Although not all TX med schools require calculus for admission, a few do (Baylor, UT-Southwest, UTMB) and most of rest recommend it.
CLEP credits are generally not acceptable for fulfilling admission requirements. Adcomms want to see grades.
BTW, all TX med schools (except Dell) require a semester of biostats for admission so your son will need at least 2 semesters of math if he wants to be a viable candidate for all TX med schools.
ETA: have your son talk to the pre-med advisor when he gets to A&M. Some TX med schools have additional science requirements beyond the the usual. (Dell want genetics, TCU requires genetics AND physiologyā¦plus there are others.)
Sounds like a solid plan and exactly what I thought. Although Iāve never heard of conditional acceptance or denial. Itās usually deferred for spring grades.
With 4 outstanding/in progressā¦ itās almost impossible but if he does the 4.0 thing again then possible.
As others have said, he needs to look at all the prerequisites to apply to med school. He doesnāt want to waste time later leveling up to apply.
Also knowā¦ mcat, gpa and required courses doneā¦ matters more than his major.
Thank you @AustenNut and @Christi1993! Hi there @WayOutWestMom - thank you for the advice and apologies for the late reply. He does already have both Calculus and Statistics but the calculus he took at U of Tenn does not equate to the same calculus required at A&M for admission. He went ahead and took the CLEP test in Jan and made a high enough score to get credit. He is also taking Chem 2, Bio 1, Bio 2, and Bio Lit/Lab at U of Tenn this semester (heās determined!). Adding Calculus to this mix would have been too much because he was also cast in a play with the theatre department (that was going to be his 2nd major) so he is in rehearsals every day as well.
We did as much research and meetings, emails, and questions to various A&M departments and advisors as we could. He decided to take the safer route and go for the Neuroscience major in the Biology department instead of the Psychology one - since that one allows up to 90 hours and the Psych one only allows up to 45 - which he has already exceeded. Then he listed his 2nd choice major as some other major in the College of Agriculture that he also qualified for - just in case. He submitted his application about a week ago. I feel like he has a good chance at admissions but everything seems like a crap shoot this year.
While I missed your note about CLEP for calculus, Iām not one to just āwait and seeā so we will definitely follow up on that with the med schools. He is closely monitoring the requirements at all of the medical schools in Texas to be sure he is meeting their requirements based on what is listed on their website. He is being very thorough and meticulous - now we just wait and hope the dominos fall his way. Iāll update you guys once we hear back so others know what our experience was in case they find themselves in a similar situation.
Be aware that some TX medical schools will NOT accept AP/IB/CLEP credit for required coursework. Your son should consult the health professions advisor at his TX college to find out which ones.
RE: Stats
TMDSAS has very specific requirements for statistics classes for applicants.
Statistics
Most acceptable statistics courses are taught in the Statistics or Math department of your institution. Additionally, the following topics must be covered to fulfill the requirement:
Inferential Statistics
Descriptive Statistics
Multivariate Methods
Hypothesis Testing
Linear Models & Regression
If a Statistics course is taught in a department other that Math or Statistics, further review may be required to determine whether they fulfill the requirement.
TMDSAS only lists the general requirements for TX med school. Each individual medical school may have different or additional requirements.
And be aware that when admissions requirements change, there will generally be advance notice- i.e. one year. Nobody is giving a āHeads-up, five years from now our policies are going to changeā. So proceed with great caution if relying on CLEP or courses taken in HS to fulfill actual requirements.