Hardest Course Load

[LatinGuitarrist]

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Which semester/quarter was or were your heaviest course loads? What classes were they, were you working/volunteering..hrs/week and how did you end up doing?

Ed

 

[Encrypted]

Honestly, I bet if they are different for everyone, but if I had to guess it would be junior year because we have school on top of studying for the MCAT. BUT that might change now since the MCAT is offered 22 times a year.

 

[JadedSurgeon]

Junior year, just because I was taking O chem and Physics at the same time (I decided late to go pre-med)

 

[dsh]

i took bio, ochem, physics, and lower div history and philosophy one quarter. surprisingly, the humanities courses were the ones that really made it tough since they required so much reading (a few hours three nights a week). i cut down on my outside obligations besides work and i did well that quarter, but i was pretty miserable. i wanted to finish off all my sciences before i took the mcat the following summer.

i'm glad i did it, i got to go study abroad the next year without too much stress (after mcat scores came out of course), but i'm not sure if i would do it again if given the choice.

 

[Karina 07]

Sophomore year, I jumped into the freshmen's honour sequence in physics because I thought I wanted to major in physics -- despite having never taken physics even in high school. I also didn't have the math prereqs at the time, but nobody asked and it slipped past the Registrar's notice. So, taking physics, for which I lacked BOTH the math and physics prereqs, weed-out math, other courses, *and* I was never home before 8 pm because before and after and between class I volunteered at half a dozen different places. Up at 7 am every day, home by 8 pm, then time for homework and studying. Ugh.

(Edit: As for the how well I did... I got Bs in the physics, and actually I'm still bitter cuz I thought my final term merited an A-. Bastard prof. Otherwise, I did okay, As and A-s, although to concentrate on the physics I took the math pass/fail, which was probably a bad idea for numerous reasons, especially since the previous term's math (and then some, because I was constantly behind in prereqs) was always required for the next term's physics....)

 

[Writer1985]

Spring of third year: biochem II, physics II + lab, inorganic chem, intro to infectious disease (total: 15.5 credits), studying for the MCAT, working 10 hours a week, volunteering 3 hrs a week, and club-related stuff that took maybe 2-3 hours a week.

I would be in class or at the library or at work from 9:30am-6pm (no lunch break) Monday through Friday. And then homework and club stuff from after dinner until about midnight. Lather, rinse, repeat. It sucked at first, but after a couple weeks I was too used to it -- or too tired -- to care.

 

[NashvilleWill14]

In my 2nd semester of postbac (freelance, not a set program) I took 21 hours including the second semesters of orgo, bio, and A&P as well as statistics, physics thermodynamics, and american lit. I also prepared for the MCAT (which I took at the end of the semester), volunteered (about 6 hours/week), and worked part-time (9-12 hours/week).

Wound up with a 4.0 GPA for that semester and did well on the MCAT although the experience was fairly hellish. Up at 5AM to study MCAT and to bed at 10-11PM, those were some long days. I'm glad I did it though, I think it made me a stronger student and went a long way in showing my determination to become a physician. Adcoms like to see heavy courseloads as long as they're balanced out with volunteering / ECs.

 

[LatinGuitarrist]

Nice, anyone else?

Ed

 

[mvenus929]

My heaviest load would be last spring. I took 17 hours... gen chem II, World Regional Geography, Intro to Lit, Physics I Lab, and General Psych. However, my busiest semester will most definitely be this upcoming one. I'm taking Orgo II, Physiology, Genetics, and a Humanities class (15 hours total), in addition to various clubs that'll take up a few hours each week, volunteering 4+ hours a week, spending time with my boyfriend, tutoring once a week, and driving home every other weekend to help my mom out with my sisters. Plus studying for the MCAT and a part time job. It'll be an interesting semester.

 

[future_dr_house]

Computer Programming in Biomed Engr, Ochem II + lab, Physics II + Lab, Diff EQ, Intro to Med Terminology, Research Internship (15 hrs/wk), for a total of 21 hours credit, i don't really count the research though so 18 hours of classwork

life sucks when you change majors to engineering after a year of coursework. i guess i was also trying to finish up prereqs so i could take the mcat.

i ended up pulling ~3.4 that semester, i wish adcoms would take stuff like this into account and the fact that our advisor was an idiot

edit: why OP are you curious about this? also what was your hardest semester?

