Physics at 4 yr university or EMT certification?

[4everdreamingofmedschool]

I currently just transferred as a sophomore from a junior college with 56 credit hours. The sciences I took there were my first 2 BIOL courses with labs, first 2 CHEM courses with labs and my first organic chem with lab. I took it there because I was on scholarships. Now I am currently in organic chem 2 with lab at the 4 yr. This summer I can take my first PHYS course (10 weeks) at the 4 yr university I currently attend or I can take it at a junior college (4 weeks) and also get an EMT certification. My pre-med advisor said I shouldn't take any more sciences at a junior college but my GPA isn't a 4.0 and I think the EMT will make me stand out and I really want to do it. It has always been something I have wanted to do, and if I can get a head start with saving lives, it's worth it to me. BUT is it worth sacrificing one more science at a 4 yr university? If I take it at the junior college, I will have almost over half of my sciences from them and I am concerned that this will weaken my app a lot. Thanks!!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

I would go with the four-year university. Cramming all of Physics I into 4 weeks is either going to be brutal or seriously dumbed down.

There's no hard and fast rule as to how many of your prereqs you can safely take at a junior college but, generally, I think it's in your best interest to take as many at a 4-year school as possible. Especially since you've already transferred out of junior college, going back and taking another class there could make it seem like you're looking for an easy A. At the end of the day, an EMT certification probably isn't going to make you stand out and if you really want to do it, you could do it over a summer or something like that. To me, I just don't think it's worth it.

 

[Terror Billy]

EMTs are more common than you think if it comes to learning Physics properly (still on the MCAT) and earning an A or EMT it's not even a question...In addition taking Physics at a junior college might not look as good as taking it at an actual 4-year university, some schools might not even accept the junior college credit (might be wrong on that though).

 

[4everdreamingofmedschool]

EMTs are more common than you think if it comes to learning Physics properly (still on the MCAT) and earning an A or EMT it's not even a question...In addition taking Physics at a junior college might not look as good as taking it at an actual 4-year university, some schools might not even accept the junior college credit (might be wrong on that though).

The problem is, I'm really worried about physics and I'm scared that I won't make an A in it at a 4 year university. I don't even know if I can at a junior college. So I feel really stuck. So it could be a higher grade at a JuCo with EMT or lower grade at 4 year with no EMT. But if it will really look that much better at the 4 year then I might not have a choice

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

More rigorous courses will better prepare you for medical school. Not saying that junior college is necessarily easy but it may very well be perceived that way by adcoms. You're better off taking the course at the 4-year and doing everything in your power to get the best grade possible. Go to office hours, find a tutor, use online study aids (Khan Academy helped me a lot!), visit your school's study center, if you think you need to improve your study skills.

There won't be any easy ways out in med school. Be confident in your abilities and use the resources you have available to you! And fwiw, I was terrified to take Physics because it just sounded so hard and wasn't at all familiar with the material. It ended up coming relatively easily to me and I actually enjoyed it! (Well, some of it.)

 

[4everdreamingofmedschool]

More rigorous courses will better prepare you for medical school. Not saying that junior college is necessarily easy but it may very well be perceived that way by adcoms. You're better off taking the course at the 4-year and doing everything in your power to get the best grade possible. Go to office hours, find a tutor, use online study aids (Khan Academy helped me a lot!), visit your school's study center, if you think you need to improve your study skills.

There won't be any easy ways out in med school. Be confident in your abilities and use the resources you have available to you! And fwiw, I was terrified to take Physics because it just sounded so hard and wasn't at all familiar with the material. It ended up coming relatively easily to me and I actually enjoyed it! (Well, some of it.)

So do I need both of my physics courses before the MCAT? What if I'm halfway done with PHYS 2 when I take it?

 

[Terror Billy]

So do I need both of my physics courses before the MCAT? What if I'm halfway done with PHYS 2 when I take it?

Physics is only 25% of the current new MCAT Chem/Phys section, but it honestly would be good to be fully exposed to it if you can. If not it won't hinder your score as some of the P2 concepts are not too difficult to learn yourself or with the friendly help of Khan Academy.

