Need Some Opinions on upper level bio classes

[zma21]

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Hey all,

First of all, I already searched and didn't find much, as well as consulted with a "pre-med" advisor (if you would call him that) before I bring my question to SDN.


Here goes...

I'm a junior biology major, and getting ready to take my upper level bio classes. My school has a somewhat diverse biology program, and I'm wondering about which upper level classes I should consider. I'm 100% pre-med; ie it is my only concern with my biology degree, and I don't consider using my bachelors for anything such as a backup. Being admitted and graduating from medical school is my #1 concern.

I have somewhat extensive experience working with various doctors, and I always try to ask them what advice they have for me after I get to know them on a personal level. Mostly all of them all agree that undergrad classes are weighed very lightly with exception to pre-requisite classes for med school.

Here's where my question comes up; will it really look better if I take Pathogenic Bacteria over Wetland Ecology? I ask this because GPA is a concern of mine, and I will graduate with anywhere from a 3.4 to a 3.45. I don't have much room for slip-ups, especially with upper level classes. I feel that 9 out of 10 times I would be able to make an A in any upper level bio course offered, but taking a class like wetland ecology will be almost a guaranteed A. However, there are some professors that are NOTORIOUS for not handing out many A's in their class. For example, the Immunology professor hasn't handed out an A to undergrad students in 5 years, only graduate students (at my school, grad students and undergrads can take some of the same classes.)

I can take courses like Pathogenic Bacteria, Medical Physiology, Medical Parisitology, Virology, etc. But will these really boast me up more than taking environmental and microbiology classes?

tl;dr version:

-Getting ready to take upper level bios
-Will taking (somewhat) medically related classes hold more water than other bio classes?
-Do adcoms have a preference, considering someone with a chem of physics degree has no chance of taking classes like this anyay?

Flame away.

edit: forgot to add, I have no preference taking any class over the other. I don't enjoy biology too much, and I won't enjoy any of them much anyway, so that definitely is not a factor here.

 

[Colloquialism]

Hey all,

First of all, I already searched and didn't find much, as well as consulted with a "pre-med" advisor (if you would call him that) before I bring my question to SDN.


Here goes...

I'm a junior biology major, and getting ready to take my upper level bio classes. My school has a somewhat diverse biology program, and I'm wondering about which upper level classes I should consider. I'm 100% pre-med; ie it is my only concern with my biology degree, and I don't consider using my bachelors for anything such as a backup. Being admitted and graduating from medical school is my #1 concern.

I have somewhat extensive experience working with various doctors, and I always try to ask them what advice they have for me after I get to know them on a personal level. Mostly all of them all agree that undergrad classes are weighed very lightly with exception to pre-requisite classes for med school.

Here's where my question comes up; will it really look better if I take Pathogenic Bacteria over Wetland Ecology? I ask this because GPA is a concern of mine, and I will graduate with anywhere from a 3.4 to a 3.45. I don't have much room for slip-ups, especially with upper level classes. I feel that 9 out of 10 times I would be able to make an A in any upper level bio course offered, but taking a class like wetland ecology will be almost a guaranteed A. However, there are some professors that are NOTORIOUS for not handing out many A's in their class. For example, the Immunology professor hasn't handed out an A to undergrad students in 5 years, only graduate students (at my school, grad students and undergrads can take some of the same classes.)

I can take courses like Pathogenic Bacteria, Medical Physiology, Medical Parisitology, Virology, etc. But will these really boast me up more than taking environmental and microbiology classes?

tl;dr version:

-Getting ready to take upper level bios
-Will taking (somewhat) medically related classes hold more water than other bio classes?
-Do adcoms have a preference, considering someone with a chem of physics degree has no chance of taking classes like this anyay?

Flame away.

edit: forgot to add, I have no preference taking any class over the other. I don't enjoy biology too much, and I won't enjoy any of them much anyway, so that definitely is not a factor here.

I'm not exactly sure which medical schools said this, but I think there were a couple that stated that they like mainstream biology classes (Microbiology, Genetics, Molecular/Cell Biology, Biochemistry, and etc) rather than medically related biology classes as recommended courses. Though I'm not familiar with your biology program, I'm guessing you've probably already taken most of these.

