Am I overloading for semester before MCAT?

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Thanks in advance for your thoughts 🙂. I want to apply for the application cycle starting June 1, so am taking the June 15 MCAT. Is it foolish to take a full load combined with Kaplan?

Full load would be:
Physics II
Ochem Lecture II
Ochem Lab (taught all in one semester, separately from Lecture)
Anatomy Lab/Lecture

I'm just not sure how much time prepping for the MCAT will require... I have a history of doing well on standardized tests (SAT, APs, etc), but the MCAT seems much more "Do you know this material?" than "Are you generally good at school?"

I can drop Anatomy, but need a semster of Bio with lab at some point (Bio I/II taught without lab taught where I did my undergrad - I'm a postbac), so I'd have to take something during the summer...and the appeal of being done with it all in one fell swoop is huge.

Please let me know what you think!

 

[akinf]

That's a full course load??? That seems a little light. I'm sure you'll be fine.

 

[xucardsfan08]

Geez, I wonder what you consider a "light" courseload.

At my school, your schedule would amount to 11 credits (3 physics, 3 organic, 3 anatomy, 1 organic lab, 1 anatomy lab).

Try taking 18 credit hours along with the Kaplan course like I will be doing with these courses: Physical Chemistry II, P-Chem Lab, Quantum Chemistry, GenBioII, GenBioII Lab, Theory of Knowledge (Philosophy requirement), Research, Instrumental Analysis lab, Quantitative Analysis
That is what I call a "full load"

 

[FON86]

well it depends how hard organic is in your school, but yeah 11 credits isnt even full time. hwo many credits is that in ur school?

 

[sistahnik]

What a full load is like 12+ credits? It's only 1 credit away from being considered full time. 🙄

 

[smuwillobrien]

That's a full course load??? That seems a little light. I'm sure you'll be fine.

LOL - I had the same feeling - I wish you could have seen the two semesters I had before the MCAT. =]

 

[RSAgator]

don't listen to the ***** in this thread...

"that's a full load? I took that and Physical Chemistry and Physical Chemistry II and I cured cancer in my spare time and i studied for the mcat and managed to get a 45 in between all that...give me a break!"

Seriously, it depends on a lot of things. I could take 18 credits of science courses or I could take 18 credits of Gen Ed., the two definitely wouldn't be the same. Organic Chemistry may or may not be harder than Theory of Philosophy, and your Bio II may or may not be harder than someone else's Bio II. I'm chemical engineering undergrad for example, and I'm taking 12 credits next semester (just enough to be full time) and believe me it would be nearly impossible to take anything more. It just depends on what you feel comfortable with and how much you're willing to motivate yourself. People like to stroke their own egos over here with how hard their semester is or how awesome they are, but in the end what matters is what you do. Do what you feel comfortable doing and don't overload yourself just because some anonymous pre-med student likes to brag about how hard his course load is.

Is your schedule doable? Hell yea it is, you just need to put your mind to it and put the work into it and realize if at some point it's not working out (your MCAT studying is suffering or your classes are suffering) it might be time to ease it up a bit. Good luck!

 

[smuwillobrien]

don't listen to the ***** in this thread...

"that's a full load? I took that and Physical Chemistry and Physical Chemistry II and I cured cancer in my spare time and i studied for the mcat and managed to get a 45 in between all that...give me a break!"

Seriously, it depends on a lot of things. I could take 18 credits of science courses or I could take 18 credits of Gen Ed., the two definitely wouldn't be the same. Organic Chemistry may or may not be harder than Theory of Philosophy, and your Bio II may or may not be harder than someone else's Bio II. I'm chemical engineering undergrad for example, and I'm taking 12 credits next semester (just enough to be full time) and believe me it would be nearly impossible to take anything more. It just depends on what you feel comfortable with and how much you're willing to motivate yourself. People like to stroke their own egos over here with how hard their semester is or how awesome they are, but in the end what matters is what you do. Do what you feel comfortable doing and don't overload yourself just because some anonymous pre-med student likes to brag about how hard his course load is.

Is your schedule doable? Hell yea it is, you just need to put your mind to it and put the work into it and realize if at some point it's not working out (your MCAT studying is suffering or your classes are suffering) it might be time to ease it up a bit. Good luck!

If you can't do that schedule and study for the MCAT, you're going to hate medical school.

 

[enigma85]

You should be fine. Orgo w/ lab can be pure hell at some schools. Don't listen to other people's negative comments.

 

[Gabujabu]

Well, it all depends on how efficient you are at studying and how much you need to study for the MCAT (since few college curricula cover all the topics). However, some of those subjects probably overlap somewhat with what's tested on the MCAT. What I will say is that how well you perform on the MCAT that semester is orders of magnitude more important than how heavy your schedule is, so plan accordingly.

 

[lunaire]

It's doable. Heck, you can add another biochem course or two and still get a decent score, if you're willing to sacrifice on the other stuff in your life.

 

[killinsound]

I'm sorry, but I'm taking it easy next quarter when I study for the MCATs (part time student credit). I have had up to 5 classes (20 credits) in a quarter and can handle it all. I just prefer to give the MCAT everything I've got. After that I think I will do 16 credits all the way out.

 

[xucardsfan08]

don't listen to the ***** in this thread...

"that's a full load? I took that and Physical Chemistry and Physical Chemistry II and I cured cancer in my spare time and i studied for the mcat and managed to get a 45 in between all that...give me a break!"

