Choosing the "Easy A" Professor or the difficult, but "Amazing" Professor

[elleE23]

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[NoTownPreMed]

Take the easy A course, bust your behind for the MCAT.

 

[etp123]

Yeah I'm inclined to agree with taking the easy A course. When it comes down to it on your app, it's probably not going to be "well they got a B- but it was a difficult professor so we'll cut them some slack". Some handful of kids WILL get A's in that hard class and on paper you wanna make sure you look like you're on equal footing with them.

From a strategic POV, with 4 classes I'm not sure taking the harder physics prof will be a smart move for you anyways. You might spend too much time on that class to focus on your others or the other way around. YMMV but in my experience, the "easier" professors still teach you all the essentials and what you need to know. You might not have to solve as super duper complex problems as the other prof expects, but for the MCAT that's probably OK since it's not going to be like that anyways. It's more understanding of the concepts and able to critically think/apply them to the passages.

 

[futuremdforme]

Any way that you can enrol in the easy A class and show up for the amazing prof's classes? But either way, easy A.. MCAT physics is not hard. Frankly no MCAT science is hard - the hard part is the comprehension, understanding what the passage is about, etc.

 

[wagonwheel23]

I can't believe I am saying this, but go for the easy A course. You need the A, and as others have said, MCAT requires mostly surface level knowledge. Especially with regards to physics.

 

[DrMikeP]

Depends. I've seen some professors with an easy A rep that teaches nothing and sometimes even incorrectly. Then there is the professor that teaches well and IF you do assignments, study at all, listen in class, etc you can easily make an A. I've often found rating sites are filled with people who make F's for not showing up and they complain at how bad the prof is.

 

[Citron]

Take the easy A course. You're a nontrad premed student, you are not there to be inspired to go for a Physics PhD nor should you trade your 4 months of amazing physics with XX% less chance of becoming a doctor due to potentially lower GPAs. Most of your study from now on (postbac, med school) will be self-study anyway.
Go above and beyond so that you won't become complacent while taking that class. If that easy A class require a 90% for an A, strive for 95%. If that class doesn't require weekly homework, assign yourself all the end of chapter problem sets. If the class doesn't require reading from the textbook, read anyway instead of relying solely on PowerPoint slides. That would help you with MCAT content review. Also, from my experience, you need to be good at Math to do well in Physics (or just about any science courses, especially Chem), so do yourself a favor and review math materials really really well.
Still, as a former tutor and TA, I do agree that a good teacher can inspire a student to do significantly better on a subject.

 

[willow84]

I wish I got to choose my professors. My physics instructor this semester is a complete nightmare. The class average on our midterm was a 51%. He assigns homework assignments every week that take at least 10-15 hours to finish on top of book problems, reading, etc. The class consumes my life, and I'm worried my gpa will suffer because of it.

 

[esob]

go for the easy A and keep the dream alive

 

[IslandStyle808]

Depends. I've seen some professors with an easy A rep that teaches nothing and sometimes even incorrectly. Then there is the professor that teaches well and IF you do assignments, study at all, listen in class, etc you can easily make an A. I've often found rating sites are filled with people who make F's for not showing up and they complain at how bad the prof is.

Actually the professors with the best ratings, weren't that easy... However, most of them with these ratings were very fair. I actually totally agreed with the professors' grading (whether A, B, C) and the student assessments on the websites.

The ones with the bad rating, as you have mentioned, you can't trust. Them failing students have a vendetta...

 

[Sardinia]

@elleE23 Are you serious?

If this is how you set up your request:

I need an A.​

Then offer options:

Option A: Class with high % A.
Option B: Class with low % A.​

Are you serious.

 

[Shotapp]

Don't know what the poster above me is on about...run with the easy A (you need it and you will be teaching yourself the material anyway so you get out of the class what you put into it) I will not judge you. If you want to challenge yourself with a hard but good lecturer that's fine too...the decision is quite simple.

 

[QofQuimica]

Split the difference and do both: take the easy A class officially, and audit the other one (officially or unofficially). If you audit amazing prof's class officially and someone asks you later why you audited a class you already had an A in, you can say it was because you wanted to really cement the material well before the MCAT, and you'd heard how great that prof was. Both of which are true.

 

[StraightOuttaBrooklyn]

Go for the easy A. It'll also give you a sense of what medical school is like ;-)