Guest bkim Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 Hey everyone! I haven't seen any posts regarding this, so I was hoping I could get some advice/help. A lot of PA schools require a full year of Biology and while I assumed I had that, now I'm not too convinced. For reference, here's my issue. Basically, I took Bio 1B at UC Berkeley a while back, graduated without taking Bio 1A, and then decided to finish up my prereqs at a community college. I took Bio 402 and called it a day because I'd assumed Bio 1B covered the Bio 422 requirement. Today, I'm thinking I might have to take Bio 422. Which sucks, btw, since quite a few of the schools I'm applying to require all prereqs to be completed by the time of submission. I was wondering what you guys thought or if any of you dealt with similar issues. I contacted three PA programs and the representative at Pace more or less told me that they weren't allowed to review apps and that I should just apply, submit additional documentation, and hope for the best. ): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HanSolo Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 Based on that link, I would say 402 and 422 = 1A and 1AL. Did your cc classes include a lab? That's not quite clear. Do you have any other bio classes? Some places just require a certain amount of bio credits - not necessarily the general bio series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bkim Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 CC class definitely included a lab. And yeah, I've taken Genetics, Microbio, Immunology, Biomedical Parasitology, MCB, and Biochem, but none included labs except Micro. The places I'm referring to specifically state "Biology I/II", so I'm thinking other courses wouldn't really cover that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT2PA Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 Well those are weirdly named but yea, I'd say you either need 1A/L + 1B or 402+422. Usually programs want the series, not a mix and match - unless you can prove that 1B and 422 have the same syllabus (or similar enough to cover each other - and even then, 422 is probably more comprehensive). I just can't figure out their naming system. My undergrad had a bio 101 for 'nursing majors' then 151/153 was a gen bio series (1 year) and your second year you took 201/203 or whatever for the second year long series (bio majors). But they were named the same thing each semester just I or II. THOSE are I think what PA programs (and med schools, etc) are looking for when they want a year/ 2 semesters of bio. The course numbers themselves aren't important but the concept of consecutive semesters is - and usually 400 level courses are upper level so that whole naming system is confusing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bkim Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 The website basically indicates which courses from one college are equivalent to courses at a different college. Bio 1A + Bio 1B = the general bio series at Cal, and Bio 402, 412, and 422 = the general bio series at SCC. Unfortunately, I have a weird mix of the two. I'm just hoping I'm not the only person who's had issues with taking half of a series at one place and the second half at a different place. I didn't realize that that could potentially hinder me in my apps, considering I decided to become a PA well after I graduated from college. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT2PA Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 The website basically indicates which courses from one college are equivalent to courses at a different college. Bio 1A + Bio 1B = the general bio series at Cal, and Bio 402, 412, and 422 = the general bio series at SCC. Unfortunately, I have a weird mix of the two. I'm just hoping I'm not the only person who's had issues with taking half of a series at one place and the second half at a different place. I didn't realize that that could potentially hinder me in my apps, considering I decided to become a PA well after I graduated from college. Unfortunately, it could hinder you. Your best bet is to get the syllabi from each course you've taken so programs can decide if you've covered all the bases they want. You'll be in good company if you have to take additional courses or repeat some to jump through the PA school applicant hoops. It happens. A lot of us didn't decide to go to PA school until well after we finished undergrad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HanSolo Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 Unfortunately it doesn't sound like you met the prerequisite since you didn't take the full half of one of the series. If I am understanding all of this correctly, I would say apply to programs that allow an outstanding prerequisite, take Bio 422 over the summer, and go from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bkim Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 Yeah, that's what I'm planning on doing. Do you guys have any advice regarding addressing the fact that I took, for example, Chem 1 at Cal and Chem 2 at SCC? Or do you think I have them set under the correct prereq slot, it'll be okay? I didn't anticipate that it would be an issue because CASPA said that respective programs should be able to tell, but I'm having some doubts now. Not all programs allow supplemental documents, but I'm thinking for the ones that do, I can include respective ASSIST pages as well as course descriptions to hopefully show them that the courses meet their requirements. Thanks for all the help. I appreciate it tons! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HanSolo Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 In terms of Chem - as long as it covers the material that should have been covered then it shouldn't be a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bkim Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 Oh yeah, material-wise, I'm really not concerned about the other series that I split between two colleges—w/ the exception of general bio. It's more a general concern that programs will look at the different names and course codes and just tilt their heads in confusion and toss out my app hahaha. It hadn't crossed my mind until now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MT2PA Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 Yeah, that's what I'm planning on doing. Do you guys have any advice regarding addressing the fact that I took, for example, Chem 1 at Cal and Chem 2 at SCC? Or do you think I have them set under the correct prereq slot, it'll be okay? I didn't anticipate that it would be an issue because CASPA said that respective programs should be able to tell, but I'm having some doubts now. Not all programs allow supplemental documents, but I'm thinking for the ones that do, I can include respective ASSIST pages as well as course descriptions to hopefully show them that the courses meet their requirements. Thanks for all the help. I appreciate it tons! Have documentation ready - most programs will ask for it if they want to consider you for an interview - and it'll be nice to be able to reply to them immediately. Some might want syllabi as opposed to just course descriptions so if you have the time now to track those down, try. It's not likely something that will disqualify you from consideration but it is reasonable to expect that programs may ask for more info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bkim Posted May 12, 2017 Share Posted May 12, 2017 Thanks for all the helpful information. Compiling all that will definitely be my go to plan once I submit apps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryebread203 Posted May 12, 2017 Share Posted May 12, 2017 Oh yeah, material-wise, I'm really not concerned about the other series that I split between two colleges—w/ the exception of general bio. It's more a general concern that programs will look at the different names and course codes and just tilt their heads in confusion and toss out my app hahaha. It hadn't crossed my mind until now. Nope. Don't worry about completing pre-reqs from multiple schools. Not a problem. Pre-reqs that you have to indicate on CASPA as part of the "Program Materials" is an initial bar to clear. Minimum pre-reqs, gpa, gre, etc. are used to thin out the applicant pool. Minimum 3.0 gpa, applicant has 2.7 -- thrown out. Required Bio 1 and 2, applicant only has Bio 1 -- thrown out. When a school gets 2000-3000 applications annually, they need effective ways to get rid of hundreds of applications before they even go into the hard work of determining which 100+ applicants should be invited for an interview. Best thing to do is to exceed the minimum however you can. Upper division coursework, grades, GRE, direct health hours, very strong and supportive LORs, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PA-C-to-be Posted May 24, 2017 Share Posted May 24, 2017 Before my applications were submitted, I had some questions about pre-reqs for a few of my schools and I copy/pasted the course catalog descriptions for the courses in question (and included links to where they could access this information on the universitys' websites) and emailed the programs directly to see if they would meet their requirements. The admissions counselors who responded were pretty quick to provide definitive answers on this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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