How many lab sciences?

[nohika]

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Allright, so I register for classes next Tuesday and was wondering how many lab sciences was "too many". Currently I have three in my schedule - also, I'm at a CC, so apparently the classes are easier (since I've never been at a four-year, I can't tell).

I'm a decent student - my time management sucks, but I figure this will be a nice way to sharpen it right up. Has anyone taken three (or more) lab sciences and done well? It will be two 200-level bio courses and genchem.

Thanks in advance! 😍

 

[twelvetigers]

I would stop at three. That's the most I ever did (three three-hour labs) and I certainly wouldn't start out with more than that. It's hard to say if three is too many... but you ARE just starting out. Better to do a bit less than you are actually capable of than to do too much and have to drop things or try to pull up low grades...

 

[turnbackhelly]

Since I've been taking all of my pre-reqs as a post-bac student, everything has been super condensed for me, so I'm used to taking a ton of lab sciences at once. Last fall, I took Physics I (with lab), Organic I (with lab), Intro Bio (with lab), and one class without a lab (Calc), and I think I ended the semester with a 3.8. This past spring, I took 4 lab sciences (Organic II, Physics II, Cell Physiology, and Zoology) plus 1 non-lab science (Genetics) and managed a 3.9. Currently I'm taking 3 lab sciences (Immunology, Anatomy, and Histology), plus 1 non-lab science (Parasitology) and so far, so good. Of course I should make it perfectly clear that I barely have a life outside of school and working 20 hrs/wk at a vet clinic, but I have found this type of course load to be completely manageable, and I do make time for at least 1 social activity per week, even if it's just dinner with a friend. However, that's just me, and everyone is different.

The best advice I can give you is to ease yourself into it, which it sounds like you've already been doing. Also, like you alluded to, a lab-heavy schedule may be do-or-die for you in terms of improving your time management, which could be a very good thing. My motto is and always has been: everything will get done one way or another, because it always does. It may take you a little while, but you will figure out what works for you - and if not, don't be afraid to seek extra help. Feel free to PM me if you'd like!

 

[turnandburn]

I'm at a CC, so apparently the classes are easier (since I've never been at a four-year, I can't tell).
Thanks in advance! 😍

This is a huge pet peeve of mine! Community classes- as a rule- are not any easier than university classes. It is completely dependent on the instructor. I took took 2 years of cc classes before transferring to my big state university and did not feel the material was any harder.

The only thing that may make cc classes seem easier is the smaller classes; it's easier to get individual instructor attention (think 30 people in O-chem vs 300).

To answer your question, I think 3 is probably enough for one semester until you are know yourself and how you will need to budget your time. 🙂

 

[variegata]

I would shoot myself before taking 3 lab classes together. My school has lab separate from lecture, and the lab classes are a ton of work. I've done 2 together, but only if you include physics lab, which is together with the lecture. It's only 2 hrs a week and is lower div.

Maybe our labs are just long here. The lower div chem lab was 6 hrs a week plus lecture (12 hrs/week plus lecture for 4 weeks for me since I took it over the summer). My microbio lab right now is 8 hrs/wk plus 3hrs/wk lecture. Physio lab was even longer--10hrs/wk lab plus 3hrs/wk lecture. My lab partner is taking micro with me and also doing the physio lab (plus other classes!)--she's totally nuts. And has no time for a life.

 

[racccjlm]

It's definitely possible to have three lab classes at the same time and do well...though it does require some time management skills 😉 I'd say if you feel you can work on your time management skills, then go for the three. I've done four in the same semester before, but for undergrad I think it's better to go with less so that you can actually let some of the material sink in. There's plenty of time for memorizing your brains out in vet school 😀

 

[GellaBella]

I've taken three lab courses every semester and been just fine. I don't consider myself to have the best time management skills but it was totally possible for me to handle three at once. I remember feeling stressed the first semester or two as I adjusted to it all (I didn't decide to go into the sciences until my sophomore year so I was a year behind, hence three lab courses all the time for the remainder of my schooling) but after that it just was the way it was. I think you can do it.

 

[cowgirla]

I think there's been one semester when I =didnt= have at least three classes with labs.
And that was the horrible semester when I had to double up on gen-eds to graduate! Worst semester of all.

I got to the point where I was bored with all my free time if I didn't have 18+ credits and a thousand lab hours!

 

[nohika]

This is a huge pet peeve of mine! Community classes- as a rule- are not any easier than university classes. It is completely dependent on the instructor. I took took 2 years of cc classes before transferring to my big state university and did not feel the material was any harder.

The only thing that may make cc classes seem easier is the smaller classes; it's easier to get individual instructor attention (think 30 people in O-chem vs 300).

