Research with professor over the summer + MCAT

[masterMood]

Hi all,
I am doing research with a professor in genetics over the summer (40 hours a week) and studying for the mcat.


1) Is this too much to do at hte same time? I plan to take the mcat in september and i hope inshallah for a 30-33 on the mcat (i got a 1450 on the SAT after studying)


More importantly,
2) I am getting paid 3500 dollars for the summer, and I'm doing decent in the professor's class (probably around a B) in the class, so i feel kinda embrasssed being around him. He is giving me lab credit (counts for science gpa) that is worth an "A" basically. Do you think it is alright to ask him to give me credit over thes ummer as well (its 180 dollars per credit) becasue they're basically As that iw ould get for the gpa, and it would really boost my gpa up (3 hours of lab work = 1 credit hour)

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[soeagerun2or]

No it's not too much. However, if you want to do well in the research position you should readjust your 40 h/week to more like 60-80 h/week.

Also, lab credit doesn't count in your BCPM which is the "important" GPA for medical school.

 

[Vvandenn]

No it's not too much. However, if you want to do well in the research position you should readjust your 40 h/week to more like 60-80 h/week.

Also, lab credit doesn't count in your BCPM which is the "important" GPA for medical school.

Huh? So all my science lab grades don't count towards my BCPM GPA?

 

[MDAdam]

I think maybe they meant research credit? But even at that I am not sure if it is correct. The research credit I get counts towards my upper division biology credits.

 

[soeagerun2or]

Huh? So all my science lab grades don't count towards my BCPM GPA?

Yeah sorry.. I meant research lab credit. The chem/bio/physics labs count toward BCPM (a lot of schools don't split the classes; instead of 3 credit lecture + 2 credit lab there is a 5 credit class with both).

I think maybe they meant research credit? But even at that I am not sure if it is correct. The research credit I get counts towards my upper division biology credits.

It counts as upper level bio toward your major or with the medical school but AMCAS doesn't count it in the BCPM

 

[Raerfani10]

Mushallah you are doing fine, and I don't think it will be an overload for you.

 

[OncDoc19]

Hi all,
I am doing research with a professor in genetics over the summer (40 hours a week) and studying for the mcat.


1) Is this too much to do at hte same time? I plan to take the mcat in september and i hope inshallah for a 30-33 on the mcat (i got a 1450 on the SAT after studying)


More importantly,
2) I am getting paid 3500 dollars for the summer, and I'm doing decent in the professor's class (probably around a B) in the class, so i feel kinda embrasssed being around him. He is giving me lab credit (counts for science gpa) that is worth an "A" basically. Do you think it is alright to ask him to give me credit over thes ummer as well (its 180 dollars per credit) becasue they're basically As that iw ould get for the gpa, and it would really boost my gpa up (3 hours of lab work = 1 credit hour)

You should be fine studying for the MCAT if all you are doing is this and the lab. Keep in mind though, as another poster said, lab is often more time consuming than you think and 40 hours a week may not be enough if you have deadlines to meet. I personally wouldn't ask for credit too. At my school you can't get paid for research you are also getting school credit for, so make sure this isn't the same as your school too. Plus if you can't get science credit on AMCAS then its not worth paying for the credit hours.

 

[GoodDoctor]

Yeah sorry.. I meant research lab credit. The chem/bio/physics labs count toward BCPM (a lot of schools don't split the classes; instead of 3 credit lecture + 2 credit lab there is a 5 credit class with both).



It counts as upper level bio toward your major or with the medical school but AMCAS doesn't count it in the BCPM

That's not correct, assuming the OP gets credit with the appropriate course number. Anything classified as BIOL, CHEM, PHYS, or MATH gets counted. That's what BCPM stands for, and I can't find any policy in the help file that says special lab courses, individual research, or independent study don't count. If it is offered by one of these departments and especially has "Bio" (or chem, phys, math) in the course number, AMCAS will count it as such.

I had classes named "Individual Research" with a Bio course number that were indeed counted. I presented articles in journal club and wrote a 10 page paper on my research at the end of the semester. I learned as much or more doing my research as I did reading a book and taking tests for a lecture course. AMCAS didn't bother to ask about any of this, though -- they just looked at the course number that included BIO, and gave me BCPM credit for it.

