My academic advisor straight up told me....

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Imsofly

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So I decided that I'm going to take physics 1 over the summer. The counselor straight up told me that Medical schools will not accept that...

I am freaking out. Is she correct?

Are there anyone here in medical school that took a science over the summer?
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lol wut?





Where do these schools finds these pre-med advisors? This is absurd. Maybe in the 70s
 
so please tell me what she said was false..
 
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and excuse my grammar I think it should be "is there anyone here that goes to medical school that....etc"

English is not my best subject =/
 
Imsofly said:
So I decided that I'm going to take physics 1 over the summer. The counselor straight up told me that Medical schools will not accept that...

I am freaking out. Is she correct?

Are there anyone here in medical school that took a science over the summer?
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...Not sure if counselor is an amazing troll or just really stupid....:eek:
 
Holy FranZ said:
it is false. They will accept it.






If I were you I'd stop seeing her unless your school does committee letters. 97% of them are worthless.
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97% of the counselors are worthless or the committee letters? Frankly, my counselor blows. Refer to my signature lol.
 
Imsofly said:
So I decided that I'm going to take physics 1 over the summer. The counselor straight up told me that Medical schools will not accept that...

I am freaking out. Is she correct?

Are there anyone here in medical school that took a science over the summer?
Click to expand...

Your premed adviser was probably slightly drunk and getting confused.

Taking premed reqs during the summer, especially at a school of lower prestige/rigor than your UG is generally looked down upon, but not outright unacceptable. Some adcoms believe that the summer course won't reinforce material as well (as it is a much faster pace) and is generally easier (because the curve won't be as strict). They don't want to see you take the easy way out.

So, if you REALLY need to take physics 1 over the summer, go ahead. If it's unnecessary and you don't have anything else better to do and/or want to get a head start, reconsider doing this.
 
yeah I'm a bit behind so I'm taking physics over the summer. After this summer I will have:

Physics 2, Orgo 2, and Bio 2 left and I will be a junior next semester.

Does that mean I should take the MCAT next summer? (not this one)
 
so if I take my MCAT next summer...when will my scores come in and when should I apply? Sorry for all the questions, I'm new to all this. I just don't want to miss a cycle or what not and end up waiting till the year after to apply.
 
AestheticGod said:
97% of the counselors are worthless or the committee letters? Frankly, my counselor blows. Refer to my signature lol.
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LOL. Both, of course. :thumbup:

Btw, I think you meant so spell counselor in your siggy, unless your premed committee was known as "The Premed Council" like in the "Jedi Council" in Star Wars. LOL.

Imsofly said:
yeah I'm a bit behind so I'm taking physics over the summer. After this summer I will have:

Physics 2, Orgo 2, and Bio 2 left and I will be a junior next semester.

Does that mean I should take the MCAT next summer? (not this one)
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I think you will be fine without taking Physics in the summer.

Finish Bio and take Physics 1 in the Fall. Finish Orgo and Physics in the Spring. You generally want to take your MCAT a little bit earlier than the summer of your junior year, since that is when you will be sending in your Primary and doing Secondaries.

If you can't handle that, then go ahead and take physics 1 in the summer. Physics is generally not an important subject to worry about on the MCAT, so it wouldn't really matter.

Try to take the MCAT in like April or May.
 
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Aerus said:
LOL. Both, of course. :thumbup:

Btw, I think you meant so spell counselor in your siggy, unless your premed committee was known as "The Premed Council" like in the "Jedi Council" in Star Wars. LOL.



I think you will be fine without taking Physics in the summer.

Finish Bio and take Physics 1 in the Fall. Finish Orgo and Physics in the Spring. You generally want to take your MCAT a little bit earlier than the summer of your junior year, since that is when you will be sending in your Primary and doing Secondaries.

If you can't handle that, then go ahead and take physics 1 in the summer. Physics is generally not an important subject to worry about on the MCAT, so it wouldn't really matter.

Try to take the MCAT in like April or May.
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I'd argue that physics is one of the more important classes for the mcat.

