Should I P/NP Chem for the summer and retake for grade in the fall?

[gbvan]

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I just started my first pre-med class finally (hooray!). I decided I would take Chem over the summer, as a kind of warm-up for the rest of my pre-med classes, and go full steam in the fall.

However, the day my chem class started, I also got a call from a place I interviewed with offering me pretty much my dream pre-med job. 25-30 hours per week in a really patient/care-focused family medicine practice. However, with how intense and steep the learning curve for the job is, I'm rapidly falling behind in my chem class since it's a summer class and every day counts.

Here's my dilemma: If I simply drop the class, I'll have to pay back ~$3000 in financial aid that I'm receiving for the summer, so that's not really an option. But getting a low grade is both a) not an option and b) a very real possibility with how intense the first few weeks of this new job will be.

I've also worked full-time and gone to school full-time before, so I know once my on-the-job training ends and the slower-paced fall semester begins, I'll be able to do fine working part-time and going to school 3/4-time. But a new job with crazy training hours plus a fast-paced summer course in a subject that isn't my strong suit doesn't really seem like a great combination.

The option that I've come up with is to take Chemistry P/NP over the summer, in order to learn Chemistry the first time around, as well as to not have to pay back my financial aid. Then, I can take Chemistry in the Fall and perform well, especially since I'll have a foundation in Chemistry at that point. This is especially appealing to me because a strong foundation in Chemistry will be key to passing a lot of pre-med (and med school) classes in the future, and I don't think only taking it over the summer while working full-time will give me that strong foundation.

Is there anything that med schools would see as "off" about this? I'm sure I could explain it away during application time by just being honest.

 

[MedPR]

I just started my first pre-med class finally (hooray!). I decided I would take Chem over the summer, as a kind of warm-up for the rest of my pre-med classes, and go full steam in the fall.

However, the day my chem class started, I also got a call from a place I interviewed with offering me pretty much my dream pre-med job. 25-30 hours per week in a really patient/care-focused family medicine practice. However, with how intense and steep the learning curve for the job is, I'm rapidly falling behind in my chem class since it's a summer class and every day counts.

Here's my dilemma: If I simply drop the class, I'll have to pay back ~$3000 in financial aid that I'm receiving for the summer, so that's not really an option. But getting a low grade is both a) not an option and b) a very real possibility with how intense the first few weeks of this new job will be.

I've also worked full-time and gone to school full-time before, so I know once my on-the-job training ends and the slower-paced fall semester begins, I'll be able to do fine working part-time and going to school 3/4-time. But a new job with crazy training hours plus a fast-paced summer course in a subject that isn't my strong suit doesn't really seem like a great combination.

The option that I've come up with is to take Chemistry P/NP over the summer, in order to learn Chemistry the first time around, as well as to not have to pay back my financial aid. Then, I can take Chemistry in the Fall and perform well, especially since I'll have a foundation in Chemistry at that point. This is especially appealing to me because a strong foundation in Chemistry will be key to passing a lot of pre-med (and med school) classes in the future, and I don't think only taking it over the summer while working full-time will give me that strong foundation.

Is there anything that med schools would see as "off" about this? I'm sure I could explain it away during application time by just being honest.

Will you be retaking the same chem class in the Fall or is the one you're taking now a lower level "warm-up"? I had a reason for asking that question, but I can't remember it now so I guess it doesn't matter.

Can you register for an easier class and drop chemistry? That way you won't have to payback your loan money and you won't have to worry about chem at all. I don't know how ADCOMs view P/NP, but if the rest of your application is solid, I doubt it would be a real issue. On the other hand, if you've got a slew of W's and bad grades on your transcript, it might raise more eyebrows.

 

[gbvan]

It'll be the same class in the Fall.

And if the job offer would have come in a week earlier, maybe I could have taken a different/easier class, but the semester has already started, so it's not really a possibility anymore (especially with all the catch up work that would be involved)

On the bright side, the lab I'm currently taking is a separate course entirely, and I'll still be taking that for a letter grade. If I can still get an A in that class (and I don't see why I wouldn't), hopefully that will show the adcoms... I don't know, something positive 😛

 

[TriagePreMed]

If you can come up with a good excuse as to why you went P/NP besides "I got a dream job," go for it. Honestly, if an ADCOM sees you're putting a job over your grades, that can only reflect poorly.

 

[gbvan]

If you can come up with a good excuse as to why you went P/NP besides "I got a dream job," go for it. Honestly, if an ADCOM sees you're putting a job over your grades, that can only reflect poorly.

Do you have some sort of citation for this (or something to back it up)? I have a hard time believing that adcoms would see it as wholly negative that I accepted a job at a doctor's office and decided to postpone Chem in order to establish a strong foundation in the subject. Especially since I'm trying to balance my job and my grades, not to push my grades aside to take the job. If i wanted to do that, I'd just continue Chem for the letter grade, even though with my job training, it'll be lower.

The other reason I'm having a hard time believing this outright is because it doesn't really appear to take the nontrad experience into account. Having to put income first is a reality for a lot of people, including myself. As much as I'd like to power through the pre-reqs, it's not an option. I'm just grateful that the job I did get for the much-needed income was the perfect pre-med job for me.

 

[TriagePreMed]

Do you have some sort of citation for this (or something to back it up)? I have a hard time believing that adcoms would see it as wholly negative that I accepted a job at a doctor's office and decided to postpone Chem in order to establish a strong foundation in the subject. Especially since I'm trying to balance my job and my grades, not to push my grades aside to take the job. If i wanted to do that, I'd just continue Chem for the letter grade, even though with my job training, it'll be lower.

The other reason I'm having a hard time believing this outright is because it doesn't really appear to take the nontrad experience into account. Having to put income first is a reality for a lot of people, including myself. As much as I'd like to power through the pre-reqs, it's not an option. I'm just grateful that the job I did get for the much-needed income was the perfect pre-med job for me.

No citation, and my only "back it up" is my word from when I've spoken to reps or people here that are more knowledgeable; so nothing you'll find credible. You should try contacting schools directly because you'll rarely find citations on anything around SDN.

Is it honestly that hard to imagine why it is? You're saying you want to do medical school, so you sign up for post-bacc work. Then you don't have your priorities straight (getting good grades and the classes you need) so that you can pursue an extracurricular activity when many other activities don't require you to compromise your grades. And if it is that you needed a job, why didn't you find one before you had to compromise school? Why sign up for school if you're not ready to do it or can handle it? How good is an "A" in chemistry if it's your second time around taking it? If anything, your P/NP will simply be seen as you failing to get a "B" or an "A" and wanted to save your GPA by doing P/NP; actually, that's exactly what you're doing. It's obvious why it looks bad.

They don't exactly "care" about your "non-trad experience." It was your choice to sign up for the course and your choice to take the job. Med Schools will expect that you, at a non-trad age, would know better than biting more than you can chew.

I'm a non-trad myself that needs to put food on my table for more than just myself, yet I haven't let that be an excuse to be irresponsible of my classes. I've seen other members on this board doing 3x as much as me and also powering through. They won't expect less from you. When you're doing 100 hours a week of OB/GYN or another rotation, you'll still be expected to study.

This isn't "psych" undergrad anymore. This is your shot at medicine. It's serious business. No room for errors.