Even if the course number is not "Bio", the OP can still list it as BIOL and AMCAS may count it. I listed my stat course offered in the Psych dept. as MATH, and also a Psychological Neurobio course taught by the Psych dept. as BIOL. Both were accepted since they fit the AMCAS rule of over 50% of course content (in my case 90%+) from the BIO or MATH field.

 

[OncDoc19]

That's not correct, assuming the OP gets credit with the appropriate course number. Anything classified as BIOL, CHEM, PHYS, or MATH gets counted. That's what BCPM stands for, and I can't find any policy in the help file that says special lab courses, individual research, or independent study don't count. If it is offered by one of these departments and especially has "Bio" (or chem, phys, math) in the course number, AMCAS will count it as such.

I had classes named "Individual Research" with a Bio course number that were indeed counted. I presented articles in journal club and wrote a 10 page paper on my research at the end of the semester. I learned as much or more doing my research as I did reading a book and taking tests for a lecture course. AMCAS didn't bother to ask about any of this, though -- they just looked at the course number that included BIO, and gave me BCPM credit for it.

Even if the course number is not "Bio", the OP can still list it as BIOL and AMCAS may count it. I listed my stat course offered in the Psych dept. as MATH, and also a Psychological Neurobio course taught by the Psych dept. as BIOL. Both were accepted since they fit the AMCAS rule of over 50% of course content (in my case 90%+) from the BIO or MATH field.

I don't want to hijack the thread, but I have a question about BCPM. I am currently a senior with two majors and one year left. I have a lot of science courses, especially since junior year that don't have biology, chemistry or physics course numbers. For example my major is biochemistry, so I have quite a few courses from that department. I also have courses from the physiology, pathology, pharmacology, and free radical & radiation biology departments. How do I make sure that these courses get counted towards BCPM?

 

[JacobSilge]

To OncDoc19: AMCAS has specific instructions on which science to classify each class under. Definitely read the help file for that section because they are not necessarily intuitive. For instance, I know that all Biochemistry courses must be listed under Chemistry (CHEM), regardless of the course content. your Radiobiology courses are most likely BIOL or PHYS. You can always try contacting AMCAS.

To masterMood: I was in your exact position two summers ago (working in a Biochemistry lab around 40 hours a week while studying for August MCAT). This was most definitely not too much work for me; in fact I had plenty of free time to relax, spend time with the SO, and go to the beach (albeit with MCAT related reading material). However, I do have a few suggestions. First, try to negotiate a week or two of "vacation" time right before your exam to have time to study and figure out how to make the most efficient use of your time at the lab. For instance, I often had to run HPLC or vacuum pump materials for around two hours, which gave me enough time to do practice sections. Also, try to have your job description well defined with your PI so your hours don't balloon out of control. This probably won't happen, especially if you plan to work in the lab during the next academic year.

I hope this helps!

 

[soeagerun2or]

That's not correct

You got away with it then. Independent or Directed Study / Research is not supposed to count under those sections. Just because a class is listed within a department does not fulfill the requirement (see history of science in physics / chemistry / biology dept.). As an aside, I personally don't think they should count either because the presumption is that if you show-up you get an A.

Onco - your classes should count towards the GPA, list it under the proper heading and call them if it ends up in the wrong spot (anticipate a week or two delay if this is the case).

 

[Dr.Inviz]

That's not correct, assuming the OP gets credit with the appropriate course number. Anything classified as BIOL, CHEM, PHYS, or MATH gets counted. That's what BCPM stands for, and I can't find any policy in the help file that says special lab courses, individual research, or independent study don't count. If it is offered by one of these departments and especially has "Bio" (or chem, phys, math) in the course number, AMCAS will count it as such.

I had classes named "Individual Research" with a Bio course number that were indeed counted. I presented articles in journal club and wrote a 10 page paper on my research at the end of the semester. I learned as much or more doing my research as I did reading a book and taking tests for a lecture course. AMCAS didn't bother to ask about any of this, though -- they just looked at the course number that included BIO, and gave me BCPM credit for it.


Even if the course number is not "Bio", the OP can still list it as BIOL and AMCAS may count it. I listed my stat course offered in the Psych dept. as MATH, and also a Psychological Neurobio course taught by the Psych dept. as BIOL. Both were accepted since they fit the AMCAS rule of over 50% of course content (in my case 90%+) from the BIO or MATH field.

Good job at beating the system. Want a cookie?