South PA Prerequisites

[caiallen]

Just a bit of information you may or may not already know:

 

I graduated with a BS in Kinesiology and minor in Biology in May 2010. I applied this fall for South's upcoming PA class, and I was informed today that the prerequisites for the program under Biology II are as follows for those whose schools did not provide an actual "Biology II" course: genetics, molecular or cellular for biology II.

I searched and searched 10-15 different PA programs, most of them ranked higher than SU, and none of them showed these requirements and therefore I did not realize I was lacking. I have been informed that I will not be able to be considered for the class of 2014 because of this. I hope this helps other pre-PA students in their hopes of acceptance.

(My sister is currently in MCG/GHSU program in Augusta, GA and was unaware of this. A friend in the PA program at Keck School of Medicine in California was also surprised.)

[uscbigdawg]

South has almost the same prereq's as USC (Keck). Your typical 1-year general biology cycle usually works, however, since my school does not offer one, I contacted South prior to applying to confirm its prereq's as well as what did it want from my school.

 

As for checking the prereq's from higher ranked schools as a basis of comparison, while it's likely a fair course of action to follow, it does not mean that there isn't a due diligence that needs to be followed for each program. Utah for example is one of the top programs in the country, yet have the easiest pre-req's and no GRE. Touro, which is hardly one of the best requires Biochemistry. Go figure.

 

Hope the rest of your apps go better.

 

Rich

[caiallen]

I emailed them twice and called a few times. I never could get in contact with anyone who knew the actual courses over the phone, and the email I received never pointed it out either. I still have all of the emails for documentation later on, but the requirements are not well presented on their page. I know every program is not the same, but since I couldn't get the information I needed from them I compared their list to other schools to get a general idea only to find out that what I have will not suffice. Frustration has set in. :)

[uscbigdawg]

Amen to the frustration. Beckie was who helped me and she was awesome.

 

Guess we're all just keepin' the faith.

 

Rich

[solo]

Thanks for this information. South was definitely one of my "safer" choices, and this just scared me a little bit.

 

I sent them this email:

"Hello,

I was told this was the the contact information for Mrs. Hahn, PA Program Enrollment Manager.

 

My name is ***** and I am very interested in your PA program.

 

I am calling to clear up your prerequisite requirements. I have a friend that was denied admission last year because of a misunderstanding concerning the Biology requirements. He told me that you require two semesters of Biology, but one of those semesters has to be either "Genetics" "Molecular" or "Cellular" biology. Is this correct?

 

The Biology I and II classes at my institution (Western Kentucky University) are:

Biology 120: Introductory course in biology for science majors that emphasizes cellular organization and processes, metabolism, DNA structure and replication, and Mendelian and population genetics.

And

Biology 122: Introductory course in biology for science majors that emphasizes evolutionary patterns and processes, diversity of life (bacteria, archaea, protists, plants, fungi, and animals), ecological principles, and conservation and management.

 

Would these suffice? Thank you so much for your time."

 

She replied back and said,

"The biology requirements may change for admission into the class beginning in January 2013. Please refer to our website in the fall/winter for these changes. We do accept General Biology course, as well as Molecular, Cellular, Genetics. The course you listed below will suffice.

 

An applicant is not solely denied admission based on courses alone. We look at the entire application as a whole. There could be different reasons why one is not qualified for an interview."

 

Hope this helps someone.

[solo]

It looks like they changed their requirements a bit.

 

"-The 8 science prerequisite courses with corresponding labs required are:

Human Anatomy OR A&P I

Human Physiology OR A&P II

General Biology I

General Biology II

General Chemistry I

General Chemistry II

Organic Chemistry I

Microbiology

"

I don't think Micro was required before. Luckily I took that.

 

Also,

 

"-We accept substitutions on a case by case basis. For example we will accept the following courses for the General Biology requirements: Genetics, Organismal Biology or Cell Biology. Should you feel you have other courses that may qualify for a substitution please email us your school’s course description for further approval by the Admissions Committee.

"

[dncntaz]

Every school sets up their own requirements, doesn't matter on their rank. It's just what they think makes you most prepared.

[solo]

I called them yesterday just to triple check and they called me back today.

 

The woman said they do accept Bio I, II for their 2 semester Biology requirements and that genetics, molecular or cellular biology could be used as a Biology II credit if needed.