Schedule Junior Year

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Hi. I just registered for classes for my junior year. I was going to take:

Physics 2 (5)
Microbiology Lecture (3)
Microbiology Lab (2)
Organic Chemistry 2 Lecture (3)
Organic Chemistry Lab (2)

Total: 15

I plan to take my OAT in the summer of 2013 but Physics has a lab built in which means I would be taking three lecture classes with three labs. I know if I can't handle science heavy course loads now then OD school will burn me. My only issue is the Microbiology labs here (I think) are four hours but so is my Organic Chemistry Lab. I was wanting to drop Microbiology lab and replace it with another science class lecture (like Molecular Biology). I figure I could just take the lecture part of microbiology and use those notes to study for the OAT and come back and retake the lab. I'd be swapping 2 for 3 so that would put me at a total of 16 credit hours. Another problem is at my undergrad, they only offer Microbiology lecture and lab in the fall so by the time I apply to OD school I won't have 100% of my pre-reqs done. What do you all think of this?

I think it might be easier to take the lab along with the course, so you can apply what you learned in lecture into life experience. The materials for both micro lecture and lab are probably similar and partially overlapping, probably easier to study them at the same time too. I don't know about your school and course design, but I remember molecular biology being a lot harder than micro bio lab in my undergrad institute. You might want to talk to your upperclassmen who took those courses and ask for their opinions.

You don't have to complete all the pre-reqs when applying for school, just make sure you finish them before you enter optometry school.

I didn't have all of my pre reqs in when I applied. Also, molecular is far more difficult than micro lab, so I wouldn't switch that. Those labs are more of a time commitment than anything else, so don't worry about them.

Originally Posted by blackhole2

Hi. I just registered for classes for my junior year. I was going to take:

Physics 2 (5)
Microbiology Lecture (3)
Microbiology Lab (2)
Organic Chemistry 2 Lecture (3)
Organic Chemistry Lab (2)

Total: 15

I plan to take my OAT in the summer of 2013 but Physics has a lab built in which means I would be taking three lecture classes with three labs. I know if I can't handle science heavy course loads now then OD school will burn me. My only issue is the Microbiology labs here (I think) are four hours but so is my Organic Chemistry Lab. I was wanting to drop Microbiology lab and replace it with another science class lecture (like Molecular Biology). I figure I could just take the lecture part of microbiology and use those notes to study for the OAT and come back and retake the lab. I'd be swapping 2 for 3 so that would put me at a total of 16 credit hours. Another problem is at my undergrad, they only offer Microbiology lecture and lab in the fall so by the time I apply to OD school I won't have 100% of my pre-reqs done. What do you all think of this?

Do you need Orgo 2 for your major? I wasn't a science major, so I don't know how that usually works. In any case, most optometry schools don't require it and it's not going to help you that much either. There's a tiny amount of Orgo 2 on the OAT, but barely any. And you can use study materials to memorize most of what you need for that anyway. So if you *don't* need that class for your degree, then I would drop that one and take molecular bio in its place. I think Orgo 2 will by far be the one to kick your butt of all of those. I've heard it makes Orgo 1 look like a cake walk .

Thank you everyone for your advice. optoapp2012 - I don't need Organic 2 for my major but the Indiana University School of Optometry requires it so I have to take it. I looked at the grade distribution for the Microbiology lab and it was fairly high. I saw a lot of section averages around a 3.3 so I'll probably re-enroll in that lab.