Can you help me with my schedule?

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Apologies for cross-posting.

I will be graduating this fall (Dec.) with a B.S. in a different field. If I decide to go into medicine, here is what my proposed schedule will look like. Is it okay? Do you have any suggestions?
Spring 2006
Chem I
Bio I
Physics I
Summer 2006
Chem II
Bio II
Fall 2006
O Chem I
Physics II
Anatomy
Study for MCAT
Spring 2007
O Chem II
Cellular or Molecular Bio
Study for MCAT

Is it wise to work while going to school? I know it's inevitable that I will have to do shadowing and volunteering. But, if I worked also, could I be a medical assistant? If so, I know community colleges offer this program in 45 credit hours or less. Is it unwise to do this program at the same time/rate that I will be taking the pre-reqs?
Thank you so much!

Originally Posted by MaryWrathers

Apologies for cross-posting.

I will be graduating this fall (Dec.) with a B.S. in a different field. If I decide to go into medicine, here is what my proposed schedule will look like. Is it okay? Do you have any suggestions?
Spring 2006
Chem I
Bio I
Physics I
Summer 2006
Chem II
Bio II
Fall 2006
O Chem I
Physics II
Anatomy
Study for MCAT
Spring 2007
O Chem II
Cellular or Molecular Bio
Study for MCAT

Is it wise to work while going to school? I know it's inevitable that I will have to do shadowing and volunteering. But, if I worked also, could I be a medical assistant? If so, I know community colleges offer this program in 45 credit hours or less. Is it unwise to do this program at the same time/rate that I will be taking the pre-reqs?
Thank you so much!

A few questions for you. Are you going to work full time? What was your BS in? I know the school I'm doing my pre-req's require several requisite math courses. Several med schools also require Calculus. For me, it looks like there's alot to chew with that proposed schedule. Not at all saying you can't do it, but just looks like a lot. I'd say don't try to bite off more than you can chew by trying to squeeze in classes and then med assistant too. Stay focused on your end goal. Schools don't necessarily require volunteering/shadowing. It's really beneficial for you to see what the profession is like and to really challenge yourself to see if you could do the work. You also gain an invaluable insight as to the goings on of medicine. My 2 pennies worth.

If you can, try to NOT complete your pre-req at a community college - Try to do your classes at a 4 years university

I'll be taking the pre-reqs at a 4-yr institution. I won't be working F/T thankfully. My B.S. will be in clinical psychology. I've taken a couple classes in statistics and aced all previous math classes. I guess it would take up too much time if I did the med assistant program at a comm college, took pre-reqs, and volunteered/shadowed.

Thanks for the advice. Keep it coming! :-)

Originally Posted by MaryWrathers

Apologies for cross-posting.

I will be graduating this fall (Dec.) with a B.S. in a different field. If I decide to go into medicine, here is what my proposed schedule will look like. Is it okay? Do you have any suggestions?
Spring 2006
Chem I
Bio I
Physics I
Summer 2006
Chem II
Bio II
Fall 2006
O Chem I
Physics II
Anatomy
Study for MCAT
Spring 2007
O Chem II
Cellular or Molecular Bio
Study for MCAT

Is it wise to work while going to school? I know it's inevitable that I will have to do shadowing and volunteering. But, if I worked also, could I be a medical assistant? If so, I know community colleges offer this program in 45 credit hours or less. Is it unwise to do this program at the same time/rate that I will be taking the pre-reqs?
Thank you so much!

I have been doing roughly 3 lab courses per semester (and usually one additional 3 credit lecture) and I have been quite busy. Somehow, I have managed to work in about 15-20 hours of work per week, but a hefty job commitment for me has been out-of-the-question. Based on this experience, I would not recommend trying to handle 3 labs while completing the medical assistant program. I don't think it would be worth the risk of getting behind in your prereqs.

My other thought in looking at the proposed schedule involves the two lab courses over the summer. I am not sure how short your summer semesters are and how much outside time is required for the classes. I suspect that in taking chem II over the summer, you will likely have a ton of problems and lengthy lab writeups (...16 week course in 7 weeks...) along with weekly exams. If you struggle at all in chem I, I would be wary of taking it as a summer course in addition to another lab at the same time.

Stephanie