courseload ok?

[EMDream]

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I saw another post like this and figured I'd ask the same. I think its fine mostly ebcause a lot seem like easy courses.

Organic chemistry, Anatomy and Phys, Challenges of Death (philosophy), Statistics, Developmental Psychology, Medical terminology, French. Total of 21 credits. I think it's fine because seems most of them will be pretty easy.

 

[ken37]

I saw another post like this and figured I'd ask the same. I think its fine mostly ebcause a lot seem like easy courses.

Organic chemistry, Anatomy and Phys, Challenges of Death (philosophy), Statistics, Developmental Psychology, Medical terminology, French. Total of 21 credits. I think it's fine because seems most of them will be pretty easy.

Seems a bit light. ADCOMS tend to look down on applicants who take light courseloads just to get good grades.

 

[Og kingofBashan]

are you serious? or is it a joke -i still can't tell

 

[imsotired]

seriously is this a joke?

 

[SoCalGirl]

It seems like it.

 

[samurai_lincoln]

Stop being such pantywaists. I took 19 credits of upper division mech eng classes my final quarter, including a capstone design course. Anyone that can pull that off is a bad Larry. Then again, my grades sucked crap by that point anyway, and I just wanted to graduate. On second thought, wear the panties and only take two science course per semester unless you have to.

 

[bkmonkey]

unless you take 100 units per semester the adcoms will think you're a slacker...

 

[MEG@COOL]

You can do that if you want to have no life.

 

[Medikit]

You can do that if you want to have no life.

This is the most honest post in the thread.

 

[Fermata]

This is the most honest post in the thread.

Studying and going to class is for n00bs!!

N00bs I tell ya!

 

[Psycho Doctor]

Actually you can probably do it and have sort of a life but a pretty sad one and you'll get no sleep.

I know MIT has a standard option for students: "grades, friends, sleep...pick one." Many other schools give the same scenario and allows you to pick two.

I'd take the grades and friends.

I took 22 credits one semester when i first transferred out of engineering into premed. I was also doing volunteer work at several places, tutored and managed to have something that slightly resembled a social life occasionally. But sometimes you get so caught up in things that you do't see what's happening to you.

Although i had discovered another semester what it was like to pull all-nighters every other night for a month and sometimes doubling up; this schedule allowed me to adapt to a minimum of 4 hours sleep a night and an average of 2 or 3 and all-nighters becamse a way of survival. I figured it prepared me for residency which isn't a bad thing.

Good luck...those are tough courses; i was looking for the easy ones you mentioned.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

of course it's a joke, do you even need to ask?

you guys are worse than me and i'm pretty gullible but then again you've been in pre-med longer than i have and probably are or know "gunners" 😱

 

[sweatybrain]

Seems a bit light. ADCOMS tend to look down on applicants who take light courseloads just to get good grades.

How do you define light courseloads?

I was an engineering major and my typical semester looked something like this:

ChE 430: Chemical Kinetics and Reactor Design
ChE 540: Polymer sciences and engineering
Chem 562: Physical Chemistry
Econ 390: Contemporary Isssues in Economics

That's 13 credits.

The silly thing is that engineering and physics courses tend to have a disproportionate number of work hours required (in relation to the credit hours.) For a 3 credit class in chemical engineering, I typically spent 10-15 hours per week just doing the problem sets....not to mention another 5-6 hrs in discussion section and lectures.

Compare this to the 2-3 hours a week I spent studying for a 5 credit bio course. Even for a 3 credit graduate level biochem course, I probably didn't study more than 5 hours a week. (Don't flame...I think Bio just comes easier to me than chemical engineering.)

I think it sucks that the ad coms only look at the numbers and not the major...Maybe I'm just frustrated for all the physics, comp. sci. and engineering majors out there. If you have taken any classes in comp sci, you can't tell me that a 3 credit comp sci class requires the same number of hours as a 3 credit bio class. 😡

 

[Psycho Doctor]

Hey i know the feeling; i was in engineering for two years. When i switched to neurobiology and premed; my engineering classes essentially became my electives and i had to double up on requirements to change majors. i defintely feel your pain and feel i've never had a break.

 

[ken37]

How do you define light courseloads?

I was an engineering major and my typical semester looked something like this:

ChE 430: Chemical Kinetics and Reactor Design
ChE 540: Polymer sciences and engineering
Chem 562: Physical Chemistry
Econ 390: Contemporary Isssues in Economics

That's 13 credits.

The silly thing is that engineering and physics courses tend to have a disproportionate number of work hours required (in relation to the credit hours.) For a 3 credit class in chemical engineering, I typically spent 10-15 hours per week just doing the problem sets....not to mention another 5-6 hrs in discussion section and lectures.

Compare this to the 2-3 hours a week I spent studying for a 5 credit bio course. Even for a 3 credit graduate level biochem course, I probably didn't study more than 5 hours a week. (Don't flame...I think Bio just comes easier to me than chemical engineering.)

I think it sucks that the ad coms only look at the numbers and not the major...Maybe I'm just frustrated for all the physics, comp. sci. and engineering majors out there. If you have taken any classes in comp sci, you can't tell me that a 3 credit comp sci class requires the same number of hours as a 3 credit bio class. 😡

Well, I was joking at the first post, but the sentiment is true. However, it looks as though 13 hours of engineering is fairly tough, as that's what all my engineer friends tell me. Either that, or Engineering students have successfully kept up an elaborate ploy to convince the world that it is hard.

