what are your typical class loads

[NuttyEngDude]

Hello,

What are the typical hours per semester are you guys doing? what about research and volunteer hours per week? Working full time? part time?

I am considering loading up a bit in the upcoming fall, 15+ hours but maybe this might not be the best idea with taking orgo at the same time (no full time job). I am worried about being too tired to pull the grades, but there's no way to know until I'm in the situation.

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[ejw5075]

Hello,

What are the typical hours per semester are you guys doing? what about research and volunteer hours per week? Working full time? part time?

I am considering loading up a bit in the upcoming fall, 15+ hours but maybe this might not be the best idea with taking orgo at the same time (no full time job). I am worried about being too tired to pull the grades, but there's no way to know until I'm in the situation.

This will be my 7th and final semester, and I typically take 16-18 credits including 3 of research for 4 of those semesters. I feel like I perform better with more classes, but some people are the exact opposite.

 

[SoftwareKevin]

Hello,

What are the typical hours per semester are you guys doing? what about research and volunteer hours per week? Working full time? part time?

I am considering loading up a bit in the upcoming fall, 15+ hours but maybe this might not be the best idea with taking orgo at the same time (no full time job). I am worried about being too tired to pull the grades, but there's no way to know until I'm in the situation.

I'm taking biology+lab, ochem+lab, biochemistry, doing research about 10 hours a week and volunteering 4 hours a week. I'm also studying for the MCAT. I've cut my work *waaaay* back obviously . Thankfully I'm a consultant and work for myself so it's easy to scale my work load.

My class load comes out to be 16 quarter hours. No idea how that relates to semester hours, but 15 quarter hours is generally what most full time people take.

 

[MaryGoRound]

I work 40-50 hours a week at my job as a research specialist.
This semester I'm retaking Chem I and Bio I
I volunteer at the hospital 3-6 hours a week
I shadow 1-2 days per month (more during the holidays when I don't have to work)
I plan to start studying (I'm guessing 5-8 hours per week) for the MCAT THIS WEEK!!

 

[Eik Ooc]

We've talked on another thread. I've been taking 17 to 19 hours each semester, working 40 hours, volunteering 4 hours, and research an additional 3 hours. I also have one young child.

My job has a lot of built in flexibility and telecommuting. I can't imagine doing this having to sit in an office from 8 to 5 Monday through Friday.

A typical semester courseload has been: Chem/Lab (5 hrs), Phys/Lab (5 hrs), Upper Bio (3 hrs), Upper Bio (3 hrs), and Gen Ed (3 hrs). I take a 3 hr Gen Ed type course every semester for the reading.

I have a PostBacc of exactly 3.77 for the 109 hours I've taken over the last two years. If I weren't working it would be a 4.0. It's my job that kills my grades, not the number of courses I'm taking.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

this last semester i took 21 credits, 4 of which were a physics retake. i work 50 hours full time during the week, 20 hours as a patient transporter on the weekends and I volunteer about 2 hours a week at my childrens' school (small catholic school, 1 is in school, 2 kids at home). i am taking 20 credits next semester including physics 2 retake and biochem. in all fairness these are the only semesters i am doing that much. i am applying next cycle and want to get my classes done. one year of hell than i have 15 more credits to spread over the final year.

 

[lsu hopeful]

this last semester i took 21 credits, 4 of which were a physics retake. i work 50 hours full time during the week, 20 hours as a patient transporter on the weekends and I volunteer about 2 hours a week at my childrens' school (small catholic school, 1 is in school, 2 kids at home). i am taking 20 credits next semester including physics 2 retake and biochem. in all fairness these are the only semesters i am doing that much. i am applying next cycle and want to get my classes done. one year of hell than i have 15 more credits to spread over the final year.

Do you sleep at all? Lol that's a difficult schedule. What keeps you motivated/sane? I understand the light at the end of the tunnel mentality, but that schedule looks brutal enough to kill that very quickly.

