Checking with US schools about prerequisites

[mcater2006]

Hi:

 

While looking through the threads in this forum I saw that the venerable people of premed101 repeated urged us newbies to call the US schools themselves to find out what count and what don't count as the prerequisites they want in the MSAR before actually taking those courses.

 

However, I find it very surprising that if I were to phone up a US school and directly tell them about the course number and designation of physics and chemistry classes at, say, York University, that they would know if those were the courses they want as prerequisites. In fact, I find it very surprising for US med schools to know anything about first-year undergrad courses offered at Canadian universities.

 

So I'm wondering what the proper procedure for checking my prerequisites with the US schools. What would be the right things to say in such a phone call to the US school asking if the courses I'm going to take would satisfy their prerequisite list?

 

Regards,

 

mcater2006

[KFed]

The pre-reqs are almost all basic first year courses...

 

2 classes Physics w lab

" " Bio w Lab

" " GChem w Lab

" " OrgChm w Lab

" " English

sometimes a math or two

 

Unless I missed something, thats about it. As long as they're basic first year classes, AdComs won't care much what theyre called.

 

If you don't have a GChem 2, like I didn't, they'll just use upper year Chems to compensate. They say they're strict but there's some leniency if its obvious that you have been exposed to the content of these courses. But, this is also why you should call/email, in case they say something different.

[Madz25]

Usually you tell them the course content and whether or not the course has a lab component. I've never had to call to confirm if my courses would count because US prereqs are pretty straight forward, just like what KFed posted. The only thing that has come up again and again about fulfilling prereqs was first year general chem with lab for UofT St. George students or if you need calculus for the math prereq or can it be fulfilled with linear algebra etc.

[mcater2006]

Thanks for your reply. You are all very kind.