Electives anyone?

[PremedGunner]

---

Members do not see this ad.

what are some good electives to take? preferably gpa boosters. all the classes i need are full so i'm just gonna load up on these for now, and then drop some if i get into any of the classes i need.



thank you, oh knowledgeable ones.

 

[Astarael]

I really enjoyed the biochemistry/genetics/cell biology sequence at my school, but they aren't necessarily GPA boosters. What year are you? That makes a difference for what classes you have access to.

 

[metallica81788]

Mythology, sociology, psychology, any intro to agricultural science if you're at an A&M school (i.e. dairy science, poultry science), ecology, almost any kind of anthropology, just to name a few.

Remember that easy classes and GPA boosters vary from school to school and even by professor.

 

[Cypher321]

a foreign language class, musical instrument class, a martial art class (I recommend judo) and not sure if your school has it but we have a wine tasting class if you're 21+.

 

[WildEMDoc]

Astronomy, Psychology, Dance, Philosophy are a few good ones.

 

[PremedGunner]

v

 

[zer0crew]

Take upper division biology electives if at all possible. I decided to take immunology, medical microbiology and molecular biology as electives my senior year and LITERALLY the first THREE passages on my MCAT BS section went; immunology, medical microbiology, molecular biology. It was a hugh confidence booster and allowed me to finish the BS section with 20 minutes to spare.
Granted, the questions weren't word-for-word from my classes, but it was incredibly helpful that I had to spend ZERO time "getting my bearings", so to speak. If you've seen the concepts before, that's about 80% of the passage right there. You definitely do NOT want to try to be learning things like Real-Time PCR or B-Cell affinity maturation on-the-fly. By learning a lot of those concepts beforehand, you will save yourself a lot of valuable time. That time can then be focused on understanding the 20% of the passage that is new information that the questions will likely be asking about.

The moral of the story: Take advanced biology electives. There's a much better chance they'll be useful on the MCAT and will make medical school a little bit easier for you. Plus, nobody on an AdCom is going to be impressed by 12 credits of 'A' in "Interpretive Dance" or "Intro to Art" classes. Furthermore, if your Philosophy teacher turns out to be a total schmuck and you end up getting a B in Philosophy ... eye-brows will be raised.

Good luck man!

 

[REMMAH]

medical terminology.. easy, relevant, and you learn a lot

 

[gettheleadout]

Take upper division biology electives if at all possible. I decided to take immunology, medical microbiology and molecular biology as electives my senior year and LITERALLY the first THREE passages on my MCAT BS section went; immunology, medical microbiology, molecular biology. It was a hugh confidence booster and allowed me to finish the BS section with 20 minutes to spare.
Granted, the questions weren't word-for-word from my classes, but it was incredibly helpful that I had to spend ZERO time "getting my bearings", so to speak. If you've seen the concepts before, that's about 80% of the passage right there. You definitely do NOT want to try to be learning things like Real-Time PCR or B-Cell affinity maturation on-the-fly. By learning a lot of those concepts beforehand, you will save yourself a lot of valuable time. That time can then be focused on understanding the 20% of the passage that is new information that the questions will likely be asking about.

The moral of the story: Take advanced biology electives. There's a much better chance they'll be useful on the MCAT and will make medical school a little bit easier for you. Plus, nobody on an AdCom is going to be impressed by 12 credits of 'A' in "Interpretive Dance" or "Intro to Art" classes. Furthermore, if your Philosophy teacher turns out to be a total schmuck and you end up getting a B in Philosophy ... eye-brows will be raised.

Good luck man!

First, the OP is a freshmen, not in a position to need advice about junior level elective choices. Second, Adcoms aren't going to be impressed much at all by what classes you take, how does taking some upper level bio classes make you any different than all the biology majors out there applying along with you? I agree that they will probably be of use in preparing for the MCAT, but if one has other interests, or is looking for GPA boosters like the OP, they'd be better off taking classes that interest them and would more likely be less intense.

 

[gettheleadout]

a foreign language class, musical instrument class, a martial art class (I recommend judo) and not sure if your school has it but we have a wine tasting class if you're 21+.

Totally missed this haha that's awesome

 

[PremedGunner]

thank you, thank you, thank you! sorry i should have mentioned i'm a freshman, i thought i did, oh well.

yeah, so there are no classes open so i'm just going to register for a sailing class and a primate class, and pretty much wing it from there, that way i'll get my financial aid award and i'll petition for all the classes i need. i think you don't get your financial aid award unless you're enrolled in some classes, and theres a chance i won't get into the classes i need, so this will be my fall back. if i dont get into any of the classes i need, i will have an earlier registration time next semester and i'll get in for sure, because i wont be a new student. bah, rant.


i was thinking about emt but thats way too heavy. i'll have to check but i think its a 6 hour class with some lab on the side.

 

[indya]

.

 

[anfleisch]

You need to ask people from your school. The professor matters more than the material. I have read simple books on theoretical physics, but that doesn't make it easy.

 

[Barcu]

Great call on the primate class.

Best/most interesting class I ever took.

 

[Hope0913]

I would recommend anthropology, global issues, intro to politics, film, photography, foreign language 1001, public speaking, abnormal psych, i can't think of any more at the moment. Ask for a academic evaluation sheet if possible, it lets you know what classes/electives to take for your major it helps out a lot with the different areas and requirements 😎