 

[Eik Ooc]

this last semester i took 21 credits, 4 of which were a physics retake. i work 50 hours full time during the week, 20 hours as a patient transporter on the weekends and I volunteer about 2 hours a week at my childrens' school (small catholic school, 1 is in school, 2 kids at home). i am taking 20 credits next semester including physics 2 retake and biochem. in all fairness these are the only semesters i am doing that much. i am applying next cycle and want to get my classes done. one year of hell than i have 15 more credits to spread over the final year.

I thought I had it bad. I'd ask if you were able to maintain a high GPA but I'm afraid that if you say you had a 4.0 with that course load that I'd feel very bad about myself.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

haha. i sleep whenever i am not working or at school and i drive a semi at night so i record all of my lectures on my ipod and listen to them over and over again. i also deliver auto parts to stores and as long as i have my last store off by 8am they dont care when i get back. I usually get my last one off by 3am so I a built in nap time if i need it. an as far as the grades, not so much. I got 3 As (physics, cell bio, rhetoric) and 3 Bs (social inequalities B+, industrial psych B, an social psych B-). My cGPA is sitting at a 3.7 right now.

when i tell people that i get the same reaction you guys get, and I am hoping med schools say the same, but it really isn't as bad as it sounds. a couple classes are online, my volunteering is actually 1 hour every week and a 4-5 hour block once a month. one more semester and i am going to calm down. my motivation comes from working the weekends and my hatred for my current job.

 

[didanawisgi]

this last semester i took 21 credits, 4 of which were a physics retake. i work 50 hours full time during the week, 20 hours as a patient transporter on the weekends and I volunteer about 2 hours a week at my childrens' school (small catholic school, 1 is in school, 2 kids at home). i am taking 20 credits next semester including physics 2 retake and biochem. in all fairness these are the only semesters i am doing that much. i am applying next cycle and want to get my classes done. one year of hell than i have 15 more credits to spread over the final year.

How is that even possible?!? Very impressive time management.

I've been either taking one or two classes per quarter. Just that with volunteering seems to keep me incredibly busy. I work 40-50 hrs/week with a very non-flexible schedule (7-4/5ish). Every class has been a night class that keeps me away from home until 10:00. Add in volunteering, homework and studying, and spending time with my wife over the weekend... how you guys pull off so much more is mind blowing.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

I work full time, and go to school full time... it's not for the faint of heart...

 

[mauberley]

I'm in awe of all of you. When I was finishing my prereqs, I only did two classes at a time while working--fell back to "only" 40 hours a week, 6 hours a week of lecture, and a full day of labs--and I thought that was more than enough for me. Don't know if I could also swing extracurriculars, let alone raising a family. h/t

 

[TriagePreMed]

How is that even possible?!? Very impressive time management.

I've been either taking one or two classes per quarter. Just that with volunteering seems to keep me incredibly busy. I work 40-50 hrs/week with a very non-flexible schedule (7-4/5ish). Every class has been a night class that keeps me away from home until 10:00. Add in volunteering, homework and studying, and spending time with my wife over the weekend... how you guys pull off so much more is mind blowing.

Agree. That schedule is insane. I barely took 12 credits last quarter and was spending hours on labs and lecture each day then off to work part-time. It really felt like I was running around, but I also think the fact that the bus took me 1 hour to get to class and back added up to the stress.

 

[kidkay]

wow, when do you folks have time for lesiure activities?

 

[FrkyBgStok]

wow, when do you folks have time for lesiure activities?

HAHAHAHAHA. leisure......that's funny.

 

[didanawisgi]

Agree. That schedule is insane. I barely took 12 credits last quarter and was spending hours on labs and lecture each day then off to work part-time. It really felt like I was running around, but I also think the fact that the bus took me 1 hour to get to class and back added up to the stress.

Were you not able to study on the bus? I've got a 30 min each way commute to class that was tough - I'd almost welcome the free time on a bus ride. The idea of listening to lectures is intriguing, though. Either that or medical news podcasts...

 

[jsp132]

how is that even possible?

I find working ft and taking 2 lab courses were enough for me

that's incredible.........

