21 Credit Hours... Eh?

[Twiigg]

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Okay, so here is my schedule for the second semester of my freshman year:

• First Year Arabic (4 hrs.)
• Neurobiology (3 hrs.)
• *Intro. to Music (3 hrs.)
• General Chemistry II (3 hrs.)
• *General Psychology (3 hrs.)
• Molecular Biology (3 hrs.)
• *World Religion (2 hrs.)

*Relatively easy classes according to ratemyprofessor.com 🙂

On the side, I will also be tutoring for an hour and a half twice a week and taking a karate class for two hours twice a week. Too much? Should I drop the karate? I have always really wanted to take it! 🙄

 

[xanthomondo]

youll be fine...have fun in karate

im jealous of your world religion course, btw, my school didnt offer anything like that 🙁

any reason for arabic though? interesting choice

*here come the stories how people took 31 credits + research + others and got a 4.0 annnddd didnt even study for the mcat*

 

[Flopotomist]

OK.. the schedule is ridiculous. Sure, some mutant freak might be able to do OK, and even get good grades, but will you:

A) actually retain anything you learn
B) enjoy yourself at all
C) have time for a life

Why the rush to take so many classes anyways?

Remember - bad grades and a bunch of withdrawals look worse on apps than decent performance at a reasonable pace.

 

[bigDee]

Have fun dropping with your W's

Seriously, what are you trying to prove by making a course schedule like that?

 

[qtpai]

It's not impossible. I've done worse several times, and succeeded. You are a freshman, though. I don't recommend it for that reason. If you are very driven, give it a shot. It will be stressful. How much so depends on your focus and intelligence.

The Arabic will eat up the most time, if you are not good at Arabic and your Arabic program is good. You are taking a ton of other easy classes, so that might be your saving grace, but it really depends upon the school you're at.

Keep the karate. Drop it midway if the schedule is too much. Wait until after the first wave of exams. Stay in shape! It's very easy to get out of shape. But, school DOES come first, so sometimes exercising goes on the backburner temporarily.

 

[146233]

I took 21 credits for my last two semesters of undergrad and did very well. That said, it was the last two semesters of undergrad. I have to join the others -- why the rush?

 

[Perrotfish]

I've taken the maximum credit load before, but only one Summer when I needed to do it to graduate on time. It went... badly. Is there a reason you're taking 21 hours? If you absolutely have to do it yes you should plan on dropping all of your hobbies.

 

[TheRealMD]

Calling something easy before you've actually set foot in the class is a very potent recipe for trouble.

 

[LadyWolverine]

If you are a premed freshman, this schedule is a recipe for disaster. Even your so-called "easy" courses are going to be very time-consuming (I guarantee you that Intro-to-just-about-ANYTHING in college is more challenging than you think). Sure, intro to Music, Psych, and Religion may sound like blowoff courses now, but when you have 6 papers to write and 18 chapters to read (on top of exams for chem, neuro, and mol bio), you're going to feel like kicking yourself. Add to that a very difficult foreign language, and I think that even the most battle-hardened premed would struggle. Why make yourself miserable?

Now, you know that this schedule is ridiculous - otherwise, you would not be fishing for advice. Why jeopardize your GPA? Certainly, most of these courses will be offered next semester.

On a side note, at my UG institution, we were not permitted to take upper-level biology courses (neurobiology and molecular biology - both were 400-level) until we had finished chemistry, orgo, biochem, and genetics. You may want to get these prerequisites out of the way while you still feel like you have so much stamina.

Don't be overzealous. Cut back to 17-18 credits, max. Especially with all those ECs.

 

[pakbabydoll]

Arabic? interesting choice! Can I ask why? It is one of the hardest languages to learn. I know how to read it, and I could make sense of some of it but other then that I get lost.

Drop one class and take 18 credits instead.

 

[Dendrite]

How many credits did you take last semester and how did you do? If you got a 4.0 and felt bored with 17-18 credits, then it is a little more accurate to gauge how well you can handle 21.

 

[skyeblue0610]

You're getting WAY ahead of yourself. You just got to college and think you have the game down. But your going to crash and burn if you don't take it easy.

