Critique my schedule

[reluctantoptimism]

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[bee17]

I'm not going to tell you that schedule is impossible because schedules like that have been done before, but it sounds unnecessarily tough.

Do you need two anatomy classes? Seems redundant.

Is there any reason why you can't push back one or two of those classes and replace it with a gen ed/humanities course?

And are you really going to study from 9:00 am to midnight all weekend every weekend????

Ultimately, you need to take a hard look at the syllabi for these classes and decide whether or not this is reasonable. Take into account other commitments (work, clubs, volunteering, social life, sanity).

 

[doc05]

no. it's absolutely ridiculous. you should allow for a lot more free time on weekends. you're only in college once (I hope).

 

[bengirlxD]

Not only is your schedule long but it is filled with back biting courses. You can do it but you will have to put lots of effort into it. I personally would not do this and balance my schedule out with easy and challenging courses if I was going to take that many courses. I also find that helps you put more effort into the hard courses instead of having to cram all that info for all those classes.

 

[Axes]

What the hell are you doing?

Edit: and why?

 

[Lancer]

I think the amount of you allot to studying is way more than you need to do well

 

[IlyaR]

You're being overzealous. Tone it down to just zealous

 

[virtuos locust]

Needs more underwater basket weaving.

 

[NVdisG]

sophomore year i was busy creampieing, what are you doing man

 

[md-2020]

View attachment 194308

Holy mother of Jesus Christo

Edit: Who the f**k voted that this schedule is reasonable? I mean, do you plan on having any ECs on your app? How about friends? I killed myself in undergrad, especially outside of the classroom, but my weeks still looked better than this.

 

[Axes]

I think the amount of you allot to studying is way more than you need to do well

Are the "study" blocks just time he's personally scheduled, rather than obligations? Because then the schedule is still impossible due to 4 labs, but not as impossible as I originally thought. And yeah awful use of time, you need to live-- study smart, not long.

 

[deleted393595]

View attachment 194308

Seems straightforward. Those are not hard classes, and you will have more free time than you think.

 

[deleted393595]

View attachment 194308

Seems straightforward. Those are not hard classes, and you will have more free time than you think you will.

 

[Lancer]

Are the "study" blocks just time he's personally scheduled, rather than obligations? Because then the schedule is still impossible due to 4 labs, but not as impossible as I originally thought. And yeah awful use of time, you need to live-- study smart, not long.

I'm almost positive he blocked those study blocks himself.

 

[md-2020]

I'm almost positive he blocked those study blocks himself.

I don't know why everyone's freaking out about the difficulty of his schedule, it's not that bad. It's just he planned way more study time than he actually needs

4 upper level BCPMs and 4 labs is rarely ever a good idea. IDK about other schools, but science labs at my undergrad were an extremely time-consuming affair. Couple that with courses that are generally regarded as weeders, and the OP could be out of luck after this year if he doesn't do well.

 

[reluctantoptimism]

I'm almost positive he blocked those study blocks himself.

I don't know why everyone's freaking out about the difficulty of his schedule, it's not that bad. It's just he planned way more study time than he actually needs

How much study time should I actually try to fit in? I have to take the anatomy courses because they're prereqs for histology. I have to take the listed classes and I have no more gen eds ( I'm an interdisciplinary major).

I usually don't try to study this much and this schedule is still tentative.

 

[Red G]

I never understood planning study blocks. Study when you need to study.

4 science classes is doable, but if it's not necessary don't put yourself through that. Take an elective or something.

 

[Lancer]

4 upper level BCPMs and 4 labs is rarely ever a good idea. IDK about other schools, but science labs at my undergrad were an extremely time-consuming affair. Couple that with courses that are generally regarded as weeders, and the OP could be out of luck after this year if he doesn't do well.

Good point, I didn't see that all of those classes had labs. At my school, most upper level science classes don't come with labs

 

[genericpremedstudent]

 

[reluctantoptimism]

Good point, I didn't see that all of those classes had labs. At my school, most upper level science classes don't come with labs

For the biology courses, the lectures and labs are combined. Regarding ECs, I've done a good amount of things already( i.e research, shadowing, organizations, etc) but I feel I lack clinical volunteering ( I only have about 30 hours). Presently, I was just going to focus on class work and try to find clinical volunteering.