 

[omega_703]

My most demanding semester so far was last semester:
Organic Chem I, Orgo Lab I, University Physics I, Physics Lab, Genetics, Genetics Lab, and Research (20+ hrs/ week).

I was somewhat miserable and grumpy all the time, my classmates can attest to that.

However, I managed a 4.0 for that sem. I'm just glad it's over.

 

[soeagerun2or]

Biophysical chemistry (4 Advanced Science credits)
Biochemical methods lab (2 Advanced Science credits)
Neurobiology (3 Advanced Science credits)
Molecular Genetics (3 Advanced Science credits)
Molecular Cell Biology (3 Advanced Science credits)

Taken at a top 5 biochemistry school. The methods lab was a graduate course that had 2 4 hour labs, 3 1 hour lectures, and 2 1 hour discussions per week. It was a living nightmare

Also 10-20h basic science research per week, 4 hours volunteering at hospital, and involved in many student organizations (held a couple of offices).

 

[LatinGuitarrist]

Wow, crazy course loads..

Mine was probably when I took:
(Quarter System)

Biopsychology w/lab
Ochem 2 w/lab
Physics 2 w/lab
Medical Mycology w/ 1 lab session

I was also working 25-30 hrs a week and involved in some school clubs. It was a crazy quarter, I was pretty much in a bad mood most of the time..

 

[EmbellisMaVie]

This is just further proof that we pre-meds have some sort of neurological imbalance that makes us want to torture ourselves.

Fall of junior year, I took biochem, pchem, calc-based physics, physics lab, and an upper-level religion seminar, while I TA'ed intro chem, volunteered, did research, and participated in various other EC's (somewhere between 25-30 hours a week). The next semester, I took biochem, pchem, physics, physics lab, and an upper-level chem class, replacing TA duties with MCAT studying. *drops dead*

Honestly, there were times when I wanted to jump off a bridge, hurl myself at a University bus, or swallow a corrosive solvent or two, but like most pre-meds, I was able to survive thanks to a steady supply of caffeine and chocolate. The horrible irony is that I did better grade-wise last year than I did this past semester. *smacks self*

 

[szhao]

my pales in comparison

 

[munnabhai]

my pales in comparison

Yea same here... I pretty much devote all my free time to studying. Thats the cool part of taking classes I like!

 

[xucardsfan08]

yeah, the junior year is usually the worst for people. MCAT studying, beginning the application process, upper level classes.
My hardest is the upcoming semester: pchemII w/ lab, quantum chem, genbioII w/ lab, philosophy elec, quantitative analysis, instrument anal. lab, chemistry research, Kaplan mcat class

 

[MWK]

This past fall I took 19 hours including organic II, grad level physiology, analytical chemistry. etc.

I worked the ER on weekends (12 hrs/wk), and tutored at the student athlete place for 15 hours/wk

I also was on our Honors Program student council with a chair position so i was doing crap for that.

And I researched about 10-12 hrs a week.


Previously, id never gotten above a 3.45, but I got a 4.0 with flying colors.


I think that the busier you are, the easier it is to stay focused. Oh yeah, I didnt have a drop of alcohol until thanksgiving break. That REALLY helped.

 

[copingmethods]

My most demanding semester so far was last semester:
Organic Chem I, Orgo Lab I, University Physics I, Physics Lab, Genetics, Genetics Lab, and Research (20+ hrs/ week).

I was somewhat miserable and grumpy all the time, my classmates can attest to that.

However, I managed a 4.0 for that sem. I'm just glad it's over.

Actually, all of this is pretty much identical to my last quarter as well.

 

[qtpai]

Last semester was third semester calc, vertebrate physiology, ochem1, developmental bio, evolution, intro bio lab, intro chem lab. i also got credit for physics 1, which i taught myself over the summer, so i ended up with 24 hours of credit last semester...should have had 26, but didn't get credit for research because it was too late to register ;p I got a B in calc, A's everything else.