I felt the only area that my undergrad pre-req classes didn't prepare me alright or at least show me what I needed to know was the biology section. Which IMO was built off upper divisionals (human phys, genetics, cell bio) - however all you need is the kaplan book.
 
Holy FranZ said:
I'd argue that physics is one of the more important classes for the mcat.

I felt the only area that my undergrad pre-req classes didn't prepare me alright or at least show me what I needed to know was the biology section. Which IMO was built off upper divisionals (human phys, genetics, cell bio)
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Sorry, that was bad wording on my part. (I seem to be having this problem a lot lately). GG me during any interviews.

I meant to say that, while it does consist of a significant portion of the MCAT, the level of difficulty of the physics is low. An AP Physics course in high school is already overkill. A simple prep course or a practice workbook would suffice in preparing for MCAT level Physics. It is not something that one should worry too much about unless math is a great weakness.
 
AestheticGod said:
...Not sure if counselor is an amazing troll or just really stupid....:eek:
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I call them anti-advisers. I think there is a national undergraduate adviser troll conspiracy. It's the only possible explanation as to why every single one of them is horrible. It might even be an international conspiracy...who knows how far their little troll fingers can reach.
 
SDN is the best premed advisor because it is based on the actual experiences of many students. Not the knowledge of one advisor =)
 
While in general you should be fine, there are exceptions.

At two interviews I was asked about taking summer courses and where I took them. I attended a respected university and took the summer courses through them, but got the impression that they would have been less acceptable had I opted for summer courses at a less recognized school. Also, one interviewer commented that some applicants take almost all the pre-med classes in the summer and have trouble during the admissions process.

So, 1 or 2 courses shoudn't matter, but some schools do take note of it.
 
Shes straight up ******ed. Seriously take them. If you take it at the same place, it is the same material, but more compact. Not saying it will be easy, but its doable I'm sure.
 
I took 2 prereqs during the summer and I'm pretty sure it was a non-issue. Don't listen to advisors. Listen to SDN
 
Ok, so we're really starting to see an angry mob forming in this thread but can I ask one obvious question that no one has bothered to consider?

When she says it is unacceptable, does she mean the session (in the summer) or the course itself (perhaps you chose the incorrect physics course)? I don't think schools would accept something like physics 101 as a prereq.
 
I took BOTH physics 1 and physics 2 over a summer. You are fine. Yet another case of "advisorsdontknowwhatthefucktheyaretalkingaboutosis"
 
TheShaker said:
Ok, so we're really starting to see an angry mob forming in this thread but can I ask one obvious question that no one has bothered to consider?

When she says it is unacceptable, does she mean the session (in the summer) or the course itself (perhaps you chose the incorrect physics course)? I don't think schools would accept something like physics 101 as a prereq.
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My physics was physics 1XX and physics 2XX.
 
From now on OP,

SDN is your academic counselor.
 
kautionwirez said:
From now on OP,

SDN is your academic counselor.
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I was also told by my advisor "I think you should consider changing careers, you will never end up in medical school."

SDN>any advisor.

Until youve been through it, you dont know what the deal is.
 
Try to avoid taking too many prereqs in summer session or community college. However, one or two classes aren't going to hurt you.
 
i will be an md said:
She is incorrect. While it may be a red flag if you took a pre-requisite science course that is known to "weed out" students at your university at an institution of lesser rapport or community college, taking first semester physics at an institution of similar rigor should not hurt you in the eyes of admissions committees. Avoid taking any additional pre-requisites away from your home university and you'll have nothing to worry about.
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This. Just take it at your own school or at a place of similar reputation/academic standards. I took Gen Chem 1 and 2 over the summer at one of my state colleges because I decided to become pre-med late and still wanted to apply during my senior year, and was accepted this cycle.
 
Wow... You hear new ones every day.

GPA... MCAT. Those are the crucial factors. Doesn't matter where you took it, what you majored, etc. Get your A and make sure it transfers to your current institution. That is more important than anything else.
 
Imsofly said:
So I decided that I'm going to take physics 1 over the summer. The counselor straight up told me that Medical schools will not accept that...

I am freaking out. Is she correct?

Are there anyone here in medical school that took a science over the summer?
Click to expand...

