<p>Hi, I am attending UCSD in the fall, for my freshmen year. As a premed I have looked over the schools I want to go to and checked out their pre-req classes that they require. I heard from everyone that the councelors don't help much when you're asking for advice so I have these questions to ask before I start making my four year plan:</p>
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<li><p>How do I satisfy the one year of English for Medical schools? I am going to take MCWP40 and 50 (critical writing)because it's a general ed. Would that suffice? I would think not, but what class should I take to complete the one year of English they require.</p></li>
<li><p>Medical schools recommend that I take humanities. What courses at UCSD do I take for that? I'm not really sure where I can find them. The humanities department doesn't really have a lot of options and I'm not sure what would work. </p></li>
<li><p>Should I take my spanish classes for P/NP even though all medical schools are recommending that I take that course? I have a problem with getting into the Spanish class I want to. I don't speak Spanish at all and yet UCSD placed me in Spanish 1C... and I'm not able to take Spanish 1A and 1B for credit. Any advice how to get that done? or what I should do? I don't want this to ruin my GPA and look bad for the medical schools. </p></li>
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<p>Thank you for the help. </p>
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<li><p>In most colleges, the reading and composition courses that are usually university wide requirements to graduate would suffice for that medical school requirement. You should check with your Pre-Med advising office about this.</p></li>
<li><p>The New MCAT will have material based on psychology, sociology, and behavioral sciences, so look into those. Other options for humanities are History or anthropology.</p></li>
<li><p>What I know is that, if a class is a pre-requisite for medical school, meaning you must take it in order to apply, you cannot take it P/NP.</p></li>
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<p>The first two questions might be better answered in the UCSD forum.</p>
<p>1) The 1 year of English requirement has different meanings at different medical schools. In general, 1 semester of freshman composition or other basic writing skills class and 1 semester of another “writing intensive”** class will suffice for most medical schools. Some schools specifically require 2 semesters of English designated courses. You should consult the MSAR for specific requirements for the medical schools you think you’re most likely to attend in the future.</p>
<p>** what is consider writing intensive will vary from one college to another. You will need to consult UCSD’s pre-health advising office, the UCSD registrar or the UCSD writing center to determine which classes qualify as “writing intensive”.</p>
<p>2) Humanities are any courses in the following departments: philosophy, English (literature,not writing), linguistics, religion/theology/religious studies, music, art & art history, dance, theater, film, literature in a language besides English, the literature of specific gender, nationality of other identity group (e.g. Native American fiction), classics. Some schools will accept history as a humanity.</p>
<p>3) It’s fine to take Spanish P/F since it’s not requirement for med school admission. Med schools are much more interested in your level of oral communication proficiency (speaking & understanding spoken Spanish) than they are in your grade in Spanish 1C. On your AMCAS application you will be asked to rate your level of fluency. Medical schools do not ask for proof of your language skills, but be aware that if you claim a high level of fluency, it’s quite possible that you will be interviewed in that language.</p>
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<p>For the record anthropology is a social science, not a humanity. Sociology and psychology are also social sciences and will not fulfill a humanities requirement. History is consider a humanity by some schools, but others consider it a social science. </p>