That schedule is way too much. For anyone but especially for a hotshot freshman. Just because you did well your first semester don't get cocky. Going into something thinking it's going to be a walk in the park usually backfires. Take baby steps. You'll get there in time. No need to rush. Challenge yourself always but don't mess with you sanity.

Also, don't trust ratemyprofessor.com completely. People say a teacher is easy proabably because they had a light course load or something to that effect. You won't know until you actually sit down. That instructors teaching style might not work for you.

 

[lord_jeebus]

I used to have schedules like that and was able to do well. I enjoyed it, and you probably do too. Nevertheless:

1. Med schools will not be impressed. They probably won't even notice.

2. If I were to do it again, I would have taken the minimum to graduate in an easy major, and used the spare time for a single big project: either research or community service. Find out what classes the athletes are taking. The people I know who got into Harvard, Hopkins, UCSF, and Stanford all took this approach. Now that I'm on the side of reviewing med school apps, I can see why -- there is no shortage of smart applicants with a gazillion credits and high GPAs. We are fighting for the ones with publications in top tier journals and those that were able to really improve their communities. Or anything else that's interesting. It's hard to tell who took the easy classes at their school like a slacker, so unless you do something stupid (eg. take first year French after taking third year French), no one will hold the GPA padding against you.

 

[qtpai]

1. Med schools will not be impressed. They probably won't even notice.

2. If I were to do it again, I would have taken the minimum to graduate in an easy major, and used the spare time for a single big project: either research or community service. Find out what classes the athletes are taking. The people I know who got into Harvard, Hopkins, UCSF, and Stanford all took this approach. Now that I'm on the side of reviewing med school apps, I can see why -- there is no shortage of smart applicants with a gazillion credits and high GPAs. We are fighting for the ones with publications in top tier journals and those that were able to really improve their communities. Or anything else that's interesting. It's hard to tell who took the easy classes at their school like a slacker, so unless you do something stupid (eg. take first year French after taking third year French), no one will hold the GPA padding against you.

Yeah, I second this. You'd probably be better off pulling in some mad EC's with that determination. I will graduate with about 210 hours, and it pretty much means nothing to anyone but me (I learned a LOT). I second lord_jeebus's post. One major, find a project you're passionate in! Wise words. I would have done it this way, as well, if I had known better.

 

[Twiigg]

I took 21 credits for my last two semesters of undergrad and did very well. That said, it was the last two semesters of undergrad. I have to join the others -- why the rush?

Okay to answer more or less everyone's question about why the rush... Well, I want to double major in psychology and neuroscience, and there isn't much overlap in the required courses! 🙁 I also have always had the desire to learn Arabic. I have always wanted to travel to that area of the world to serve medical missions when I am older. A lot of North Africa also speaks a form of Arabic, and this is a region that really interests me.

Anyway, maybe I should hold off on Arabic until my first semester of Sophomore year? What do you guys think? Would that be a good idea?

 

[lord_jeebus]

Well, I want to double major in psychology and neuroscience

I majored in Psych and Biology (no neuroscience at my college), and this was a common combo. If you're doing it for the same reason as most people (interest in the mind and how it works) you should be able to learn everything you want within the context of a single Psych major plus a few additional classes in the hard sciences.

As for Arabic, you may as well start now if you know that's what you want. I think language skills are one of the best things to get out of the college experience.

 

[qtpai]

I majored in Psych and Biology (no neuroscience at my college), and this was a common combo. If you're doing it for the same reason as most people (interest in the mind and how it works) you should be able to learn everything you want within the context of a single Psych major plus a few additional classes in the hard sciences.

As for Arabic, you may as well start now if you know that's what you want. I think language skills are one of the best things to get out of the college experience.

Seconded, as a sociocultural anthropology/neurobiology double major (philosophy minor, 9 hours away from the major). Pick one major, dude. Classes are cool, but not as important as producing something significant in the world and/or getting experience.

 

[HumidBeing]

I might as well chime in, too, Twigg. On the plus side for your classes, you don't have any labs. So, you don't have to worry about working those into your schedule, though I don't get how or why you are taking chem w/o lab. Do you not have to take lab, or are you thinking of fitting that in at a later time?

How many hours did you take last semester? How did you do, not just gradewise, but time and comfort wise?