You adviser is sooo wrong! First if that was true, so many people would be getting hit hard. I am taking orgo and physics in my summer and medical schools dont care as long as you do well. Just dont take it in the summer and get a C but if you can manage an A, go for it. It relieves so much stress from the year and the classes aren't even hard taking them alone.
 
thanks for the replies guys!

And i'm def taking physics at my home college and no where else.
 
Imsofly said:
So I decided that I'm going to take physics 1 over the summer. The counselor straight up told me that Medical schools will not accept that...
Click to expand...

Are you sure you're relaying her statement accurately?
 
^Yes I am sure. It surprised me and got me worried.
 
I never understood this myth about summer session courses being devalued.You go over the same amount of material in less time, which means if anything you're a diligent student if you can ace it.
 
u so fly.
 
AestheticGod said:
97% of the counselors are worthless or the committee letters? Frankly, my counselor blows. Refer to my signature lol.
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Ugh, definitely. I kept hearing how good the pre-med counselor was at the school I'm headed to. Met with me for all of about five minutes, gave some half-baked advice that probably made sense 10 years ago and pretty much ensured I will never see him again if I can avoid it. Wasted over two hours sitting around on orientation day to get an appointment with him, too. SO grateful for SDN, I can't imagine trying to get into med school using that guy as my guide.
 
Imsofly said:
So I decided that I'm going to take physics 1 over the summer. The counselor straight up told me that Medical schools will not accept that...

I am freaking out. Is she correct?

Are there anyone here in medical school that took a science over the summer?
Click to expand...

Most medical school will not take summer classes in the calculation of your wGPA. They will accept it as credit for pre-req, but will not ponderate.
 
Kadava Reviva said:
Most medical school will not take summer classes in the calculation of your wGPA. They will accept it as credit for pre-req, but will not ponderate.
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I have NEVER heard this. Where did you get this information?
 
Look... the real thing to keep in mind is: if they haven't gotten in, don't bother listening to their advice.

For all those who haven't gotten in and say they give good advice, I never used SDN when I was in undergrad, and I wont be using it to get into residency~.:cool:
 
Kadava Reviva said:
Most medical school will not take summer classes in the calculation of your wGPA. They will accept it as credit for pre-req, but will not ponderate.
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First of all, what the hell is wGPA? There's cGPA and sGPA. That's it.

Second of all, don't troll, please. Summer courses, if they appear on your transcript with a grade, will count exactly the same as your other courses, whether science or not.
 
Your advisor is actually a gunner dressed up like an advisor
 
BioMed55 said:
I never understood this myth about summer session courses being devalued.You go over the same amount of material in less time, which means if anything you're a diligent student if you can ace it.
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The issue is that you are going through the material so quickly that the exams can end up being far less comprehensive than during the school year. My sister took Orgo I/II at a highly ranked college over the summer and she had to know far less for her exams than I did for my Orgo I/II classes during the semester. She also got "cheat sheets" with mechanisms that I had to memorize during the semester because her professor believed they wouldn't have time to memorize everything during the summer.

If you take the courses at a well-known college over the summer, they are likely to lower their standards less for the summer students than the semester students. That's why it looks so terrible to take the courses at the local community college.
 
I think what your advisor was trying to say was that it MIGHT (but probably won't) look bad to take a fairly intense course by itself over the summer, instead of as part of a full course load during the school year. But plenty of people take summer courses so I would just go ahead and do it.
 
Imsofly said:
So I decided that I'm going to take physics 1 over the summer. The counselor straight up told me that Medical schools will not accept that...

I am freaking out. Is she correct?

Are there anyone here in medical school that took a science over the summer?
Click to expand...

Well it depends...at my school there were 3 types of physics series. 1 was just a physics series for people that just wanted to learn it for "fun"--it didn't go in-depth at all. The 2nd was an introductory physics series for biological sciences & associated majors. The 3rd was a calculus based physics series for physics/engineering majors.

You should really check the descriptions. I know medical schools would not accept the 1st series.

But yes, you can take science courses over summer if you want to.
 
Last edited:
If medical had an issue against pre-reqs being taken during the summer, they would post it somewhere in their website.
 
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