Seriously, it depends on a lot of things. I could take 18 credits of science courses or I could take 18 credits of Gen Ed., the two definitely wouldn't be the same. Organic Chemistry may or may not be harder than Theory of Philosophy, and your Bio II may or may not be harder than someone else's Bio II. I'm chemical engineering undergrad for example, and I'm taking 12 credits next semester (just enough to be full time) and believe me it would be nearly impossible to take anything more. It just depends on what you feel comfortable with and how much you're willing to motivate yourself. People like to stroke their own egos over here with how hard their semester is or how awesome they are, but in the end what matters is what you do. Do what you feel comfortable doing and don't overload yourself just because some anonymous pre-med student likes to brag about how hard his course load is.

Is your schedule doable? Hell yea it is, you just need to put your mind to it and put the work into it and realize if at some point it's not working out (your MCAT studying is suffering or your classes are suffering) it might be time to ease it up a bit. Good luck!

The point was that if taking 11 credits and studying for the MCAT is "too much", then how will one succeed in medical school? I wasn't bragging about my courseload, just putting their schedule into perspective. If taking Ochem, Physics, and Anatomy is overwhelming, well, medical school might not work out then.

 

[Lshapley]

Better to do a few things well than to do many things poorly.

Like an earlier poster said, ignore the negative posts here. They are just trying to intimidate you. I don't think anyone can say anything realistically about your courses or course load unless they have taken these courses themselves at your university.

 

[estairella]

Better to do a few things well than to do many things poorly.

Like an earlier poster said, ignore the negative posts here. They are just trying to intimidate you. I don't think anyone can say anything realistically about your courses or course load unless they have taken these courses themselves at your university.

In other words, what Lshapley is trying to say is that nobody is going to give you useful advice since nobody goes to your school. But you probably knew that.

From there, we can extrapolate that you just wanted to hear certain things to make you commit or not commit to a path.

And from that, it can be assumed that you've already made a decision but just needed outside verification, which you knew you would get by posting a topic about specific courses in a specific school and wanting general comments about its advisability.

Rational thinking owns!

 

[Lshapley]

Yep, pretty much.

 

[HemaOncoDoc]

Thanks in advance for your thoughts 🙂. I want to apply for the application cycle starting June 1, so am taking the June 15 MCAT. Is it foolish to take a full load combined with Kaplan?

Full load would be:
Physics II
Ochem Lecture II
Ochem Lab (taught all in one semester, separately from Lecture)
Anatomy Lab/Lecture

I'm just not sure how much time prepping for the MCAT will require... I have a history of doing well on standardized tests (SAT, APs, etc), but the MCAT seems much more "Do you know this material?" than "Are you generally good at school?"

I can drop Anatomy, but need a semster of Bio with lab at some point (Bio I/II taught without lab taught where I did my undergrad - I'm a postbac), so I'd have to take something during the summer...and the appeal of being done with it all in one fell swoop is huge.

Please let me know what you think!

Your courseload would be considered full-time at my school.

If this is your normal courseload, you should be fine. Mind you, your preparation for the MCAT is going to be like another advanced college course. Do well and all of this won't matter a bit. Best of luck!

 

[Kuba]

it would be 14 credits at my school. 4 for physics, 3 for ochem, 3 for seperate lab, and 4 for anatomy+lab

 

[Pewl]

Is the OP's school on a quarter or semester system? Because if it is on a quarter system, then those four classes would be a HUGE load. In which case, yes, I'd say you're overloading yourself.

For those of you people who don't know what a quarter system school is, each school term is 10 weeks, and it is VERY condensed.

 

[dr.kicia]

The point was that if taking 11 credits and studying for the MCAT is "too much", then how will one succeed in medical school? I wasn't bragging about my courseload, just putting their schedule into perspective. If taking Ochem, Physics, and Anatomy is overwhelming, well, medical school might not work out then.

this is totally not true!
some ppl keep on forgetting that getting to med school is very often a numbers game...it's not a problem to have a full load of classes and pass them...but if you want to get A's and do fairly well on the MCAT you can't load up and have little time to do anything and then do poorly on the MCAT.

 

[Beau Geste]

I'm taking Orgo II, Physics II, and Micro all with labs (13 hours total) and studying for the MCAT on my own and working. If I can do it, you can do it.

 

[mvenus929]

That'd be a healthy load at my school (4 for A&P, 4 for Physics II without lab, and 5 for Orgo and lab... 13 credits). If you think you can handle it, you can, just make sure to manage your time wisely.

I personally will be taking 15 hours (Orgo II+lab, Physiology, Genetics, and a Humanities class), plus probably taking a job. It'll be an interesting semester.

 

[MWK]

I think I might be overloading it with 22 hours, plus I'm tutoring and volunteering in the ER, as well as Kaplan

But I have to. I did pretty much nothing my first year and very little my second. Ive got to kill myself the third year in order to stay afloat.

That being said:

5 hrs PHY 2 + Lab
4 hrs PHY 1 (retake)
4 hrs Genetics
3 hrs Cell Bio
1 hr ptho physiology
1 hr chem seminar
4 hrs spanish II


on the positive side, Kaplan and my coursework will coincide with each other and help out.

All the subjects will be fresh come MCAT time and now with multiple test dates, I can take it after the final...

Praise multiple test dates