20 Credits in a semester

[MCATSTUDYY]

Is taking 20 credits in a semester too much? Don't have any outside commitments either during semester. If one were to take bio and bio lab, physics and physics lab, than bunch of elective classes that are assignment driven and not test driven.

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[Icantplayspades]

Is taking 20 credits in a semester too much? Don't have any outside commitments either during semester. If one were to take bio and bio lab, physics and physics lab, than bunch of elective classes that are assignment driven and not test driven.

What’s your classification and do you need permission to take such a load?

I took 17 credits once and I cannot express how much I’d advise against 20.

 

[Forever Geebs]

I think the only person who knows whether it’s too much or not is you. Everyone is different and so are their experiences. Two science courses/labs with the rest being non-science/core, in my opinion, is fine for for me, but I wouldn’t expect you to tell me that.


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[MCATSTUDYY]

What’s your classification and do you need permission to take such a load?

I took 17 credits once and I cannot express how much I’d advise against 20.

Yes, and started off as different major and switched too science major later on with trying to take pre reqs as well.

 

[CloverBale]

It's not worth the potential bad grades in those science courses.

 

[wut?]

It depends on you honestly. If you have a good work ethic and you're not the type to procrastinate, it will be difficult but bearable. If you're the complete opposite, I strongly advise you not to. If you do decide to take 20 credits, you should always remember that dropping/withdrawing from courses is an option. If you have the suspicion that you may not be able to get a decent grade in a course, drop/withdraw, this is always better than going through the process of trying to repair your gpa later on.

 

[Verity]

That question is almost impossible to give a direct useful answer to.

Can you get good grades without too much studying?
Are these classes time consuming at your school? Consider tests v. projects/labs, too.
Is this going to come at the cost of meaningful ECs?

I also began college in a non-science major, and switched my senior year. Consequently, I took 4 consecutive 18 credit semesters of pure science (e.g. one semester I took pchem w/lab, achem w/lab, anatomy w/lab, upper chem elec, upper bio elec). I list these to illustrate a point: I only took this load because I knew that pchem and achem were not particularly insane at my state university. I am certainly not convinced I would have had the same success at a more difficult institution (I've heard some pretty scary pchem stories). Point being, only you can accurately gauge these factors... it's not so much "# credits", but what that particular class at your particular institution with a particular professor requires from you combined with an honest self-assessment of how much you can manage.

TLDR; Too many case-specific factors for you to find a y/n answer here

 

[Pagan FutureDoc]

You might be able to do it but i wouldn't advise it. Especially for a premed.
Overloading on classes is one of the quickest ways to tank your GPA.
I'd only consider it if you are well established in college (at least 3 semesters in), maintaining at least a 3.8 GPA while taking over 15 credits per semester. If you are doing that and still find it easy and have plenty of free time you might be able to pull it off.

 

[de Ribas]

I would never recommend that. Though, I once took 21 credits with permission from registrar. I had 2 years of pure A's before that. I had a child that semester and was also working part time. My GPA went from 4.0 to about 3.8

Would never recommend.

This is marathon, and not a sprint.

 

[Lawpy]

Is taking 20 credits in a semester too much? Don't have any outside commitments either during semester. If one were to take bio and bio lab, physics and physics lab, than bunch of elective classes that are assignment driven and not test driven.

To put things into more general perspective, 14 credits of upper level engineering and physics courses is a lot harder than 20 credits of bio w/ lab, physics w/ lab (assuming algebra-based) and random electives. The number of credits does not relate to the difficulty of the schedule.

The likelihood of doing well with your schedule depends on a lot of things such as your study methods and your other priorities (e.g. research, work, commuting etc.). If other commitments are too burdensome or your study methods are too inefficient, consider taking fewer credits.

 

[Biochemistry69]

Credit hours are a horrible way to gauge your workload. I've had some 2-3 credit classes that were a ton of work, and I've had 4 credit classes that required only 30 minutes of studying a month.