 

[TriagePreMed]

Were you not able to study on the bus? I've got a 30 min each way commute to class that was tough - I'd almost welcome the free time on a bus ride. The idea of listening to lectures is intriguing, though. Either that or medical news podcasts...

Unfortunately I'm one of those folks that barfs if he tries that. Also, none of my professors post lectures in audio format. I did enjoy listening to a few audiobooks though.

 

[lsu hopeful]

Unfortunately I'm one of those folks that barfs if he tries that. Also, none of my professors post lectures in audio format. I did enjoy listening to a few audiobooks though.

Check out the livescribe pens. I've heard good things about using them to record as you write if you sit in the front of the classroom.

Not a big deal, just offering that up.

 

[didanawisgi]

Unfortunately I'm one of those folks that barfs if he tries that. Also, none of my professors post lectures in audio format. I did enjoy listening to a few audiobooks though.

There are also a number of classes free for download on iTunes. After listening to a couple, however, I'm not sure that they would be much use to somebody more visual like myself. I do plan on downloading some periodicals' podcasts. NEJM, JAMA, ICU Rounds. There are several that look to have potential.

 

[wagmanager]

I took 12 credits this fall , 2 sciences with labs and one humanities course work full time 40 hours, very non-flexible schedule. Mom to three kids with a hubby who is also a full time student. Something had to suffer and so my house keeping did. I don't know how people who do it keep everything running smoothly. I couldn't.

 

[NuttyEngDude]

Revisiting this thread/post. I am going to try to go for 20 hours including ochem (and lab) this fall.... wish me luck.

 

[katiemaude]

Good luck! How did you do this past semester?

I am in awe of the parents who work full-time and go to school full-time. I'm not sure how it's even possible.

The most I've taken is 16 credit hours while working 15 hours, volunteering 8 hours and managing my house. I have three tenants/roommates and although they're not my kids, I have to clean up after them like they are.

I'm the type of person who needs to socialize and have some leisure time or I start hating life. If I can't keep a couple nights free to do nothing productive, I want to jump off a bridge. Residency scares me.

This past semester was rough because I had physics II and ochem II as well as an MCAT class for 8 hours a week, 10-15 hours of work and 4 hours of volunteering. Ochem II required more study time than ochem I and more than any of my other classes in post bacc. I came thisclose to quitting work and dropping the volunteer gig but I powered through. Being my sister's maid of honor also took up a lot of weekends. I didn't have to do it but I didn't want to miss out on her wedding and I'm glad I attended all of her events in various states. It almost pushed me over the edge, but I did it and kept my postbacc 4.0.

Today the house is thwarting me from studying for the MCAT. I woke up to a minor flood. This is one of those days when I wish I was married, preferably to a plumber.

 

[CaptainObvious]

No way. No freaking way would I #1 - subject myself to that kind of workload. I can't take the chance of letting my performance at work suffer to try and power through a 16-20 credit course load. #2 - I would not take the chance of screwing my GPA with that kind of load (especially the sciences) knowing how important it is to my success in this process.

I take 2-3 classes per semester. 8-12 credits tops. I suppose if admissions committees don't like me for trying to keep some balance in my family/work/school lives during this process, as well as actually absorb this material at a rate that will provide some retention, then I guess - so be it.

 

[NuttyEngDude]

I did well this past semester and currently am only going to school full time (not working) so I think I can do it, albeit not comfortably. My logic is I can load up in the fall so that I may ease up in the spring in order to study for the MCAT.

 

[CaptainObvious]

No way. No freaking way would I #1 - subject myself to that kind of workload. I can't take the chance of letting my performance at work suffer to try and power through a 16-20 credit course load. #2 - I would not take the chance of screwing my GPA with that kind of load (especially the sciences) knowing how important it is to my success in this process.

I take 2-3 classes per semester. 8-12 credits tops. I suppose if admissions committees don't like me for trying to keep some balance in my family/work/school lives during this process, as well as actually absorb this material at a rate that will provide some retention, then I guess - so be it.

