Odd course load, when to study for MCAT?

Started by Gilakend
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Gilakend

Gilakend

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Hello everyone, I apologize for the long post but I have a question regarding MCAT studying.

I'm currently a freshman at a non-prestigious state school and am making a plan of study (required) and will shortly be choosing my classes for next fall. Now I know it is much too early to study for the MCAT and I'm not trying to but I'm trying to determine when I should. The reason I am asking now is for my major the courses are very strict and there isn't much room for alteration to the schedule due to the major being very small and a required internship. So this leaves the time when I would ideally study for the MCAT (spring semester junior year) with a full course load. I am trying to figure out how I should go about it now so I can plan out how many classes to take in my next semesters, specifically summer, and how many credit hours. Coming from a non-prestigious state school I wanted to give myself adequate time to prepare for the MCAT and not risk getting a score below what I could have if I had been smarter with my scheduling. So I wanted to reach out to the much more knowledgeable people of SDN for some advice.

EDIT: I will post my schedule in text for ease of finding the information along with the link.

I currently have 2 humanities classes taken and will be completing the rest this summer (possibly along with other classes) so wherever it has those listed, consider that an opening. The schedule also only plans for 1 semester of physics of which I'll be taking 2 and psych OR socio of which I obviously need both. I've thought about doing the internship in the summer between my 3rd and 4th years to free up a semester for more catch up classes but wonder what you guys think. Should I just study with the full schedule? How would you do it looking back?

Schedule:
FIRST YEAR

First Semester
BIOL 2150 Fundamentals of Life Science I 4
BIOL 2160 Life Science I Lab 1
CHEM 1230 General Chemistry I 4
CHEM 1280 General Chemistry Lab I 1
MATH 1750 Calculus for Life Sciences I 4
PHPR 1000 Orientation 1
UT Core Requirement (ENGL 1110)* 3

Second Semester
BIOL 2170 Fundamentals of Life Science II 4
BIOL 2180 Life Science Lab II 1
CHEM 1240 General Chemistry II 4
CHEM 1290 General Chemistry Lab II 1
MATH 1760 Calculus for Life Sciences II 3
UT Core Requirement (ENGL 1130 or equivalent)* 3

SECOND YEAR

First Semester
CHEM 2410 Organic Chemistry I 3
CHEM 2460 Organic Chemistry Lab I 1
PHCL 2600 Functional Anatomy and Pathophysiology I 4
PHYS 1750 Introduction to Physics or equivalent 4
UT Core Requirement (PSY 1010 or SOC 1010)* 3
UT Core Requirement (Diversity/Multicultural)* 3

Second Semester
CHEM 2420 Organic Chemistry II 3
CHEM 2470 Organic Chemistry Lab II 1
PHCL 2620 Functional Anatomy and Pathophysiology II 4
UT Core Requirement (ECON 1200)* 3
UT Core Requirement (Humanities/Fine Arts)* 3
UT Core Requirement (Humanities/Fine Arts)** 3
*Suggested Sequence
**Select a course that will simultaneously fulfill a UT diversity studies Core Curriculum requirement.

PHARMACOLOGY/TOXICOLOGY (PTOX) MAJOR
P1 YEAR

First Semester
MBC 3310 Medicinal Chemistry I 2
MBC 3550 Physiological Chemistry I 3
PHCL 3700 Pharmacology I 3
PHCL 4730 Toxicology I 3
Major Electives (Recommend BIOL 3010 & 3020,
MBC 3330)1

5-6

Second Semester
MBC 3320 Medicinal Chemistry II 2
MBC 3560 Physiological Chemistry II 3
PHCL 3730 BSPS Pharmacology II 3
PHCL 3810 Pharmacology & Toxicology Lab2 1
PHCL 4750 Toxicology II 3
Major Elective (Recommend MBC 3100)1 1
Major Elective 3

P2 YEAR

First Semester
MBC 4710 Targeted Drug Design 3
PHCL 4810 BSPS Pharmacology III 3
Major Electives1 9

Second Semester
PHCL 4780 Internship in Pharmacology/Toxicology3 6-12
1To be chosen from the PTOX electives list.
2Required for internship as only offered in spring.
3Internship can be taken in the summer before the P2 year.



Link - http://www.utoledo.edu/majors/?Pharmaceutical+Sciences


Thank you in advance to anyone who reads or replies!
 
Last edited:
IMO:

-Finish all your prereqs and do well in them.
-Study for the MCAT over the summer. Take it shortly before fall term starts up.
-Don't panic. This is still 3 years in the future.
 
