Does more credits you take in undergrad increase your chances of getting in?

[PreMedStudent92]

I'm a freshman now and came in with a lot of AP credits. When I made my four-year plan, I noticed that I was able to take almost minimum number of credits and still graduate in four years (120 required to graduate, expected to have 123). I was thinking that if I take less credits, I will have an easier time keeping up with my schedule and that will give me a high GPA. However, it also came to my mind that if I take too little courses, medical schools might not like it? So does taking the bare minimum credits required for graduation and taking more credits make a difference when applying to medical school?

And also a side question, because of my AP credits I am able to double major, but that will have me taking a lot more credits per semester. Will a double major help me in any way for medical school?

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[Ismet]

I'm a freshman now and came in with a lot of AP credits. When I made my four-year plan, I noticed that I was able to take almost minimum number of credits and still graduate in four years (120 required to graduate, expected to have 123). I was thinking that if I take less credits, I will have an easier time keeping up with my schedule and that will give me a high GPA. However, it also came to my mind that if I take too little courses, medical schools might not like it? So does taking the bare minimum credits required for graduation and taking more credits make a difference when applying to medical school?

And also a side question, because of my AP credits I am able to double major, but that will have me taking a lot more credits per semester. Will a double major help me in any way for medical school?

I wish people would stop being so hung up over what adcoms want to see and just do what you like to do (and do it well). If your reasoning for double majoring is simply to look better when applying, I would suggest not doing it, because that will be a very unhappy 4 years. If there are two majors that you will enjoy and you think you can manage the courseloads for both, then go for it.

I really doubt that the # of credits you take has any bearing on med school admissions. If you apply at the end of junior/beginning of senior year, med schools won't know your final number of credits anyway. I'm on track to graduate with around 125 credits and I was never asked anything about that.

 

[ZapadniyRus]

I'm a freshman now and came in with a lot of AP credits. When I made my four-year plan, I noticed that I was able to take almost minimum number of credits and still graduate in four years (120 required to graduate, expected to have 123). I was thinking that if I take less credits, I will have an easier time keeping up with my schedule and that will give me a high GPA. However, it also came to my mind that if I take too little courses, medical schools might not like it? So does taking the bare minimum credits required for graduation and taking more credits make a difference when applying to medical school?

And also a side question, because of my AP credits I am able to double major, but that will have me taking a lot more credits per semester. Will a double major help me in any way for medical school?

Funny, I've been wondering the exact same thing.

It's my first year in college and by this semesters end I'll have 77 credits, as I came into college with 66 (45 AP/IB and 21 dual enrollment). I got around to planning out my four-year plan the other day and realized that I would be able to graduate in four years never taking more than 13/14 credits a semester (at least not till last semester senior year). I'm majoring in Chem E, and it'd be nice to be able to spend more time on those classes known to be "hard" (if I decide I'm smart enough for Chem E that is and don't switch my major 🙂)

I was thinking it wouldn't matter how many credits you decide to take a semester as long as you have enough at the end to graduate with a degree.

 

[kduck]

While it may not matter exactly how many credits you end up with in total at the end, adcoms will probably notice if you take a pretty easy schedule throughout your entire college career. They do want to see that you can balance a challenging schedule and still be successful. So if you are thinking of taking only 2 or 3 classes at a time for 4 years... don't. Besides, it's a waste of an opportunity to take really cool, interesting classes that you might not ever get to take again.

 

[Danlee07]

instead of tailoring your life to medical schools, why not just learn for the sake of learning... and if you're that far ahead, you could even triple major and graduate on time. Most of your AP credits won't count anyways unless you choose the select medical schools that do...

 

[crazyasian]

I'm sitting at about 200 credits roughly...I've yet to have an interviewer ask about it

 

[JESSFALLING]

OP: Medical schools expect you to challenge yourself academically. It's great that you did so in high school, but you need to do so in college too! Use your AP credits as a tool to allow yourself the time to explore a wide range of subjects. Study the sciences. Enjoy courses from the social sciences and the humanities. Take some music or art electives. Minor in something off the wall like medieval or religious studies. Study abroad one semester. Be unique! A double major isn't needed for this. Please don't do one at the cost of not taking interesting classes that you will never have time for later in life... Besides the 12 or so classes which you need to take for admissions purposes, you can and should feel confident that adcoms truly want you to devote the remainder of your studies to YOU. And honestly, you'll likely post the highest grades if you study what you love.

Also, it often takes people >3 years to develop a well-rounded, motivated and competitive medical school application...with or without AP credits. Be aware of this and work hard to show that you are a diverse and compassionate person worth a slot.

 

[Law2Doc]

While it may not matter exactly how many credits you end up with in total at the end, adcoms will probably notice if you take a pretty easy schedule throughout your entire college career. They do want to see that you can balance a challenging schedule and still be successful...

nah, they really don't have the time or interest to evaluate who took a harder course load. The person with the higher GPA who took all the prereqs has a distinct advantage over the person who took some crazy amount of credits overall. If you have a lot of extra time, med schools will show preference to those folks who use that time doing cool ECs, rather than yet another advanced chem class.

 

[mishaS]

OP: Medical schools expect you to challenge yourself academically. It's great that you did so in high school, but you need to do so in college too! Use your AP credits as a tool to allow yourself the time to explore a wide range of subjects. Study the sciences. Enjoy courses from the social sciences and the humanities. Take some music or art electives. Minor in something off the wall like medieval or religious studies. Study abroad one semester. Be unique! A double major isn't needed for this. Please don't do one at the cost of not taking interesting classes that you will never have time for later in life... Besides the 12 or so classes which you need to take for admissions purposes, you can and should feel confident that adcoms truly want you to devote the remainder of your studies to YOU. And honestly, you'll likely post the highest grades if you study what you love.

Also, it often takes people >3 years to develop a well-rounded, motivated and competitive medical school application...with or without AP credits. Be aware of this and work hard to show that you are a diverse and compassionate person worth a slot.

This is good advice.

Non trad students are more unique, and probably can talk about more things, but really, this kind of stuff has minimal, if any, impact on actually getting in. To directly answer your question OP, adcoms aren't going to look at every single particular class and judge it, unless you have a bad grade to draw their attention to it that is. Your degree will certify that your school deems you of having sufficient knowledge for the title your degree grants (funny to think that everyone who's in medical school is technically a bachelor, a master, or doctor of something) so the fact that you have AP credits in there won't matter. Your GPA and MCAT score however will matter, as will your extra curriculars, so focus on those instead of worrying about this. I have to say though, that I was told that a double major does get you points though, at least if you finish them together. I doubt it would help you much, but supposedly it will help a bit. Think of it this way though, the time you spend on that double major could be used instead for extra carriculars, volunteering, shadowing, working, etc. all of which would be just as, if not more, helpful towards getting in. Unless you really want to get one, just save yourself the time and money.

Personally, I'd save the money and time, but when I was in high school, I opted out of taking the AP test for the only AP class I had, so I could pad my grade with an easy A 😀.