After re-reading this, I thought I should add that this was in no way meant as a slam to those who can pull off this kind of work. I just know myself, and if I tried to pile that much on, I know something would get left behind. I would rather it not be my family or my current career. That only leaves the amount of schooling I can do at any one time. If that's not enough for ADCOM's, then I'm ok with that.

Rock on, Uber-schoolers, rock on.

 

[NuttyEngDude]

CaptainObvious, I'm pretty sure no one took it that way

You mention some valid concerns especially to those who are trying to come back from a low gpa.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

1. I do not have kids, just dogs and a kid-like husband
2. I work full-time
3. I took full-time courses
I got straight As, but it damn near killed me... 3/4 time +full time work is plenty...

 

[jsp132]

those that did work 3/4 to full time and school full time with A's

can you tell me your typical schedule?

seems very daunting.....

how did you get your lab reports in..........study time? volunteer time etc...

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

I was gone... A LOT.... I had to have other people take care of my dogs when I was gone for 18+hrs a day... that wasn't every day... and I did a lot on the weekends, but I was taking a mix of in class and online courses, and all PB work. I have a biomed degree so I already had all the prereqs plus pretty much anything they've ever wanted to see taken... The stuff I took was to either replace a grade or for fun...

 

[NuttyEngDude]

Ok, so after some reflection, looking in the mirror and doing this to myself:


I have decided to *NOT* do the 20 hour load thing based on the following:

1. I will have to override my way into this. my school will cap you at 18 hours and require you to be "advised" on this. While I believe I can easily get approved, it definitely is a signal to think carefully about it.

2. I am a low-gpa comeback candidate and this is an absurdly high risk for the reward. I want to take physiology so that I can have a "leg up" on the MCAT studying. But by taking this load, I risk pretty much everything in return for an easier MCAT study which I can just as easily schedule in some self-study without the risk.

3. I recognize that I am being impatient. I've always been this way since I was a kid. I want it and I want it NOW! Nothing more to say on this other than I'm older and still impatient but at least I can now recognize my impulses and channel it into drive (work ethic).

So, although I truly believe that I can do it, I'll have to make the strategic level-headed decision to slowly approach it.

Sorry for the theatrics

 

[teddy bear doc]

I took 17 hours a semester (approx, with 2-3 labs), volunteered maybe 4-6 hours a week, shadowed 3-6 hours a week. I didn't work but I had a very young child basically as a single parent (military husband was gone 8 months a year every year of post-bac), and I was pregnant with my second for a portion of the time, too. I am thoroughly impressed by the folks that manage to have a family, do classes, AND work a full-time job. I would've lost my marbles doing that.

 

[urnextshrink]

I started this process last semester only taking gen chem lab (1 cred) and gen chem lecture (3 creds) and still wound up with a 3.25 gpa. Main reason is my crazy workload.

With a wife and two, soon to be three kids: I work 2 jobs, one is 40-50 hours a week, the others is 30-40. We also have a live-in adult foster care placement, not a lot of time in the usual sense, but all the time in another sense.

My main job requires 3 1/2ish hours of commuting each day, so next year I'm cutting out that job with it's beastly commute and taking 8 credit hours in the fall, spring, and summer.

For all of us working ridiculous amounts of hours to make ends meet: do you ever get the impression that our parent's generation (I'm 28) and even some younger people still think you can just get one full-time job, work your way up in the organization and retire comfortably? People are sometimes like "why would you want to make your life so hard by going back to school" and I always want to shake them and say "my life is already crazy, I'd just like a light at the end of the tunnel"

 

[CrushMCAT]

People are sometimes like "why would you want to make your life so hard by going back to school" and I always want to shake them and say "my life is already crazy, I'd just like a light at the end of the tunnel"

 

[sharmi]

My class load varried from 5 classes (3 science classes + 2 labs) to 2 (1 science class + 1 lab). In the latter situation I was taking the MCAT as well. I have a full-time career in Engineering (and plan to continue till I, hopefully matriculate) and have a family with a husband + 2 small children. I have been volunteering 4 hrous / week since Dec 2009 - volunteered for 2 hours / week between 2006 - 2008.
I just applied this year so my class load this year is really low - enjoying it - till it lasts - just one math class now over the summer + the secondaries, 1 science class + 1 lab over the fall and hopefully 2 non-science classes in the spring.