Spinach Dip said:
IMO:

-Finish all your prereqs and do well in them.
-Study for the MCAT over the summer. Take it shortly before fall term starts up.
-Don't panic. This is still 3 years in the future.
Click to expand...

Firstly, thank you for the reply.

I've thought about this and like the idea of it but I have no idea how I would be able to get all the pre-reqs done before then. That would be my only issue with it.
 
So I've figured out a couple ways in which I could do this. Although regardless in order to complete all the proper pre-reqs (for MCAT) by third year or by second semester third year I will have to begin taking classes this summer which is why I am asking you guys.

One option I see would be to get my humanities out of the way over the summer and take Biochem I in the fall semester sophomore year, it is not offered in the summer or second semester. Doing this though almost seems like a death knell from what I hear about these classes on SDN because that would mean I would be taking Orgo, Physics, Anatomy, and Biochem. This just doesn't seem feasible to me.

I could also take Orgo I over the summer and then take Biochem I in the fall and Orgo II in the spring.

Do either of these options seem better than studying with a full schedule? At best I would have all my pre-reqs done by 6 weeks after school gets out next year. Is that adequate time to study? Or would you recommend just studying with the full course load.?

Thanks!
 
Gilakend said:
So I've figured out a couple ways in which I could do this. Although regardless in order to complete all the proper pre-reqs (for MCAT) by third year or by second semester third year I will have to begin taking classes this summer which is why I am asking you guys.

One option I see would be to get my humanities out of the way over the summer and take Biochem I in the fall semester sophomore year, it is not offered in the summer or second semester. Doing this though almost seems like a death knell from what I hear about these classes on SDN because that would mean I would be taking Orgo, Physics, Anatomy, and Biochem. This just doesn't seem feasible to me.

I could also take Orgo I over the summer and then take Biochem I in the fall and Orgo II in the spring.

Do either of these options seem better than studying with a full schedule? At best I would have all my pre-reqs done by 6 weeks after school gets out next year. Is that adequate time to study? Or would you recommend just studying with the full course load.?

Thanks!
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Oh my God, ochem+physics+anatomy+biochem sounds like an absolute nightmare, don't do it. Honestly I think no matter which way you do this, it's going to suck. You could always take it the end of senior year and take a gap year 😀
 
Any chance you could get biochemistry to count as a major elective during your junior year? What's your major, pharmacy? It seems like you should have to take biochem for pharmacy...
 
Lannister said:
Oh my God, ochem+physics+anatomy+biochem sounds like an absolute nightmare, don't do it. Honestly I think no matter which way you do this, it's going to suck. You could always take it the end of senior year and take a gap year 😀
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That is one option, although I feel at the moment I would rather not but it seems more and more desirable. Does orgo over the summer sound horrendous as well? Then I would have biochem + physics + anatomy + a humanities or psych or socio. Or does that sound like a bad idea as well?

I've looked into studying with a full course load and the obvious answer is to try not to but many people have done it, I'm not sure if it would impact my scores greatly though.
 
Lannister said:
Any chance you could get biochemistry to count as a major elective during your junior year? What's your major, pharmacy? It seems like you should have to take biochem for pharmacy...
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Pharmacology and Toxicology and yes I believe I could but then I would be studying with a full course load, would that be better than taking all of my pre-reqs bunched together?
 
Gilakend said:
That is one option, although I feel at the moment I would rather not but it seems more and more desirable. Does orgo over the summer sound horrendous as well? Then I would have biochem + physics + anatomy + a humanities or psych or socio. Or does that sound like a bad idea as well?

I've looked into studying with a full course load and the obvious answer is to try not to but many people have done it, I'm not sure if it would impact my scores greatly though.
Click to expand...

I guess that sounds more manageable than ochem+physics+anatomy+biochem, but still not great. I'm taking anatomy right now and if your anatomy is anything like my anatomy class, it's going to be a TON of work. Can you only take a summer class this summer, or could you take a class next summer as well?
 
Gilakend said:
Pharmacology and Toxicology and yes I believe I could but then I would be studying with a full course load, would that be better than taking all of my pre-reqs bunched together?
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I meant take biochem fall semester of junior year, then study spring semester. You definitely do not need to study for a full year, that'd be totally unnecessary.
 
Lannister said:
I meant take biochem fall semester of junior year, then study spring semester. You definitely do not need to study for a full year, that'd be totally unnecessary.
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I understood, I didn't mean to sound like I meant study for a whole year. I meant that I would be studying with the following classes

MBC 3320 Medicinal Chemistry II 2
MBC 3560 Physiological Chemistry II 3
PHCL 3730 BSPS Pharmacology II 3
PHCL 3810 Pharmacology & Toxicology Lab2 1
PHCL 4750 Toxicology II 3
Major Elective (Recommend MBC 3100)1 1
Major Elective 3

Which seems like a hefty courseload to be studying for the MCAT with.
 