I have never met a premed who has had a successful semester with 20 credits. I've only seen it discussed on SDN. I'm taking 13 right now, and between my small part time job, my research, and my volunteering, I almost have no life.

 

[pewpew95]

Don't do it...I had a 21 credit semester with 3 hard as **** upper-level science classes, a writing intensive course, independent research credits, an english elective, and a psych elective. I got B's in all 3 science classes that semester.

 

[greatplainsmed]

I took 20 credits twice, 21 credits once, and 18 + 30 hour work week once. These were all very challenging but not impossible by any means. That being said, it is a completely individual decision. Only you know what you think you can handle. I might recommend meeting with professors to discuss the format of the class and try to get an idea of how things will fit together and what your time management schedule may need to look like.

 

[Saifa]

JUST DO IT.gif

 

[plantsandpremed]

I'm doing 20 w/ two labs so I hope not!!!

 

[mimelim]

As other have said, the correct answer is: "It depends". Can it be done? Absolutely. Others have chimed in to the same effect, but I too did multiple 20+ credit semesters in undergrad, the majority of the classes were Physics or other hard sciences classes. It seems like a cop out, but only you can answer this.

You know what your academic abilities are. You hopefully have completed some college already and have a feel for what you can take on and what you can't. You know the downside of doing poorly in classes as far as medical school admissions.

 

[wholeheartedly]

Agree with others, it's highly dependent on you and the specific courses. The type of course matters far more than the credit hours. One of my more challenging undergrad semesters was only like 12 credits, but there was a ton of busywork in addition to my ECs.

I also took 31 credits in one summer broken into a two week may term and two longer terms. I pulled it off but only did it because I wanted to graduate before my scholarship ran out. I don't really remember that summer other than it sucked royally.

But speaking of summer classes, can you use a summer term to take some of these things to lighten your load instead? I took summer classes 3 years and found that they were more chill, you got more one on one cuz the classes were smaller, and I study better outside in the sunshine than cramped in a dark library in the dead of winter 😎

 

[jazzmetal]

Is taking 20 credits in a semester too much? Don't have any outside commitments either during semester. If one were to take bio and bio lab, physics and physics lab, than bunch of elective classes that are assignment driven and not test driven.

My best semester was my busiest one. Sometimes being a little too busy makes you more efficient. With the right mix of courses, sure - 20 units could be doable. Take your school's drop policy into account too: if you have a good 5-6 weeks to size things up and then drop a course or two without penalty if the load turns out to be too much, then... maybe enroll and re-assess a month later?

On the other hand, what about putting time into a new extracurricular, instead of extra elective courses?

Lots of good advice here from other posters. Trust your instincts, and good luck with your decision!

 

[Disciple of Sattar]

If you fail, at least you went out with some glory.

 

[nymd22]

I did 24 one semester, including physics, physics lab, biochem and ochem lab. It was my lowest GPA semester but it was doable!

 

[jazzmetal]

I did 24 one semester, including physics, physics lab, biochem and ochem lab. It was my lowest GPA semester but it was doable!

OMG 24 units? Haha, I had whole years with fewer units than that!

 

[JMilo]

I have never met a premed who has had a successful semester with 20 credits. I've only seen it discussed on SDN. I'm taking 13 right now, and between my small part time job, my research, and my volunteering, I almost have no life.

I took 20 credits my soph year, with ochem, physics, genetics, evolution, and gen ed courses. Also work ~ 50 hours a week between 4 jobs and play a sport for my university. Still have a 4.0. This isn't really uncommon from other people, and taking an extra science course isn't usually too difficult. Even though I lived in the library, I never felt like I was drowning or overwhelmed. In my experiences, I get better grades when I am busier, and procrastinate more when I have less to do.

