Nontrad Courseload

[Flamingos]

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Hello,

Would a part time course load be acceptable for the non-traditional student?

I work FT (40hrs), work another job (5-10 hrs), do research, and volunteer, so my time to go to school is limited. Would I be granted consideration of this in lieu of heavy courseloads?

Thanks!

 

[TriagePreMed]

There are no breaks given for being non-trad. However, people have gotten in doing part-time schooling.

 

[Patassa]

Hello,

Would a part time course load be acceptable for the non-traditional student?

I work FT (40hrs), work another job (5-10 hrs), do research, and volunteer, so my time to go to school is limited. Would I be granted consideration of this in lieu of heavy courseloads?

Thanks!

It would probably be best to contact your schools of interest and ask them. Or at least contact the ugrad programs that have Pre-med advisors and ask them about the med schools you are interested in. The school I'm interested in told me I could work and take classes, that this wasn't a "race". So it probably just depends on the school.

 

[theseeker4]

Hello,

Would a part time course load be acceptable for the non-traditional student?

I work FT (40hrs), work another job (5-10 hrs), do research, and volunteer, so my time to go to school is limited. Would I be granted consideration of this in lieu of heavy courseloads?

Thanks!

Any school that you would want to attend as a non-trad will understand that working two jobs, keeping up the expected ECs, and taking (and doing well in) courses, even part time, is more work and stress than 95%+ of traditional pre-meds ever experience before med school. Do well, and don't sweat it, the good grades are the important thing (and will not be compensated for by a busy schedule), your schedule will speak for itself.

 

[dsoz]

It is MOST important to do well. If you work full time and try to take all the classes, but do poorly (Less than a B in some, or less than an A in most), then it will be bad for you at application time.

Take as many of the courses that you can take, and still get above a 3.5 or 3.6 GPA.

dsoz

 

[Flamingos]

Ah! Ok, guys thanks alot! The reason why I ask is because I finished my prereqs full course load, but after I started working full time, and doing research and other EC's it became increasingly difficult due to time conflict.

I can only take classes when I have the availabilities too. I have a 3.8 gpa right now.

 

[TriagePreMed]

Ah! Ok, guys thanks alot! The reason why I ask is because I finished my prereqs full course load, but after I started working full time, and doing research and other EC's it became increasingly difficult due to time conflict.

I can only take classes when I have the availabilities too. I have a 3.8 gpa right now.

If you already finished the prerequisites full time and have a 3.8, I don't believe anyone will hold extra classes part-time as a negative. In fact, considering most people apply with the minimum, I'd wager it's still seen positively.

 

[Flamingos]

Ok, thanks for the honest advice everybody!

 

[darwinmed]

Maybe this shows my ignorance, but I didn't realize it was frowned upon to do post-bacc work part-time. Like the OP, I work full-time (in a biomedical research lab) and am taking courses part-time. My schedule is hands down much more difficult than anything I faced as a full-time undergrad, and it didn't occur to me that med schools would find any problem with this as long as the post-bacc didn't drag on and on. How is this a negative?

My life would be a lot easier if I went back to school full-time and I could certainly do this, but I was just trying to minimize the post-bacc loans. Not questioning, just trying to understand so I can pull together the best possible application several years down the road.

 

[darwinmed]

Thanks, this is good to know. Don't quite understand it, because I'm pretty sure that a 50-hour work week + normal volunteering/ECs + 9 credits > normal volunteering/ECs + 15 credits (actually, I know this from personal experience), but I'll play the game!

 

[SPionic]

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[Lys Ile Glu Leu]

I've personally averaged 11 credit hours per semester. I've had a 14 hour semester and a 15 hour semester. I've found that most of my interviewers were impressed or at least satisfied with my non-trad juggling act, especially with an example or two of how I handle a heavy courseload.

Take one heavy semester, bite down, suffer, get good grades despite time constraints, and remove all doubt. Give the adcoms one good look at how capable you can be.

I don't, however, see a reason to do it every semester, and I think adcoms understand that. Besides, some of us HAVE to work full time, so it can't be helped. In any case, it's worked out well enough for me.

 

[justkeepswiming]

Now I am very worried about working 50 hrs/week and only taking one science course this school year. I have only been lightly involved in EC's (participating in a health disparities seminar and volunteering monthly at patient recreation events), but in order to be able to participate in *anything* I needed to have a weeknight or two free. My work schedule (in a research lab) also required me to be able to stay late a few weeknights a month. Is this really going to be a big red flag? I did really well this last summer taking my Gen Chem sequence 16 hours/week while working full time, but I had a shorter commute and more flexible projects. Should I prioritize upping my schedule for next fall?

I can't speak for any adcoms, but I worked 50+ hour weeks while finishing up my pre-recs, and I took only one class per semester for 2 years. Working only part-time just wasn't a feasible option in my situation. I found time to volunteer on the weekends to boost my ECs, and I've ended up with a very successful app cycle.

So, while it may be better to have a fuller course load, you're not gonna get rejected automatically just because you only took one class this year...

 

[MedWonk]

Hello,

Would a part time course load be acceptable for the non-traditional student?

I work FT (40hrs), work another job (5-10 hrs), do research, and volunteer, so my time to go to school is limited. Would I be granted consideration of this in lieu of heavy courseloads?

Thanks!

You'll be fine.