Courseload in the summer

[Revilla]

My school works a little different than many other schools. Instead of having four or five weeks of classes over two separate summer semesters, they offer only one abbreviated semester (8 weeks).

This summer, I'm registered for Organic Chem II lecture, Organic Chem II lab, Biology II lecture, and Biology II lab.

The way it works is you have lab twice a week (4 hours) and lecture twice a week (4 hours), so with this schedule, I'll have labs Monday-Thursday. That's fine, except I work Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (I'm non-traditional and I kind of have to), plus I volunteer on Friday and Saturday mornings.

The lectures will be fine, but I'm wondering if I should postpone the Bio II lab until the fall? Is that something a lot of you do - take the lecture first and take the lab some other time?

Over the regular semester, this schedule would be fine, but I'm just concerned because Bio I lab involved one project and 3 papers during the semester, as well as write-ups before and after each lab, not to mention practicals every other week. I know Bio II will be the same and having the lab meet twice a week, in addition to twice a week for my Organic Chem lab, it means I'll spending most of my time just doing write-ups instead of studying as much as I probably should for lecture.

Maybe I'm just overestimating how much time will be required. I just don't want to get in over my head, especially since I've heard Orgo II is all mechanisms and I know that's going to require a lot of time outside of class.

Any opinions? Should I drop the Bio II lab or suck it up, do it, and hope for the best?

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[MedStudentWanna]

If you have to work Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, then I would be worried about taking that course load. I think Orgo should be sufficient. Why add Bio?

 

[AnEyeLikeMars]

That seems like a lot to do during the summer. There's nothing wrong with postponing one of those labs (if not the entire course). The last thing you want to do is overwhelm yourself and do poorly.

 

[AnEyeLikeMars]

oops, double post

 

[Winter]

I would be wary of taking that many credits in the summer. Last summer I took 12 credits:

- American History I (6 wks)
- Intro to Psychology (6 wks)
- English Composition II (8wks)
- Chemistry Research(appx 10 hrs. a week for the entire summer).

Aside from the research, none of the classes were science related and I don't have a job. But it was still alot of work.

You are practically taking 4 science classes in a short space of time. From what I've heard O-chem isn't something to laugh about. So if you want to take a science class in the summer, I would choose just one plus its lab. And personally I would prefer to take bio rather than o-chem in the summer.

It's really up to you to choose what you think you can handle. But just be prepared to burn the midnight oil -- often.

 

[GuzzyRon]

Any opinions? Should I drop the Bio II lab or suck it up, do it, and hope for the best?

If you're not playing catch up, I'd say take only the orgo and it's lab. You'd find that challenging enough. Otherwise, suck it up and take all 4 classes. In the end, it's up to you. But realize that there is nothing you're attempting right now that has not been done before.

 

[Revilla]

Thank you all for the comments! I think I'm going to wait on the lab. I'm not worried about taking two lectures and a lab over the summer since I did the same last summer (though my second class didn't come with a lab). I was just wondering if it would be okay to split up lecture and lab, especially since summer moves so much faster than a regular semester.

Thanks for taking the time to reply!

 

[univscience]

summer is great to get (some) classes in. i think with this schedule, though, you're going to regret taking such a heavy load when the sun dances till 9ish and a lot of friends offer more inviting activities.

ease up and drop something, i don't have an opinion on what.

 

[geogil]

What's the rush? Medical school is going to be there in 1 or 2 years. You should take the time necessary to do everything right the first time, that way you don't have to come back, do a post-bacc, cross your fingers that it will work out, and explain to adcoms why you got bad grades the first time around. Your career is going to be 30+ years, tacking on another year at the front end isn't going to change much. If you're a non-trad, the time factor is a little different, but still, take sufficient time to do everything well. I think orgo is hard enough during a regular term that you're not going to want to do a lot else in addition.