Is rigorous courseload important factor?

[AJAAJA]

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Do medical schools take into consideration of how rigorous a students' course load (or lack of perhaps?) is in relation to their grades?

Which student would be looked better?
: A student who took 11 credit hours (orgo and 2 easy elective classes) and got 4.0 and a student who took 15 credit hours (orgo,research, upper level bio, elective) and got 3.8.

 

[RNtoMD87]

@Goro

I believe Goro has previously stated that they do.

 

[getdown]

Rigor is in the eye of the beholder. No adcom in the country can truly know the rigors of each class of every applicant applying from every school in the United States. As long as your GPA and MCAT are high no one cares what classes you took. Obviously don't make it obvious with 5 basket weaving classes per semester every year but worrying about rigor is silly.

 

[DrRiker]

You owe it to yourself to pick something you care about, regardless of rigor or impressing adcoms. A) your passion in essays and interviews is far more important than what classes you took (assuming relatively equal GPA), and B) you might find a more personally gratifying career outside medicine

 

[Redpancreas]

Adcoms don’t sit around and play Applicant A v. B. Sometimes adcoms use that to illustrate a point like you’re doing but that’s hardly what matters. As for course load, it’s an afterthought because no one knows how one person’s course load compares and which classes are difficult at which universities so people just simplify it by looking at GPA. There are some adcoms that are rumored to have data regarding what classes are tough and keep records of stuff, but that’s all that is, a rumor. I would take all steps to maximize GPA while learning all you can. I also believe that taking 20 credits a semester in undergrad to prepare yourself for medical school is useless. All you’re doing is grating your head against a wall unnecessarily. When the 12-crediters get to medical school, there’s no wall that they hit because they took things easier in undergrad. If they got a good MCAT, they can handle the material.

 

[Phile98]

Not worth it.

4.0 in sociology with all the free time in the world to do volunteering, leadership, research, studying for the MCAT, hobbies, and other activities> 3.7 in whatever hard major you're thinking of.

This is pretty sensible.

However, I feel these days it's becoming increasingly common to pursue something that is easy over something that is intellectually stimulating. Just like you pointed out, majors like Sociology and especially Psychology are chosen because of their ease. Difficulty is an important factor to consider, but the first and foremost thing that should be evaluated is whether you're invested. As @LargerGorilla pointed out, make sure you have time for other activities, but don't specifically chose a major cuz it lets you have more free time.

If you like it and it's hard at the same time, you're on the right path.