Part Time under-grad

[Poochofpain]

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Hello SDN! I've been attending a CC for the past two years going for a degree in electrical engineering. I'm transferring to a small state school in the spring and changing my major to Biochemistry so I can satisfy my medical school prerequisites without having to take high-level engineering courses as well.

I've maintained a 4.0 with relative ease, but the caveat is I've been a part time student for those two years. I've completed just over 40 transferable credit hours. These courses include: Calculus i-iii, Calculus-Based Physics i-ii, as well as all of my humanities requirements.

I can't explain away most of this by saying that I was working, or I was working on ECs. I was helping to take care of a stroke victim for the first year, but she pased away and when I moved out I just wanted to take things a little easy for a year. Concentrate on getting healthy (I've lost about 100lbs) and finding myself while still taking classes here or there.

My question is, will this reflect poorly on my application, even considered I have a stellar GPA? I will be going full time once I transfer to a four year.

 

[Poochofpain]

No one has any input for me?

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I imagine that without a compelling reason, going part time will be looked as less rigorous than full time. Because it is. Med schools want to make sure you can handle a full load of med school courses, and if you had to go part time to do well, that doesn't demonstrate that.

But I'm just speculating. It might not be that big of a deal. I asked about that once and was told if you have a compelling reason, it can be forgiven.

 

[Naruhodo]

I am also not especially knowledgeable about this, but I think the key is doing well and finishing in a reasonable number of years after you transfer. I think five or six years in undergrad is less of a red flag (as long as you can explain it) than 7+ years. They do want medical students that can finish on time. I think it sounds like you've got a pretty impressive personal story, so work on how you can best convey that and hopefully you won't get prescreened out for having "taken too long" in undergrad.

Not that this is something our folks include in the Christmas letter, but myself and two of my siblings took more than 4 years to complete college. There were good reasons (health and family primarily) and everyone has done fine since. Just know that there will be places, particularly on secondaries that ask you to explain any time you were not a full-time student during undergrad so be prepared to do so. Best of luck!

 

[gamieg]

take full science course loads after the transfer and demonstrate that you can handle a more rigorous science-heavy curriculum. also do well on the MCAT, make sure you have community service and volunteering, and you'll be fine.

 

[WGSgrad]

This seems like a pretty common scenario... You're transferring in as what, a second semester sophomore? Seems like the general consensus would be take a full time course load from here on out, including upper division coursework in the hard sciences and continue to do well. Do well on the MCAT and no one will really care that much about the years before your transfer.


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[Poochofpain]

Thanks guys. I understand that I need to take a full course load to show that I can handle the rigors of medical school. To both the medical schools and myself.

It is worth noting that I have taken a -fairly- difficult semester of: English ii, Calculus ii, and Physics i, as well as volunteering as a math tutor for eight hours a week.