I'm sure in the end it should really be gauged by how much you're interested in the class and how well you think you can do in the class.

Personally, I think that the classes you stated: Medical Virology, Parisitology, and Pathogenic Bacteria sound pretty bomb.

 

[zma21]

I'm not exactly sure which medical schools said this, but I think there were a couple that stated that they like mainstream biology classes (Microbiology, Genetics, Molecular/Cell Biology, Biochemistry, and etc) rather than medically related biology classes as recommended courses. Though I'm not familiar with your biology program, I'm guessing you've probably already taken most of these.

I'm sure in the end it should really be gauged by how much you're interested in the class and how well you think you can do in the class.

Personally, I think that the classes you stated: Medical Virology, Parisitology, and Pathogenic Bacteria sound pretty bomb.

Micro, genetics, cell etc are all core classes and required. I then need four upper level "electives". That's where the medically related bio classes come in. I'm more of a chemistry/physics person than a biology person. Unfortunately, my school has a piss-poor chem/phys program. Our bio program is top notch, however, and that's the route I went. I'm becoming more interested in bio as I go along, but taking the med classes doesn't make my mouth water any more than taking general ecology does.

 

[Colloquialism]

Micro, genetics, cell etc are all core classes and required. I then need four upper level "electives". That's where the medically related bio classes come in. I'm more of a chemistry/physics person than a biology person. Unfortunately, my school has a piss-poor chem/phys program. Our bio program is top notch, however, and that's the route I went. I'm becoming more interested in bio as I go along, but taking the med classes doesn't make my mouth water any more than taking general ecology does.

Haha, I guessed pretty much. I was the same way in terms of being more of a chemistry/physics person, but I luckily had a few more options.

If you have the same amount of interest in the medically-related classes as the ecology class, I'd probably opt for the prior. Though, is there anything stopping you from taking the ecology and the other biology classes?

 

[zma21]

Haha, I guessed pretty much. I was the same way in terms of being more of a chemistry/physics person, but I luckily had a few more options.

If you have the same amount of interest in the medically-related classes as the ecology class, I'd probably opt for the prior. Though, is there anything stopping you from taking the ecology and the other biology classes?

The main conflict here is the grade. I'd rather take ecology and get an A than take parisitology and get a B+. I assure you I'd put in the effort to get that A, but as mentioned earlier there are some professors that teach these med classes that simply don't like to hand out A's. My GPA is on the low side.

Is parisitology(etc) going to make me stand out to adcoms? If not, it doesn't seem worth the risk of a B to me.

 

[Colloquialism]

The main conflict here is the grade. I'd rather take ecology and get an A than take parisitology and get a B+. I assure you I'd put in the effort to get that A, but as mentioned earlier there are some professors that teach these med classes that simply don't like to hand out A's. My GPA is on the low side.

Is parisitology(etc) going to make me stand out to adcoms? If not, it doesn't seem worth the risk of a B to me.

I think your assessment is pretty much right.

It probably wouldn't be a good idea to take the class without knowing who is teaching the class or how it will be graded. I've seen some pretty awful situations like that. Though, if you could find out (maybe from an upperclassmen?) how the class is, then you could probably gauge whether or not to take the class.

 

[niblet]

Which electives you take won't make you stand out, not in the least bit.

Take the ones you find the most interesting. But I guess you said you don't enjoy biology too much so enjoy not enjoying it.

 

[SeminoleVesicle]

This sounds awfully similar to my school. I would go for the one you are most interested in and feel you can do the best in.

 

[zma21]

This sounds awfully similar to my school. I would go for the one you are most interested in and feel you can do the best in.

Thanks for the feedback guys, and good luck on your start next week in Miami, Tim. 👍

 

[chiapet874]

If you fulfill the core course requirements for medical school, it doesn't matter what electives you take as long as you perform relatively consistently. There are so many schools out there, and so many different classes, ADCOMs are not going to sit there and judge the title of the classes you took.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

If you fulfill the core course requirements for medical school, it doesn't matter what electives you take as long as you perform relatively consistently. There are so many schools out there, and so many different classes, ADCOMs are not going to sit there and judge the title of the classes you took.

Agreed.