Lannister said:
I guess that sounds more manageable than ochem+physics+anatomy+biochem, but still not great. I'm taking anatomy right now and if your anatomy is anything like my anatomy class, it's going to be a TON of work. Can you only take a summer class this summer, or could you take a class next summer as well?
Click to expand...

I could take them next summer as well.
 
Gilakend said:
I understood, I didn't mean to sound like I meant study for a whole year. I meant that I would be studying with the following classes

MBC 3320 Medicinal Chemistry II 2
MBC 3560 Physiological Chemistry II 3
PHCL 3730 BSPS Pharmacology II 3
PHCL 3810 Pharmacology & Toxicology Lab2 1
PHCL 4750 Toxicology II 3
Major Elective (Recommend MBC 3100)1 1
Major Elective 3

Which seems like a hefty courseload to be studying for the MCAT with.
Click to expand...

I guess I don't know anything about those classes, so I can't really comment on how difficult it would be to study for the MCAT at the same time =/
 
personally i liked orgo over summer. Even if you take the Orgo I and Orgo II for the summer (yeah it can get hard at times), I think its worth it. I wouldnt wanna drag that material for a semester. Leave the dragging for biochem which is more important on the MCAT. The most important thing with summer is not get laxed and feel entitled to some vacation, since u will likely have 1 week off. Not saying u will do this, but u will see it with your classmates more than likely.

Judging by your schedule, use the summer semesters (maybe not all. leave one for yourself) to alleviate the course load during regular semesters.

I dunno about the classes you would take while studying for the mcat, but that at first glance seems like a big load. I dunno anything specifically about the professors so it could be easier or harder depending on this factor.

Use your summers. It will help a lot. If you need break look into doing summer B or A only.
 
Satire5Texul said:
personally i liked orgo over summer. Even if you take the Orgo I and Orgo II for the summer (yeah it can get hard at times), I think its worth it. I wouldnt wanna drag that material for a semester. Leave the dragging for biochem which is more important on the MCAT. The most important thing with summer is not get laxed and feel entitled to some vacation, since u will likely have 1 week off. Not saying u will do this, but u will see it with your classmates more than likely.

Judging by your schedule, use the summer semesters (maybe not all. leave one for yourself) to alleviate the course load during regular semesters.

I dunno about the classes you would take while studying for the mcat, but that at first glance seems like a big load. I dunno anything specifically about the professors so it could be easier or harder depending on this factor.

Use your summers. It will help a lot. If you need break look into doing summer B or A only.
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Thanks for responding. When you took orgo over the summer did you take any other classes along with it or just each class by itself for 6 weeks? Would you advise not taking any other classes over the summer other than that if I decide to do that?
 
Gilakend said:
Thanks for responding. When you took orgo over the summer did you take any other classes along with it or just each class by itself for 6 weeks? Would you advise not taking any other classes over the summer other than that if I decide to do that?
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Would highly advise not taking more than one summer class at a time. I took physics 1 over the summer and I spent an average of 8 hours a day studying physics.
 
Gilakend said:
Thanks for responding. When you took orgo over the summer did you take any other classes along with it or just each class by itself for 6 weeks? Would you advise not taking any other classes over the summer other than that if I decide to do that?
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I took the lab portion with it. So Orgo I + Lab, Orgo II + Lab.
It was really intense for the first portion (summer A). To just get into swing of things and get the pace down. Orgo II was a breeze and I learned a lot actually, that shows up in biochem and other classes.

^ yeah just like Lannister said, do not take more than lab. People got a little trigger happy, took more classes on top of orgo (even electives) and drowned. Also Lannister is right about the amount of time you spend studying. I spent on average the same. And I used my fridays, saturday and sundays to catch up as well (sadly). So just know what you are getting yourself into before you start. Orgo is another subject you need to spend time with material. so If you are not clicking with material, its a tsunami to overcome and catch up with (do extremely well on first few tests).

But when I look back and now in this semester, I am so happy I did. It was worth the sweat and pain. Because it took a lot of stress off.
I did receive A- in Orgo I, but I received an A in Orgo II and both labs. I think Orgo I was just a punch in the stomach and then run, plus my professor was extremely hard (we had 4 A out of 200 students on exams on average). So be sure to look up and check out who exactly is teaching over summer (ratemyprfoessor + ask students around campus). If its someone with horrible ratings and poor teaching skills, I would say forgo it and take other classes that would normally interfere with orgo during regular semester since you are squeezed for time.
 