To answer your question, I think 3 is probably enough for one semester until you are know yourself and how you will need to budget your time. 🙂

Yeah, I don't believe it myself, but...it seems to almost be a general consensus here. The nice thing is is that I've contacted my IS vet school, and apparently they get a lot of people from my CC. 😀 Plus, I love it here - most of the teachers are absolutely amazing.

I'm taking A&P1, Bio1, French1 (I can do that in my sleep) and Genchem1. Each of their labs are about three hours, though I think chem's the only one that will require a write-up. The other two are mostly pure memorization, least for this quarter. I have all the material I'll need for Biology, and plan to start making flashcards for the lab over Christmas break.

I also don't do much else besides school, and by January I should (hopefully) have my license and be able to drive. I'd like to add maybe five hours a week of shadowing at a local SA clinic (hopefully emergency clinic), and am trying to figure out exactly how to locate some local large animal vets (and maybe shadowing them, too). Once I can drive, I can spend most of my day at a library studying. I do plan to take some time for myself, though - hopefully an hour a day, if I could. I used that same mindset to survive my four-week summer quarter.

Turnbackhelly - you'll probably hear from me sometime in January.

Yup! All my gen-eds are done, so I'm knocking out three lab sciences a quarter until August. Then I'll hopefully start at a four-year uni and knock out physics, o-chem, calculus, and start taking other funstuff. I love to learn, and sciences can be my "bag" if I really keep on top of them, and I definitely plan to. Adding in shadowing will show how much it's worth, and keep me motivated, methinks.

Thank all of you guys for your great advice. 😍

 

[cowgirla]

Yeah, I don't believe it myself, but...it seems to almost be a general consensus here. The nice thing is is that I've contacted my IS vet school, and apparently they get a lot of people from my CC. 😀 Plus, I love it here - most of the teachers are absolutely amazing.

I'm taking A&P1, Bio1, French1 (I can do that in my sleep) and Genchem1. Each of their labs are about three hours, though I think chem's the only one that will require a write-up. The other two are mostly pure memorization, least for this quarter. I have all the material I'll need for Biology, and plan to start making flashcards for the lab over Christmas break.

I also don't do much else besides school, and by January I should (hopefully) have my license and be able to drive. I'd like to add maybe five hours a week of shadowing at a local SA clinic (hopefully emergency clinic), and am trying to figure out exactly how to locate some local large animal vets (and maybe shadowing them, too). Once I can drive, I can spend most of my day at a library studying. I do plan to take some time for myself, though - hopefully an hour a day, if I could. I used that same mindset to survive my four-week summer quarter.

Turnbackhelly - you'll probably hear from me sometime in January.

Yup! All my gen-eds are done, so I'm knocking out three lab sciences a quarter until August. Then I'll hopefully start at a four-year uni and knock out physics, o-chem, calculus, and start taking other funstuff. I love to learn, and sciences can be my "bag" if I really keep on top of them, and I definitely plan to. Adding in shadowing will show how much it's worth, and keep me motivated, methinks.

Thank all of you guys for your great advice. 😍

Just be warned, not all schools accept CC credits. I had emailed a few schools to ask about a specific course and was told that 1) CC courses are not acceptable substitutes 2) upper level courses must be taken at 4 year universities, and all sorts of other fun excuses for why I couldn't take basic "animal nutrition" at the local CC.

 

[nohika]

Just be warned, not all schools accept CC credits. I had emailed a few schools to ask about a specific course and was told that 1) CC courses are not acceptable substitutes 2) upper level courses must be taken at 4 year universities, and all sorts of other fun excuses for why I couldn't take basic "animal nutrition" at the local CC.

🙁 That's kind of annoying! I'm trying to knock out just the "basics" - bio sequence and chem and the like. Hmm...I should probably contact the schools I'd like to apply to...once I figure out what they are, haha! 🙄

 

[Bearby]

This upcoming semester I'm taking 5 labs and 3 lecture classes. That leaves 2 labs that aren't coordinated with a class I'm taking this semester because they're graded separately. I love labs and find myself more excited about them than lecture so I feel confident that I can handle the load. In the past, I've taken 4 classes and 3 labs almost every semester and once I got the hang of it, it wasn't difficult to do well. The only bad part about taking 5 labs is that it takes up a lot of time. However, I've scheduled my classes/labs in a way that I can coordinate times to complete all of the assignments and reports. Also, for three of the labs, I already know the lab instructors and what they require each week and how long it will take me to complete their assignments. I might be a little bit crazy, but I'm really excited about next semester.

 

[turnandburn]

Just be warned, not all schools accept CC credits. I had emailed a few schools to ask about a specific course and was told that 1) CC courses are not acceptable substitutes 2) upper level courses must be taken at 4 year universities, and all sorts of other fun excuses for why I couldn't take basic "animal nutrition" at the local CC.

