They take them everywhere but McGill in Canada, and they haven't prevented me from receiving an interview in the US so far (despite already low odds because of GPA/international status).
Not all biochemistry classes have a lab, even in traditional setting.
I have a tutor for each of my classes, who is also the same person who marks my assignments. I generally don't do a whole lot of correspondence with them, though. I got through Orgo I without talking to my tutor a single time and finished with a 95%+ (A+ in Canada). However, my enviromental chem class is more challenging (mostly due to a badly written textbook and a solutions manual ridden with mistakes), so I end corresponding with my tutor almost weekly. So yeah, if you have a bad textbook, it kinda sucks. But I like studying on my own schedule... I can go to an interview and not worry about missing class or rescheduling an exam, and if I want, I can bust my @$$ for a week and then take 4 days off and not do a single thing. I like the flexibility.
We got 2 centers in Calgary and Edmonton (the 2 big cities in the province) where you can write exams, and smaller towns all have some place where you can have your exam invigilated. I usually just write them at the public library in my town, it's $15 for the invigilation and you get your own little room and all. And yeah, they are the same as at normal schools - closed book, unless we're talking English or something.