Satire5Texul said:
I took the lab portion with it. So Orgo I + Lab, Orgo II + Lab.
It was really intense for the first portion (summer A). To just get into swing of things and get the pace down. Orgo II was a breeze and I learned a lot actually, that shows up in biochem and other classes.

^ yeah just like Lannister said, do not take more than lab. People got a little trigger happy, took more classes on top of orgo (even electives) and drowned. Also Lannister is right about the amount of time you spend studying. I spent on average the same. And I used my fridays, saturday and sundays to catch up as well (sadly). So just know what you are getting yourself into before you start. Orgo is another subject you need to spend time with material. so If you are not clicking with material, its a tsunami to overcome and catch up with (do extremely well on first few tests).

But when I look back and now in this semester, I am so happy I did. It was worth the sweat and pain. Because it took a lot of stress off.
I did receive A- in Orgo I, but I received an A in Orgo II and both labs. I think Orgo I was just a punch in the stomach and then run, plus my professor was extremely hard (we had 4 A out of 200 students on exams on average). So be sure to look up and check out who exactly is teaching over summer (ratemyprfoessor + ask students around campus). If its someone with horrible ratings and poor teaching skills, I would say forgo it and take other classes that would normally interfere with orgo during regular semester since you are squeezed for time.
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Yeah I looked it up on my schools website and for the summer semester orgo is 2 hour a day 4 days a week and the lab is 4 hours 3 days a week. It sounds crazy. But on ratemyprofessors everyone says only good things about taking it over summer so I will ask my adviser about all the options I have. As it seems it looks as if it is in my best interest to use summers to my advantage and try to study in between my second and third year.
 
That timing is exactly what I had. Also u will get out of lab early, I am pretty sure, the grad students want to leave so they hurry u along and u get things done.

Just take your advisors advice with a grain of salt. As well as mine. As well as everyone else's. Take a loot at what everyone is saying to you, and then make a decision based on all the evidence before you and the effort level and benefits, that u have before you.

That's a good sign about taking it over summer. Most of the time, as was my case, u might get out of special exams given at the end (other than the cumulative). Also summer cuts out a lot of material that is unnecessary, which was lovely.

That's why biochem is best taken during a full semester. So you reap all the benefits.

Best of wishes. Seems like you have things planned out. Best of luck in your classes ! You seem to have everything under control.
 
Satire5Texul said:
That timing is exactly what I had. Also u will get out of lab early, I am pretty sure, the grad students want to leave so they hurry u along and u get things done.

Just take your advisors advice with a grain of salt. As well as mine. As well as everyone else's. Take a loot at what everyone is saying to you, and then make a decision based on all the evidence before you and the effort level and benefits, that u have before you.

That's a good sign about taking it over summer. Most of the time, as was my case, u might get out of special exams given at the end (other than the cumulative). Also summer cuts out a lot of material that is unnecessary, which was lovely.

That's why biochem is best taken during a full semester. So you reap all the benefits.

Best of wishes. Seems like you have things planned out. Best of luck in your classes ! You seem to have everything under control.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much! You said your timing was similar to mine? Did you mean you studied over the summer as well? If so, were you able to do as well as you wanted on the MCAT? I was worried because most people recommend about 3 months and summer is usually less than that.
 
Gilakend said:
Thank you very much! You said your timing was similar to mine? Did you mean you studied over the summer as well? If so, were you able to do as well as you wanted on the MCAT? I was worried because most people recommend about 3 months and summer is usually less than that.
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Oh I am sorry ! I meant the duration of your classes for labs and lecture during summer is exactly as mine if I remember correctly.
I have not taken the MCAT, I was commenting only on distribution of course load and how it made my semester "feel" easier, which is where I thought you would be carving out your study time. I personally am planning to scribe and study for the mcat so a bit different.

For the MCAT I dont need to take it to tell you the golden rule - Take it when you are ready. Not earlier not later, when you are ready take it once. Thats the plan and goal.
 
Satire5Texul said:
Oh I am sorry ! I meant the duration of your classes for labs and lecture during summer is exactly as mine if I remember correctly.
I have not taken the MCAT, I was commenting only on distribution of course load and how it made my semester "feel" easier, which is where I thought you would be carving out your study time. I personally am planning to scribe and study for the mcat so a bit different.

For the MCAT I dont need to take it to tell you the golden rule - Take it when you are ready. Not earlier not later, when you are ready take it once. Thats the plan and goal.
Click to expand...

Thank you for all your help!
 
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