I looked into this pretty extensively myself, because I went to cc for 2 years (and still got accepted to vet school 👍). I don't know how if rules differ by state, but in MN there are course equivalency guides that clearly show which classes are considered equivalent from cc's and state uni's. The main difference is tech school credits do *not* transfer while cc courses *do*, as long as it is an equivalent level course. For example, cc level 2000 microbiology is equivalent to the uni's level 2000 microbiology, but not the level 3000 micro. And yes, obviously upper level courses can't be taken at 2 year schools because they dont' offer them.

 

[chyactnate]

I am taking 3 labs right now, and it isnt bad at all you just have to work on time management skills. My days are all planned out, but it keeps me busy which I like. I am taking Organic I, Anatomy I, and Ecology (worst class ever) and two other gen-ed classes...Spring semester I am taking Organic II, Anatomy II, and Cell Biology plus 2 gen eds. Just work on time management. I dont currently work, but I def. have time for my horses 🙂 Good Luck 🙂

 

[twelvetigers]

Ecology was borrriiinnnng... lol. Even botany had more excitement!

 

[Caninerepro]

Uh just a heads up, for those who think 3 lab courses is too much in a semester, wait until you actually get into vet school! I am not saying that when you are just starting it is not rough, but be ready for far worse once you DO become a vet student! Also, tough semesters like that are a great way to show ad coms that you can handle a decent credit load and do well. Far more important though is to do well in all those classes! 😀 Good luck.

 

[badcats]

Ecology was borrriiinnnng... lol. Even botany had more excitement!

I actually have to agree, I am just finishing ecology, and all that lab is is working in excel and analyzing the data.😴
At least in botany the professor was entertaining and we actually DID things, even if it was making wet mounts of celery

 

[racccjlm]

I actually have to agree, I am just finishing ecology, and all that lab is is working in excel and analyzing the data.😴
At least in botany the professor was entertaining and we actually DID things, even if it was making wet mounts of celery

Sounds like both you and twelvetigers had really boring ecology classes! I'm in ecology this semester - and while everyone in the class has become prematurely bald from pulling out hair over the mountains of statistics involved, we have a fantastic professor. Almost every lab has been outside collecting data! Last week we got to wear chest waders and "play" in water for two hours - water testing, looking at various organisms, etc.

 

[nohika]

Sounds like both you and twelvetigers had really boring ecology classes! I'm in ecology this semester - and while everyone in the class has become prematurely bald from pulling out hair over the mountains of statistics involved, we have a fantastic professor. Almost every lab has been outside collecting data! Last week we got to wear chest waders and "play" in water for two hours - water testing, looking at various organisms, etc.

That actually sounds really cool! 😀 Hopefully I'll be able to take ecology at a four-year.

 

[twelvetigers]

At least in botany the professor was entertaining and we actually DID things, even if it was making wet mounts of celery

LOL!

Yeah, racc, that sounds fun. We went out twice, once to bore holes in some trees (read: boring) and again to look at flowers... wild flowers in OK in March? Not too great. That was it.

 

[cvt]

I'm taking 3 lab sciences right now and I'm fine with it, however they are lower level classes. (principals of bio, zoology, and gen chem 1). I'm also taking 3 labs next semester, as well as an on-line math class (gen chem 2, botony, herpetology and college algebra). I think you'll be fine with 3 labs (especially if you enjoy them) and honestly, I've done better having 3 lab courses at one time than I did having 4 non-lab classes.

 

[sumstorm]

In undergrad I would do up to 4 science courses with labs a semester. So, 3.5 hour lecture/wk with 4 hour lab per week for each week (that was the minimal required lab time, often several more hours outside of that.) However, if you aren't use to it, have had problems in the past, or have other stressors, do not start out more intensely. Sometimes doinga make or break schedule won't cause you to step up to the plate, especially if there is other junk going on in your life.

 

[chyactnate]

Ecology was borrriiinnnng... lol. Even botany had more excitement!

Yeah I totally agree....I really cant stand ecology. Today we had to measure diameters of trees and distances from one another...in the pooring rain. Only another 5 more lectures and I cant wait till that class is over....Worst class by far...its too bad because my professor is awesome I just hate the material.

 

[deleted266066]

Chyactnate, better to have a good professor for a crappy course than the other way around 🙂 I've taken some classes that could have been SO good, but the teachers absolutely ruined it for me. Jerks.

 

[chyactnate]

Yeah I totally agree...This guy you can goof around with. I took an abnormal pysch class and the proffesor was AWFUL! which made me hate the class. I use to go to her office to talk about showing dogs because she bred and showed Huskies..lol that was all I learned in that class...lol