Loading up on credits now for an easy semester when studying for MCAT bad idea?

[grindtime1]

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Let's say I have 35 credits required to graduate and have completed my junior year. Instead of dividing up the work equally during the fall and spring semesters of senior year (I'm taking a gap year off by the way), let's say I did 8 summer credits then did 22 credits for the fall semester of senior year.

This gives me only 5 credits (a pitifully easy courseload) for the semester I want to study for my MCAT.

I've heard adcoms question whether you can "handle the medical school courseload" if you make a decision like this and that this would hurt your chances of getting in.

The way I see it, I'm still completing the same exact work, the same number of credits, just not dividing up the workload equally. Can someone with knowledge of the admissions process give their thoughts on this?

 

[RynoTheGuy]

Let's say I have 35 credits required to graduate and have completed my junior year. Instead of dividing up the work equally during the fall and spring semesters of senior year (I'm taking a gap year off by the way), let's say I did 8 summer credits then did 22 credits for the fall semester of senior year.

This gives me only 5 credits (a pitifully easy courseload) for the semester I want to study for my MCAT.

I've heard adcoms question whether you can "handle the medical school courseload" if you make a decision like this and that this would hurt your chances of getting in.

The way I see it, I'm still completing the same exact work, the same number of credits, just not dividing up the workload equally. Can someone with knowledge of the admissions process give their thoughts on this?

I'd be cautious about piling on a class load like that - you never know as it may completely backfire on you (I've seen it happen often) and you end up tanking classes (not a good thing), or you don't do as well on the MCAT as you could have hoped, making ADCOM's question your decision by saying that "Well, he had a super light course load and you only got an XX score?". It's better to spread it out and get good grades rather than pile it on and do mediocre. Remember that slow and steady finishes the race better and sooner rather than big bursts sporadically. Maybe taking 8 credits during the summer and then 17-18 credits during the Fall, leaving you with 8-9 credits for the semester that you are studying. I know personally that if I only had 5 credits or so the temptation would be to goof off and take my classes too lightly and not do MCAT study enough

With that being said, do what you think that you can handle, and if things are getting a little to insane, get rid of those extra classes before the add/drop deadline. When I took the MCAT I was taking 14 credits, working part-time, and had a baby at home - it's do-able, crazy busy, but definitely do-able; I am going to my one of my top choice schools (FSU) and couldn't be happier. I guess all-in-all, personally I would spread it out a little more. I don't think that ADCOM's will care either way how you spread it out as long as it doesn't adversely affect your grades. You'll probably have an interviewer or two crack a joke about a crazy semester, lol. Hope that helps amigo! 👍

 

[alexrgross]

The adcom could react one of two ways....they might like that you did very well on the MCAT or they could look at your light courseload as a weakness.

Personally, I would rather have a strong MCAT and a one light quarter. The strong MCAT score will be a critical number on your application whereas one light quarter might raise curious eye brows but it certinly will not raise a red flag like a low MCAT score.

 

[Tapepsi]

Let's say I have 35 credits required to graduate and have completed my junior year. Instead of dividing up the work equally during the fall and spring semesters of senior year (I'm taking a gap year off by the way), let's say I did 8 summer credits then did 22 credits for the fall semester of senior year.

This gives me only 5 credits (a pitifully easy courseload) for the semester I want to study for my MCAT.

I've heard adcoms question whether you can "handle the medical school courseload" if you make a decision like this and that this would hurt your chances of getting in.

The way I see it, I'm still completing the same exact work, the same number of credits, just not dividing up the workload equally. Can someone with knowledge of the admissions process give their thoughts on this?

Should you have a light course load for the spring semester? Yes. Everyone who didn't prepare for the MCAT should be doing the same. 5 credits though? I'd say a minimum of 10 credits for the spring semester would be wise. Make sure those are easy/less time consuming classes though. So it could be 17 credits for the fall and 10 for the spring (keep the 8 credit summer session). That would look much better imo and you should still have enough time to do very well on the MCAT.

