How many "credits" do you take in medical school, equivalent to college credits in undergrad?

[Stormpelt]

Like, say the average full time undergraduate student takes 12-16 credits. If you compare med school to undergrad, how many "credits" would it be in med school? Taking in account the difficulty of the classes.

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[armybound]

Probably double that, 25-30ish.

 

[Stormpelt]

Probably double that, 25-30ish.

wow that's a lot.

 

[eefen]

Probably around 3485 credits.



If I recall correctly, I think UWSOM had credit hours per semester listed on their website in the curriculum section - that might give you a general idea. I just remember it being a lot.

 

[jmlms]

The director of admissions at Oklahoma told us it was equivalent to about 25 credit hours/semester

 

[Goro]

My students have a LOT of contact time in either lecture or lab, so I think it's around 32. Now, that's just face time. If you factor in the intellectual burden of medical curriculum (which is a fancy way of saying "all the crap we throw at our students"), I think it's really on the par of 40-50 hours.

Med students, what say you?


One of my Faculty colleagues likes to put it this way: "a Master's degree each semester".

Like, say the average full time undergraduate student takes 12-16 credits. If you compare med school to undergrad, how many "credits" would it be in med school? Taking in account the difficulty of the classes.

 

[Pacna]

I asked a dental student this exact question. Are you following me?!






But his answer was that he goes to school next door to a medical school and that his med student friends say ~30-36 credits.

 

[ohioguy]

At least at my school, it's just too different from the concept of undergrad "credits"…95% of my studying is for only one class. For our last 5 days of anatomy and 2 week biochem course it was essentially like studying during finals week (probably worse) every day.

 

[Gauss44]

Like, say the average full time undergraduate student takes 12-16 credits. If you compare med school to undergrad, how many "credits" would it be in med school? Taking in account the difficulty of the classes.

Now all you need is to assign a credit value for each of these and figure out what happens after a 3 week class is over (free time?): http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/education/medical-school/academics/curriculum/first-year.html

Duh nuh nuh nuh nuh:

 

[DrEnderW]

My first semester is 27 credits.

I would say that it's about 2x the work of a full undergrad load of hard science classes to finish about average. The hours put it to be at the top of the class is a whole different story, IMO. Everyone is different of course. For a lot of people, the ECs don't end in medical school. I volunteer 2-3 hours a week and have some minor research commitments as well.

 

[NickNaylor]

Using the usual definition for credit hours (hours in class per week), I'd say we were taking the equivalent of anywhere from 20-28 hours depending upon the quarter. Interestingly that works out to at least 120 credits over the first two years, which was the minimum at my university to graduate.

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[Itsmine]

Hmm, I am also interested in this thread. OP, I am assuming you are in undergrad, what year are you?

My first semester is 27 credits.

I would say that it's about 2x the work of a full undergrad load of hard science classes to finish about average. The hours put it to be at the top of the class is a whole different story, IMO. Everyone is different of course. For a lot of people, the ECs don't end in medical school. I volunteer 2-3 hours a week and have some minor research commitments as well.

Do some med students drop all of their EC's to focus on school?

 

[487806]

Hmm, I am also interested in this thread. OP, I am assuming you are in undergrad, what year are you?


Do some med students drop all of their EC's to focus on school?

Lol. OP won't be able to respond, but from her old posts, it seems she's apparently a sophomore in college.

Back to the main point, ECs are irrelevant in medical school. Basically, clinical grades, board scores, and research matter. Others can add in on this.

 

[DrEnderW]

Yes, many students do.

However, some do volunteer or do minor research. At my school, to even be eligible for certain academic honors, you have to have a certain amount of volunteering hours as well. This isn't the norm I don't believe. I am writing a manuscript during the semester that doesn't take up too much time, but that is not the norm either. I would highly suggest NOT starting any type of research until you've taken a few tests to gauge how your studying methodology works. I tutor for a couple hrs a week for some extra spending cash as well but am probably dropping that in the future.

The volunteering commitment I have is nowhere near undergrad though. A couple hours on a Friday afternoon isn't going to sink your grades or personal life. A lot of it is medically related too. For example, as a clinically ignorant M1 it's kind of fun to take blood pressures or give flu shoots at things like health fairs or free clinics. I'm shooting for 50hrs/ school year only because we get a special distinction on our dean's letter if we do.

As others have said... board scores, LOR, rotations, and maybe class rank for some specialties is where its at. Research will help for some programs and specialties as well. I volunteer because I think it's a good thing to do and I get recognition in a LOR but it's very minor.

 

[MEN2C]

A lot. But it's not terrible. You'll manage. Virtually everyone does.