This coming semester, and I will be studying for MCAT as well...
Anthropology 324L Anthropology of Body and Technology
Biology 320 Cell Biology
Biology 344 Molecular Biology
Chemistry and Biochemistry 310N Organic Chemistry II
Chemistry and Biochemistry 210C Organic Chemistry Laboratory
Physics 317L Physics 2
Physics 117N Physics Lab
Biology 377 Undergraduate Research

I'm on campus usually from 8-11 (and that isn't 3 hours...), with a break back to my apartment to restock my food in the fridge in the lab.

Some of you guys are pretty hardcore, though; I don't really know that many people as masochistic as me. It makes me feel warm inside to know that there are others...like me 😉

 

[63768]

embellismavie, i agree. only premeds would want to relive their worst semesters hahaa.

anywho, here goes. my worst course load was all of junior year where i was taking both semesters of biochem, cell bio, bio lab, and a large chunk of my economics and mathematical economic courses for my major. cell bio was most killer because of the volume of reading necessary. all this while working a 32+ hour work week in healthcare consulting. i still did well in those semesters, but after that year, i was so burned out.

 

[szhao]

Yea same here... I pretty much devote all my free time to studying. Thats the cool part of taking classes I like!

lol werd haha, and gaming, so much more fun and enlightening.

 

[novawildcat]

geometry (grad level math class)
linear algebra (grad level math class)
pchem II w/lab
upper level theology class=reading out the ass
advanced macro economics
university ethics=papers/essays out the ass

i think i also worked about 10 hours in the library per week and worked about 20 hours per week at my internship.

LOL the tools in the grad student office almost didn't give me permission to take 2 grad math classes because they said "you can't take 2/3 of a grad student's full time load while overloading with 21 credits". but i ended up convincing the grad school dean to sign the permission form. LOL that semester ended up being my best semester of my entire college career cause I got straight A's. it was interesting though learning about triangles with more than 180 degrees and parallel lines that intersect.

The worst final exam week ever though was when I had 7 final exams in 3 straight days. I didn't sleep for 65 hours straight.

 

[FemalesCANTDriv]

advanced cal II
number theory III
physical thermodynamics II
physical biochemistry IV
graduate molecular oncology
neurobiological psychology
great roman works
senior art history
senior seminar in how to win the nobel prize after i leave school with all of these bada$$ courses under my belt
karate VIII

 

[FemalesCANTDriv]

oh yeah, i forgot one:
theoretical underwater basketweaving II-honors

 

[wmp2424]

spring semester of 2005:

biochem 2
molecular genetics
cellular bio
med micro
topics research course in protozoan-pathogen interactions

taught orgo 2 lab
water center research 6-10hrs/week
worked in ER 35 hrs/week
vice-president of 2 or 3 clubs that semester

i actually did not study that much in that semester, ended up with 4.0

 

[shahalam]

fall AND spring my sophomore year

organic chem
organic chem lab
physics
physics lab
anatomy and physiology
anatomy and physiology lab
calculus

 

[anb111]

this past sem: grad level molecular bio and histology, calculus, eastern philosophy, and anthropology, plus ECs = burnt out in the first two weeks of the semester.

 

[szhao]

don't get offended, but how does linear algebra become a grad course. i can understand why abstract geometry, differential geometry, algebric geometry, computational geometry, and geometric topology become grad course, but how does linear algebra become a grad course.

 

[novawildcat]

how does linear algebra become a grad course.

a lot of operator theory and infinite dimensional linear spaces.

 

[bubabugster]

As an undergrad, one quarter I took 25 units: O-chem lab, Cell Bio, Developmental Neurobiology, Revelle Honors Seminar about Science, Italian Conversation, Italian Analysis, 15 hours per week as a TA and 15 hours per week in research. I got a 3.93 for that quarter.

Then as a grad student, I took 34 units in a quarter, but 12 of those units were for being in lab (40+ hours per week). The quarter also included taking an MCAT prep course and studying for the dumb exam. Somehow this came up at my U or R interview with the dean of admissions and he looked concerned and said I need to chill out and make sure not to burn the candle out.

We're a crazy bunch!

 

[alwaysaangel]

When I was a junior I took 18 units:

Anatomy Lecture, Anatomy Lab, a class on Benevolence, Virology and Genetics.