I signed up for 20 hrs last semester & expected to wind up dropping something. There was only one that I expected to be easy - a programming class. Two of my science classes had labs. One was a foreign language, and one was math. The semester was not at all the killer that I had expected it to be. It did take dedication and work, but there was still plenty of time for me to spend two afternoons/wk working in the lab, time to do my volunteering and time to socialize & post on here. It was quite survivable, but not something I would look forward to doing every semester.

The big thing that jumps out at me is that you are planning to take that neurobio course now. If the course is any good, you are going to want to take at least ochem and molecular bio first. I say that, not just because it makes the course easier, but because you are really interested in the subject. The more prepared you are when you go in, the better you will retain the information. That is a subject I would recommend putting off for awhile.

Psychology & neuroscience might not have many overlapping required classes, but the material will overlap. The psych course is also a good one to take before the neuro courses. Like others have said, double majors don't mean anything to anyone else. You can always take courses that interest you but are outside of your major. It takes much of the pressure off.

Take the karate! That should be one of the last things you think about giving up. The exercise will be good for you, and it will give you something to look forward to throughout the week.

You want to find balance in your studies and nonacademic pursuits during the semester. It's much easier to actually learn the material when you aren't overtaxed. I really do suggest taking the neuro course later, and if you need a chem lab, taking that and waiting on the Arabic as well.

 

[Twiigg]

Arabic? interesting choice! Can I ask why? It is one of the hardest languages to learn. I know how to read it, and I could make sense of some of it but other then that I get lost.

Drop one class and take 18 credits instead.

Arabic! Yeah... ya know, I am not really sure. I have always wanted to learn Arabic. I just thought it would be so incredible to be able to communicate with people in that area of the world. Also, much of North Africa speaks a form of Arabic, and I have always been interested in traveling and working there at some point in my life. Because very few schools offer Arabic, I want to take advantage of that opportunity here! 🙂 Anyway, how did you get into reading Arabic? That is so amazing! I envy you! 😉

 

[Geekchick921]

Okay, so here is my schedule for the second semester of my freshman year:

• First Year Arabic (4 hrs.)
• Neurobiology (3 hrs.)
• *Intro. to Music (3 hrs.)
• General Chemistry II (3 hrs.)
• *General Psychology (3 hrs.)
• Molecular Biology (3 hrs.)
• *World Religion (2 hrs.)

*Relatively easy classes according to ratemyprofessor.com 🙂

On the side, I will also be tutoring for an hour and a half twice a week and taking a karate class for two hours twice a week. Too much? Should I drop the karate? I have always really wanted to take it! 🙄

I imagine Gen Chem II and Molecular Bio, possibly Neurobiology also have labs you need to factor in, right? That's several more hours a week to consider.

The only semester I pulled that many credits was last semester of senior year of undergrad. It was a pain in the ass, and it was all theatre classes (though one I think counted as a film or communications class, it was a major requirement). So, while I didn't have any labs to worry about, I had 7 classes, and 6 different professors wanting 6 different things from me (subjective grading makes me want to kick puppies 😡).

I was very unhappy, especially since I was pretty sure I didn't want to go into theatre anymore at this point, but I was so burnt out I just wanted to be out of school. Thankfully, I managed a 3.3. Even though I'm certain I would have done better if I had a very science-heavy courseload like you have, I wouldn't recommend taking a 21 credit semester to anyone unless it was absolutely necessary to graduate when they wanted to, like it was for me.

 

[Twiigg]

I might as well chime in, too, Twigg. On the plus side for your classes, you don't have any labs. So, you don't have to worry about working those into your schedule, though I don't get how or why you are taking chem w/o lab. Do you not have to take lab, or are you thinking of fitting that in at a later time?

I was actually planning on taking the chem lab in the summer term following this semester. Is that not a good idea? The course description said it could be taken either concurrently with Gen. Chem II or following it. It was such a hard class to fit other classes around, so I thought I would just put it off until summer.

How many hours did you take last semester? How did you do, not just gradewise, but time and comfort wise?

