a little longer to graduate?

[PreMedPoohBear]

Hi everyone, I posted a while back about trying to decide if I should stick with my Engligh major or switch over to a biology major. The thing is if I stick with my English major, I will have to decide on a couple of opitions:

1. Go to summer school after my junior year in order to graduate on time, which I really don't want to do because I want to use that time for something productive (research).

2. Overload each semester (around 24 hours a semester).

3. Take an extra year to graduate.

4. Switch from English to biology so I don't have to overload, take an extra year, or go to summer school.

The idea I'm considering the most is taking an extra year to graduate. My reasoning is this, since I'm a transfer student, I need to work especially hard to make sure my applications good enough for acceptance so if I take an extra year, I will be able to not take a lot of classes in one semester, take more than the required science classes, and do more summer programs and other extracurricular activities, I will also have an extra year to experience college life a little more. I'm concerned if admissions people will look down on me taking an extra year. I keep going back and forth from biology to English, and I really love English and feel that this is what I want to study, and I'm stressing if it is worth me taking an extra year from the bigger picture . I had a lot of this planned out and feel as if I stick with English, I will be behind a year. How many people take longer than 4 years to graduate? Any help or advice would be GREATLY appreciated.

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[Trekkie963]

It sounds like you really would prefer to take the extra year, and I think you have good reasons to do so. I don't believe medical schools look down on this at all--they want you to have a diverse undergraduate experience and if part of that diversity was taking some time to explore other things before settling on a major, they should appreciate that and not look down on it.

Plus, an extra year in school gives you more time to build up your extracurricular experiences, which in the end could make you a much more attractive applicant and will certainly help you to grow and mature as a person. Not having to do summer school or finish up a major you don't enjoy is going to mean you enjoy the last part of your college career much more, too. It's important to be happy, y'know.

 

[jlee9531]

take the extra year to graduate. why unnecessarily cause yourself all this extra stress by trying to finish "on time"? med schools wont really look down on you so its not gonna matter when it comes to accept or reject you.

good luck!

 

[mamaMD]

Definatly do what makes you the happiest, even if it takes you another year. I also don't know too many people who graduated in the typical 4 years, most students I know it has taken them 5 years average, some more than that.

So go with what makes most sense to you and what you feel best doing.

At least with an English degree, you will have something a bit different that will stand out than the typical Bio degree. My degree is in Zoology/Biomedical Sciences but I sometimes wonder if that is so typical it wont help me to stand out, but its what I like and enjoy studying so I'm sticking with it, with a minor in either Women's Studies or English or both

MamaMD

 

[willthatsall]

I'm taking an extra year, though not for the same reasons. It makes school a lot more enjoyable I think. If you aren't in a hurry to get out and you aren't worried about the money for the extra year, I would recommend it.

 

[redstar18]

I'm concerned if admissions people will look down on me taking an extra year.

Taking an extra year is looked favorably upon, imo. I took an extra year, and it has helped me in the process so far.