 

[Astarael]

Giving yourself an easy last semester isn't a bad idea, but my suggestion is to keep yourself at full-time status. That would mean taking maybe 8 credits over the summer, 15 during fall semester, and 12 during spring semester. Otherwise, you might find yourself running into problems with financial aid. In addition to switching credits around, you could also attempt to give yourself really easy classes for the last semester.

Obviously this doesn't really matter if you aren't receiving any type of financial aid that requires you to be a full time student. Definitely make sure you don't drop below half-time though; that would cause you to start the clock for the grace period on any federal loans you have out.

 

[vanillabear55]

Giving yourself an easy last semester isn't a bad idea, but my suggestion is to keep yourself at full-time status. That would mean taking maybe 8 credits over the summer, 15 during fall semester, and 12 during spring semester. Otherwise, you might find yourself running into problems with financial aid. In addition to switching credits around, you could also attempt to give yourself really easy classes for the last semester.

Obviously this doesn't really matter if you aren't receiving any type of financial aid that requires you to be a full time student. Definitely make sure you don't drop below half-time though; that would cause you to start the clock for the grace period on any federal loans you have out.

^this.
basically why I don't wanna graduate a semester early

 

[TTigers70]

five credits is pretty weak especially just to study for the MCAT? I say "just" not because it is a frivolous test, rather because so many others are able to study with full loads and do fine. If you are ultra dedicated it could pay out for you, but personally I know it helped having some other stuff on my plate to give me a kick to study. My most efficient study days were those when I set aside 1-3 hours and knew I had other work to get to. Those weekends where I set aside all day to focus only on the MCAT, I would do maybe 30% of my intended work. I'm pretty driven but even so studying for the MCAT can be really boring in big blocks. Find what works for you but don't automatically assume that having the time to study 8 hours a day for 4 months will guarantee you a good score. You need to use whatever time you have wisely.

With that all said, definitely stay full time that last semester. If you are already taking a gap year you could test later (maybe Jan of the year you are applying) which will give you more than enough time to study.

 

[Renaissance Man]

I didn't read anyone else's posts, but I just took the MCAT in April. The fall semester of 2010 I took 20 hours so that during the spring I could take the minimum (12) which included a PE class and an independent study. I barely had any hw or studying to do so I was able to concentrate on the MCAT, which I feel pretty good about. I will find out how good in two days. If you can handle the overload, then do it. I am not sure why admissions would look down upon this, although 5 hours is barely anything...

 

[TommyPickles]

thats what i just did. This past spring I took 5 science credits, and a bunch of fillers to maintain 12 credit status. took the april 9th test and got a 34. Easily doable, especially if the science credits you pick aren't that rigorous.

 

[osumc2014]

doesn't your scholarships and insurance etc get messed up if you are not a full time student? (assuming 5 creds is not full time)

 

[rhcarolina]

doesn't your scholarships and insurance etc get messed up if you are not a full time student? (assuming 5 creds is not full time)

I did my final semester as a part-time student with 7 credits and was able to keep my financial aid (the cutoff was 6 credits, but that most likely depends on the school).

 

[grindtime1]

Thanks for all the replies. Very good reads.

You are all correct that the 5 credit semester will be an absolute joke (it would be one intro to sociology class, then TAing a class or two and that's it).

I'm not saying achieving a high score on the MCAT can only be done by doing absolutely nothing else - in fact I'm well aware that most people are very busy (either with school, work, volunteering or all three while prepping for the test).

But my question is IF there's any chance I can give myself the advantage of having basically no classes to worry about while studying for the MCAT (which could be done with the plan I mentioned in the OP), will adcoms look at this in a negative light?

Do they really care HOW you completed all your required credits as long as you completed them? Or how you got a 30+ MCAT score as long as you got a 30+?

 

[estradiol9]

22 credits sounds like a lot. I don't know so many people on this forum take 20+ credits?

Anyways, I'm doing basically the same thing but not as drastically. I'm taking 18 credits in the fall but will probably only take 12 in the spring, which is when I want to take my MCAT. 5 credits sounds like too little IMO, especially if you complete 22 the semester before. Try to balance them a little better?

At my school, 12-18 credits is considered full time so I am still considered full time for both semesters.