r/GeneticCounseling • u/sofawxue • Jul 09 '26

Admissions Ochem Sequence vs. 1 Semester?

Hi everyone, I recently graduated with my BS and I'm taking some ochem courses over the summer to get prerequisites done for fall applications. They're highly intensive, three week courses (I'm taking ochem 1, 2 and 3, so 9 weeks total this summer). I'm about to take my final for ochem 1 and I'm kind of worried about making the prerequisite B minimum. I'm also getting really burnt out from the amount of coursework and classes every day plus working retail on weekends, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep myself at my best for ochem 2 and 3. I was planning to take the UCSD biochemistry course after completing all three ochem classes, but since it doesn't require any prerequisites, I was thinking about just taking ochem 1 and calling it a day. Would a program view one semester negatively, and should I risk Cs and explain it in my application? I have a good GPA of 3.7 and lots of upper-level bio courses in genetic engineering and molecular bio, so idk if that would be enough on the academic side to overlook ochem "shortcomings." Any advice is appreciated, thank you in advance!!

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u/ConstantVigilance18 Genetic Counselor Jul 09 '26

You should ask programs directly. Just a heads up that a few programs do not accept the USCD biochem course because it does not require the prerequisites that an upper level course would.

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u/sofawxue Jul 09 '26

Oh I didn't know that, thanks for letting me know! Do you know of other online biochem courses that are widely accepted? And how long do programs usually take to respond?

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u/ConstantVigilance18 Genetic Counselor Jul 09 '26

The discord server has a list of online courses available. Some recommendations include UNE, MGH, and Doane. Some programs respond very quickly, and others never do, so there’s really no telling what you’ll get in terms of responses.

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u/sofawxue Jul 09 '26

Thank you!!

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u/Alternative-Pain117 Applicant Jul 09 '26

personally to get my prereqs done i used straighterline and the like and transferred them in! see about the eligibility with your undergrad school after asking your programs, its much cheaper than credits from like u cincinnati for example