Do Med Schools Mind If You Take Your Pre-Reqs During Summer?

[IWant2BeADoctor]

I'm planning to take some of my Pre-reqs in Summer session. Do Med Schools mind?

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[Old ortho]

No, they won't care.

 

[Kfire326]

I heard quite the opposite. Advisors tell me that if you're taking orgo or physics over the summer, it will be frowned upon because some med schools see summer courses as being EASIER than their semester-equivalents. If you take a prereq in the summer, they say, you better do very well.

Also, if you're doing them at a different school than your degree-granting institution, it is strongly advised to NOT do them at a school 'lower' than your own. For example, if you go to MIT, don't take Physics over the summer at XYZ community college (obviously an exaggeration, but you get the idea)....same reason.

 

[HCW212]

No, they don't care.

In fact, it may be harder since they move at a much faster pace.

Do NOT do them at a lower institution than the one you attend, though.

 

[Soccer885]

No, they don't care.

In fact, it may be harder since they move at a much faster pace.

Do NOT do them at a lower institution than the one you attend, though.

I agree. Med schoola don't care if you take them in the summer. Some do frown upon taken them at a community college though

 

[deleted50541]

No, they don't care.

In fact, it may be harder since they move at a much faster pace.

True that. Organic chem was a ball-buster when taken during the summer at my university.

 

[lsumedgirl]

True that. Organic chem was a ball-buster when taken during the summer at my university.

Been there, done that, and I can totally sympathize. I did orgo I and II one summer (June and July), and it CERTAINLY wasn't easier... two hours of lecture for five days a week, with six hours of lab! Very intense.

So med schools don't care if you took it in the summer.

 

[Law2Doc]

No, they don't care.

In fact, it may be harder since they move at a much faster pace.

Do NOT do them at a lower institution than the one you attend, though.

Agree with this. A huge percentage of people I've met in med school have taken at least one class over a summer. So schools certainly don't seem to care. But if you are packing a semester into 7 weeks, expect the class to move very quickly and be more intense, and to some, harder, than a normal class. Also, as this prior poster suggested, if you are getting B's at your home school and go to an objectively "easier" school for a prereq and get an A it will look fishy. So stay away from the CCs and try to pick a comparable school (or ideally your own school).

 

[boodthedog]

I remember reading this when I started taking prereqs and have only taken suggested courses over the summer. As to whether summer classes are easier. Some certainly are just as difficult, and many teachers pride themselves on summer classes being just as tough, but let's be honest, most are easier. The lecture time is the same, but most of the time, teachers can't really assign as much out of class work. This is from the faq section of the UMass website.

May I take my required courses during the summer?
It is preferable that required courses be taken during the regular academic year at a rigorous level at a four year college or university.

 

[Law2Doc]

but let's be honest, most are easier.

Some summer programs are much harder, and the assignments can sometimes be identical to the full semester version -- at some places you cover the same book and do the same problem sets, just at triple the daily load after triple the lecture hours. Which makes for a lousy summer. And if you get stuck on something, or fall behind, you are SOL. But it starts to approximate the pace of med school which is enlightening to some.

FWIW, I know someone at the med school you referenced who took at least one prereq over a summer, so even they don't have a hard and fast rule, notwithstanding their faq.

 

[MossPoh]

Degree of difficulty depends on the school and professor. Believe it or not, professors look forward to having a break from class as well....so the ones that teach during the summer either love to teach, or are doing it for cash....or perhaps it is required for some reason. Either way, it can lead to different results in teaching. I took my first biology with lab during the summer after graduating high school and it was one of the hardest damn courses I have taken. All exams were essays, short answer, just knowing the answer from your head....if she felt nice she'd put a small True/False section in....which never happened. In fact, most courses I have taken during summer have SUCKED, drawing being the worst actually ( 8 a.m. till 12 every day of the week, with about 6 hours of drawing "homework" each night). Some schools do the real courses over an entire summer. I know at FSU, where I'll be in a few weeks, the summer semester for many science courses is only a week or so shorter than a normal semester. So........take it if you want. It should never be because you think it is "easier" as far as material goes.....although we all do that.

 

[scholj]

I think it depends on where you are applying. I took o chem 1 and 2 over the summer and I currently have two acceptances.

 

[Beckie1022]

I think whether you take the courses at a community college or a four-year might matter. That being said, I took physics over the summer at a community college. It was never asked about and I got into some of my top choices. I think that what you should mainly be worried about is how it will affect your MCAT. It might raise eyebrows if you get A's in a bunch of summer science courses and then score below 10 on the BS or PS. It would be pretty clear that those A's were in watered-down courses.

I guess it's ideal to do your core science courses at a four-year, but I can cautiously recommend summer school as a way to fit it all into four years.

Good luck!

 

[Dr. Josh]

Degree of difficulty depends on the school and professor. Believe it or not, professors look forward to having a break from class as well....so the ones that teach during the summer either love to teach, or are doing it for cash....or perhaps it is required for some reason. Either way, it can lead to different results in teaching. I took my first biology with lab during the summer after graduating high school and it was one of the hardest damn courses I have taken. All exams were essays, short answer, just knowing the answer from your head....if she felt nice she'd put a small True/False section in....which never happened. In fact, most courses I have taken during summer have SUCKED, drawing being the worst actually ( 8 a.m. till 12 every day of the week, with about 6 hours of drawing "homework" each night). Some schools do the real courses over an entire summer. I know at FSU, where I'll be in a few weeks, the summer semester for many science courses is only a week or so shorter than a normal semester. So........take it if you want. It should never be because you think it is "easier" as far as material goes.....although we all do that.

I agree. I took physics 2 at my CC and it was one of the hardest courses I ever took mostly because my professor sucked. Of the 25 people in the class, 17 either dropped it or transferred to another section. Of the 7 remaining 2 failed. And to think adcomms will think this was an "easy" course? The course brought down my science GPA.