What's defined as "English" for Pre-med?

[Jason110]

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I am an engineering major (as many of you know). I have taken two writing-intensive classes as an engineering major to fulfill my requirements for my degree: Expository Writing and Technical Writing. Will these two courses generally satisfy the "1 year English" pre-med requirements at most medical schools? Or do they prefer traditional English classes in ELit (English Lit.) and CompLit (Comparative Lit.) to fulfill requirements.

If the policy varies from school to school, how do I find out what satisfies the requirement? Is it okay to contact them this early, even though I won't be applying until this summer for fall '05 admission?


Jason

 

[jlee9531]

as long as the class is marked "ENGLISH XXX" on the transcript you should be ok.

 

[DrJ2B]

I also heard that writing-intensive classes in other classes such as philosophy and history can also count. They just want to see that you know how to write. Many schools are not so stringent on their english requirements, although some schools want a year of expository writing. cough Harvard cough

 

[Kix]

are you from washu? haha

 

[closertofine]

Originally posted by DrJ2B
I also heard that writing-intensive classes in other classes such as philosophy and history can also count. They just want to see that you know how to write. Many schools are not so stringent on their english requirements, although some schools want a year of expository writing. cough Harvard cough

Uh oh, I got an interview offer at Harvard, and I haven't had a single English class...oops, not looking good! I do have a lot of humanities classes, actually even a humanities major in a foreign language, but nothing in the English department...do you think they will reject me based on that?

I did do better on the verbal section of the MCAT than on any of the sciences...so maybe that will help...what do you think?

Panicking a bit over here,

Karen44

 

[DrJ2B]

Hey karen44!

Since Harvard did offer you an interview, it either saw you had classes that would fulfill the requirement or they assume you will take those classes before you matriculate. If I were you, I would call the admissions department to ascertain which of the above is the actual case. It is better to know now rather than get screwed later. A high score on verbal shows you can comprehend literature not necessarily that you can write. Your writing score which is probably awesome anyway should work in your favor. Best of luck with your interviews, especially Harvard. Where do you go for undergrad? 🙂

 

[subtle1epiphany]

i'm in a similar situation as i've taken only one course labeled expository writing. i was planning to take another english class this coming semester.
i know that adcomms are looking for evidence that students are adept at writing and communicating, and as such does anyone think that classics classes would suffice as the second course? or is it the fact that the course is marked as english or writing intensive that counts?
i'm a classics major, for my last two upper division courses i wrote two twenty page research papers and i'm wondering if this would count as part of the requirement. would a letter from my professor make the difference?

 

[DrJ2B]

Hey subtle!

It is to the school's discretion whether the requirement was fulfilled or not. If it becomes an issue, then you can perhaps send a letter or such. If I were you, I would just contact the schools you are applying to and see what they say. Why take a course when you do not have to? Good luck with that. I am sure the schools you applied to will work with you on this matter. I would not worry about it.🙂