Course Load?

[zliu]

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Hey everyone,

I'm currently a biology student going into my third year. I was just wondering if anyone knew how important course load is when schools are looking at your application?

I'm referring to how hard a course is. For example, I've been taking a lot of ecology courses (mainly because I find it much more interesting than a lot of the microbiology courses), but I would also assume that ecology courses are considered to be easier than the standard molecular/microbiology courses. Do PT schools look at stuff like that? Anyone know?

Also, I'm planning on e-submitting my application before the month ends. Does anyone know if that's early enough to beat the rush?

Thanks

 

[Azimuthal]

In my personal experience, I was told that one of the reasons I was offered an interview was because of the consistently high course load I took to fulfill pre-requisites, while obtaining decent grades. It made up for a sub-par GRE score (old).

 

[zliu]

... because of the consistently high course load I took to fulfill pre-requisites, while obtaining decent grades.

Does that mean you took more courses than needed for your degree audit to fulfill your prereqs or that your courses outside of your prereqs were also very hard?

 

[Azimuthal]

Does that mean you took more courses than needed for your degree audit to fulfill your prereqs or that your courses outside of your prereqs were also very hard?

I took the regular chem, bio, physics series in addition to 2-3 STEM courses at the same time while pursuing a second BS (22+ quarter units). These courses are considered medium to medium-high difficulty. If you would like my 'personal' academic rigor scale [1 being least, 5 being most], I would place ecology at 1 to 2 while quantum physics at 5. The lowest grade I received out of the post-bacc work (I'm a career changer) were 3 B+'s. The sacrifice? A slew of A-'s. I never finished the second BS and jumped into an MBA program after pre-requisites were completed.

To be honest, I didn't know that the course load would have a positive impact. I did it because I'm old and I was not used to attending sporadically scheduled classes, having time gaps throughout and then calling it a day. I took all those classes to keep me occupied and in my state school, it cost the same whether I took 12 units or 24.

Would I recommend doing so? Probably not. I would concentrate on a typical full-time load while attaining the highest GPA you can. If ecology interests you, go for it, so long that it does not hinder your pre-requisite and degree grades. Good luck.

 

[zliu]

I took the regular chem, bio, physics series in addition to 2-3 STEM courses at the same time while pursuing a second BS (22+ quarter units). These courses are considered medium to medium-high difficulty. If you would like my 'personal' academic rigor scale [1 being least, 5 being most], I would place ecology at 1 to 2 while quantum physics at 5. The lowest grade I received out of the post-bacc work (I'm a career changer) were 3 B+'s. The sacrifice? A slew of A-'s. I never finished the second BS and jumped into an MBA program after pre-requisites were completed.

To be honest, I didn't know that the course load would have a positive impact. I did it because I'm old and I was not used to attending sporadically scheduled classes, having time gaps throughout and then calling it a day. I took all those classes to keep me occupied and in my state school, it cost the same whether I took 12 units or 24.

Would I recommend doing so? Probably not. I would concentrate on a typical full-time load while attaining the highest GPA you can. If ecology interests you, go for it, so long that it does not hinder your pre-requisite and degree grades. Good luck.

Ah, thank you for the advice!

 

[nomattic]

I was curious about this as well after reading a blurb on Columbia's website stating that, "academic rigor is evaluated not by taking 1 or 2 courses at a time, but maintaining a full course load," or something to that effect.

I did this during undergrad, but during post-bacc I actually had to work while going to school, so I'm hoping that they take these other factors into account. I have been mostly taking 2 science courses a semester while working 25+ hours a week, volunteering, observing, and occasionally taking a bi-weekly 2 hour break to attempt to have some semblance of a life.

Here's to hoping adcoms have some sense of reality...

 

[Azimuthal]

Funny you should mention Columbia. 😉 Yes, I personally believe that most adcoms do have a sense of reality.

By any chance did you mention your work hours in your essay or other area of PTCAS?

 

[nomattic]

First of all, your avatar is hilarious.

Columbia is extremely expensive, especially when taking into account the cost of living in NYC, but it's a fantastic program and it definitely has compelled me to apply.

I didn't really include it in my essay, mostly because the questions were pretty specific and my previous volunteer/work experiences spoke more to the attributes they were assessing. I did include it in the 'Work' section of PTCAS and will make sure it's on my resume.

Are you applying to Columbia, too?

 

[Azimuthal]

I just started orientation today. Great people, faculty and admin. Yes, its expensive! I will be going back active duty under the healthcare loan repayment program. I also have some GI-Bill left that I will be using for a couple of semesters. It really helps to have a supportive family also.

Also, there is a section that asks if your GPA is representative of your academic strength, you may want to re-emphasize how many hours you were working per week. Good luck!