Done with chem major, what to take my last year and a half of college

[slickfox]

At the end of this fall semester for my junior year I will have completed all requirements for my B.S. chemistry major except capstone which is completed the summer of your junior year at my college.

Right now I am taking P-chem+lab(5), electromagnetism(5), multivariable calculus(4), advanced organic chemistry(2) and a pe class(1) then I tutor 6 hours a week for chemistry and t/a for the organic chemistry class and lab about 10 hours a week.

I started out chemical engineering but am now just chemistry. Based on my performance so far I should be getting an A in multivariable calculus and advanced organic, B in p-chem lecture and lab and C+/B- in electromagnetism.

After this semester lets say my cum gpa goes to approximately 3.4. Just looking ahead should I continue tutoring and being the t/a for the organic chemistry lab while taking easier classes to bring my gpa up or pick up minors in math, physics, and bio? I'm done with all pre-med requirement classes. I am 2 classes away from math and physics minors and 3 classes for bio.

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[JESSFALLING]

What a great position you're in...congrats! In my opinion I would make a list of classes that might help expand your ability to work with future patients, thrive in MS, and add diversity to your mind and your application. Honestly, minors add very little to your application unless they show contrast - i.e. Math major, religion minor. A science minor doesn't really stand out next to a science major. So, instead, I would just take the courses that you feel will add the most to your "future" self - as a doctor, and as a person. If you pick up a minor in the process, no sweat.

Here are a few ideas:

I'd rec a few courses in psychology. Good choices might be "Intro to Psych", "Abnormal", "Child", "Biological", "Historical", "Research Methods", and/or "Neuroscience".

If you haven't taken an UD biology courses, then I'd recommend that you take a few. Good choices here are "Genetics", "Physiology", "Cell/Molecular", "Immunology" and/or "Micro". I'm assuming that you've had "Biochemistry"...but if not, that one should move to the top of your list.

After that, I'd take a few humanities courses to add diversity. Philosophy, religion, and history are all good choices. Many of these can be medically/professionally related (e.g. "Bioethics", "Death/Afterlife", etc.)

Spanish could be very useful for you.

A nutrition class (if offered) never hurts...as med schools don't spend a lot of time on it.

Lastly, a few business-related classes might be a great idea for you, depending on your future goals. Micro/Macro economics, health economics/politics, accounting, finance, marketing, law/forensics, etc. are all good choices.

Regarding your science GPA, you can likely get away with a few "easy" classes considering your completed major....just don't go out of your way to "pad"! You might consider taking "Intro to Astronomy" or "Intro to Stats" if you need a boast and haven't taken these already.

Good luck and have fun.

tl;dr - quit being lazy and read what I wrote! 😀

 

[slickfox]

Is it possible to pad my science gpa with classes like the chemistry of life, environmental chemistry, or astronomy? I find all of those classes interesting but there is no way a 100 to 110 level science class could be included in your science gpa.

My science gpa is 3.39 right now, however I got mostly A's in the premed requirements. The 3.39 is due to B's in upper division chemistry and math classes outside of the pre-med pre-reqs such as analytical chemistry.

My science gpa worries me. I have taken 41 science credits during the first 2 years. So it won't change much.

In the pre-reqs I obtained a 3.62 GPA overall.
A's in gen chem II, bio I, Ochem I and II.A- ochem lab II. B+ in clac based physics I and bio II. B in gen chem II, ochem I lab and physics labs 1 credit labs each.

Biochem I and polymers will be a must. Then if I take biochem II I'll be a biochemistry major instead of general chemistry.

 

[chiapet874]

Is it possible to pad my science gpa with classes like the chemistry of life, environmental chemistry, or astronomy? I find all of those classes interesting but there is no way a 100 to 110 level science class could be included in your science gpa.

My science gpa is 3.39 right now, however I got mostly A's in the premed requirements. The 3.39 is due to B's in upper division chemistry and math classes outside of the pre-med pre-reqs such as analytical chemistry.

My science gpa worries me. I have taken 41 science credits during the first 2 years. So it won't change much.

In the pre-reqs I obtained a 3.62 GPA overall.
A's in gen chem II, bio I, Ochem I and II.A- ochem lab II. B+ in clac based physics I and bio II. B in gen chem II, ochem I lab and physics labs 1 credit labs each.

Biochem I and polymers will be a must. Then if I take biochem II I'll be a biochemistry major instead of general chemistry.

Technically you could pad with those classes (they would be included in science GPA), but ADCOMs aren't fools, they can generally see though BS. What they want to see is that the student can do well on higher level courses.

 

[slickfox]

ADCOMs aren't fools, they can generally see though BS. What they want to see is that the student can do well on higher level courses.

So all the B's I got in thermodynamics, physical chemistry, electromagnetism, and analytical chem that bring by science gpa down to a 3.39 are understandable or should I have never taken them?

Side note: I wish p-chem was required for med school, but not a bio major. My ochem class second semester went from about 150 people to only 13 in p-chem.
The problem solving abilities required for that class.......are to say I would trust any doctor who could manage it.

 

[thyKnight]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that's going out of their way for school. I mean..look at the classes this person is taking..woahh oh ohh :O

If I were in your boots I'd take:
Anatomy and Physiology
Microbiology
Some statistics course
~And anything that soothes your soul 😉 ...maybe take it easy..
I wish I could take it easy ):Stomping my way through school just to graduate.

 

[typicalindian]

Definitely take biochem and anatomy and physiology. Both are great classes

 

[slickfox]

My school offers two anatomy classes one is for nurses and the other is mammalian.