Basically I wanted to know if I spread my classes out and took fewer classes per semester to keep my GPA up and graduating a semester or two later than my class would look bad when applying to medical schools.
Basically I wanted to know if I spread my classes out and took fewer classes per semester to keep my GPA up and graduating a semester or two later than my class would look bad when applying to medical schools.
I'll actually oppose the view of the previous poster.
9-10 semesters is 4.5 or 5 years. Most people take 4 years, and I see more and more people taking longer.
If you can obtain a higher GPA by doing this, I think any perceived negative would be outweighed by the higher GPA.
If you're taking the minimum as a full-time applicant and using your extra time for activities (research, volunteering, clubs, work, etc.), this is passable. Otherwise, it'll just reveal it for what it is: laziness.
Generally, people take longer than 4 years due to a change in major or scheduling conflict that requires them to add on additional semesters, not because they're choosing to take the bare minimum credits and choosing to pay another year of tuition just for a small GPA bump. Yeah taking 10 semesters of 12 credits each might be looked over if there is a high GPA or a valid reason, but under closer scrutiny, it can be iffy. And if an interviewer with an open file notices and asks about it, what will OP say? Taking the minimum for the sole reason of getting a better GPA is not a valid excuse.
Also, what is OP going to do when they get to medical school and it's even harder to keep up with than taking 18+ credits? Pre-clinical is easily the equivalent of ~25 credit hours.
This thread and it's responses are ridiculous from a non traditional standpoint. Med schools should require some kind of work or full time endeavor outside of school; the awareness of real world to some people on this forum is astounding.
This thread and it's responses are ridiculous from a non traditional standpoint. Med schools should require some kind of work or full time endeavor outside of school; the awareness of real world to some people on this forum is astounding.
Won't look as good as if you had just done it in 4 years. I'm sure adcoms don't appreciate people trying to game the system.
Maybe I'm being thick-headed here, but can you clarify what you mean by passable?
I don't mind working my arse off, but I only get one chance to be an undergraduate, and I'd rather spend that precious time doing research, teaching, volunteering, etc. than taking excess classes I don't need and won't remember in order to impress some adcom. Shouldn't that kind of independence be looked upon as favorably as taking 16+ units a quarter?
I like how OP just made the thread and left. Smelling troll.
For those of you talking about working while taking classes, or those of you who took 140+ credits over 10 semesters, that is different from spreading 120 credits out over 10 semesters just to have more time to study.
My interpretation: OP wants to take the same 120 credits people do in 8 semesters (aka average of 15 credits per semester) and spread it out over 10 semesters (aka average of 12 credits per semester so that they have more time to study and be able to get a better GPA). It would be nice if OP would come back and elaborate a bit more, but it doesn't make sense for them to ask about spreading out their credit hours just so they can work full/part time, because that work time eats into study time and their GPA probably wouldn't see an improvement anyway. Notice in my first response that I said needing time to work to support yourself/a family is a valid excuse for taking longer and taking a lighter course load. A major event in your life like an illness, a death in the family, a pregnancy, is also a very valid excuse. Just taking the bare minimum due to laziness is not a valid excuse.
/rant
So if a lady gets pregnant at 18 then takes 6 years to finish undergrad, she's gaming the system. Nothing says you have to be done in 4 years and like I said, it never came up in my 5 interviews that I took 5 years. However, I am 30 years old and worked ~50 hrs/wk while taking pre-reqs so questioning my ability to handle workload would've been silly. I also played college sports so that may have factored in too.
Right? Elaborating when making sweeping statements insulting the userbase would be nice...
Misread the op, see above post. But with his post, if he's doing 12 semester units a semester that's still full time and on pace for 5 year graduation.
Right, but you still could have elaborated. Your statement doesn't seem constructive to me even if the OP did say whatever you thought it did.
I don't mean to be aggressively critical, but I was as confused as LaughingMan, and it's just easier when people speak openly.
Disclaimer: This post is just me appreciating my boasting rights.
These people don't know what they're talking about. It probably won't come up in the interview and most likely would not even be noticed by the admissions directors. Most people that tell you otherwise are probably mad that they didn't come in enough AP credits to take a manageable course-load or overdid the science courses.
Worry about your GPA and rock the MCAT. Get involved with something medically related and polish your speaking skills for the interview. The rest of the stuff people worry about contributes negligibly to the admissions decision.
Says the sophomore who hasn't even applied yet?
You could probably get in either way. But do you really want to pay for an extra year of undergrad and housing? That **** adds up.
Survivor DO
Says the sophomore who hasn't even applied yet?
Says the sophomore who hasn't even applied yet?
I took 10 semesters to get an engineering degree. It was pretty standard at my school. I also graduated with 140+ credits or something like that though. I got every interview I wanted and accepted at 3 schools so my opinion is that it doesn't matter. It never even came up.
Basically I wanted to know if I spread my classes out and took fewer classes per semester to keep my GPA up and graduating a semester or two later than my class would look bad when applying to medical schools.
A B.S.E. is a WHOLE different animal from a normal B.S. You can take 15-18 credits every semesters and still not finish in 10 semesters
Says the sophomore who hasn't even applied yet?
If B.S.E. means BS in engineering, then you're slightly exaggerated.
Okay, I did exaggerate, but come on, we all know exaggeration sells.
It's not all credits though. As an example, I graduated with WAAAAAAY over 120 credits, but still had to take 4 classes my final semester because I didn't have enough COURSES to graduate, and I was only a BS in Biology. It's just tough when so many of our classes are 4-5 credits (my school also had intensive language requirements, so maybe that contributed to the credit overload as well).