 

[You're My Boy Blue]

You're gonna study every weekend for 26 hours for undergrad? Good luck with that 🤣

 

[reluctantoptimism]

You're gonna study every weekend for 26 hours for undergrad? Good luck with that 🤣

Probably not, the schedule is tentative. How many hours do you think you guys would need to study with this schedule?

 

[You're My Boy Blue]

I'd keep that schedule for finals. For the rest of the year study when necessary, it depends on the person. Unless you had a s***-ton of AP credits this is not a freshman schedule. You should know roughly how long it will take you to study. If it really takes 26 hours over the weekend I admire your determination, but maybe you should look into some more efficient study habits hah

 

[698344]

sophomore year i was busy creampieing, what are you doing man

So, how many kids you got?

 

[Meeehai]

sophomore year i was busy creampieing, what are you doing man

This guy is right, you know.

 

[Mr. Beefy Lion]

Dude. Study when you need to, I don't understand why people schedule study time. Those classes are more than manageable in a semester but I really don't think you need that much time studying to be successful. It's college, spend some time doing fun things as others have mentioned.

 

[Lawpy]

View attachment 194308

Seems straightforward. Those are not hard classes, and you will have more free time than you think.

Agreed. I have seen my physics and engineering friends with far worse schedules, taking complex and grade-punishing courses that are actually useful for their future careers. OP's schedule actually comes on the easier/manageable side, and it is a good way for OP to hone his time management and efficiency skills to do ECs and other stuff

 

[bengirlxD]

For every hour of lecture you should devote 2 hours to studying is a general rule of thumb

 

[Meeehai]

Agreed. I have seen my physics and engineering friends with far worse schedules, taking complex and grade-punishing courses that are actually useful for their future careers. OP's schedule actually comes on the easier/manageable side, and it is a good way for OP to hone his time management and efficiency skills to do ECs and other stuff

To be fair, I would argue that engineering students don't care as much about their GPAs as much as med school bound students.

 

[Mr. Beefy Lion]

For every hour of lecture you should devote 2 hours to studying is a general rule of thumb

In my experience that rule only really holds true during exam weeks as long as you read the book or at least go to lecture

 

[bengirlxD]

In my experience that rule only really holds true during exam weeks as long as you read the book or at least go to lecture

Agreed. I hardly follow by the rule the first few lectures but you kind of have to be aware when to get going because tests come up before you know it

 

[deleted577188]

Same people who would say go for it if you wrote it out like this:

Organic Chem (no lab)
Vertebrate Anatomy (no lab)
Developmental Anatomy + lab
Analytical Chem + lab

are telling you it's impossible. It looks a lot different once you put it in a schedule format, doesn't it guys?

 

[Lawpy]

To be fair, I would argue that engineering students don't care as much about their GPAs as much as med school bound students.

And yet we have innumerable engineering and physics students applying to medical schools each year (even despite their low GPA). It's important to note that biology majors lead to pretty terrible postgraduate job offers, while engineering majors, despite the low GPA they suffer, enjoy much more lucrative offers thanks to their rigorous and substantiated coursework.

Let's be real here. Most of the courses OP is taking are unproductive for medical school in the first place (besides organic chemistry). I can argue that an engineering and physics schedule is more suitable for medical school purposes than OP's schedule.

 

[cloudmurder1]

read: burnout

 

[Fedekz]

If you need that much time to study, then you're doing it wrong. Do you plan to barricade yourself in your dorm only emerging to attend lecture?

 

[K9TestRun]

you won't know how much to study for each class until you're in it. It's a heavy schedule, but keep on top of org. I recommend purchasing "Organic Chemsistry as a second language". It's a little "for dummies" book that will get you thinking conceptually about orgo. Read the first 3 chapters before classes start and you'll be a month ahead, and won't struggle like everyone else in the class

 

[Pusheen]

I think people are freaking out over this because of the long scheduled study times. Just those 4 classes together looks fine, IF you are good at keeping up with things and managing time. I've done semesters like that, my physics/engineering friends have. It's definitely a hard semester, but if you need those classes, you do what up gotta do.

