Is this true about course rigor?

[medbuddha]

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Hello all,

I have a question about course rigor in the final year before applying to med school. I don’t know where I read this, but it stayed in my mind and is bugging me. A premed said that they were told (don’t know by whom) that the last academic year before applying to med school should not include a part-time course load because it looks lazy even if working full time, and even if most other semesters were full-time course loads and academically rigorous.

They said it’s better to graduate with a full-time course load and do a gap year if necessary, rather than having a part-time course load during the final year before applying to med schools (even if working full-time). I’ve had plenty of VERY rigorous semesters including all of last year (i.e. 15-21 hours, all science). I’m done with all prerequisites and have completed far more upper level science courses than recommended.

I want to apply next cycle, and I’d like to spread my few remaining courses for my degree over my last 2 semesters this upcoming year (part-time) while working and continuing volunteer EC’s. I want to do this because it will allow me to keep my university health insurance for the whole year. I won’t have benefits from work, and other insurance options are far more expensive, have less coverage, and I’d lose all of my doctors which would be a problem for me at the moment.

What is a premed to do? 🫤

Thank you in advance. This forum has been a source of very helpful information over the years.

 

[Doctor-S]

Hello all,

I have a question about course rigor in the final year before applying to med school. I don’t know where I read this, but it stayed in my mind and is bugging me. A premed said that they were told (don’t know by whom) that the last academic year before applying to med school should not include a part-time course load because it looks lazy even if working full time, and even if most other semesters were full-time course loads and academically rigorous.

They said it’s better to graduate with a full-time course load and do a gap year if necessary, rather than having a part-time course load during the final year before applying to med schools (even if working full-time). I’ve had plenty of VERY rigorous semesters including all of last year (i.e. 15-21 hours, all science). I’m done with all prerequisites and have completed far more upper level science courses than recommended.

I want to apply next cycle, and I’d like to spread my few remaining courses for my degree over my last 2 semesters this upcoming year (part-time) while working and continuing volunteer EC’s. I want to do this because it will allow me to keep my university health insurance for the whole year. I won’t have benefits from work, and other insurance options are far more expensive, have less coverage, and I’d lose all of my doctors which would be a problem for me at the moment.

What is a premed to do? 🫤

Thank you in advance. This forum has been a source of very helpful information over the years.

If your cumulative science GPA is competitive in your final year before applying to medical school, and you've already completed all medical school pre-requisites and you've completed upper level science courses (i.e., VERY rigorous semesters, all science, as described in your original post), you've been demonstrating the capacity to manage rigorous courses as an aspiring medical student. You can choose to take a part-time course load in your final year; especially since you plan to work and acquire continuing volunteer ECs during your final year anyway.

Make sure to prepare for the MCAT if you haven't already taken the MCAT.

Thank you.

 

[glycolysister]

i can’t imagine this raises any concerns whatsoever with the information you’ve provided.

 

[medbuddha]

If your cumulative science GPA is competitive in your final year before applying to medical school, and you've already completed all medical school pre-requisites and you've completed upper level science courses (i.e., VERY rigorous semesters, all science, as described in your original post), you've been demonstrating the capacity to manage rigorous courses as an aspiring medical student. You can choose to take a part-time course load in your final year; especially since you plan to work and acquire continuing volunteer ECs during your final year anyway.

Make sure to prepare for the MCAT if you haven't already taken the MCAT.

Thank you.

Thank you for your response. As a non-traditional student, I had a few part-time semesters in the middle of my premed journey due to life responsibilities. But I made sure I also had plenty of full-time semesters which were stacked with academically difficult science courses while doing ECs as well. I don’t know why I feared there may be something significant that I’m unaware of regarding the last year before applying (i.e. that it’s bad to reduce the courses in the end or something).

Thank you.

 

[medbuddha]

i can’t imagine this raises any concerns whatsoever with the information you’ve provided.

Thank you.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I have a question about course rigor in the final year before applying to med school. I don’t know where I read this, but it stayed in my mind and is bugging me. A premed said that they were told (don’t know by whom) that the last academic year before applying to med school should not include a part-time course load because it looks lazy even if working full time, and even if most other semesters were full-time course loads and academically rigorous.

They said it’s better to graduate with a full-time course load and do a gap year if necessary, rather than having a part-time course load during the final year before applying to med schools (even if working full-time). I’ve had plenty of VERY rigorous semesters including all of last year (i.e. 15-21 hours, all science). I’m done with all prerequisites and have completed far more upper level science courses than recommended.

I want to apply next cycle, and I’d like to spread my few remaining courses for my degree over my last 2 semesters this upcoming year (part-time) while working and continuing volunteer EC’s. I want to do this because it will allow me to keep my university health insurance for the whole year. I won’t have benefits from work, and other insurance options are far more expensive, have less coverage, and I’d lose all of my doctors which would be a problem for me at the moment.

What is a premed to do? 🫤

Thank you in advance. This forum has been a source of very helpful information over the years.

Goal 1: Graduate with your degree.

Goal 2: Don't cheat in your last year.

Plenty of first-year medical students succumb to some level of burnout once they hit M1 classes... though nowadays many curricula are much more gentle onboarding M1's to their new curricula than before.

I really hope you get this reference:

 

[medbuddha]

Goal 1: Graduate with your degree.

Goal 2: Don't cheat in your last year.

Plenty of first-year medical students succumb to some level of burnout once they hit M1 classes... though nowadays many curricula are much more gentle onboarding M1's to their new curricula than before.

I really hope you get this reference:

I think this Lucy & Ethel reference stresses the importance of pacing yourself to avoid burnout. Hopefully that’s the reference you meant. 😁

If I’m correct about this, then I’m also assuming you mean it’s okay to do part-time my last year. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

I do love this clip though. 💗

Oh, and is there some statistic about people cheating their last year that I’m unaware of? If so, that’s unfortunate. I value integrity always. It’s quite important to me.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Yes, and...

"Speed up!"

 

[medbuddha]

Yes, and...

"Speed up!"

Oh, so full-time, quickest route to graduation is your recommendation.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Oh, so full-time, quickest route to graduation is your recommendation.

I think your family would appreciate you graduating. I hope their opinion has more weight than random admissions committee members' preferences for how you finish, which I've never heard of any rationale behind saying don't take a part-time load your last year. Applying this advice could disqualify anyone taking gap years (i.e., no course load).

 

[medbuddha]

@Mr.Smile12
Got you. Thank you for clarifying. I’m older, non-traditional, career-changer with a prior non-science bachelors degree. This will be my second degree. My family doesn’t really have a preference at this point. I can absolutely see the emphasis on graduating from a parent’s perspective for their first-time undergrads. 🙂