I don't think the class load matters much if you can maintain a strong GPA.

 

[Corpsman]

This spring I took two condensed semesters of Arabic, ethics, biochem, immunology, and analytical chem. I am currently taking phys one and two with labs, molecular diagnostics, virology, laboratory management, developmental psych, nutrition, and linguistics. I have been been able to do this by taking classes online and brick/mortar at different universities concurrently. I work full-time as a Corpsman in the Navy as a Lab Tech in blood banking. Once I finish this load in August all I will have left to do is Org one and two in the fall and spring with my MCat next spring. The reason for the madness is that I am on a Fleet Surgical Team that is deployable at anytime, but with a scheduled nine month deployment next year. If I don't do it now I will be pushed back for an entire year in my app cycle. Once I finish some electives next year I will graduate with degrees in Clinical Lab Science, Arabic, Nursing, and Psychology. The true how? I have an amazing wife who is endlessly supportive of me and we have the privilege of her being a stay at home mom for our children. Honestly, after school and deployments I am looking forward to the nice easy pace of med school.

 

[TigerlilyDC]

I can only handle 2 classes (with labs) at a time with my full time office job. Any more than that I fear will have diminishing returns on my gpa (and overall intake ability). I am adding 4 hours of hospital volunteering and 3 hours of community volunteerint to this as well, so hopefully it will still be doable!

 

[Emerald84]

--I would say for most people it is credit hours that kills grades. Your schedule, while commendable, is probably unreasonable for most people. I did one semester of 19 credit hours, got very little sleep, a kidney infection and was generally miserable. My grades were all Bs that semester. I would never do it again. In medical school you take the equivalent of 40ish (someone correct me if I am wrong...) BUT you don't have to worry about income, insurance, keeping clients happy, blah. I got to the point that it didn't matter how many credits something was, you just gotta do the work and keep plugging. Some weeks are worse than others, but I really think I LEARNED time management in medical school. I got sleep. I ate fresh food that I cooked and went to yoga. And I studied. 10 hours a day 6 days a week and sat around and ran errands one day. I wasn't nearly as stressed in medical school as I was playing the juggling act in undergrad.

Juggle minimally. If you have a lot to juggle, take less classes. A nice 'rule' of thumb that my friends who were admitted to medical school thought was the rule of 2s. 2 science and labs and 2 non-science. Ace the science. Limit your distractions and focus on your long term goals. Your undergrad GPA is most important....

SLEEP WHEN YOU ARE TIRED.

Good luck

We've talked on another thread. I've been taking 17 to 19 hours each semester, working 40 hours, volunteering 4 hours, and research an additional 3 hours. I also have one young child.

My job has a lot of built in flexibility and telecommuting. I can't imagine doing this having to sit in an office from 8 to 5 Monday through Friday.

A typical semester courseload has been: Chem/Lab (5 hrs), Phys/Lab (5 hrs), Upper Bio (3 hrs), Upper Bio (3 hrs), and Gen Ed (3 hrs). I take a 3 hr Gen Ed type course every semester for the reading.

I have a PostBacc of exactly 3.77 for the 109 hours I've taken over the last two years. If I weren't working it would be a 4.0. It's my job that kills my grades, not the number of courses I'm taking.

