Extra courses

[arybyinski]

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Im a non-trad finishing up the chem and bio prereqs. This semester I have some gaps and was wondering if I took extra courses if it would help.
Was thinking of taking Infectious Disease (BI 208), Pathology (BI 210) and/or microbiology (BI 203).

I work full time but dedicate 2 days a week to classes and I could squeeze 2 maybe 3 of the courses in. My science GPA isnt bad, but as a nontrad I thought maybe it would show more dedication, etc to the process.

 

[NTF]

It's not a bad idea ASSUMING YOU DO WELL.

All the classes you mentioned have relevance to medical school so they're not bad choices if you're looking for more science exposure. I'd honestly recommend biochem if you haven't taken it already. Just make sure you do well.

 

[ArkansasRanger]

Im a non-trad finishing up the chem and bio prereqs. This semester I have some gaps and was wondering if I took extra courses if it would help.
Was thinking of taking Infectious Disease (BI 208), Pathology (BI 210) and/or microbiology (BI 203).

I work full time but dedicate 2 days a week to classes and I could squeeze 2 maybe 3 of the courses in. My science GPA isnt bad, but as a nontrad I thought maybe it would show more dedication, etc to the process.

Those seem like they'd be interesting courses. I'd take them.

 

[UpwardTrend]

Those are great courses to take. Do not take them if you will not get A's though. Don't worry too much about gaps in time if you work full time.

 

[TreeOfSouls]

The advice that I've been given is that taking one upper level science class (300-400+ level) can look good... but, it isn't necessary. It won't necessarily give you a better chance of admissions. It won't necessarily help on the MCAT. It won't give you much advantage when you start medical school. But, if you're interested and do well, it could boost your GPA a tiny bit and be like a small "perk" on your transcript. And, of course, you'll learn something that you were interested in learning (most important)!

So, bottom line- I'd do it if you're really interested and want to learn the subject matter, but probably not if you're wanting it to "make a difference" in your overall application. But, that is just my perspective!

 

[ruraldr]

Agree with the biochem suggestion. I took it as a post-bacc add on after finishing the prereqs and as a current first year am so glad I did. Most of my classmates had also already taken it and the pace of biochem classes at my med school assumed that we had seen the material before.

I think it made the first year of med school much harder for those that had never seen it before.