Physics, Orgo, and Bio at once?

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
E

emtdan

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2009
Messages
118
Reaction score
1
Members don't see this ad.
I apologize if this has been answered already but I plan to do all 3 classes at once as a post bac student, having no outside obligations besides these classes and labs.


Is this a bad idea, or is it possible to do well taking all 3 at once? Has anyone else done this?

I figure that since I literally have all day every day except when in lab or in class to study, I should be alright. Advise away!
 
Are you planning on working? Will you have significant time commitments outside of class?
 
I plan on doing this in the fall. I know of people that are taking harder course loads and don't seem to think it's too bad. You do have to take into consideration the amount of time dedicated to work, volunteer, research, etc. All in all, I am not too worried about it. Maybe you could read some of the books over summer to prep?
 
No volunteering or work. No extra-curriculars. I already have thousands of volunteering hours.

And I am taking gen chem over the summer so no reading besides that probably.
 
Last fall I had a similar sched, Human Physio, Orgo I and Lab and Physics I.

This semester it is Genetics, Orgo 2 and lab, Physics II and lab.

You have to know how to manage your time, there's no way around it. Sometimes, I know I can learn some material solid if I just had the time, but I have to work with what I have. You can have more, more time that is, if you know how to stay on schedule.

Good luck
 
It is do-able. A lot of the expedited formal post-bac programs have their students taking these three courses simultaneously within one year.

You mentioned "I literally have all day every day except when in lab or in class to study," but girlfriends, MCAT prep time will count as distractions.
 
that won't be bad at all, esp if you have no outside obligations.
 
Very do-able. I did that schedule plus Gen Chem and worked 40 hours/week. Just know that its going to suck your personal life away!
 
Yeah, not bad with no outside obligations. I did it (trade bio for exercise physiology w/lab) with full course load, while working full time, studying for MCAT, married, and doing my research....wouldn't recommend that though....ever.
 
You should be totally good with no outside commitments, though it will be harder than you probably expect. You should be able to get straight A's, but it won't be easy. I did the same courseload w/ two preschool kids, volunteering and MCAT prep. Push your MCAT to the end of June, that way you will have 4-5 weeks full-time MCAT prep after finals. You won't have time for much official MCAT prep during the school year, although you should just think of really nailing down all the material as MCAT prep/content review. Sit in front and spend a lot of time in office hrs since you will need a couple solid LORs from science profs. Also, memorize your physics formulas whether you are required to or not. You'll need them for the MCAT and it will help you do better on your physics exams. I wished I had done this. And get Ochem as a Second Language books before the semester starts.
 
emtdan said:
I apologize if this has been answered already but I plan to do all 3 classes at once as a post bac student, having no outside obligations besides these classes and labs.


Is this a bad idea, or is it possible to do well taking all 3 at once? Has anyone else done this?

I figure that since I literally have all day every day except when in lab or in class to study, I should be alright. Advise away!
Click to expand...

Because of the reasons in bold, I think you should be fine. Good luck! :luck:
 
I'm taking ochem ii, phys e&m, and pchem i this semester. Three science classes at once will result in 0 social life, but getting all of this out of the way will feel really good. It'll be a ton of work though, be careful!
 
I'm taking organic 2 w/ lab, cell bio,and general physics 2. I have a A in everything, but organic which I most likely will get a B in. It is very possible, but for me organic requires the most studying and way next to that would be cell bio.
 
emtdan said:
I apologize if this has been answered already but I plan to do all 3 classes at once as a post bac student, having no outside obligations besides these classes and labs.


Is this a bad idea, or is it possible to do well taking all 3 at once? Has anyone else done this?

I figure that since I literally have all day every day except when in lab or in class to study, I should be alright. Advise away!
Click to expand...
I did this too with neuroscience instead of bio, intro to psych, medical ethics, and worked 12/week. I did okay (A-'s and B in neuro.) So you should be plenty fine if you organize your time well.

