a few of their courses, and the other schools I'm applying to didn't have any concerns about these classes.

The UOP letter stated flat out, "We do not accept New College of Callifornia classes," so I'm not going to go even bother trying to appeal. The New College courses were actually really difficult, and I know that it's the same amount of material as a regular 18 week long semester course, so I was extremely happy when I got A+'s in both organic chem and microbio.

So UOP can just kiss my @$#....I'm applying to 4 other schools and I've gotten interview letters in my top 2 choices (UCSF and Hawaii-Hilo), so I'm happy.

Because of the competitive nature of admissions, UOP is forced to dwindle down the admission list, and I think they are forced to make difficult decisions on who they let in and who they dont. I think UOP doesnt like accelerated programs when it comes to core science class like organic chemistry and microbio...

 

[terse]

I think UOP doesnt like accelerated programs when it comes to core science class like organic chemistry and microbio...

Not entirely true. I took 2 semesters of o-chem both during the summer and they were 5 weeks long each. 1 full year (2 semesters) of o-chem in 1 summer is as accelerated as it gets.

 

[stkyrice]

Because of the competitive nature of admissions, UOP is forced to dwindle down the admission list, and I think they are forced to make difficult decisions on who they let in and who they dont. I think UOP doesnt like accelerated programs when it comes to core science class like organic chemistry and microbio...

Which is %#$%^, if you ask me. If you're willing to learn the material, and especially if you're trying to learn while working full time, I would think they would take that into consideration. But it's their decision to not accept it. If UOP was one of my top choices (and I didn't get invited for an interview elsewhere), I would seriously consider challenging it, but like I said, the two schools that I really want to get into have already invited me, so it's honestly not that big of a concern for me at this point.

I would still highly recommend taking the courses at New College if you're working (and really motivated). Personally, 4 weeks of outright hell are better than 10-18 weeks of classes in and out, especially if you're working full time.

 

[evilolive]

When I was applying to schools, I didn't bother applying to UOP because I thought their requirements were ridiculous (as well as my own personal prejudice against their high school entrance program, but that's for another thread). I'm sure it's a fine school, but gate heights are extremely uneven. I've heard many other horror stories, so you're not alone 🙁

 

[Allright]

which of their requirements do you think are ridiculous

 

[evilolive]

Actually I made a mistake, it was USC that had the ridiculous course requirements. But as I was looking over UOP's requirements for non-degree matriculants, it looks a little cumbersome in specificity.

 

[stkyrice]

Actually I made a mistake, it was USC that had the ridiculous course requirements. But as I was looking over UOP's requirements for non-degree matriculants, it looks a little cumbersome in specificity.

UOP's requirements didn't seem as ridiculous as USC. USC has this weird requirement where they only look at classes that were taken on-site at a 4 year university. They won't accept extension courses or online courses, and they'll complain if it's at a 2 year community college. The only requirement that I needed to fulfill for UOP was retaking organic chem and first-year bio if it's been over 7 years (nearly 15 for me and I also ony got C's in those classes the first time around, so I wanted to retake them anyway), plus microbio which I hadn't taken yet. USC also wanted (if I'm not mistaken) biochem AND molecular bio, courses that are only offered at 4 year universities as far as I'm aware of. I don't have the work schedule flexibility to do that.

That was also one of the reasons why I didn't apply to UCSD. If it's been more than 10 years, ALL of the science preqreqs have to be retaken, which is a huge waste of time, IMHO, before UCSD will look at your app.

 

[terse]

UOP's requirements didn't seem as ridiculous as USC. USC has this weird requirement where they only look at classes that were taken on-site at a 4 year university. They won't accept extension courses or online courses, and they'll complain if it's at a 2 year community college. The only requirement that I needed to fulfill for UOP was retaking organic chem and first-year bio if it's been over 7 years (nearly 15 for me and I also ony got C's in those classes the first time around, so I wanted to retake them anyway), plus microbio which I hadn't taken yet. USC also wanted (if I'm not mistaken) biochem AND molecular bio, courses that are only offered at 4 year universities as far as I'm aware of. I don't have the work schedule flexibility to do that.

