Should I audit a class?

[major.philip]

I've been wondering if I should be auditing a few math classes: Elementary Liner Algebra, Differential Equations, and Vector Calculus. As a Physics major, they are classes aren't required for me to get a degree but they are prerequisites to one required class and a handful of Physics electives that I want to take.

I was thinking about auditing all three classes next (one class each quarter) rather than taking them because my schedule is going to be packed. I'm probably going to take sequences of OChem, Physics, and Engineering (all with lab) throughout the year and I'm going to be a Lab TA for Intro to Chem and have 2 other jobs on the side. With this because of this, I'm basically going to have lab nearly every day and I don't know if I'll have time to focus these additional math classes (even though I won't be overloading on credits).

In my school ELA and VC are relatively easy classes with lots of busy work while DE is notoriously hard because of the professor. I would realistically get an A in ELA and VC with some work and effort but DE might drop my GPA quite a bit.

I haven't talked to my advisor about it but I was wondering what other people might think. I know they are not required med school classes but they are math classes. Do med schools care if I audit three classes? Should I just take the math classes and struggle through or just audit them so I can have more time focusing on my more important and debatably harder science classes?

TL;DR- Should I audit 3 math classes that are important but are not technically required for my degree and med school? What would med schools think?

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[SN12357]

If they're prereqs for classes you need to take for your degree, don't you have to take them anyway? I don't understand how that works.

Medical schools aren't going to care at all about auditing and I personally think auditing a math class is a waste of time because you aren't going to learn things unless you actually do the work, not just sit in lecture...at which point you might as well be taking the class.

 

[LChristmas]

I audited a class once, and it was pretty pointless. The motivation to attend class wanes as the semester goes on when you have more important things to do than listen to something that has no impact on your grades. Waste of time and money IMO.

 

[itsthat1guy]

How does a physics major not need to take differential equations

 

[lobo.solo]

No, it's a waste of time.

 

[major.philip]

Yes, how my major is set up is really weird.

The math classes are prereqs for a handful of physics classes but I heard from one person that just graduated that the professors will just sign off the requirements and that he just had to audit the classes the summer before at his local state college (don't know how much I can trust him because every other person I talked to took the classes for credit and didn't know it was an option).

My only logic to trust him is that, that those three math classes actually aren't in the "required core courses" for a biophysics degree and he did just graduate. I honestly don't know why the program was made that way but I'll probably just ask my advisor later about it.