 

[Emerald84]

This spring I took two condensed semesters of Arabic, ethics, biochem, immunology, and analytical chem. I am currently taking phys one and two with labs, molecular diagnostics, virology, laboratory management, developmental psych, nutrition, and linguistics. I have been been able to do this by taking classes online and brick/mortar at different universities concurrently. I work full-time as a Corpsman in the Navy as a Lab Tech in blood banking. Once I finish this load in August all I will have left to do is Org one and two in the fall and spring with my MCat next spring. The reason for the madness is that I am on a Fleet Surgical Team that is deployable at anytime, but with a scheduled nine month deployment next year. If I don't do it now I will be pushed back for an entire year in my app cycle. Once I finish some electives next year I will graduate with degrees in Clinical Lab Science, Arabic, Nursing, and Psychology. The true how? I have an amazing wife who is endlessly supportive of me and we have the privilege of her being a stay at home mom for our children. Honestly, after school and deployments I am looking forward to the nice easy pace of med school.

Yeah, it will be a simpler pace. Why so many degrees? Just curious, your attention seems really scattered.

 

[Emerald84]

Sounds like a good decision. It took me a year longer, BUT it was so worth it. Genetics is useful for the MCAT. Nothing precludes you from getting onto Amazon and picking up slightly older edition physio and genetics books or even board review (for USMLE) physiology and genetics and READ them. Seriously!

Ok, so after some reflection, looking in the mirror and doing this to myself:


I have decided to *NOT* do the 20 hour load thing based on the following:

1. I will have to override my way into this. my school will cap you at 18 hours and require you to be "advised" on this. While I believe I can easily get approved, it definitely is a signal to think carefully about it.

2. I am a low-gpa comeback candidate and this is an absurdly high risk for the reward. I want to take physiology so that I can have a "leg up" on the MCAT studying. But by taking this load, I risk pretty much everything in return for an easier MCAT study which I can just as easily schedule in some self-study without the risk.

3. I recognize that I am being impatient. I've always been this way since I was a kid. I want it and I want it NOW! Nothing more to say on this other than I'm older and still impatient but at least I can now recognize my impulses and channel it into drive (work ethic).

So, although I truly believe that I can do it, I'll have to make the strategic level-headed decision to slowly approach it.

Sorry for the theatrics

 

[NuttyEngDude]

Sounds like a good decision. It took me a year longer, BUT it was so worth it. Genetics is useful for the MCAT. Nothing precludes you from getting onto Amazon and picking up slightly older edition physio and genetics books or even board review (for USMLE) physiology and genetics and READ them. Seriously!

Thank you for the tip!

 

[ShyRem]

I took 21 credits every semester and was a math and chem major. I would not recommend that schedule to anyone who doesn't thrive on intense intellectual stimulation and pressure. But it worked for me. It helped that I figured out I didn't have to take notes in every class and instead knitted one or two sweaters every semester in some classes (like physics, English, psych, soc, biology, anatomy.....). As long as I could stay awake to listen well, I was good in those. It also helped that I didn't require a whole lot of sleep.

Now chem and math... THOSE I needed notes.

 

[NuttyEngDude]

Hello Shyrem, were you a low GPA comeback?

Thanks

 

[Beandog]

I am taking 13 credits this semester, chem lab/lec =5. physics lab/lec =5 and 3 in English or Psych. I work full time (for myself) but am a volunteer firefighter/EMT(going to have mad EC's). Thing is, it's a little much to take more than 2 lab/lectures in the hard sciences and manage it all well, so I take 12-15 credits and still work 40+. I'm post-bac, premed and have done it working no less than 40.

 

[ShyRem]

Hello Shyrem, were you a low GPA comeback?

Thanks

Pretty much. I was more of a "I haven't been to college in 20 years" comeback. I was.... an unusual student both the first time and the second time around. Even for a nontrad. I think the most normal thing about the first time around was that at 16 I just wanted to pass and didn't care about getting an A. I left after my sophomore year because there was nothing left in my major for me to take so I just didn't go to class my last semester because I didn't see the point. Prior to that last semester my grades were pretty good.

I was a young stupid lazy kid back then who tested well and "got" information without actually knowing how or why. It all just made sense in a very intuitive way. Going back and actually learning the information was very worth while for me, but trying to learn stuff in a linear fashion that previously just made intuitive sense was frankly almost painful and confusing, but it was more about training my brain for the thought process than learning the information. Not something I was prepared to do or I think able to do as a young freshman or sophomore.