The biggest challenge for me was "shifting gears" between the classes, sometimes everything just blended in together and I'd have to sit back and sort my thoughts and the class material.
 
DrSmooth said:
Push your MCAT to the end of June, that way you will have 4-5 weeks full-time MCAT prep after finals.
Click to expand...

Isn't this a little late for applications? I would at least take it in May if not earlier (remember there is a 30 day turn around for scores). Of course its all contingent on being able to do well, but getting those apps in early is important. Although I'm coming from Texas, so I'm a little rusty on AMCAS stuff.
 
7starmantis said:
Isn't this a little late for applications? I would at least take it in May if not earlier (remember there is a 30 day turn around for scores). Of course its all contingent on being able to do well, but getting those apps in early is important. Although I'm coming from Texas, so I'm a little rusty on AMCAS stuff.
Click to expand...
AMCAS apps aren't sent to schools until June 23 at the earliest. A June 17 test gets your scores early-mid July. If you submit your transcripts in May, app June 1, scores drop in July, turn in your 2ndaries same or next day, you are easily w/in the earliest applicant pool. Either way, as a postbacc doing all the prereqs in one yr, it is suicide to try to take MCAT in MAY, same time as finals. I saw other postbaccs do this and they regretted it. It is worth being a couple weeks "behind" to have that month of full-time prep.
 
Right now i'm in physics, calculus 2, gen chem.
Hating the calculus, physics not so terrible, gen chem is easiest.
 
plasmidgreen said:
I'm taking ochem ii, phys e&m, and pchem i this semester. Three science classes at once will result in 0 social life, but getting all of this out of the way will feel really good. It'll be a ton of work though, be careful!
Click to expand...


This post made me laugh...0 social life but you found time to post on here haha

Thank you everyone for all the replies! Gives me hope!
 
I did an all science post-bacc on my way to medical school. I had semesters just like what you are describing.

If you pull it off, it looks great. The adcom can see that you have what it takes to manage your time and succeed with a demanding school schedule (qualities you'll need in medical school). The risks are high, though. You can't afford to screw up an all science semester -- that's a double whammy: cGPA and BCMP.
 
This fall I'm taking Genetics (want to), Physics I and Organic I with their respective labs. Twelve hours. I'll probably work part-time (hopefully) since I'll be quitting my full-time job and moving to do this crap. I hope it's not too hard because I sure don't want it to be. If all goes well I'll do phys II ochem II and cell biology in the spring and be done with it unless I do a summer 2011 math, and I likely will. sigh
 
OP, I'm doing Physics, Orgo, Bio, and calculus Next semester.

I say we all post back in this thread with updates on your progress/failures 🙂

This thread has been HI-JACKED and is now a support group for Phy/Bio/OChem takers!!
 
emtdan said:
This post made me laugh...0 social life but you found time to post on here haha

Thank you everyone for all the replies! Gives me hope!
Click to expand...

SDN so does not constitute social life. It is easily accessible from work! 😀
 
plasmidgreen said:
SDN so does not constitute social life. It is easily accessible from work! 😀
Click to expand...

Yep, I was here four times today from the comfort of my office...between reading job applications and approving invoices, lol.
 
did linear algebra, ochem, physics, and an engineering class last quarter and have pretty much taken nothing but math chem physics and engineering so far
but it's actually a lot easier than you think, and a lot easier than I thought it would be
it becomes easier every quarter too 🙂
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
Physics 1, Orgo 2, and gen chem 2 in one semester?
Replies
4
Views
174
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
A
Taking bio 1 and 2 at another uni
Replies
9
Views
612
LizzyM
LizzyM
E
Should I submit my entire school list all at once or split them into batches?
Replies
8
Views
2K
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
M
Orgo/biochem combo course?
Replies
9
Views
832
eigen
eigen
H
Question about physics lab pre-req and classification error.
Replies
2
Views
540
HotBoot
H
Top