If a school says it wants 3 lab based science courses for admission, what are those? I know Biology and Chemistry are lab sciences…is Earth and Space Science considered a lab science? I called the school and they seemed to think it would be fine. I have them getting back to me but wondering for future reference. D is not taking Physics this yr or next as a senior as she would not do well in it plus she is doing MT so no need for it…ugh.
Do they mean 3 full-year courses or 3 semesters of lab. Some science courses that my kids had with lab were only one semester long, but things like Biology, Chemistry and Physics are generally two semesters. They may count chemistry, Bio or Physics as two lab courses if they count each semester of the course as one lab course.
They mean 3 full year courses.
Unless you school is on a block schedule where each semester course is a full year credit.
A lot of times, it’ll depend on how the school classifies it. For instance, my school categorizes science classes into physical and life science, but some classes count for a semester of each, and some classes don’t count as a “lab science” at all. So it might be a good idea to check if the school has a classification for that class (especially because it seems pretty general and like curriculum could vastly differ from school to school.)
Check your school’s website for a Program of Studies or similar vernacular, for a course catalog and description.
If may depend on the universities to which you are applying. For the Univ of California system, only biology, chemistry, and physics count as lab sciences. Geology and astronomy do not count as lab sciences (“d” on the a-g requirements) even if the class includes a significant lab component.