 

[4everdreamingofmedschool]

Physics is only 25% of the current new MCAT Chem/Phys section, but it honestly would be good to be fully exposed to it if you can. If not it won't hinder your score as some of the P2 concepts are not too difficult to learn yourself or with the friendly help of Khan Academy.

Okay sorry to keep this thread going but did you find PHYS 1 or 2 to be easier?

 

[Terror Billy]

Okay sorry to keep this thread going but did you find PHYS 1 or 2 to be easier?

No problem, it depends on person to person. I did god awful in P1 (like my worst grade ever), I'm in P2 right now and I'm doing better in it then I have ever in a physics class (including HS). This sentiment is shared by a lot of people (doing better in one topic compared to the other), I don't know why but it applied to me too.

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

Okay sorry to keep this thread going but did you find PHYS 1 or 2 to be easier?

I found Physics 1 to be easier but neither of them were too bad for me. I struggled the most with Organic Chem. But, of course, it depends on the person!

 

[ERDOC555]

I currently just transferred as a sophomore from a junior college with 56 credit hours. The sciences I took there were my first 2 BIOL courses with labs, first 2 CHEM courses with labs and my first organic chem with lab. I took it there because I was on scholarships. Now I am currently in organic chem 2 with lab at the 4 yr. This summer I can take my first PHYS course (10 weeks) at the 4 yr university I currently attend or I can take it at a junior college (4 weeks) and also get an EMT certification. My pre-med advisor said I shouldn't take any more sciences at a junior college but my GPA isn't a 4.0 and I think the EMT will make me stand out and I really want to do it. It has always been something I have wanted to do, and if I can get a head start with saving lives, it's worth it to me. BUT is it worth sacrificing one more science at a 4 yr university? If I take it at the junior college, I will have almost over half of my sciences from them and I am concerned that this will weaken my app a lot. Thanks!!

Let me preface this by saying I'm not an except on the minutia of admissions so I could be wrong in my advice

I say do 4 week physics and EMT!

Pros:
-Better GPA (HELPFUL)
-EMT trained (VERY GOOD EC)
-Physics is barely tested on the MCAT (very little long term loss)
-Personal satisfaction working as EMT

Cons:
-1 more community college class on your transcript: Personally I think this is so minuscule in the big picture that it is almost not even a con. There are so many app killers and other factors that play in that I find it hard to believe this would ever be the thing that tipped you to an acceptance/rejection at any school (VERY SMALL CON)
- May not qualify at many schools: Certain schools refuse to take online or CC classes. However this probably doesn't matter since half your prerequisites are already at a CC.

For those reasons I think you should do CC physics and EMT

 

[4everdreamingofmedschool]

Let me preface this by saying I'm not an except on the minutia of admissions so I could be wrong in my advice

I say do 4 week physics and EMT!

Pros:
-Better GPA (HELPFUL)
-EMT trained (VERY GOOD EC)
-Physics is barely tested on the MCAT (very little long term loss)
-Personal satisfaction working as EMT

Cons:
-1 more community college class on your transcript: Personally I think this is so minuscule in the big picture that it is almost not even a con. There are so many app killers and other factors that play in that I find it hard to believe this would ever be the thing that tipped you to an acceptance/rejection at any school (VERY SMALL CON)
- May not qualify at many schools: Certain schools refuse to take online or CC classes. However this probably doesn't matter since half your prerequisites are already at a CC.

For those reasons I think you should do CC physics and EMT

This is how I see it. I'm pretty stuck with what I should do. Thanks for your input!

 

[ERDOC555]

Solely getting an EMT is nearly a useless EC. Using the EMT to gain significant volunteer experience, especially if part of a commitment with volunteer ambulance corp or first aid squad or to gain clinical experience is whats EMT into a very good EC. Getting the letters without that is almost not worth mentioning on an app.

Thank you for clarifying my statement. Those are my exact sentiments and what I was intending to suggest in my post. I should have clarified that the EMT work is important and not simply the degree.

 

[4everdreamingofmedschool]

no problem, my work is done here

I already have a job lined up with a 911 ambulance service in an under served county. I don't really care about the certification. But it's what I'll be doing with it that's important. So this is my problem. I don't know if I can do what I actually want to be doing due to physics but med schools want us to do things we really enjoy. Ha I just feel like I can't win here. Thanks for your advice.