Yes, USC has some extra hoops they make you jump through, but I took ALL of my science pre-reqs at a community college and I was accepted to USC. They never complained one bit. Also, biochem and molecular bio courses can be found at a community college as well. I know because I've taken them.

 

[cal687]

Actually I made a mistake, it was USC that had the ridiculous course requirements. But as I was looking over UOP's requirements for non-degree matriculants, it looks a little cumbersome in specificity.

Yah, they totally do. I was planning on applying to USC this year, but then when I realized I'd be taking a whole extra semester's worth of classes *just* for them, I decided it wasn't worth it. I didn't really want to go to school in the ghetto of LA anyway. But seriously, what is with USC requiring an "interpersonal communication" class, when UCSF and ALL the other schools I looked at require "public speaking"??? So annoying. But this is a UOP rant, so I'll stop threadjacking now...

 

[yazzman]

Not entirely true. I took 2 semesters of o-chem both during the summer and they were 5 weeks long each. 1 full year (2 semesters) of o-chem in 1 summer is as accelerated as it gets.

I see your point..but what school did you go to ...This person is making reference to New College of California's Science Institute. I havent heard of this school. I think the college institute plays a significant part. I was just giving a prospective and I dont have the exact answer on why this individual did not get accepted.

 

[stkyrice]

I see your point..but what school did you go to ...This person is making reference to New College of California's Science Institute. I havent heard of this school. I think the college institute plays a significant part. I was just giving a prospective and I dont have the exact answer on why this individual did not get accepted.

You can check it out at http://www.newcollege.edu/science. It's a small private college based in San Francisco that's probably best known for their Law School, since they were the first in the West (or the country) that focused on social/economic justice. The Science Institute's actually been around for 20+ years, and the curriculum has been adjusted so that it's actually more in line with traditional science classes, since so many people are actually taking these classes for the more traditional health professions. Human Biology is their 1st year bio class, then general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics (non-calculus based, so some schools will have issues with it), anatomy & physiology, and microbiology. The courses are offered in Hayward (in the East Bay in SF) at Life Chiropractic West, and in Whittier at the Southern California University of Health Sciences in SoCal. The courses are $1500 for 4 weekends.

The bulk of the people who take these classes usually go into less competitive health professions, like chiropractic or naturopathic medicine, etc., but there are people who are going to allopathic/osteopathic med, pharmacy, nursing, etc.

The big controversy, as I stated before, is that New College is in danger of losing their accreditation, and have been put on probation as of Summer '07, with a decision as to whether the accreditation will be taken away by Summer/Fall '08. They've taken steps to correct the major concerns, so I'm hopeful they'll be able to keep their accreditation. Since I've taken these courses while it's still accredited, I'm fine.

The bottom line is that every school has a right to accept or not accept courses as they see fit, and so it's UOP's decision not to accept New College's classes. For example, UCSF accepts New College's general chem and o-chem, and will accept the Human Biology course as long as an extra course in microbio, anatomy/physiology, or biochem is taken. They won't accept the physics classes because they're not calculus based.

 

[choylifut]

You can check it out at http://www.newcollege.edu/science. It's a small private college based in San Francisco that's probably best known for their Law School, since they were the first in the West (or the country) that focused on social/economic justice. The Science Institute's actually been around for 20+ years, and the curriculum has been adjusted so that it's actually more in line with traditional science classes, since so many people are actually taking these classes for the more traditional health professions. Human Biology is their 1st year bio class, then general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics (non-calculus based, so some schools will have issues with it), anatomy & physiology, and microbiology. The courses are offered in Hayward (in the East Bay in SF) at Life Chiropractic West, and in Whittier at the Southern California University of Health Sciences in SoCal. The courses are $1500 for 4 weekends.