I also worked 20 hrs a week in an office, 10 hrs a week babysitting, and 5 hrs a week volunteering in a free clinic. I also had my bf at the time so I did almost all my work and studying through the week M-F afternoon so I had weekends with him.

The fact that I did really well, all As but a B+ in anatomy makes me think that med school might be a breeze comparitively with no work and only 2-3 classes at a time.

 

[mrs.smith]

Now, before anyone says it: I know I'm insane.

had baby, emerg C-sect after 40hr labor, started new semester 10 days later on pain pills
took 18hours all hard science
studied for MCAT at the same time
job #1 in a research lab
job #2 in a clinic
volunteered for 2 different organizations several hours each week
somehow I still found time to garden and redecorate my new house

I got straight A's except for the stupid plant class - my first C ever! MCAT was predictably... ummm... challenged.

Basically, I never slept because of the baby, I studied whenever I found more than 2 minutes free.

 

[baylormed]

Now, before anyone says it: I know I'm insane.

had baby, emerg C-sect after 40hr labor, started new semester 10 days later on pain pills
took 18hours all hard science
studied for MCAT at the same time
job #1 in a research lab
job #2 in a clinic
volunteered for 2 different organizations several hours each week
somehow I still found time to garden and redecorate my new house

I got straight A's except for the stupid plant class - my first C ever! MCAT was predictably... ummm... challenged.

Basically, I never slept because of the baby, I studied whenever I found more than 2 minutes free.

You win them all!! 👍 👍

 

[brbsb]

This upcoming semester is shaping up to be my busiest...

18 hours, including 2 upper-level Psychology courses (that's my major), Gen Chem I, Bio I (I became pre-med late in the game), the labs that go with both, and French. On top of that, I'm an RA in the dorms, volunteering at the hospital, TAing a class, and possibly doing some research with the psychology department. I found out today, too, that they're giving the RAs more responsibilities because the dorms had lower GPAs than usual last semester and they want us to fix it. So, I'm ready for the semester to be over before it's even started...

 

[Nikki2002]

edit: screw it--the med school class i just took definitely was the worst

 

[physics junkie]

Next semester will be bad:

Honors Quantum Mechanics
Biochemistry
Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations
Organic Chemistry II

 

[utah07]

Definately next semester. I can already feel the pain.

Ecology and Evolution
Evolution and Diversity
Evolution and Diversity Lab
Molecular Evolution Lab
Plant Physiology
Biochemistry II
Individual Reseach - Honors Thesis

 

[Hurricane95]

Fall of junior year:
OChem II, OChem II Lab, Biology workshop leader, english lit, electronics, math analysis in biomed engineering, biomaterials, independent research = 18 credits

on top of that i started a club for tutoring high school students in math/science = 5 hours / week, participated in two other academic clubs, shadowed two days a week, and took a princeton review MCAT course.

 

[DrMcWorried]

Freshman and sophomore year were terrible:
20 credits all four semesters
freshmen year sucked because i was taking general chemistry and bio at the same time
sophomore year sucked because i was taking Ochem, and doing some research

 

[Ziggy08]

Sophomore year was terrible: Organic Chem, Physics, Math, Chinese, and Biology for both semesters. However, the coming semester is shaping up to be a killer too:

Differential Geometry
Honors Intro to Analysis
Cellular Physiology
Cellular Physiology and Genomics Lab
an African culture course
an international development course

Plus research lab, tutoring writing, and club leaderships.

 

[gan11]

Yup, second semester of frosh year for me, and I've already decided to indulge my idiotic side.

Bio 426 Developmental Neurobiology--I don't know what to expect. I asked a lot of people, and they said it was pretty easy and fun, but I don't want to risk tanking my GPA over it... 🙁
Chem 212: OChem II--Hopefully it'll be better than Ochem I
Chem 213: Ochem Lab (very very nervous about this class the most, since it'll be a hit or miss with grading. I just hope my previous failures at fractional distillation are over and I can isolate every stupid organic compound that I need)
Physics 211: Mechanics (actually excited, since I loveeddd mechanics 2 years ago when I took AP Phys in HS, if it weren't for the evilness of compsci, I'd be considering Engineering)
BMB 252H: Intro to Molecular Biology II (Blah, Blah, Blah...cell signaling. I'm a Biochem Major and even I find it tedious)
Poli Sci 440: Globalization. 15 People, all discussion--1 day/week for 3 hours. My mom studied Poli Sci in India and she encouraged me to go for this one.

