hi, i noticed some schools specifically state 1 year of general bio while other schools just say biological science or biology.
i have already completed 1 semester of biology (title of class was Cell Biology and Physiology). For my last bio, I was planning on taking Organismal Biology and Evolution but I was wondering if I could take like anatomy or some other upper div bio to satisfy the year of bio? thanks.
The title of the course you take probably does not matter. Take something that is interesting to you, work hard, do well in it, get a decent grade. If you have a particular school in mind, you might inquire what their preference would be, but its always more fun to do something that excites you. Anatomy is never a bad idea as it will serve you well when you “really” learn it from your cadaver in med school. Good luck.
Condsider looking at the MSAR or individual school’s websites to see what schools require. “Most” schools state one year of biology (some specify general biology) WITH LAB. So, you may need to make sure that the course you take has a lab. Another resource may be your school - many schools have a checklist of courses that they recommend pre-med students take. A lot of times, they include courses that aren’t required by med schools, but it might be worth looking at to see what biology courses are recommended.
Another consideration: the MCAT. It seems to very from school to school whether or not the gen bio series adequately prepares you for the biology section of the MCAT, with the most common theme being that people felt their gen bio classes did not adequately cover genetics and cell bio. I would suggest looking at the list of testable MCAT topics on the AAMC’s website and then looking at course descriptions (or syllibi if available) and choosing a course that will help you the most on the MCAT. Some basic genetics knowledge is a must and I would say that physiology would be very helpful (more so than anatomy).
Hi there,
Most medical schools require one year of university-level biology with lab. Consult the individual requirements of the medical schools that interest you for additional requirements. The MCAT requires one year of university-level General Biology with lab. You should look at the books and course description of the biology course that you anticipate taking and make sure that it is in sufficient depth to be work your tuition dollars. (Look at the course descriptions of General Biology for science majors at George Mason University, University of Virginia and George Washington University to get an idea of what you need).
An upper division course will not necessarily give you more depth of what you need so be choose your course wisely. A good course in Human Physiology (not Anatomy & Physiology) Comparative Anatomy, Histology or Cell Biology may be of better use to you and may fulfill criteria for admission to medical school.
The key is the content of the course and you ability to master the information and apply it to both your course exams and the MCAT. In short, know your stuff.
Natalie 
The bottom line is to know what is tested on the MCAT there is a list of all topics posted at aamc.org under the MCAT section. As long as you have that covered AND your medical schools accept X or Y biology class you should be fine. Beware though, if I remember correctly some medical schools specifically required the “general biology” courses.
Efex and the others have it right, I think.
I was looking at doing something similar for the Physics requirement. When I called Miami and asked, I was told it should be Physics I/II; they didn’t want higher levels to replace the basics. I’m not sure how much that varies by school - if you find out more, please let us know.
Physics is a different animal from Biology, though - there are lots of Bio topics that can be considered relevant for a med school application, and in fact many of them can be considered “basics” (e.g. cell bio, microbio, genetics, biochem) – this isn’t the case for physics. In the case of physics, though, you’ve got the choice between “physics for non-majors,” which is usually NOT calc-based, and the physics for physics majors which is MORE than what is needed for the MCAT or for med school.
Mary
I agree with Mary but I remember that some schools specifically posted they wanted the “general introductory biology course” for freshmen not plant/animal/cell/molec bio…now this was the year that I applied and things “could” have changed but nevertheless just call and ask.
Another thing is that some schools won’t count anatomy (or A&P) towards the biology credit. It’s a class you’ll have to take in med school anyway, so they want to see you’ve taken some other classes too. Now comparative physiology or animal physiology could be different. I’d just make sure to contact any school you’re interested in and get their word on it.
Some schools don’t actually have a class called “introductory bio”–they give each of the semesters a different name based on what it covers, although it’s still intro bio for all intents and purposes. I know when I applied, my transcript didn’t say general bio, but I never had anyone question this. Although I suppose some schools might want you to explain what the course covered, in that case.
Thought I’d share some of what I’ve come across recently:
Harvard is pretty specific about upper level coursework being ok, as long as it meets the general requirements:
(U)pper-level courses may be used to satisfy our basic requirements . When reviewing the required courses, please pay attention to the specifics involved for each requirement, eg. laboratory work in biology, general (inorganic) chemistry, and organic chemistry.
Ohio State and Mayo didn’t have quite as specific a FAQ that I could find:
OSU - No specific undergraduate curriculum or college major is required, but the following science courses are required. Each should be a full academic year or equivalent sequence.
General chemistry with qualitative analysis
Organic chemistry with laboratory
Physics with laboratory
Biology
In addition, coursework in biochemistry or cellular and molecular biology is strongly recommended.
Mayo - The following courses are required prior to admission:
One year of biology and/or zoology(with lab)
One year of inorganic chemistry (with lab)
One year of organic chemistry (with lab)
One year of physics (with lab)
One course in biochemistry
Sounds like something best to just check out, and be as careful with as you can.
I just spoke with the admissions office at UMiami. For that program, one needs Chem I/II and OChem I/II as the intro courses themselves. The Bio requirements can be met with higher level coursework.
They also didn’t mind my old chem and calc grades, as long as I had recent coursework as well. I’d expect this would vary by school, though, so it certainly pays to ask around.
It’s also worth noting that the nice woman I spoke with specifically mentioned that the school was non-trad friendly (prompted only by my mention of balancing work + school).
One other note: look carefully at the level of the coursework. At the school where I did my post-bacc, Anatomy was a course offered as a prerequisite for the nursing curriculum, and was actually a 100-level course in the bio department. This course would not have fulfilled any requirement toward a B.A. or B.S. in Biology.
And by the way, when choosing courses, that’s a useful yardstick to employ. ANY bio or chem course you take should be one that could be applied toward a major in bio or chem. This doesn’t apply for physics (physics majors would have to take the calc-based intro physics) but is a good rule of thumb for your other coursework.
Mary
Excellent post, something all pre-req’ers need to look at!
Quote:
One other note: look carefully at the level of the coursework. At the school where I did my post-bacc, Anatomy was a course offered as a prerequisite for the nursing curriculum, and was actually a 100-level course in the bio department. This course would not have fulfilled any requirement toward a B.A. or B.S. in Biology.
And by the way, when choosing courses, that’s a useful yardstick to employ. ANY bio or chem course you take should be one that could be applied toward a major in bio or chem. This doesn’t apply for physics (physics majors would have to take the calc-based intro physics) but is a good rule of thumb for your other coursework.
Mary
Oh, good catch, Mary. The A&P courses I’m taking are 200-level courses, but they wouldn’t count towards a bio major at UCF. Fortunately, I wasn’t planning on using them to meet any particular prereqs.