Ever Pulled Off 4 Labs in One Semester?

[Bacchus]

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[BubbleHead]

From what the OP is saying, it sounds like he's going to be taking 2-3 lectures as well at minimum. I agree its possible, depending on the length of the reports. My Biochem papers were 20 pages a week. Four reports of 20 pages a week, plus classes, plus ECs, plus MCAT study is really not super feasible if you are shooting for a 4.0. Is it possible, sure, but pre-med is about building personality and experience as well as typing lab reports. 4 5-6 page papers might be doable.

Lets break it down.
20 Hours for MCAT class/outside study
4 labs, lets assume 3 hours each. 12 hours
Assume 9 hours of other class lecture.
9 hours average for lecture hw/ test prep.
Assume 4 hours per lab report/prep for lab, 16 hours

On paper, that's 66 hours. In all likelyhood this is a gross underestimate when you factor in time between classes, travel, etc etc. Broken down over 7 days, that's 9.5 hours a day. Add 7 hours of sleep a day. That leaves you with about 50 hours of time to do other things each week. So if you sleep 7 hours a day, instantaneously transport yourself form class to class, and are capable of obtaining energy via photosynthesis you will have plenty of time to have a social life and do some EC work . In all honesy though, with all things factored in I would expect this kind of schedule to be more like 90 hours, not including sleep, a week. Still feasible, but not much EC time.

Again volume is what you need to handle. High volume. And you need to find a way to fit your social life and EC work into your schedule. Med school and residency is not about catching all the reality TV shows each week and hanging out at the Mall.

Truly, who do you expect to socialize with in Med School? I'll let you in on a secret that you will realize if you make it... you're only going to socialize with other med students! They are going to be the only people you can relate with and the only ones that will be able to relate to you. Seriously, for a solid 2 weeks before each exam everyone studied for exams from the time the last class ended until they went to bed. And on weekends study... eat... sleep... study. After an exam, we all went to the gym to blow off some steam and then to the bar and talked about the exam.

Who other than another med student is going to understand or want to hear about what cutting into a cadaver every day for a year is like, how stressful it is, and all the intricate details that it involves. Not to mention who will help you remember every single body part and the exact location and function.

LOL this brings back some good memories. To the OP, dude take the labs and kick ass. You'll find time to have fun and socialize and maybe even have a beer or two. It WILL be fine!

 

[Chemist0157]

It's really not the fact that labs are necessarily "harder." It's just that each one sucks the life out of an afternoon where one could study, volunteer, nap, relax, etc. I've had many labs, and only a couple of them were difficult. It's just frustrating that I go through all that trouble to get 1 measely credit.

 

[ILikeFood]

No. You're insane.

 

[202781]

Most labs are pretty easy and just take a bunch of time. As long as you have the time to study for your lecture courses (if you are taking any), then I think you will be fine.

I took 3 labs at once and it was a breeze (actually pretty easy term cuz I hardly ever had to study for tests)

 

[JeanLuc]

Some of us went to schools where classes were only offered once a year. Between that and study abroad, by the time you're a sophomore, there is only one way to take courses and graduate with your major complete and your gen eds finished in four years.

Not all of us are d-bags. And here's a hint, if you don't mean something offensively, don't use a phrase that's offensive in nature

I will take your advice regarding word choice. It was a generalization that did not include those like yourself (those who did not have a choice). My comment was with respect to those who do have more options and still choose to take 4 labs despite their knowing of the difficulty of such a load.

 

[cbrons]

Any of you guys ever pulled this off? I'm going for it next semester...it may be the death of me, but I guess we'll find out in the long run!

Yep .. it sucks and I wouldn't recommend it. In my case, I had a micro lab, a physics lab, and an inorganic chem lab this semester IN ADDITION to my research lab (which was everyday and took up more time than all 3 combined). I had to do it because I wanted to get 3/4 of my pre-reqs in before I take MCAT and apply this summer. I didn't need the extra bio class but I have heard some schools don't like you using Botany + lab as part of your 8 hour biology pre-req so I bit the bullet. It sucks and if you have a lot of ECs then I'd really try and reconsider. A lot of people over-estimate what they are capable of handling and it shows at the end of the semester in grades (or even worse, higher levels of stress and medical implications thereof).

