darrylius Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Hey guys, So I've decided to take the plunge and apply to PA school this cycle, and I've done my research, called several schools (though I feel that many of those who answer my questions over the phone don't truly know what I'm talking about or give me an email of the correct person to contact, who ends up never responding :-_-:) and I have questions about prereqs with labs (e.g. genchem, bio, A&P). 1) I did my undergrad at UCSD (University of California, San Diego) and graduated in 2009. However, we go by the quarter system, and the structure for prereqs is funky. For general bio classes, we had no lab component (so obviously I have to retake classes for PA schools requiring this class/lab). For gen chem, though, I took a full year sequence (3 quarters), in addition to 1 gen chem lab class (1 quarter). I'm sure that the chem lab class encompasses all the gen chem lab knowledge needed, but it's tough to explain this to PA schools. As you know, alot of PA schools require a "full year" of gen chem with lab. I took a whole separate quarter devoted to gen chem lab, but it was just 1 quarter (not 3 quarters, aka a year). SMU (CA) already acknowledged that this is okay, but it's hard to get a legitimate answer from other schools. I guess my real question is: has anyone from any UC's, possibly even UCSD, gotten into PA schools with this similar situation without having to take over the gen chem prereqs with integrated labs? Some east coast schools already said NO, and I just think they don't understand the UC system. Sorry if this is confusing. 2) How do PA schools know if you took classes with an integrated lab? I looked at the official transcript that was sent to me from community college and nothing on the transcript says anything about a lab portion for classes I took (anatomy) or for classes I'm about to retake for the sake of fulfilling the "lab" portion (gen chem). Do the schools just have a database and/or record of classes accepted/not accepted from institutions? Any input from UC (or more importantly UCSD) grads about the coursework, prereq classes, how similar/different PA school "speed" is to the UC quarter system, etc. is GREATLY APPRECIATED! Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackjacks Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 I went to University of Michigan, but our classes were structured similarly in that Chem/Bio labs are a separate class scheduled independently from the lecture and can be taken at the same time (most common) or in semesters following taking the lecture. I think that PA schools figure it out based on the number of credits the class is worth, but I feel that it is not an "exact science" and they will generally take your word that you have appropriately completed the prereqs, the same idea as how they don't generally ask for proof of HCE/shadowing hours. Not sure the format that you used when e-mailing programs to ask, but I would recommend listing your classes by course number, name, and credit hours and asking if they fulfill the schools prereqs as you are concerned how your quarter system translates to their prereqs. Make sure to keep the e-mails as a record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laifalove Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 My friend and I both graduated from a UC and she just got into a school on the east coast (I'm applying this cycle instead), we had the same issue with how gchem was a 3 quarter series but labs were only a 2 quarter series. They didn't seem to have an issue with the fact that the classes were structured that way, but I can't say it's for sure that way at all schools. Like mackjacks said, they have some way to figure out the lecture/lab combined courses based on credits and they probably also reference the school's catalog to determine if it's a lecture+lab or just lecture only. Again, using my friend's example, we both took anatomy+lab at a community college because it wasn't offered at our UC. The CC we took it at was a semester based system, and the official course title is "Human Anatomy", no mention of a lab in the title. Lab was of course included in the class and it was a 4 semester unit summer class. The school my friend got into mentioned specifically "anatomy with lab" as well, but they were ok with the fact that lab was not in the title, and probably had a way to determine that lab was a part of the curriculum. It sucks but you may have to actually check with each school to determine that. Also, some schools state specifically how many units they want, i.e. 8 semester units of gchem+lab. If you meet that minimum unit requirement, I don't think they'll ding you too much that the UC you went to didn't have 3 quarters worth of gchem lab available to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrylius Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 thanks for the replies guys, it's exhausting trying to get a hold of PA schools and figuring all this out, but I'm sure I'm not the only one. also I always thought it was weird that Anatomy wasn't a main bio class at UC's (I also took anatomy at a CC)..anyways, good luck this cycle! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laifalove Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 $5 says that UCs cut it out due to those stupid budget cuts. They used to offer A&P as an undergrad major at my UC but it was taken out the year before I entered. The only anatomy class we had was for nursing students only. Good luck to you too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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