Picking classes for next semester...

[brbsb]

I'm a junior who just became pre-med (again...I started as a freshman, changed majors a couple times, then changed back when I figured out why I really liked medicine). I'm currently in Gen Chem 1 and Bio 1, and I'll be taking Gen Chem 2 over the summer. I have to do course requests next week, so I'm trying to figure out what to do here... I have to start Orgo and Physics next fall in order to take them before the MCAT, and I was planning on taking Bio 2, a psych class (that's my major), and a French class (my minor).

So, I guess my question is...is 18 hours of classes, including Orgo 1, Physics 1, and Bio 2 (all w/labs) too much? I'm already graduating a year behind due to the late major change, so I want to get these things done. I don't know what to expect from Orgo or Physics, so any advice would be great.

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[univscience]

sounds like a lot to me. orgo and physics is a lot of outside work. bio and orgo is a lot of memorization.

depends on how good you can study/time manage. i'd split it up.

 

[brbsb]

Any recommendations on how to split it up? I wanted to take the MCAT in April or May (I don't know the dates now that they're doing the computerized version), and I thought it was important to have Orgo and Physics done by then.

 

[schooltill30]

I'm doing 18 credits right now with only one science and it's rough. I can't imagine trying 2 sciences, one being orgo, and pull off 8 credits while getting good grades. If you know you can do it, then by all means get crackin'. But think about your priorities. Is getting into med school as soon as possible more important than getting the best grades in a slightly longer amount of time. If you're going to get B's with that schedule, then getting out earlier won't do a lot of good.

 

[ssquared]

I took two bio, one chem, and one physics class during a semester once (for 13 credits) and it was WAY too much work. I can't imagine that taking 18 credits will help you-if you find yourself really overwhelmed, it may be detrimental to your GPA (which is very difficult to recover after the fact, it's best to not put yourself in that situation).

In terms of prioritizing, get Physics done before the MCAT. They're phasing out organic chem, but the MCAT still relies heavily on physics. On my MCAT, I had one organic passage on amines, which was something I don't remember my organic classes ever really covering anyways. I would suggest buying an ExamKrackers book for orgo and just teaching it to yourself (it's about prioritizing what's important for the exam-if you know you'll have prob 4-5 passages on physics, but maybe 0-2 on orgo, which one seems more important to take?). I'm pretty sure I bombed the orgo on my MCAT but I ended up getting a 12 on the section regardless.

I realize that was rambling a bit, but I guess my point is bio, orgo, physics, psych, and french is probably too much for most people to handle. I would suggest taking orgo later when you can really focus on it, ace it, and then apply to med school with good grades rather than so-so grades.

Good luck! Switching to pre-med late is difficult, but definitely doable!

 

[brbsb]

Thanks for the advice! I am probably going to talk to my advisor again and see what she suggests...but if anyone else has more to add, I'd still appreciate it!