Plus, 10+ Hours of work in a research lab, which doesn't seem TOO bad, one of the undergrads already there said that I'd have a lot of downtime to just sit and get work done while something's running. I'm really going to enjoy this one.

Working at Kaplan to be an SAT Tutor...I'm really only doing that for the money, it pays well, but the job doesn't start until March, so it's not going to be hideous, I hope...

Volunteering at the hospital for 4 hours/week. I've been at the hospital since frosh year of High School...

No way in Hell I'm going to do any more extracurriculars/have a social life. My GPA was shot last semester by trying to do too much and hanging out with friends (I'm at my local university, so my high school friends are still about 2 minutes away). It isn't terrible, but I'm really irritated with myself, since I know exactly where I should have put in extra work to get an A in a few classes, where I did get the Bs.

In addition to that, my roommate has a meltdown every 2 days about her workload...I really never know what to say when she's freaking out, especially when it's 3 AM, and I walk in after studying forever, and there are about 12 people in my dorm, crowded on my bed and drinking...stuff, which i don't really want to get in trouble for. I end up moving back home during major exam weeks, just to avoid that.

I think I can do it, I just need to work work work forever and I'll really check out the courses before the Drop/Add period ends. I'm also going to remove AIM, which might help 🙂

 

[RapplixGmed]

This next semester will be beautiful(ly challenging):

Advanced Topics in Biochemistry
Biomedical Engineering Practicum II (grand rounds?)
Biomedical Signal Processing (fourier transforms!)
Biotransport
Tissue Engineering
Modern Physics
Modern Physics Lab

That in addition to mcat, clubs, volunteering, research stuff, premed committee will make life wonderful(ly stressful)

 

[foreverLaur]

Junior year

anatomy (5 hrs a week of class, 6 hrs a week of cadaver lab)
ochem + lab
immunobiology + lab
genetics + lab

i'm at a quarter school, so that is 21 credit hours

i work as a waitress, i volunteer at a hospital, i'm starting a chapter of PhiDE on campus, and I research under a Healthy Heart project.

 

[LittleRocker]

That would be my upcoming semester... organic 2, physics 2, molecular biology, and mammalian physiology. 😱😱😱

Last semester was bad enough with organic 1, physics 1, calc based statistics, and developmental biology. I managed a 4.0 though. 😀😀😀

 

[tigercu]

Spring sophomore year

Major forms of Lit (3)
Organic II + Lab (4)
Intro Biochem (3)
psychology class (3)
sociology class (3)
philosophy of science (3)

-worked 16 hours per week (4 hours each morning mon-thurs)

-traveling tennis club - practice 4 days a week 2 hours a day (but you only had to show up to at least 2 per week)(plus so many matches on the road i went to about 4 or 5, each takes up a whole weekend)

-arts and humanities program with the honors college that took up a lot of time with going to dances, plays, musicals,etc one night a week.
plus reading and discussing some hard upper level books (hard for me to comprehend is what i mean) another night a week in small groups with other members

-tried as best i could to stay active in 2 other organizations (one service and one academic)

-bought tivo that semester, wonderful invention

I SLEPT 2 HOURS a night for the final 40 days of the semester and miraculously pulled off a 4.0, it was just the greatest feeling of accomplishment

never did anything THAT dumb again

 

[NickMB]

Fall 2007. Microbio, cell bio, physics 1, physics 1 lab, orgo II, orgo II lab, feature writing. 20 credits.

Did 12 hours of volunteering every month, and did some preliminary work on my research project (nothing big, just reading papers, designing protocols).

 

[Blade28]

Probably freshman year.

In addition to Latin and humanities, I was taking o-chem, physics, and calculus. (Engineering calculus, not easy calculus for non-science people!).

Oh, and I was working 40 hours/week.

 

[paranoid_eyes]

uhh....yall are crazy...

my hardest (which isn't even close to some others on here):

Biochem
Physics II + Lab
Orgo Lab II