Re-take & course load question

[HunterPB]

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If I'm going to retake a class that most med schools don't care very much about (A&P) for the grade for DO apps, do you think it would be bad to do so at a CC? My reasoning is, I could bang it out over the summer, and that would allow me to take a higher level science course @ my university in the "raise the GPA" effort.

I haven't yet asked my adviser about it.

Second, does Bio II, Chem I, and Calc I seem like a reasonable course load? It would be 13 credits. I am also volunteering & have kids. My adviser seems to think it's too heavy. This semester I took Bio I, Pre-Calc with a computer lab, and public health. It was 12.5 credits and I expect all As or A+'s.

 

[gman33]

I'd stay away from the cc, especially when taking a class for grade elevation purposes. It looks like a cop out.

The courseload doesn't seem too much, although those courses can take a lot of time. If you have at least 40 hours a week outside of class to study, then I'd say go for it. It's better to err on the side of caution and make sure you get A's. 1 semester of all B's or worse, can really hurt a post-bacc student.

 

[Captain Fantastic]

I think that's a reasonable course load, but you know yourself best. Do you think you can handle it?

My heaviest post-bacc semester was Biochem 1, Cell Bio, Organic Lab, Physics 2 w/ Lab, and Bio Research (16 hours). I was volunteering at the hospital and working as an assistant on a clinical research project (~10 hours/week). I have two kids (ages 5 & 2).

I think taking that course at a CC is okay. Just frame it as you wanted to take the course and your university didn't offer it in that time frame. It's an elective course. I don't think it will be a big deal, especially if you are nailing your pre-reqs at the university. You just don't want to make it look like you were skipping a university offered course to take an easier version at a CC.

 

[thewendster]

14 units shouldn't be too bad. I did 19 units this semester (Bio II, Ochem I, Physics 1, biology of cancer, research, etc, and the 3 labs for the science classes). Plus I worked p/t as an EMT.

I ended up with A's across the board. I will say that my life completely sucked during midterms and finals. It's all about time management and not letting internet or television suck up those precious hours of the day you should be studying.