Well.... I took 16 credit hours, but I got all As and one A-, which was in a upper division political science class. It was very difficult and the class was only made up of 300 points, so not much room for padding my grade! 🙁 As far as comfort, I was definitely uncomfortable for a while, but then it was my first semester at college and away from home. After about a month of blowing school off, I began playing catch-up and got lucky in the end. Now, however, I know what I am getting into and will not let the work get away from me! 🙄

The big thing that jumps out at me is that you are planning to take that neurobio course now. If the course is any good, you are going to want to take at least ochem and molecular bio first. I say that, not just because it makes the course easier, but because you are really interested in the subject. The more prepared you are when you go in, the better you will retain the information. That is a subject I would recommend putting off for awhile.

Okay, I see where you are coming from. I have never thought of that, and it is a class that really interests me so it probably would be better to have a better understanding of the science before taking the class (for my own enjoyment's sake). However, at my UG institution, the neuroscience major consists of a few neuroscience courses. Besides chemistry and biology courses, we have to take neurobiology, neuroanatomy, behavioral neuroscience, and advanced neuroscience (w/ lab). So that makes me think I should get started ASAP. By the way, neurobiology has only two prerequisites at my school: general biology and general chemistry I.

Also, I want to major in psychology in case I decide medical school isn't for me and instead want to get a PhD in psychology. Does that help at all with your diagnosis of my schedule? 🙂 But really thanks for all the advice, it does help me cover all my bases! I think you're right about the neurobiology and putting it off for a bit, though. I just don't know if I will be able to get it all done by the time I graduate as I do want to devote some time to working in neurosience research. Thanks!

 

[midn]

Have you taken an Arabic class before? If so, you know how time consuming it is. I hear time and time again about how hard Arabic is and I really doubt you want to cram it in a semester in which you take 21 hours.

I'm taking a language class right now in my native language (I wanted to fix up some grammar and get my language requirements out of the way) and I can tell you that the way some language classes are taught will not teach you how to communicate conversationally. Of course, it all depends on your teacher, but I wouldn't expect to learn how to be any bit fluent in the language. Of course, if you go out of way to learn how to speak conversationally (i.e. have somebody to speak in Arabic to who is willing to correct you and teach you), then you may pick up quite a bit of conversational skill. Otherwise, you will only be able to read the language at an elementary/middle school level and talk much worse than a toddler.

Since you are a second semester freshman, you have a decent idea of how able you are to handle a sizable workload. Those that are organized can handle the 21 hours, but those that tend to procrastinate even the slightest bit will be destroyed by 21 hours.

I am going to echo the sentiments of other posters here in telling you that it is not necessary to take a whole other degree to pursue some interests. Take the pre-reqs and classes you require to fulfill your intellectual curiosity, but don't commit to another degree unless you absolutely want to take all the psych major classes. Do some ECs and you'll be happy you did when it comes time to apply to medical school.

 

[DrReo]

Take the labs with the course. They sometimes *attempt* to make them go together. But honestly, go for heavy course loads. It's all you, obviously. The key is to not procrastinate. I know a guy who has never taken under 18 credits and runs track (DIII). I took a hard 17 last semester with 2 labs, research, tutored 10 hrs and 10 hrs of fast food and the key is to stay on top of everything.

Good for it. I'm curious what you'll end up taking. For the record, I'll be taking Biology II, P. Chem II, Calculus III, Physics II and Public Speaking with TA and research - 19 credits.

It's all you man.

 

[Ahmed786]

Okay, so here is my schedule for the second semester of my freshman year:

• First Year Arabic (4 hrs.)
• Neurobiology (3 hrs.)
• *Intro. to Music (3 hrs.)
• General Chemistry II (3 hrs.)
• *General Psychology (3 hrs.)
• Molecular Biology (3 hrs.)
• *World Religion (2 hrs.)

*Relatively easy classes according to ratemyprofessor.com 🙂

On the side, I will also be tutoring for an hour and a half twice a week and taking a karate class for two hours twice a week. Too much? Should I drop the karate? I have always really wanted to take it! 🙄

Learning Arabic is an amazing experience (at least for me it was) make sure you don't drop it. And people say it might not help you for admissions but it does in a sense that it brings a uniqueness to you (med schools love a diverse class) but best of all if gives you a skill which you will use for life

 

[HumidBeing]

If you can manage to squeeze it into the class schedule, do take the lab with chem. Labs eat time. If it doesn't seem to fit well, go ahead and take it in the summer if it works better for you.

