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[darkosbunny]

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So I have recently decided to become a physician. I've recently separated from the military and I'm anxious to get my schooling in high gear. I currently have 39 credits and plan on majoring in history, while completing my pre-med pre-reqs.

This is my planned course load...this far in advance I doubt it will stick but does anyone have any suggestions?

Summer 09 (light load because it's out of pocket...holding off on GI Bill until August when the improved one kicks in)
American History II - 3 credits
Western Civ II - 3 credits
total - 6 credits

Fall 2009
English II - 3 credits
Precalc - 3 credits
Speech - 3 credits
Chemistry I - 4 credits
Spanish I - 4 credits
total - 17 credits

Spring 2010
Spanish II - 4 credits
Chemistry II - 4 credits
Biology I - 4 credits
History & Historians - 3 credits
total - 15 credits

Summer 2010
Organic Chem I - 4 credits
Biology II - 4 credits
Ancient Greece - 3 credits
20th Century Russian History - 3 credits
total - 14 credits

Fall 2010
Organic Chemistry II - 4 credits
Calculus I - 4 credits
History of American Law - 3 credits
Old World Prehistory - 3 credits
total - 14 credits

Spring 2011
Physics I - 4 credits
Genetics - 3 credits
Language & Culture - 3 credits
Colonial Florida - 3 credits
total - 13 credits

Summer 2011
Physics II - 4 credits
Cell Biology - 3 credits
History of the Caribbean - 3 credits
US Military History Since 1900 - 3 credits
total - 13 credits

Fall 2011
Biochemistry I - 3 credits
Civil War & Reconstruction - 3 credits
History of Cuba - 3 credits
Medieval Society & Civ - 3 credits
Speech Science I - 3 credits
total - 15 credits

The history courses will undoubtedly vary as they pick new ones frequently. Included are two anthropology courses, which are social sciences, in case I want to apply to D.O. schools; from what I understand, most require 6 hours of social science. Is this course load heavy enough to be competitive? Some post loads with 17 or more hours per semester -- that seems pretty tough to do, especially considering the fact that I plan on working at least 25-30 hours per week.

 

[ksmi117]

Seems pretty good to me. Med schools will know if you worked during the time (as long as you include it on your application) and understand why you wouldn't want to take so many classes at once.

The only thing I can think of... When do you plan to take the MCAT? because I'd suggest finishing Physics before then.

 

[penisclaw]

Looks good as far as getting the pre-reqs in goes. A couple of concerns I have:

13-14 credits during the summer is a LOT of work. One of the biggest factors in determining whether your application gets a second look by med schools is your GPA. Only take that many classes at a time (and work) if you are sure your GPA won't suffer.

Do you have enough units in your major to get a degree? With all those bio/chem/physics/math units, are you getting enough credit toward a history degree?

 

[TooMuchResearch]

I'm not sure if the science courses you listed have labs involved, so make sure you take the labs. I don't recall the specific lab requirements, so maybe someone else can help out. If the science courses you listed do include labs, your schedule looks decent.

 

[darkosbunny]

Those courses do in fact include labs. Also, there are enough history credits listed. History major at UCF requires 24 upper-division credits and I believe I have 30 or so listed.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

Does UCF run on a quarter system? Your Summer 2011 schedule looks a bit intense unless it's a long summer term. Summer 2010 looks kind of rough, too.

 

[darkosbunny]

UCF does not run on the quarter system and the summer courses are 12 weeks long. It probably is a bit intense, and I might just extend my undergrad career by an extra semester. However, I thought it'd be nice to have the spring and summer off before I go to med school the following fall.