 

[floatingribs]

It depends. Have you taken a semester of 18/19 credits and did well? In your experience is taking 15 credits vs 18 credits a huge change in your gpa? For me personally my best semester I took 22.5 credits (1 elective and the rest sciences) and worked just under 30 hours a week and still volunteered. Although I've never dipped below 18 even as a freshman, credits don't really have a correlation with my grades and I love to be busy. One thing I do recommend is to stagger your classes so when midterms or exams come around you don't have them all the same day (all exams for my 6 classes and a lab this semester are tested on the same 1-2 days each exam cycle so try not to register for too many sections that run the same days if you have the choice!)

 

[Biochemistry69]

I took 20 credits my soph year, with ochem, physics, genetics, evolution, and gen ed courses. Also work ~ 50 hours a week between 4 jobs and play a sport for my university. Still have a 4.0. This isn't really uncommon from other people, and taking an extra science course isn't usually too difficult. Even though I lived in the library, I never felt like I was drowning or overwhelmed. In my experiences, I get better grades when I am busier, and procrastinate more when I have less to do.

50 hour work week? You're working over 8 hours a day, 5 days a week? On top of that, you have 20 credits worth of classes to attend (which is what, 20 hours a week?). On top of that, you played sports for your university (which likely sucked up a lot of your weekends and nights)? On TOP of that, your courses were some of the most time consuming courses a premed could take... And you maintained perfect grades?

Yeah, no. After a certain point, there is not enough time in the day. I don't believe any of this.

 

[Conflagration]

I’m in a 20 hour semester right now. I work 4-6 hours a week as a tutor, and I manage to stay involved in my church life too with bell playing and choir.

I don’t think I would voluntarily do this to myself again. I have one class in particular which has been close to 70% of my workload because he just requires that many papers and attention. I’m fortunate that 4 of my hours are self-scheduled for the most part: a senior thesis credit hour and a survey of geometry class that I’m independently studying with my professor.

With that being said, I have a new confidence about my plan to take my pre-requisites while I’m teaching, which will maintain my income and also give me a chance to really do well.

I’m also a senior, and I’m taking a lot of general ed requirements. I knew how to study and how to handle a heavy workload- I had a previous semester with 18 hours and it was almost entirely math classes (my major).

I think that you have to know yourself. How efficient are you with your time? Are any of the professors you will have notorious for their requirements or their demeanor? You don’t want a 20 hour semester where you’re having to keep your lips on one butt 70% of the time like I am, because you’ll get behind that way.

Take full advantage of the drop form if you’re overwhelmed. Better to cut loose than hang an albatross around your neck for four months, and possibly for your GPA too. Good luck OP!

 

[JMilo]

50 hour work week? You're working over 8 hours a day, 5 days a week? On top of that, you have 20 credits worth of classes to attend (which is what, 20 hours a week?). On top of that, you played sports for your university (which likely sucked up a lot of your weekends and nights)? On TOP of that, your courses were some of the most time consuming courses a premed could take... And you maintained perfect grades?

Yeah, no. After a certain point, there is not enough time in the day. I don't believe any of this.

Yes 50 hours a week. I tutored and had a desk job at my uni for 20 hours a week, which I did in between classes. I scribed ~ 20 hours a week during the night, and worked at a sports complex ~ 10 hours a week whenever I had time and wasn't at the hospital. I got paid on a block schedule tutoring, so I was able to do homework and study if no one came in, and was able to do homework at the sports complex. This is definitely not something that is extraordinary or unique...

 

[Blanky]

I took 20 credits my soph year, with ochem, physics, genetics, evolution, and gen ed courses. Also work ~ 50 hours a week between 4 jobs and play a sport for my university. Still have a 4.0. This isn't really uncommon from other people, and taking an extra science course isn't usually too difficult. Even though I lived in the library, I never felt like I was drowning or overwhelmed. In my experiences, I get better grades when I am busier, and procrastinate more when I have less to do.

This is nonsense and not possible.

I will say that your 20 credits is easily doable with decent time management and working 0-1 days per week.

 

[Blanky]

LOL Just for fun lets set up your Mon-Sun wake up to bed time.

 

[JMilo]

LOL Just for fun lets set up your Mon-Sun wake up to bed time.

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