 

[cbrons]

Orgo Lab (seperate 4 credit course from Orgo I and II), BioChem, Micro, Genetics. The nice thing was that it was all science, no other nonsense.

Once you're in the groove of lab reports and MCAT prep you'll be rolling in high geer to take the MCAT. It will be amazing how much you'll actually get done. As residents working in house, 80 hours/wk dosen't include research efforts, reading for your specialty, looking up tomorrows patients and formulating the plan. 4 lab courses would be an easy week looking back.

I don't know anything about residency ... I have no doubt its far more work... but with that being said, it sounds like all the work you do in the 80 hour week is done in one location. One of the hardest parts of maintaining the 4 lab, 18 hour semester + ECs, other research, and work was not so much the work the labs required but actually going to each different activity. It was the physical aspect of going from one place to another all the time that nearly drove me crazy. I'm not a lazy person, that doesn't have anything to do with it. But when you go Mon-Fri, waking up at 8 am, going to one thing then having to go across campus to the next thing, then going somewhere else... it gets tiring... at least if I could do everything in one building I wouldn't have to worry as much about being late to the next thing. Some campuses are smaller and its not really an issue. Mine isn't.

 

[alibai3ah]

Why be so negative when all of these other people above have posted and said they made it work with labs that weren't jokes?

I apologize if I sounded negative. I just assumed that you were trying to do it to show off with the title "ever pull of 4 labs in one semester" as I think other people here also misinterpreted. The reason that I think you should spread your labs out is because your grades really do matter more than anything else. Sure medical schools value kids who strive to reach great limits and challenge themselves. But it is much better to recieve 4 A's in 4 labs spread out throughout college than to risk maybe recieving a few B's or even C's by cramming them all at once. You know yourself better than anyone on SDN, and if you think you can get A's in all 4. Go for it. But if you have the slightest fear that it may be too much, I think you should reconsider. I'm sure it has been done before (as people here have stated), but not all situations are the same. Good luck

 

[DoctorOfRock]

I don't know if I'm just a whimp, but I hate even taking two labs in one semester. Then again, I have a burning hatred for anything with the word "lab" in it.

 

[BubbleHead]

I don't know anything about residency ... I have no doubt its far more work... but with that being said, it sounds like all the work you do in the 80 hour week is done in one location. One of the hardest parts of maintaining the 4 lab, 18 hour semester + ECs, other research, and work was not so much the work the labs required but actually going to each different activity. It was the physical aspect of going from one place to another all the time that nearly drove me crazy. I'm not a lazy person, that doesn't have anything to do with it. But when you go Mon-Fri, waking up at 8 am, going to one thing then having to go across campus to the next thing, then going somewhere else... it gets tiring... at least if I could do everything in one building I wouldn't have to worry as much about being late to the next thing. Some campuses are smaller and its not really an issue. Mine isn't.

I would have far fewer worries if I was getting up at 8AM. I'm in the ORs by 6AM every day, Surgery types are in the hospital by 4:45-5:00AM every day. My hospital is a 0.4 mile walk from my garage (inside, but still) there are 8 hospitals that we cover, most connected in some fashion (skyway, tunnel), but we cover them all.

I'll tell you the worst part of it all, that you don't even realize. It is 1) The down time, 2) Not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Worst days for residents are when you're waiting for something to happen, a.k.a. you're not busy. When you look at the clock and realize 3-4 hours passed since the last time you looked up, well that is a lot different than looking up and seeing 7 minutes have gone by.

When you get to the point that looking for a job as a doc is a little over a few months away... you start thinking about how little time you have to still practice, polish, and learn before "You're the Man".

 

[goldenwest]

I just finished a semester of four labs. It was tiring but do-able. I made a B in one which is kind of sad, but oh well. My lab coordinator said I was the first to do it but I go to a small school.

 

[crixx]

I have two labs (physics and intensive biology) + reseach lab a week this semester and next semester I will have the same plus two organic chem labs a week. It's going to be rough, but doable. It's all about time management. I don't get to watch scrubs or play mario kart as much as I'd like (not at all basically), but I still make time for having fun. It's really not as bad as people make it sound.