 

[Peter Griffin]

How do you define light courseloads?

I was an engineering major and my typical semester looked something like this:

ChE 430: Chemical Kinetics and Reactor Design
ChE 540: Polymer sciences and engineering
Chem 562: Physical Chemistry
Econ 390: Contemporary Isssues in Economics

That's 13 credits.

The silly thing is that engineering and physics courses tend to have a disproportionate number of work hours required (in relation to the credit hours.) For a 3 credit class in chemical engineering, I typically spent 10-15 hours per week just doing the problem sets....not to mention another 5-6 hrs in discussion section and lectures.

Compare this to the 2-3 hours a week I spent studying for a 5 credit bio course. Even for a 3 credit graduate level biochem course, I probably didn't study more than 5 hours a week. (Don't flame...I think Bio just comes easier to me than chemical engineering.)

I think it sucks that the ad coms only look at the numbers and not the major...Maybe I'm just frustrated for all the physics, comp. sci. and engineering majors out there. If you have taken any classes in comp sci, you can't tell me that a 3 credit comp sci class requires the same number of hours as a 3 credit bio class. 😡

I have a lot of respect for engineering majors because I know how difficult their classes are. I just don't think it does any good to compare different majors. If you have to study so much for "comp sci" and "bio just comes easier" than change to bio. I'm really not trying to be a jerk, but I get tired of this conversation. I have a funny feeling that "ad coms" look at both the quantity and quality of the coarses that an applicant takes.

 

[45408]

You can do that if you want to have no life.

True, true. I took 21 one semester and didn't do much else.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

Consider taking summer courses if you think it's too much. But perhaps med schools want to know you can handle a courseload like that since that becomes your life in residency. 😱

 

[EMDream]

My God I don't need the sarcastic responses. It was a serious question, I am NOT a gunner. I have a modest GPA I think. I figured that anatomy and phys and organic will be heavy but I don't think the others will be that much to handle, mostly papers and I am very adept at pulling decent papers out of my butt in short time periods. I don't work part time or anything so I think I should be okay, and to tell the truth I don't have much of a social life.

I can't even tell which responses are supposed to be sarcastic. It's impossible to tell on this board.

 

[thewzdoc]

I saw another post like this and figured I'd ask the same. I think its fine mostly ebcause a lot seem like easy courses.

Organic chemistry, Anatomy and Phys, Challenges of Death (philosophy), Statistics, Developmental Psychology, Medical terminology, French. Total of 21 credits. I think it's fine because seems most of them will be pretty easy.

🙄 What only 21.....units....holy cow.....how is it that low with that many classes?.....18 during the summer was brutal....my kids referred to me as the guy that eats here sometimes......

 

[thewzdoc]

My God I don't need the sarcastic responses. It was a serious question, I am NOT a gunner. I have a modest GPA I think. I figured that anatomy and phys and organic will be heavy but I don't think the others will be that much to handle, mostly papers and I am very adept at pulling decent papers out of my butt in short time periods. I don't work part time or anything so I think I should be okay, and to tell the truth I don't have much of a social life.

I can't even tell which responses are supposed to be sarcastic. It's impossible to tell on this board.

This is a very very heavy course load.....why so many classes at one time?

 

[EMDream]

🙄 What only 21.....units....holy cow.....how is it that low with that many classes?.....18 during the summer was brutal....my kids referred to me as the guy that eats here sometimes......

Med Terminology is a 1 credit online course 🙂
It looks worse than it is. Oh oh and I have years of high school and french immersion behind me so French shuold be a breeze.

 

[45408]

Consider taking summer courses if you think it's too much. But perhaps med schools want to know you can handle a courseload like that since that becomes your life in residency. 😱

Summer classes preclude making a lot of money at a summer job though, unfortunately.

 

[Premedtomed]

Seems a bit light. ADCOMS tend to look down on applicants who take light courseloads just to get good grades.

 

[thewzdoc]

Med Terminology is a 1 credit online course 🙂
It looks worse than it is. Oh oh and I have years of high school and french immersion behind me so French shuold be a breeze.

1 unit...sounds like a lab

Like I said I did 18 units while working full time and trying to interact with my 2 children and wife so 21 is doable if you can concentrate on just studies.

 

[velo]

Maybe I'm just frustrated for all the physics, comp. sci. and engineering majors out there. If you have taken any classes in comp sci, you can't tell me that a 3 credit comp sci class requires the same number of hours as a 3 credit bio class. 😡

Yes this is true, engineering students have to work very very hard as undergraduates...believe me I know, every roommate I've ever had in college has been an engineer (and they're more social than you'd think by the way). HOWEVER, you must remember that engineering is one of the only fields where you can get a B.S. and then find a lucrative position in the industry without an advanced degree. People with a B.S. in an engineering field are much better off than people with just a B.S. in biology.

Yes it sucks for people who majored in an engineering field and then decided to apply to med school, because a BS in engineering is going to be harder to get than a BS in a life science...but those people brought that extra work down on themselves.

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

I honestly feel that every pre-med that does not work or is not HEAVILY involved in extra-currics should take a courseload like that. I have heard way to many students bitch and moan about how hard their classes are, and I then find out they dont do anything outside of school - wtf? How hard can a few science classes a week plus the standard graduation requirements be if you go to school for 17 hrs a week and have 151 hours left in the week to fit in study time?

I say go for it - take those classes, and stick it to them.