Taking the psych course is a good step because it's a good class to take prior to the neurobio. You'll find that psych and behavioral neuroscience overlap very much.

It's not necessary to have a BS in a specific subject in order to get advanced degrees in that subject. In other words, you could probably go ahead and get the neuroscience degree & take some additional psychology courses & still be in a good position to go for that PhD later, if you choose. Or you could do it the other way, and concentrate on the psychology while taking a few appropriate neuroscience courses.

I hope that you wind up in a good lab when you do get to start doing research. I think I've learned more last semester because of working in the lab than through all my courses combined. I wound up in a "good fit" for my interests, abilities, and personality. In fact, I enjoy my lab time so much that I wound up scheduling next semester so that I could be in there full-time every day. It made me WANT to take those early morning courses so that I'd be free the rest of the day. Here's hoping that your experience is equally as good.

 

[pakbabydoll]

Arabic! Yeah... ya know, I am not really sure. I have always wanted to learn Arabic. I just thought it would be so incredible to be able to communicate with people in that area of the world. Also, much of North Africa speaks a form of Arabic, and I have always been interested in traveling and working there at some point in my life. Because very few schools offer Arabic, I want to take advantage of that opportunity here! 🙂 Anyway, how did you get into reading Arabic? That is so amazing! I envy you! 😉

Nothing special here. I speak Urdu and Urdu is a mixture of Farsi and Arabic. My dad taught me how to read it when I was reading the Quran. Then I just kind of started learning common phrases used so thats why I can understand some. Almost all Muslims know how to read Arabic.Besides there are a lot of Arabic people where I live so I always try to talk to them in it.

 

[154465]

Ima go ahead and agree with these peoples that Arabic is tough. I was born in an Arab country and speak it fluently, and I even found some of the classes to be difficult (I took em as a blowoff... little did I know). The formal language is very difficult, but it is really interesting. I'm sure you won't regret taking it.

As for the rest of your list, maybe you could get rid of 1 science class. that would put you in a somewhat comfortable place. I'm a senior and I wouldn't even take that course load.

 

[Rotinaj]

I took 16 credit hours, worked 30 hours a week and maintained a relationship last semester. You'll be fine.

 

[SigurRos]

I just finished a 24 credit semester (with usual 15+ hours of work, volunteering, social time etc.) which nicely *end sarcasm* supplemented my interview schedule (16+ interviews), and let me tell you it was pure torture. I gave up in most of my classes not even halfway through. Do yourself a favor and don't take 21 credits. You're only a freshman, you have plenty of time to take those classes.

 

[Bacchus]

I wouldn't take neuro or molec bio just quite yet.

 

[bigDee]

I just finished a 24 credit semester (with usual 15+ hours of work, volunteering, social time etc.) which nicely *end sarcasm* supplemented my interview schedule (16+ interviews), and let me tell you it was pure torture. I gave up in most of my classes not even halfway through. Do yourself a favor and don't take 21 credits. You're only a freshman, you have plenty of time to take those classes.

lol christ dude that must have been hell. How did you do?

 

[TexanGirl]

I'm probably the only one out of this bunch who doesn't think it sounds that bad. It is demanding, no doubt, but not impossible. Furthermore, it sounds like you have a passionate interest in Arabic/neuroscience/psychology, which will make all the difference. (Trust me, if you can convince yourself you love what you're learning, it will ease the pain of studying for additional material. Always choose courses you don't mind staying up late for. 👍 👍)

If you want to scale back though for this semester, I'd recommend taking out a science, either neurobiology or molecular biology. Save those upper-division courses for a later time. Absolutely take Arabic though. If you want to become truly fluent, you'll need as much exposure as you can get, so start learning it as soon as you can. It's a fascinating language to learn; you won't regret it!

 

[TRAMD]

I took 18-21 hours every semester because I wanted to finish with my two majors and pre-med reqs in 4 years. I had plenty of free time and finished in 4 years with a 3.9. You might appreciate it later if you can take a more slack schedule later because you got so much done earlier. It sounds like you are a go-getter that will do just fine with this schedule.