Waiving Prereqs outright or just the lab?

[Dart1516]

Hey,
So far I have yet to be accepted, but I'm on the waitlist at one place and expecting to be waitlisted at another. I graduated in 06 and am spending my time working full-time as a neuro-tech in the OR. So far I am missing one biology pre-req. Of course I want to take it, but I have a very strange work schedule, and none of the schools nearby offer night courses with a lab. I would rather not quit my job to enroll in a day course, as I feel I am gaining lots of invaluable experience from it and hey--we gotta make money right? So what I am doing is arranging to take a night science class that does not have a lab, in hopes that that will be enough if I am accepted somewhere. I figured asking for a lab waiver would be better than asking outright for a full course waiver. What is the likelihood of either scenario? I'm really not too keen on taking this science class, since the class I wanted to take, Genetics, is now full, and my only other night option is Bio membranes, which I'm sure will have much overlap with the Cell Bio class I took in undergrad. Has anyone had any luck with this? Suggestions/advice would be greatly appreciated.

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[Droopy Snoopy]

Hey,
So far I have yet to be accepted, but I'm on the waitlist at one place and expecting to be waitlisted at another. I graduated in 06 and am spending my time working full-time as a neuro-tech in the OR. So far I am missing one biology pre-req. Of course I want to take it, but I have a very strange work schedule, and none of the schools nearby offer night courses with a lab. I would rather not quit my job to enroll in a day course, as I feel I am gaining lots of invaluable experience from it and hey--we gotta make money right? So what I am doing is arranging to take a night science class that does not have a lab, in hopes that that will be enough if I am accepted somewhere. I figured asking for a lab waiver would be better than asking outright for a full course waiver. What is the likelihood of either scenario? I'm really not too keen on taking this science class, since the class I wanted to take, Genetics, is now full, and my only other night option is Bio membranes, which I'm sure will have much overlap with the Cell Bio class I took in undergrad. Has anyone had any luck with this? Suggestions/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry, I'm not quite clear on what you're doing. You've been given permission to substitute one of your general bio prereq's with Genetics, but it turns out you can't because of your job? Or because the class is full? Anyway, my school at least will allow a substitution of a general-level class for an upper level class (like Bio I for Genetics), but that doesn't mean you can skip either the lecture or lab entirely. In any event, check with the place at which you're waitlisted; the last thing you want to do is skip it and have your acceptance revoked, or take it unnecessarily.

 

[Dart1516]

Sorry, I'm not quite clear on what you're doing. You've been given permission to substitute one of your general bio prereq's with Genetics, but it turns out you can't because of your job? Or because the class is full?

I'm having trouble understanding what you are not understanding. I hope this clears things up. I went to a liberal arts school which did not have general biology. People would generally take Cell Biology and Genetics (both of which are lab courses at my undergrad) to fulfill their requirements. I have only taken Cell Biology and am now looking to take one more biology course. Unfortunately, all of the courses at nearby schools which have labs are day courses. I cannot take a day course and keep my job. To show the schools that I am at least trying to comply with regulations, I figured I would take a bio course without lab, which would allow me to keep my job because it meets at night.

I was originally attempting to sign up to take Genetics (which does not have a lab) as part of a night program, but my advisor just told me that the course is full. My only other option, that would be a night meeting is Biomembranes, which also does not have a lab. However, I fear that biomembranes would have too much overlap with the Cell Biology course I took in undergrad. So I'm wondering if it would be a waste of my time.

My question was, how likely is it for medical schools to waive a science course or at the very least, to waive the lab portion?

 

[Droopy Snoopy]

I'm having trouble understanding what you are not understanding. I hope this clears things up. I went to a liberal arts school which did not have general biology. People would generally take Cell Biology and Genetics (both of which are lab courses at my undergrad) to fulfill their requirements. I have only taken Cell Biology and am now looking to take one more biology course. Unfortunately, all of the courses at nearby schools which have labs are day courses. I cannot take a day course and keep my job. To show the schools that I am at least trying to comply with regulations, I figured I would take a bio course without lab, which would allow me to keep my job because it meets at night.

I was originally attempting to sign up to take Genetics (which does not have a lab) as part of a night program, but my advisor just told me that the course is full. My only other option, that would be a night meeting is Biomembranes, which also does not have a lab. However, I fear that biomembranes would have too much overlap with the Cell Biology course I took in undergrad. So I'm wondering if it would be a waste of my time.

My question was, how likely is it for medical schools to waive a science course or at the very least, to waive the lab portion?

Check with the school. Even if all the responses here say "very likely", you won't know if this is true for you until asking someone in the admissions office of your particular school about it.

 

[MedStudentWanna]

Personally, I don't think it's likely at all. The requirement is 8 hours of bio with lab. That's what you have to have to attend medical school. They may allow for substitutions (like taking Genetics instead of Gen Bio I, like you said), but an outright waiver is practically impossible I think. We all have jobs. We all have these sorts of conflicts. At some point, you have to make to decide what you want to do. What I would do either take a summer lab which is only four or six weeks long. Either that or wait until you get accepted to med school, then quit your job the semester before you matriculate to take that lab.