My son is dropping a class his second semester as it requires dissection of a brain and whole pig , which freaked him out. His counselor said he’d have to send a note to all of the colleges that accepted him /he’s considering to get approval to drop the class as the class was entered in the common app. Is this true
Yes.
He indicated his anticipated schedule on the Common App, so any deviation needs to be communicated to the colleges applied. The college may have no issue, but if they do, they will tell him.
Also he could find out if there is an alternate assignment/online way to do the dissection?
I would suggest he contact the colleges to ask if dropping the class is acceptable BEFORE he does it. He should also let the college know if he plans to pick up another class to fill the space. My friend’s D asked her ED school if she could drop down a level in calculus and they indicated that they would review her admissions decision if she switched classes (so she stuck it out).
Just to add …the colleges will find out he dropped the class when they see the final transcript and it doesn’t match the classes he said he was taking second semester. So your guidance counselor is correct in saying that it is better to deal with proactively.