Is it ok to take Pre-Med courses in the summer?

[PreMedDoc]

I am currently taking Chemistry II and it's really hard at my school so I am not going to pull a B. Should I drop it and take it in the summer at a good school or take the C. I was told that Medical Schools don't mind premeds taking physics in the summer but chemistry and organic is a no-no, and you won't get in if you do. But then again I will end up with a C and it will lower my GPA if I don't drop it. Can anyone who is experienced in the admissions process give me some solid advice about taking premed courses such as the chemistries (Gchem, Organic) out in the summer and doing well vs. taking it during the year and getting a worse grade.

Thanks

Alex from New York City



[This message has been edited by PreMedDoc (edited 04-05-2000).]

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[gp]

Taking the class over the summer does not really make a difference one way or the other. What you should keep in mind, however, is that summer classes condense the material into a much shorter time period. This means that the class will move much faster and the workload will be greater than if you took the class over the school year. Another disadvantage is that you won't have as much time for difficult concepts to sink in. On the flip side, you'll likely be able to focus exclusively on your chemistry without other classes to distract you. It may be a risk to do this if you're stuggling now - it may not result in better grades. I took physics over the summer - it was very difficult. I had planned to take orgo instead and I am very glad now that I stretched that course out over the school year. Good luck.

 

[noah]

Alex - I don't think taking classes over the summer is a problem, it seems to be very common for pre-meds and doesn't affect the admissions process. I took Orgo and Bio the past two summers and did fine in each. It's a great deal of work but hardly impossible. All that matters is the grade you receive in the course.

Good Luck.

 

[2004guy]

Don't take the C!!!

 

[pandabear]

HI! I too, am a pre-med who is concerned about summer courses. What do you think of taking BOTH Physics I and II over the summer? It is offered at quite a few private universities in my area. Am I insane? They are each 5 week courses, lecture MWF (3 hours), lab T/TH (3 hours each). Any comments??

 

[UHS03]

I took both physics classes over the summer, and it was never mentioned in any interview. It was tough, but I found that the people who went in expecting a big workload did alright. The students who spent the whole time whining about the workload got creamed. If I had it to do over again, I would still take both physics calsses over the summer.

 

[Oolong Wa]

A cetain college I can attend has SPLIT SEMESTERS, as well as traditional terms. The SLT TERMS are where regular Spring and Fall terms are split into two A and B terms--Spring A and Spring B, and so on. Do you think I am nuts to try and do O Chm 1 and Phy 1 during Spring A, then O Chm 2 and Phy 2 during Spring B? This would be an all-science 16 credit hour semester.

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[PreMedDoc]

If you take them separately, meaning, take Physics I in the first five week semester that the college offers (if two semesters in the summer is what the college offers) and take Physics II second summer semester it shouldn't be impossible. I took Physics I lecture and lab in the first summer semester and then Calculus I second summer session, and I found it to be pressured but very doable with a reasonable amount of effort and time devoted. By the way after taking Physics, I decided to take Calculus I the second semester (some med schools require it, some don't) and that was only because that I felt that had I had some Calculus before Physics (and for that matter chem) I would have had a much easier time conceptually with the material. Based on my experiences with Physics and Chemistry, I recommend taking Calculus to anyone during their freshman year as a premed (or before/with Chemistry and/or Physics). It helps a lot with the conceptual and problem solving skills that are used in Physics and Chem II. I don't think I would have grasped half of Chem II had I not had any Calculus background. (the rate laws and curves get really complicated to understand without any Calc).

 

[PreMedDoc]

Originally posted by Oolong Wa:
A cetain college I can attend has SPLIT SEMESTERS, as well as traditional terms. The SLT TERMS are where regular Spring and Fall terms are split into two A and B terms--Spring A and Spring B, and so on. Do you think I am nuts to try and do O Chm 1 and Phy 1 during Spring A, then O Chm 2 and Phy 2 during Spring B? This would be an all-science 16 credit hour semester.

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Personally, yes. For me that would be suicidal. It's hard enough taking both those courses together in a 16 week semester (well for that matter Orgo is hard enough by itself - in my school people spend 35-40 hours a week studying just for Organic during the semester), to take the both in a 5-6 week summer session at the same time is beyond tough. Not to mention the burn out you'd feel taking one session and then another. My advice, if you have options don't take both in the summer. From what I hear Physics would be a better choice. Much less pressure - easier to do well in a condensed semester. Organic is an extremely conceptually difficult and time consuming subject and is ideally best left to be taken during the year when one has the opportunity to put a tremendous amount of time into grasping the material and letting the concepts sink in. From what I hear Organic is a monster of a course no matter when you take it. Besides you will need the concepts in Organic in medical school much more than you'll ever even touch most of physics. Organic is a prerequisite for BioChemistry which is what half of med school is about - Reactions and molecular structure. Got to fully understand what's going on inside the body to treat it.

Alex from New York City