is taking a break from ECs to focus on classes for 1 semester okay?

[scpm]

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I'm taking organic I, physics I, calc II and a humanities class this semester. The science/math classes are really kicking me so far but I KNOW for sure I could be doing better if I had more time. I way underestimated how much time and effort these classes take.

I'm debating if I should cut most of my ECs for the rest of this semester or if I should just hammer through it without stopping anything. This is everything else I'm doing outside of classes:

10 hours / week doing research at a lab - can't really cut my hours on this because of the nature of the experiments and I have to do a poster presentation soon

Clinical volunteering 4 hours a week - I could stop for this semester and come back in January but I really really love going there. I've been there since last summer and really only visit 2-3 patients so they all know me pretty well and it's super personally rewarding. I would just feel guilty about stopping and not coming for so long but I know that the director could find another volunteer to visit them.

Tutoring - depends on if I get booked but usually 2 hours/week + some prep time. Also really rewarding for me and the professor (took his class last year and we're pretty close) really wanted me to tutor it.

I could stop volunteering and tutoring and focus on my classes to get A-s / A's or keep going but risk not doing as well. I have a 3.9+ right now so I'm not too worried about my gpa in terms of applying but it still feels bad knowing I'm not doing as well as I could be.

Any advice at all is appreciated! Thank you.

 

[chemdoctor]

Hammering through would be a bad idea with such important and difficult classes. I think taking a break from your ECs for one semester should be fine but at the same time, adcoms want to see that you can handle a lot of material while balancing other things. It's a skill that I think is needed for medical school. Maybe stop with the volunteering and the tutoring. The professor should understand that you are taking difficult classes. You can start tutoring again next semester...

 

[Doctor-S]

I'm taking organic I, physics I, calc II and a humanities class this semester. The science/math classes are really kicking me so far but I KNOW for sure I could be doing better if I had more time. I way underestimated how much time and effort these classes take.

I'm debating if I should cut most of my ECs for the rest of this semester or if I should just hammer through it without stopping anything. This is everything else I'm doing outside of classes:

10 hours / week doing research at a lab - can't really cut my hours on this because of the nature of the experiments and I have to do a poster presentation at my school next semester

Volunteering 4 hours a week at a safety-net hospital - I could stop for this semester and come back in January but I really really love going there. I've been there since last summer and really only visit 2-3 patients so they all know me pretty well and it's super personally rewarding. I would just feel guilty about stopping and not coming for so long but I know that the director could find another volunteer to visit them.

Tutoring - depends on if I get booked but usually 2 hours/week + some prep time. Also really rewarding for me and the professor (took his class last year and we're pretty close) really wanted me to tutor it.

I could stop volunteering and tutoring and focus on my classes to get A-s / A's or keep going but risk not doing as well. I have a 3.9+ right now so I'm not too worried about my gpa in terms of applying but it still feels bad knowing I'm not doing as well as I could be.

Any advice at all is appreciated! Thank you.

@scpm ... are you a second-year student (O-chem I, Physics II, Calculus II) at this time?

According to your post:

1. Your course load (3 science/math courses and 1 liberal arts course) demands your study time, effort and attention (to learn the course material, do well on exams, and maintain a strong GPA).

2. You have stated the "science/math classes are really kicking" you and you know you could do better if you "had more time."

3. You have a commitment to a research lab (extra 10 hours per week), as well as an upcoming poster presentation; and you are not going to withdraw from the research lab nor neglect the poster presentation (these two commitments are non-negotiable, according to your post).

Suggestion: demonstrate good judgment ... exercise good time management skills ... and make "well-reasoned" decisions to facilitate a positive outcome in this situation. Focus on maintaining a competitive GPA (and also learn about material that you'll later re-visit on the MCAT). If your GPA plummets, you'll be feeling a whole lot of hurt - especially if your GPA takes an irreparable hit because you showed poor judgment (and chose ECs over schoolwork).

TL/DR: it's okay to suspend the safety-net hospital volunteering and tutoring for one semester. You'll be fine.

 

[ExcitatorySynapse]

My last term of senior year, I took 6 classes + mandatory P.E. (0.5 class), 5 of which were STEM, was on the board of 1 club, and had like a 15 hours/week commitment with a lab. There were also a bunch of senior events (gala, dinner etc.). I straight up died, it was literally my worst semester ever, and even though I ended up with a 3.75 overall, I dropped from a 3.83 (RIP :'( and 3.72 sGPA). I straight up collapsed during two of my finals. Also my left ring finger picked up some strain/injury from all that typing and now I have to go back and correct half of my words.

I hope MD/PhD programs won't be too suspicious and hope that my MCAT makes up for it, but I seriously do not advise taking on that much! You will suffer for it, maybe not gradeswise, but definitely sanitywise!

 

[Catalystik]

I'm taking organic I, physics I, calc II and a humanities class this semester. The science/math classes are really kicking me so far but I KNOW for sure I could be doing better if I had more time. I way underestimated how much time and effort these classes take.

I'm debating if I should cut most of my ECs for the rest of this semester or if I should just hammer through it without stopping anything. This is everything else I'm doing outside of classes:

10 hours / week doing research at a lab - can't really cut my hours on this because of the nature of the experiments and I have to do a poster presentation at my school next semester

Volunteering 4 hours a week at a safety-net hospital - I could stop for this semester and come back in January but I really really love going there. I've been there since last summer and really only visit 2-3 patients so they all know me pretty well and it's super personally rewarding. I would just feel guilty about stopping and not coming for so long but I know that the director could find another volunteer to visit them.

Tutoring - depends on if I get booked but usually 2 hours/week + some prep time. Also really rewarding for me and the professor (took his class last year and we're pretty close) really wanted me to tutor it.

I could stop volunteering and tutoring and focus on my classes to get A-s / A's or keep going but risk not doing as well. I have a 3.9+ right now so I'm not too worried about my gpa in terms of applying but it still feels bad knowing I'm not doing as well as I could be.

Any advice at all is appreciated! Thank you.

Why is cutting down the research commitment not negociable? Five fewer hours per week in that one venue would allow you to continue other ECs. If this is a university lab, the PI should be open to reconsidering your role so that you can succeed academically. If this is your second year in the lab, you can drop it completely, having already sufficiently checked the "Research" box.

 

[ClimbsRox]

Normally I would say cut what you need to to do well in class. However, you have a 3.9+. Take on the semester from hell and see what you can handle. You are not in bad shape at all. You can handle a B or two. I spent one semester taking 15 credits, working in a lab 15-25 hours a week, TAing a course, and volunteering in a hospital 8 hours a week. It was brutal, but I handled it and grew because of it. You got this.