The bulk of the people who take these classes usually go into less competitive health professions, like chiropractic or naturopathic medicine, etc., but there are people who are going to allopathic/osteopathic med, pharmacy, nursing, etc.

The big controversy, as I stated before, is that New College is in danger of losing their accreditation, and have been put on probation as of Summer '07, with a decision as to whether the accreditation will be taken away by Summer/Fall '08. They've taken steps to correct the major concerns, so I'm hopeful they'll be able to keep their accreditation. Since I've taken these courses while it's still accredited, I'm fine.

The bottom line is that every school has a right to accept or not accept courses as they see fit, and so it's UOP's decision not to accept New College's classes. For example, UCSF accepts New College's general chem and o-chem, and will accept the Human Biology course as long as an extra course in microbio, anatomy/physiology, or biochem is taken. They won't accept the physics classes because they're not calculus based.

i believe UCSF doesn't require calculus based physics.

 

[stkyrice]

i believe UCSF doesn't require calculus based physics.

They've started becoming harsher about accepting calculus-based physics. Most universities have calculus-based physics, even for the life science majors, so UCSF will accept most of those. They've specifically said they will not accept New College's physics class because it's not calculus-based.

UCSF's just put on the new requirements on this webpage: http://pharmacy.ucsf.edu/pharmd/admissions/steps/1/academic/

and stated that calculus-based physics is strongly recommended. I'm assuming it's because of p-chem, etc.

 

[choylifut]

They've started becoming harsher about accepting calculus-based physics. Most universities have calculus-based physics, even for the life science majors, so UCSF will accept most of those. They've specifically said they will not accept New College's physics class because it's not calculus-based.

UCSF's just put on the new requirements on this webpage: http://pharmacy.ucsf.edu/pharmd/admissions/steps/1/academic/

and stated that calculus-based physics is strongly recommended. I'm assuming it's because of p-chem, etc.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/archive/index.php/t-400900.html

You're right, perhaps its to prep P1 students for P-chem.

 

[yazzman]

You can check it out at http://www.newcollege.edu/science. It's a small private college based in San Francisco that's probably best known for their Law School, since they were the first in the West (or the country) that focused on social/economic justice. The Science Institute's actually been around for 20+ years, and the curriculum has been adjusted so that it's actually more in line with traditional science classes, since so many people are actually taking these classes for the more traditional health professions. Human Biology is their 1st year bio class, then general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics (non-calculus based, so some schools will have issues with it), anatomy & physiology, and microbiology. The courses are offered in Hayward (in the East Bay in SF) at Life Chiropractic West, and in Whittier at the Southern California University of Health Sciences in SoCal. The courses are $1500 for 4 weekends.

The bulk of the people who take these classes usually go into less competitive health professions, like chiropractic or naturopathic medicine, etc., but there are people who are going to allopathic/osteopathic med, pharmacy, nursing, etc.

The big controversy, as I stated before, is that New College is in danger of losing their accreditation, and have been put on probation as of Summer '07, with a decision as to whether the accreditation will be taken away by Summer/Fall '08. They've taken steps to correct the major concerns, so I'm hopeful they'll be able to keep their accreditation. Since I've taken these courses while it's still accredited, I'm fine.

The bottom line is that every school has a right to accept or not accept courses as they see fit, and so it's UOP's decision not to accept New College's classes. For example, UCSF accepts New College's general chem and o-chem, and will accept the Human Biology course as long as an extra course in microbio, anatomy/physiology, or biochem is taken. They won't accept the physics classes because they're not calculus based.

talk with UOP and argue your case...

 

[stkyrice]

talk with UOP and argue your case...

Well, like I said, if I REALLY wanted to do UOP, I would.

But if I had a choice of going to SF or Hawaii for 4 years, I would rather do that then go to Stockton (I'm not hating on Stockton, it's just my preference.) 😀