Orgo I & II during the summer

[floatingribs]

I know there's lots of posts on this but wanted to share my credentials. I'm looking to take orgo I & II (lab during normal semester) in the summer. It's at the same university I go to and it's basically because I'm a year behind on the pre med track and taking orgo in the summer would allow me to catch up. I originally planned to take physics I & II in summer, but I'm far better at physics.

so 1) bad idea? 2) do med schools really look down upon it even if you pull an A or score well on ur MCATS? 3) in comparison does an A over summer look worse than during the semester?

Also for reference I've only taken Calc I in summer and either am taking physics or orgo in summer, which would be a total of 3 summer courses when applying to med school.

also has anyone taken orgo in the summer? I've heard mixed reviews on whether it prepares you for the MCATS or skips over vital info.

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[greenturtle22]

Took Orgo 1 and analytical chem (plus lab) over the summer (even though I would have had time to take them during the academic year). Got a B in Orgo 1 and an A- in Analytical. Orgo 1 over the summer prepared me fine for the MCAT. Accepted to two med schools so far; none of the schools I interviewed at asked about the summer classes or cared. YMMV, but I think you'll be fine

Also, at least at my school, summer science classes are often actually harder than their academic year counterparts because of the accelerated material pace. I wouldn't worry about med schools "looking down on" your summer science courses, especially if they're at the same university as the rest of your classes.

 

[ciucia53]

I've never heard of medical schools looking down on students taking a class over the summer. I know a lot of people did that at my university. If it's presumably the same material albeit at a accelerated pace, I think it should still prepare you for the MCAT fine. I'm sure you'll be fine!

 

[ciestar]

I took the entire organic sequence over the summer (1&2+lab) so i could graduate only the summer semester later than I was supposed to. I took physics 1&2 and bio 2 also over the summer. It never came up and wasn't an issue. I changed my major late and I needed to do this to catch up and graduate as close to on time as possible

 

[ciucia53]

It was fairly common until recently (last 5-10 years) that medical schools would give a minor flag to those with summer prereqs, especially summer organic. It is less likely now as long as 1) home institution 2) you do well 3) you dont have a more than a couple of prereqs in the summer (see example from med school below) Once you start moving away from any of those factors, it increases negative risk. While that is still minor, needs to be looked at with all other factors in an application.

http://www.upstate.edu/com/admissions/faqs.php
Applicants should avoid taking more than one or two prerequisite science courses during the summer and avoid taking them at community colleges.

Interesting! Thanks for the information.

 

[gamieg]

I think the main concern should be whether you can do well in a condensed time schedule for orgo. you mentioned that you're better at physics, which I assume either means you've taken orgo before or had some exposure to it. it's a subject that requires some adapting because it's different from many other science courses which can be more rote memorization-intensive.

I would recommend taking the courses you know you can do well in during the shortened summer schedules. there's no rush or iron-clad constraint for when you "have" to finish premed requirements, and taking a longer time but doing well will work much more in your favor than rushing and achieving lower grades.

 

[pseud0]

your biggest concern should be whether you think you can manage it. Is it a 5 week course or longer? I took a 5 week orgo course...its a ton of work trying to actually learn all that material, do all the labs/reports and prepare for 4 exams in 5 weeks.

If you do take it in the summer, don't plan on doing much else at the same time.

 

[floatingribs]

your biggest concern should be whether you think you can manage it. Is it a 5 week course or longer? I took a 5 week orgo course...its a ton of work trying to actually learn all that material, do all the labs/reports and prepare for 4 exams in 5 weeks.

If you do take it in the summer, don't plan on doing much else at the same time.

It's mostly because if I take orgo during the fall I'm gonna be a course overload again + taking pharmacology and my first clinical (I'm a nursing student which is another story lol) that semester so I don't want to risk low grades in any of those or do bad in orgo bc I couldn't focus on it