I would suggest studying more on weekdays (till 12am) and relaxing more on Friday and the weekend

 

[Meeehai]

And yet we have innumerable engineering and physics students applying to medical schools each year (even despite their low GPA). It's important to note that biology majors lead to pretty terrible postgraduate job offers, while engineering majors, despite the low GPA they suffer, enjoy much more lucrative offers thanks to their rigorous and substantiated coursework.

Let's be real here. Most of the courses OP is taking are unproductive for medical school in the first place (besides organic chemistry). I can argue that an engineering and physics schedule is more suitable for medical school purposes than OP's schedule.

Can't disagree there.

 

[JustaDO]

6 months from now, a new post will appear: "Did I screw up my chances for medical school????"

 

[mandym00]

I know for biology majors at my school anatomy can be taken to fulfill the degree plan if chosen.. So if you have to get these credits before you graduate I'd take it but otherwise I'd avoid it. Lots of reports and reading to do. And thats just the lab...Try to balance it out with many one easier class (no lab), trust me your gpa will thank you!

 

[22031 Alum]

MWF: Class 9-noon, Lab 4:40-7
T: Lab 2-8 (shoot me in the face)
Th: Lab 9:30-12:15 and 2-5

You're going to hate your life every Tuesday afternoon and during heavy exam weeks. It's not as completely whackadoo as all that blocked-out study time makes it look, but you're going to have to have some discipline to not fall behind. It's good to have a goal of regimented study time and adjust as the semester goes on.

 

[WedgeDawg]

MWF: Class 9-noon, Lab 4:40-7
T: Lab 2-8 (shoot me in the face)
Th: Lab 9:30-12:15 and 2-5

You're going to hate your life every Tuesday afternoon and during heavy exam weeks. It's not as completely whackadoo as all that blocked-out study time makes it look, but you're going to have to have some discipline to not fall behind. It's good to have a goal of regimented study time and adjust as the semester goes on.

My orgo labs were 6 hours long (and were coincidentally also 2-8). Are orgo labs normally not 6 hours?

 

[22031 Alum]

My orgo labs were 6 hours long (and were coincidentally also 2-8). Are orgo labs normally not 6 hours?

OP has a 3 hour orgo lab and 3 hour vertebrate anatomy lab. I am so far removed from orgo that I don't even remember how long my lab was. 🙁

 

[WedgeDawg]

OP has a 3 hour orgo lab and 3 hour vertebrate anatomy lab. I am so far removed from orgo that I don't even remember how long my lab was. 🙁

Eh, I guess it's doable (though it does mean preparing for two labs on the same day). I do remember going into lab when the sun was shining bright and leaving after it set... not fun

 

[docbsb2015]

wut???? what's going on with your weekends... 24 hours?? lighten up a little my man

 

[docbsb2015]

My orgo labs were 6 hours long (and were coincidentally also 2-8). Are orgo labs normally not 6 hours?

6 hours?? I didnt know that was a normal thing.. mine were 3 and that was 3 too long

 

[WedgeDawg]

6 hours?? I didnt know that was a normal thing.. mine were 3 and that was 3 too long

I guess we were weird then

 

[efle]

My orgo labs were 6 hours long (and were coincidentally also 2-8). Are orgo labs normally not 6 hours?

WashU they are 4 hours, most people then head to the TA office to work on the lab reports for another couple hours. Only lab 6+ hours I took was Neurophysiology Lab which was 9 hours (9am-6pm). Was your Ochem every week or every other?

This is a very manageable schedule guys. Many people take this level of course rigor on top of part time job, research, volunteerism, and sports/club involvement.

 

[Gandyy]

4 upper level BCPMs and 4 labs is rarely ever a good idea. IDK about other schools, but science labs at my undergrad were an extremely time-consuming affair. Couple that with courses that are generally regarded as weeders, and the OP could be out of luck after this year if he doesn't do well.

This...

I will not say the classes you are taking are super super hard.... because they arent.


However the amount of time that labs consume from your schedule is more than beyond insane. ( I hatedddddddddd labs)

Doing labs will drain your time hardcore if its anything like my undergrad.


Your schedule overall is too gunner right now.

 

[reluctantoptimism]

Yeah, I'm probably not going to adhere to the regimented study schedule. Would it be best to play studying by ear ( i.e. study as needed as opposed to planning it)? I think it'd be best to manage my time so Saturday and Sunday are free.

Thanks guys!