Hi everyone! I could use some advice in planning my schedule for the upcoming year. I'm about halfway through my DIY post-bacc at a school on the quarter system (doing some GPA repair and taking all pre-reqs for the first time). I just finished a year of Bio, Physics and Orgo (actually dropped orgo 3rd quarter and got a C+ second quarter so I'll be re-taking second quarter and finishing out my third quarter next year). I have a 3.5 so far in my post-bacc, but a 4.0 in Physics 3 and Biochem (200 level) this spring so I have some momentum. My goal is to continue to earn a 4.0 throughout the next year to maintain a high PB gpa and a high sGPA.
My question comes to coursework. For fall I am planning on taking 3 upper-level bio classes. I will definitely be taking 300 level biochemistry, 300 level anatomy and one other course. For my third option there is a course in "biology of aging" that is listed as a 300 level class but seems like more of a seminar-type class, and not a hard science course. Excerpt from course description: "Through discussions of experimental data from primary literature, we will study normal aging processes and disease states related to aging. Instead of providing a comprehensive overview, the course aims to develop a fundamental framework of how to think about the biology of aging and our ability to read and analyze current scientific literature."
My other option would be a 300 level biomedical engineering class in Medical Imaging. The only pre-req is physics (which I enjoyed and did well in) and the course material seems very interesting to me. I think it may be a more rigorous option, but I'm worried that it might not be the best option for a pre-med, since it is an engineering class. My primary goal for this upcoming year is to become the best possible applicant for the 2016 cycle. I'm more interested in taking this course but it would also be 3x more expensive, since it is in a different school in my university.
TL;DR take 300 lvl "biology of aging" which might be a fluff class, or 300 lvl "medical imaging" which might be tangential to my med school application next year.
Thanks!
My question comes to coursework. For fall I am planning on taking 3 upper-level bio classes. I will definitely be taking 300 level biochemistry, 300 level anatomy and one other course. For my third option there is a course in "biology of aging" that is listed as a 300 level class but seems like more of a seminar-type class, and not a hard science course. Excerpt from course description: "Through discussions of experimental data from primary literature, we will study normal aging processes and disease states related to aging. Instead of providing a comprehensive overview, the course aims to develop a fundamental framework of how to think about the biology of aging and our ability to read and analyze current scientific literature."
My other option would be a 300 level biomedical engineering class in Medical Imaging. The only pre-req is physics (which I enjoyed and did well in) and the course material seems very interesting to me. I think it may be a more rigorous option, but I'm worried that it might not be the best option for a pre-med, since it is an engineering class. My primary goal for this upcoming year is to become the best possible applicant for the 2016 cycle. I'm more interested in taking this course but it would also be 3x more expensive, since it is in a different school in my university.
TL;DR take 300 lvl "biology of aging" which might be a fluff class, or 300 lvl "medical imaging" which might be tangential to my med school application next year.
Thanks!
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