Hello everyone, I would really appreciate any help in deciding whether a Vision Science course (BIOL489 at my university) would count towards my science GPA.

Course description: Students will learn about the human visual system. Topics will include ocular anatomy, physiology, pathology, and pharmacology as well as refractive and binocular problems. This course is designed to prepare pre-healthcare students to feel comfortable with any ophthalmic courses or topics encountered during their graduate education.

The course is taught by an optometrist and listed as a biology course at my university. However, since vision science is highly related to optometry and optometry courses are not factored into the science GPA, I was a little worried AAMC would question if I classified it as a biology course.

If you’re wondering why I’m concerned about this small detail, I struggled in general chemistry and my science GPA took a hit during my second year of college. Therefore, I’m trying to be strategic with my final semester schedule and do well in higher level science courses I’m genuinely interested in.

However, I’m a bit worried that vision science would be classified by AAMC as a health science course, rather than a biology course so it wouldn’t count towards my science GPA.

Thank you!

How to Classify Vision Science Course?