how many credits while working FT?

[jintonic5]

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i'm entering the working/postbacc world in 4 months, and i was wondering what other people have done in similar situations.

i have to work and i have to go to school- living off of loans isn't an option.

so if i get a full time job, how many science classes could i take while maintaining a somewhat reasonable level of (in)sanity? would i be nuts for taking orgo II and say, immunology, at the same time while working 40hrs/wk? what if i threw biochem in there too? 😕 😎

in all seriousness tho, what would you do? what have you done?

 

[bdahl12]

I was in the same boat two years ago. I worked full time and took two science classes. This was as much as I could handle and there is no way I could have done a third concurrently. But your situation may allow you to take a load of three classes. What type of work do you do? Do you have a lot of responsibility or when you finish the day can you leave your work alone and not worry about it? Once I got home I had paperwork and other work related issues to deal with, add studying into the mix 8 hrs a semester was a full load. Everyone is different, but I would advise against 3 classes.

 

[LinhN]

I'm in the same boat right now. I'm currently taking Orgo 2 and lab which is 6 weeks of 20hrs of class times with my 40 hr lab job plus the hr commute there and from the school. I thought I would be able to handle it but the studying required for orgo besides the class time is almost driving me insane. My boss and my job is very lenient and allows me ample time if I have a test, but currently I have no life except saturdays. So I guess it depends on what kind of job, study habits, and level of class you are planning on taking. I would most likely advise on taking only two classes,

Thanks,
Linh

 

[Sprgrover]

I knew that I couldn't handle it, so I decreased my hours at work, took out some loans, and studied my hind end off. Some classes, such as organic chemistry, make for jealous mistresses and will demand all of your time and a lot of your money. If you are planning on working full time, or even working 20 hours a week, just be prepared to place both your social life and sanity on life support. I agree with Linh - if you have to work full time, and there is just no two ways about it, then the maximum you should take would be two courses. Remember, you'll have lab with organic chemistry and that can be rather hairy (at least it was at my school - insane lab write-ups, obnoxious quizzes, and so on). On paper, two classes might not seem like a lot but when your are working and living it those two courses are a bit overwhelming.

 

[Remmurts]

I was in the same boat two years ago. I worked full time and took two science classes. This was as much as I could handle and there is no way I could have done a third concurrently. But your situation may allow you to take a load of three classes. What type of work do you do? Do you have a lot of responsibility or when you finish the day can you leave your work alone and not worry about it? Once I got home I had paperwork and other work related issues to deal with, add studying into the mix 8 hrs a semester was a full load. Everyone is different, but I would advise against 3 classes.

The type of work, an ability to "close the door", family commitments...all play a role. If you have a position in which there is little stress and you are not "taking work home with you," be it physically or mentally, you may be able to handle three (an ability to flex your schedule would also help); however, unless your employment allows you time to study (perhaps you man a booth in a parking lot or a desk in a low-traffic library), DO NOT pursue more than two science courses per term/semester and really learn your materials. Ad comms will place a heavier emphasis on your DAT achievement when reviewing the lighter course loads.

Do you plan to work in dental school? Given the rigors of a dental curriculum, I have been informed it is very unwise during the first two years. 🙂

 

[jintonic5]

The type of work, an ability to "close the door", family commitments...all play a role. If you have a position in which there is little stress and you are not "taking work home with you," be it physically or mentally, you may be able to handle three (an ability to flex your schedule would also help); however, unless your employment allows you time to study (perhaps you man a booth in a parking lot or a desk in a low-traffic library), DO NOT pursue more than two science courses per term/semester and really learn your materials. Ad comms will place a heavier emphasis on your DAT achievement when reviewing the lighter course loads.

Do you plan to work in dental school? Given the rigors of a dental curriculum, I have been informed it is very unwise during the first two years. 🙂

honestly i haven't thought that far- but i'm not planning on working during dental school. i just need to work in the few years between.

hmmm... so i guess it would be better to work max 20 hours if i want to take 3 classes, but definitely no more than 2 while in working full time...

how was studying for hte DAT with a job?

