P/F nonprerequisite course

[Medshpep2021]

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Hi all, I am currently taking a 4-credit political science course as a premed (just for fun) in my junior year (16 credits total with 4 classes). Unfortunately, it is too late for me to drop the course without record of enrollment and while we still have not had assignments due yet (two essays worth 50% each which is A LOT), the first essay will be due after the pass/fail deadline (I tried asking for a earlier deadline, but the professor said he does not have time to grade that early).

I am not adept at political science readings and am afraid I will fail the essay as the professor is a political scientist and has even worked in congress. I am also undergoing some depression issues this semester with family and friends and may want some time to recuperate. I have talked to the professor about my situation, and he told me the class average is typically around a B, but most of people who take it are Polisci/Pre-Law students and that it is completely up to me to whether P/F. I am wondering if I should simply P/F this course? Will med schools look down on this? I have read that P's are treated as C's? I have a high GPA (3.87) and am aiming for mid-top tier med schools. I have finished all my premed prerequisites up to Biochem and have mostly A's with few A-'s.

 

[Orangekiwi]

Hi all, I am currently taking a 4-credit political science course as a premed (just for fun) in my junior year (16 credits total with 4 classes). Unfortunately, it is too late for me to drop the course without record of enrollment and while we still have not had assignments due yet (two essays worth 50% each which is A LOT), the first essay will be due after the pass/fail deadline (I tried asking for a earlier deadline, but the professor said he does not have time to grade that early).

I am not adept at political science readings and am afraid I will fail the essay as the professor is a political scientist and has even worked in congress. I am also undergoing some depression issues this semester with family and friends and may want some time to recuperate. I have talked to the professor about my situation, and he told me the class average is typically around a B, but most of people who take it are Polisci/Pre-Law students and that it is completely up to me to whether P/F. I am wondering if I should simply P/F this course? Will med schools look down on this? I have read that P's are treated as C's? I have a high GPA (3.87) and am aiming for mid-top tier med schools. I have finished all my premed prerequisites up to Biochem and have mostly A's with few A-'s.

I took a quantum mechanics class p/f for fun my senior year, that was a BCPM class and it never came up in an interview. Think about it this way, adcoms have thousands of apps to sift through, do you think they have time to check and scrutinize every class that every applicant takes? If anything they’re checking to make sure you completed pre-recs and a lot of schools don’t even do that, they make you re-enter it in their secondary portal, and others tell you that it’s your responsibility to make sure you meet their admission requirements. Take it pass fail, as gonnif noted it won’t count towards your GPA.

 

[Medshpep2021]

@gonnif @Orangekiwi Thank you for the responses! I am also wondering if by P/Fling this 4 credit course, I will be seen as having a 12 credit semester by AAMC rather than 16 credits that I am currently taking. I already have had two semesters of 12 - 13 credit schedules, so I am a bit concerned if this is a third one. I recall a thread where @Goro said they waitlist applicants who have taken long periods of courseloads with light hours (12 - 14 hours).