Difficult Situation. NEED HELP

[yazen09]

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Okay so I am in difficult situation and need any type of advice you have. When i first started college almost 2 years ago at a community college I took Bio 1 and some other basic courses, however, I made a C in bio 1 and decided to major in economics and aim for corporate law. I have been researching the law field and came to the conclusion that being a lawyer is not me. I have made up my mind and want to be a doctor so now I want to pursue a degree in Biological studies. I am currently taking Chemistry 1 and doing really good in it. Late spring I was admitted into Southern Methodist University and thats were I would like to obtain my bachelors degree. However, I just found out that they do not offer Bio 2 and Chem 2 in the fall. They only offer the second parts of those types of classes in the spring. I asked why and they said it was tradition. So with only Bio 1 and Chem 1 done theres nothing I can take expect for Calculus 1. The advisors suggested I minor in something or major in something else but take the pre-med requisites. But what can I do with a minor other than foster an interest? SMU is expensive and my parents are not rich and I do not have a scholarship. I have the option of skipping this semester (saving $20,000) and starting in the spring. Is this a good idea? Would it be a good idea to study pre-med at SMU? Have any of yall done that?

 

[Tapepsi]

Skipping a semester may not be a good idea. Check with your parents on how your loans work, b/c I know that at least with me in undergrad I was told that once I was no longer a full time student I had to start paying them back.

 

[Drogo]

Okay so I am in difficult situation and need any type of advice you have. When i first started college almost 2 years ago at a community college I took Bio 1 and some other basic courses, however, I made a C in bio 1 and decided to major in economics and aim for corporate law. I have been researching the law field and came to the conclusion that being a lawyer is not me. I have made up my mind and want to be a doctor so now I want to pursue a degree in Biological studies. I am currently taking Chemistry 1 and doing really good in it. Late spring I was admitted into Southern Methodist University and thats were I would like to obtain my bachelors degree. However, I just found out that they do not offer Bio 2 and Chem 2 in the fall. They only offer the second parts of those types of classes in the spring. I asked why and they said it was tradition. So with only Bio 1 and Chem 1 done theres nothing I can take expect for Calculus 1. The advisors suggested I minor in something or major in something else but take the pre-med requisites. But what can I do with a minor other than foster an interest? SMU is expensive and my parents are not rich and I do not have a scholarship. I have the option of skipping this semester (saving $20,000) and starting in the spring. Is this a good idea? Would it be a good idea to study pre-med at SMU? Have any of yall done that?

So if you have done around 2 years already, you should have around 60 credit hours, so you need 60 more credit hours or so. What's the big rush to get those prereqs done? Line up some other courses with calc 1 and just get some other things knocked out. Why are you going to waste 16 weeks just because you can't do bio 2 and chem 2...? Either way in the end you're going to have to do 120 credit hours to get your bs.

I swear some of you kids just let your advisors hold your hands through things, you guys are old enough you can read up on your schools website, speak with other students at school at get proactive about things.

 

[yazen09]

I dont have any loans to pay right now

 

[common man]

as long as you keep yourself busy, i don't see any problem with taking the semester off. it may even help you to figure out a strategy to do better in biology 2. taking 20,000 loans is no joke. take the semester off and get some clinical experience / research / shadowing / interesting activity.

also, are you at smu just to take the pre-reqs? then they'll give you degree by transferring everything else? because if you did have other courses to take (as advisor suggested), you could take them. i guess that's not your case.

anyway, i don't think there's a stigma at all to taking a semester off - especially given that you have a very good and intelligent reason.

 

[yazen09]

I'll have 63 hours after this summer. But what can I take? All of the advanced Biology courses require Bio 1 and 2, and Chem 1 and 2. SO I CANT KNOCK ANYTHING OUT OF THE WAY

 

[LizzyM]

Without Chem II you can't take O-chem so you are going to be taking that your 4th year in school which means you won't be able to take the MCAT until shortly after college graduation.

Have you taken physics I and II? Have you taken calculus and statistics? Have you taken psychology I? Have you taken a year of English? You could take any of those. What would you need to earn a economics degree at SMU? Could you take a load of econ courses in Fall and then pick up Bio & Chem in the Spring. You don't need to major in Bio to be a medical student and given your track record in Bio it might be best to major in something else.

If you aren't fluent in Spanish, take a semester, just for starters. If you are fluent, consider another foreign language (American Sign Language might be a good choice).

Are there general ed requirements at SMU that you haven't taken yet?

There should be some way to make the most of your first semeseter junior year....

 

[yazen09]

Without Chem II you can't take O-chem so you are going to be taking that your 4th year in school which means you won't be able to take the MCAT until shortly after college graduation.

Have you taken physics I and II? Have you taken calculus and statistics? Have you taken psychology I? Have you taken a year of English? You could take any of those. What would you need to earn a economics degree at SMU? Could you take a load of econ courses in Fall and then pick up Bio & Chem in the Spring. You don't need to major in Bio to be a medical student and given your track record in Bio it might be best to major in something else.

If you aren't fluent in Spanish, take a semester, just for starters. If you are fluent, consider another foreign language (American Sign Language might be a good choice).

Are there general ed requirements at SMU that you haven't taken yet?

There should be some way to make the most of your first semeseter junior year....

No I cant take physics without Calculus I. I did take statistics, and psychology and a year of english. SMU does have general ed requirements but I have already satisfied them. I don't want to take classes that do not work towards my degree. Even if i do major in something else, it will still take me 3 years to finish the pre med req.

 

[BushidoBrown]

Now that's what I'd call a sticky situation

 

[NightGod]

No I cant take physics without Calculus I. I did take statistics, and psychology and a year of english. SMU does have general ed requirements but I have already satisfied them. I don't want to take classes that do not work towards my degree. Even if i do major in something else, it will still take me 3 years to finish the pre med req.

Pre-med isn't a major. Figure out what your major is going to be soon so you can work on the upper level classes required for it.

 

[LizzyM]

So by going to community college you saved 1 year tuition and lost 2 years (assuming you will have a gap year after college during which you will be interviewing for med admissions).

Is non-calculus based physics an option at SMU?

I have never believed that taking all of the pre-med pre-reqs at the university is good advice for anyone who is a full-time student in a community college for a year or more. It is bad advice for someone who wants to take a course over the summer but not for a rull-time student. OP, you seem to be a victim of that advice and now you are paying the price.

Adcoms are going to look at the breadth and depth of your college career. Taking only the courses needed for your major will stunt your growth. This is an opportunity to expand your horizon. That said, if you can get away with paying for only 2.5 yrs at SMU rather than 3, then work/volunteer full time during Fall term and go back the following term.