Do Easier Classes Hurt?

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Hello everyone! I will be attending the University of Wisconsin - Madison next year majoring in biology. There are several courses required for this major, but I am allowed a little wiggle room. So the question is... will medical schools look down at my application if I choose easier courses? For example, I have to take two semesters of Physics. However, I have the choice of Physics 207 AND 208, OR 201 AND 202, OR 103 AND 104. It would make sense to ME to take 103 and 104 because they are easier classes which would therefore allow a better chance for me to get a better grade-- which is most important from what i hear. This circumstance also relates to my math and chemistry classes and a few other areas. SO THE BASIC QUESTION IS WHETHER OR NOT TAKING AN EASIER COURSE SELECTION OF A SUBJECT WILL HURT MY CHANCES FOR MEDICAL SCHOOL. Will the admissions committee look down on me for taking easier classes, or will they just look at my biology B.S. as a whole and see that I met the requirements? Thank you in advance for your responses.

 

[Red Leader]

No, just take the easier classes, tell your ego to STFU and get a better GPA.🙂 This thread has been answered.

 

[ReptarBar]

the fact is they wont know which courses are easier or harder. have you ever looked at the course list of another person's college? it doesnt make any sense at all.

so no, it wont matter.

 

[Forthegood]

Harder classes hurt. Emotionally. That time should be spent drinking, not studying. Kill your MCAT, make a solid GPA, and pray that your parents win the lottery and decide to write a fat check to the med school 2 months before you apply.

 

[scattun]

While, I generally agree with every else's comments here, and God knows I always take the easy route, I was wondering if anyone has heard of wicked harsh undergrad review committees who will essentially snitch on students taking the easy route? ala "While Johnny has amassed a respectable 3.9 GPA, he has do so by consistently taking course sequences that are generally regarded to be much easier than others offered at our university." This would appear to be counterintutive to me, since it is in the best interest of the unversity and the review committee to see their own applicants succeed, but at the same time it wouldn't really surprise me.

 

[LizzyM]

While, I generally agree with every else's comments here, and God knows I always take the easy route, I was wondering if anyone has heard of wicked harsh undergrad review committees who will essentially snitch on students taking the easy route? ala "While Johnny has amassed a respectable 3.9 GPA, he has do so by consistently taking course sequences that are generally regarded to be much easier than others offered at our university." This would appear to be counterintutive to me, since it is in the best interest of the unversity and the review committee to see their own applicants succeed, but at the same time it wouldn't really surprise me.

You are right! The pre-med committee doesn't want us, the adcoms, to be too harsh on the guy with a 3.70 who took the 207/208 sequence in comparision to the tool with the 3.85 who took the 101/102 sequence. Some med schools do take the rigor of the courses into account. Some schools tell us that in a cover letter that goes along with the LORs, some adcoms know what the deal is at their common feeder schools.

 

[flip26]

Hello everyone! I will be attending the University of Wisconsin - Madison next year majoring in biology. There are several courses required for this major, but I am allowed a little wiggle room. So the question is... will medical schools look down at my application if I choose easier courses? For example, I have to take two semesters of Physics. However, I have the choice of Physics 207 AND 208, OR 201 AND 202, OR 103 AND 104. It would make sense to ME to take 103 and 104 because they are easier classes which would therefore allow a better chance for me to get a better grade-- which is most important from what i hear. This circumstance also relates to my math and chemistry classes and a few other areas. SO THE BASIC QUESTION IS WHETHER OR NOT TAKING AN EASIER COURSE SELECTION OF A SUBJECT WILL HURT MY CHANCES FOR MEDICAL SCHOOL. Will the admissions committee look down on me for taking easier classes, or will they just look at my biology B.S. as a whole and see that I met the requirements? Thank you in advance for your responses.

Make sure the "lesser" physics courses count for pre med work. Just because they are OK for the major doesn't mean they are OK for med school purposes. This comes up in the Biology course sequence more so than in the other pre reqs...

That said, you do NOT have to take calc based physics for med school (unless, of course, your major requires it). But if you are a calc whiz, then you might find the calc physics more to your liking anyway...

 

[Mobius1985]

With LizzyM's comments in mind, take the most rigorous courses you can and still get As. If math isn't your thing, an A in non-Calculus Physics trumps a B in Calculus-based Physics. You can take more rigorous upper-level Bio classes instead.

 

[dw2158]

Harder classes hurt. Emotionally.

👍 story of my (college) life.

With LizzyM's comments in mind, take the most rigorous courses you can and still get As. If math isn't your thing, an A in non-Calculus Physics trumps a B in Calculus-based Physics. You can take more rigorous upper-level Bio classes instead.

agreed. HOWEVER... i want to just voice my opinion about physics. my friends who took the non-calc based one had just as hard of a time as i did in the calc based one. okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but still... without calculus, a lot of things in physics (especially in E&M) don't make as much sense and/or your professor has to do a lot of roundabout explaining rather than just showing you where the damn equation comes from. my advice, for physics, would be to take the easiest calc-based version your school offers. 🙂

 

[jgauger]

Yay! Somewhere I actually have some expertise. I've been around this forum for a while, but usually let other people who "know more" answer the questions. I go to UW-Madison and know exactly what you are talking about. My advise is to take Bio/Zoo 151/152, Chem. 103/104/343/344/345, physics 103/104 or 201/202 depending on your interest in physics. Both count for pre-reqs. I personnaly took Zoo 101/102/130 to satisfy the bio req but now that I switched majors I have to take 152 for no credit towards graduation...which isn't a big deal since I like bio and it will still improve my BCMP gpa. I also took a strange physics rout with EMA 201 and physics 202, do not do this. EMA is death. Physics 202 was easy however, but I like phyiscs. We do not have a pre-med commitee so no worries with them "ratting you out" to adcoms. Talk to your advisor a lot...but take what they say with a grain of salt because they are over worked and under specialized. If you need anything else you can pm me.

 

[vickpick]

i felt no physical pain while taking my easier classes, so no, they don't hurt. Hope I helped 😛.

 

[Narmerguy]

If you get an A, people can only speculate if you would have gotten an A or not in harder classes. If you get a B in a harder class, they'll know.

 

[JJMrK]

At my school there were three sequences: Calc-based physics (majors: engineering, physics, chem BS), non-calc physics (majors: chem BA, bio, a handful of other science people), and a physics for everybody else.

The first two satisfy the pre-reqs.

With chem classes, we had to take the Ochem and Gchem for chem majors.