2-3 courses + mcat this summer..should I take them or avoid? please advise

[axon11]

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Hi everyone, I am stuck in a little dillema here. My first MCAT is scheduled for August 26/2012 I believe and I was thinking of taking 2-3 elective courses this spring (April 30/2012 - June 18/2012) and Summer (June 18/2012 - August 7/2012) semester. These are the courses I am considering taking. A part of me says to take them but the other part says to just avoid them and focus on the MCAT alone. Could someone please give me some advice. I am a little weak in Organic chem so I will definitely need to spend more time on that on the side. I will be following SN2ed's schedule.

English 113 - creative writing (essays/short stories/plays) (spring semester)
Psychology 101 - intro to psych (spring semester)
Psychology 102 or History 725 (The Cold War) (summer semester)

 

[MedPR]

Your classes sound like they'd be easy, but summer school usually entails a lot of time trapped in the classroom, which means less time to study.

Here's what I did while studying for my MCAT (taking it on Thursday). Working 40 hours per week as well as taking anatomy & physiology 2 and retaking physics 1. I took off the past 2.5 weeks from work so that I could do full lengths, but other than that I've been working throughout my MCAT prep time (started on December 19th).

A part of me wishes I hadn't taken classes, but I also didn't really have a choice because I needed to be at least a half-time student to keep my student loans in deferment and I also need to boost my GPA a bit before I apply in June.

I did the free TPR diagnostic and got a 21 (I know, meaningless) and I've been averaging a little below a 34 on the AAMC FLs the past few weeks. Obviously I don't have my real score yet, but it is possible to prepare while working and being in school. Just know that you won't have time for anything else.

 

[axon11]

Hmm wow that sounds like a pretty hectic schedule and I hope it works out for you because you seemed to have a lot on your plate. Anyways, you're right about the amount of time being spent in the classroom. Each of these classes will be twice a week, 3 hours each day. Now, I won't be living on campus during the spring/summer semester (financial reasons) so its a ~2.5 hour commute to the campus and back home. My family is also going away on vacation (I know it sucks..) so I have the whole house to myself so it'll be like a quite study library for me until september - so now distractions really at home. I also don't want to give up my volunteer commitments at two local hospitals...ahh I'm not sure what I should do at the moment..

 

[jevo]

If you're applying this cycle, get rid of your volunteering right now. You can ask them for a leave of absence. A +5 increase in your mcat is worth a hell of a lot more than +50hrs on your volunteering gig. Get rid of it. You already commute a long ways, you're only spreading yourself thin. Make sure you get EK audio osmosis and listen to it on your long commutes.

 

[axon11]

^I won't be applying until next summer, I'm just finishing up my second year.

 

[chemhead123]

Avoid... just do the MCAT. It needs to be your one and only focus...too important not to be.

 

[MedPR]

If you're applying this cycle, get rid of your volunteering right now. You can ask them for a leave of absence. A +5 increase in your mcat is worth a hell of a lot more than +50hrs on your volunteering gig. Get rid of it. You already commute a long ways, you're only spreading yourself thin. Make sure you get EK audio osmosis and listen to it on your long commutes.

Dumping 50 hours of volunteering won't get you 5 points more on the MCAT... Unless we're talking about an increase from say a 15 to a 20.

 

[Buttafuoco]

I can tell you that if you take a full load with courses that require any little bit of work during normal semesters, your course load will be hell during the summer. I made the mistake of taking Physics I, Calc II, Orgo II and quantitative chem during a summer semester and it was effing hell on earth. I could barely keep up with the classes so studying for the MCAT would have been pointless. I would rather bury one of those elective courses into successive fall or winter semesters and just follow Sn2ED's schedule for MCAT than try to do juggle all of it.