Extra English class vs. volunteer?

[fuqele]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hey guys,

I'm facing a dilemma, and would appreciate some opinions. 😛

My school is on a trimester schedule. I currently have one term of upper level English, one term of scientific writing (offered through English department), and one term of freshman English that I took on pass/fail. I also have one term of Art History class that was probably more writing intensive than the English classes, but that was taken when I was studying abroad in England, so it would appear on my transcript as pass/fail. (But I did receive a letter grade on the transcript I got from the English university.) I'm thinking that I should take one more term of English because some schools require a whole year of English.

But on the other hand, I am accepted into the UCLA dental clinic volunteering program. It's an 80-hour program that rotates you through the different departments in the dental clinic, and you get a rec letter written by the volunteer coordinator (I think) at the end.

They both requires huge time commitment, so I don't think I can do them at the same time. I'm a slow reader and writer, so I usually need to spend a lot of time on my English classes. The volunteering program would also be time consuming, especially since I live about an hour away from UCLA, and I might have to commute more than once every week because of my class schedule.

I'm not sure which one would be more beneficial to me. What do you guys think? I don't have much EC or shadowing experience, so I think volunteering would probably help. But I also don't want to lose my chance at some schools because of English pre-req. 😕

Thanks 🙂

 

[crax]

what is your schedule like in terms of years. Are you applying junior year? Can you take the english senior year?

 

[fuqele]

I am a senior graduating this June, so this is my last chance. 😛

 

[wzhu85]

There are definitely a good amount of schools that require a year of English as prereq so not having that would limit your choices a bit on where you apply. However, that UCLA volunteering program also sounds like a great opportunity especially since you do not have any shadowing experience yet. I would honestly try my best to do both since they are pretty important in terms of your overall application. How many hours a week is the 80 hour program?

If doing both is out of the question, I would complete the volunteering program first. Then as I am applying come June 2012, I would try to enroll in a semester worth of English to complete that prereq before matriculation in Fall of 2013. This would probably be best done at your current school, but can also be taken at Community colleges as long as you apply to schools that take CC credit (most schools if I recall). Best of luck.

 

[wired202808]

There are definitely a good amount of schools that require a year of English as prereq so not having that would limit your choices a bit on where you apply. However, that UCLA volunteering program also sounds like a great opportunity especially since you do not have any shadowing experience yet. I would honestly try my best to do both since they are pretty important in terms of your overall application. How many hours a week is the 80 hour program?

If doing both is out of the question, I would complete the volunteering program first. Then as I am applying come June 2012, I would try to enroll in a semester worth of English to complete that prereq before matriculation in Fall of 2013. This would probably be best done at your current school, but can also be taken at Community colleges as long as you apply to schools that take CC credit (most schools if I recall). Best of luck.

👍 While the UCLA program is awesome if you dont have 2 English classes you just wont get into most dental schools. So at one point or another you might as well take the English course, see if you can take it later or just take it now. the UCLA thing sounds cool but isnt more important than a prereq course.