 

[msf41]

i'm entering the working/postbacc world in 4 months, and i was wondering what other people have done in similar situations.

i have to work and i have to go to school- living off of loans isn't an option.

so if i get a full time job, how many science classes could i take while maintaining a somewhat reasonable level of (in)sanity? would i be nuts for taking orgo II and say, immunology, at the same time while working 40hrs/wk? what if i threw biochem in there too? 😕 😎

in all seriousness tho, what would you do? what have you done?

What makes you say "living off loans isn't an option." I was determined not to accumulate any debt during my undergraduate. I was also determined to graduate in four years. One semester I crammed 20 credits: O-chem, physics, genetics, statistics, microbiology. At the same time I was working 30 hours a week. I got B's in ochem and stats, A's in the other classes. I had similar results in several other semesters. My final undergrad GPA was a 3.4 in science. 3.6 overall.

At the time I thought working my way through was the only way to go to school. Looking back though I have different perspective. Today if I could go back and take out $3000-$5000 in loans so that I didn't have to work so much (maybe just 15-20 hours a week instead of 30-40) I would take the debt. Here's why I would take debt: 1) I know I could have been one of those kids with a 3.8 science GPA, but work got in the way. I kept telling myself that admissions boards would look at my workload and the number of hours that I worked per week and say "hey look at this kid he worked like a dog and still pulled down mediocre grades...let's get him in our school." Reality is schools don't every look at your application long enough if you don't have some good stats (GPA) to catch their eye. 2) If you think you are going to get out of dental school without $100K in debt you are dreaming. Debt is a reality with grad school of any kind.

Conclusion of extremely long post:
Take the debt, don't shortchange your education, don't shortchange your GPA (it matters more than a few thousand in loans). I'm not saying to be one of those irresponsible kids that take $20,000 in student loans to buy an SUV during undergrad, but just take maybe $1000-$2000 a semester and work PART-TIME instead of full time (because don't kid yourself into thinking that you can do both without one suffering)

Just my two cents 🙂

 

[jintonic5]

What makes you say "living off loans isn't an option." I was determined not to accumulate any debt during my undergraduate. I was also determined to graduate in four years. One semester I crammed 20 credits: O-chem, physics, genetics, statistics, microbiology. At the same time I was working 30 hours a week. I got B's in ochem and stats, A's in the other classes. I had similar results in several other semesters. My final undergrad GPA was a 3.4 in science. 3.6 overall.

At the time I thought working my way through was the only way to go to school. Looking back though I have different perspective. Today if I could go back and take out $3000-$5000 in loans so that I didn't have to work so much (maybe just 15-20 hours a week instead of 30-40) I would take the debt. Here's why I would take debt: 1) I know I could have been one of those kids with a 3.8 science GPA, but work got in the way. I kept telling myself that admissions boards would look at my workload and the number of hours that I worked per week and say "hey look at this kid he worked like a dog and still pulled down mediocre grades...let's get him in our school." Reality is schools don't every look at your application long enough if you don't have some good stats (GPA) to catch their eye. 2) If you think you are going to get out of dental school without $100K in debt you are dreaming. Debt is a reality with grad school of any kind.

Conclusion of extremely long post:
Take the debt, don't shortchange your education, don't shortchange your GPA (it matters more than a few thousand in loans). I'm not saying to be one of those irresponsible kids that take $20,000 in student loans to buy an SUV during undergrad, but just take maybe $1000-$2000 a semester and work PART-TIME instead of full time (because don't kid yourself into thinking that you can do both without one suffering)

Just my two cents 🙂

thank you very much for your insight 🙂

hmmm... so if i borrow a couple K each semester, would that go under personal or educational loan? i'm trying to get a feel for this, it's all so new to me!

 

[msf41]

I don't know the difference between "personal or education" loans. I would just go down to your financial aid office and start begging for loans. They have the money. They will give you some. DON'T USE CREDIT CARDS!!! Credit cards are convenient, but you have to make MONTHLY PAYMENTS and that would commit you to continue working. Don't do anything during your college education that commits you to make monthly payments (if there is any way to avoid it).