Note ahead of time: Please only people who have already taken a year of physics read and respond to this.
Hey folks,
I'm about to graduate with a B.S. in Neuroscience from UIC.
We aren't required to take any physics classes for the B.S. in Neuroscience, but I've been thinking about going to medical school as of late, because I've considered the reality of a Ph.D program and Ph.D prospects are not satisfying enough for me. I rather help people, make money, and do biomedical research than just do research and be underpaid with job instability. Simply said, I want to be paid well to do what I love (Biology/health).
I need to take a year of physics to be accepted to medical school (I would take college algebra based, as pre-calculus is currently my highest math).
However, at the public uni in Chicago I'm at, I've been told constantly not to take physics here, because the grading curve is low (avg ~ 40 to 50%), because the teaching assistants are unhelpful, and because the general competitive nature of the course can give an individual a bad grade. Graduate students that I'm friends with have told me not to take it. 3.5+ GPA students have suggested I don't take it.
People who have done well in the course have told me that they have taken physics in high school or a community college (forced to retake at uni). That makes me considered why the course may be abnormally difficult (people come into the class with prior physics knowledge).
Personally, if there is a high chance of me getting a C, I'm not interested in taking the course. That's too much of a liability of me, and fixing that C (as I have a 3.5+/4.0 GPA already after about 4.5 years of college/uni) would take too much time and money. I'm on grants, which pay for all of my tuition; but I don't feel like taking the time to fix a poor grade.
I have a very good work ethic. The hardest class I've taken was organic II, so I know what it feels like to pour 40 hours a week into a class with a lack of sleep. But people still tell me that Physics I and II is harder than Organic II. If that's really the case, I'm very much not interested in taking the course if I am ill-prepared.
I have 132 credit hours and a 3.54 GPA. Getting a C in a 5-credit class (Physics I or Physics II) would just make things really chaotic, as I attempt to obtain a 3.6 GPA. At the moment, I need 20-credit hours (about 7 classes) of A grades. I could take a complete year of easy classes, but I suspect that would be frowned upon by an admissions committee.
I'm graduating this semester, but I'm considering taking the year's worth, thus also keeping me in school until Spring 2012.
I think I'm better off not taking the class, studying physics I and II on my own during the spring and summer of 2012, taking university physics (fall 2012) after studying and preparing, and then getting a good grade. I've also considered taking the course at a community college to save money.
I'm good at math. I'll admit that. I was put into gifted school at a young age, because I'm good at math. But it's not my interest. And my skills have somewhat dulled down in the past few years, but I still do a good job of visualizing mathematical ideas in my mind's eye.
I'm almost 25, getting older, and am really starting to dislike wasting my time. But as my goal is medical school, the prospects are great, and it's something I wouldn't mind doing for a life-time, I suspect waiting a year or two to get into medical school is not such a bad deal.
And as a final note, I have a roommate who is a Ph.D physics student (just came in from Boston). I don't know if I should ask him if he would be willing to help tutor me (as I believe new Ph.D students will have a lot to deal with on their own during the first year).
Otherwise, I plan on getting my B.S. in Neuroscience, moving back home (away from Chicago), and then taking physics later on at a community college or nearby uni.
Sorry for the long post, but I thought I'd give as much detail as possible.
Hey folks,
I'm about to graduate with a B.S. in Neuroscience from UIC.
We aren't required to take any physics classes for the B.S. in Neuroscience, but I've been thinking about going to medical school as of late, because I've considered the reality of a Ph.D program and Ph.D prospects are not satisfying enough for me. I rather help people, make money, and do biomedical research than just do research and be underpaid with job instability. Simply said, I want to be paid well to do what I love (Biology/health).
I need to take a year of physics to be accepted to medical school (I would take college algebra based, as pre-calculus is currently my highest math).
However, at the public uni in Chicago I'm at, I've been told constantly not to take physics here, because the grading curve is low (avg ~ 40 to 50%), because the teaching assistants are unhelpful, and because the general competitive nature of the course can give an individual a bad grade. Graduate students that I'm friends with have told me not to take it. 3.5+ GPA students have suggested I don't take it.
People who have done well in the course have told me that they have taken physics in high school or a community college (forced to retake at uni). That makes me considered why the course may be abnormally difficult (people come into the class with prior physics knowledge).
Personally, if there is a high chance of me getting a C, I'm not interested in taking the course. That's too much of a liability of me, and fixing that C (as I have a 3.5+/4.0 GPA already after about 4.5 years of college/uni) would take too much time and money. I'm on grants, which pay for all of my tuition; but I don't feel like taking the time to fix a poor grade.
I have a very good work ethic. The hardest class I've taken was organic II, so I know what it feels like to pour 40 hours a week into a class with a lack of sleep. But people still tell me that Physics I and II is harder than Organic II. If that's really the case, I'm very much not interested in taking the course if I am ill-prepared.
I have 132 credit hours and a 3.54 GPA. Getting a C in a 5-credit class (Physics I or Physics II) would just make things really chaotic, as I attempt to obtain a 3.6 GPA. At the moment, I need 20-credit hours (about 7 classes) of A grades. I could take a complete year of easy classes, but I suspect that would be frowned upon by an admissions committee.
I'm graduating this semester, but I'm considering taking the year's worth, thus also keeping me in school until Spring 2012.
I think I'm better off not taking the class, studying physics I and II on my own during the spring and summer of 2012, taking university physics (fall 2012) after studying and preparing, and then getting a good grade. I've also considered taking the course at a community college to save money.
I'm good at math. I'll admit that. I was put into gifted school at a young age, because I'm good at math. But it's not my interest. And my skills have somewhat dulled down in the past few years, but I still do a good job of visualizing mathematical ideas in my mind's eye.
I'm almost 25, getting older, and am really starting to dislike wasting my time. But as my goal is medical school, the prospects are great, and it's something I wouldn't mind doing for a life-time, I suspect waiting a year or two to get into medical school is not such a bad deal.
And as a final note, I have a roommate who is a Ph.D physics student (just came in from Boston). I don't know if I should ask him if he would be willing to help tutor me (as I believe new Ph.D students will have a lot to deal with on their own during the first year).
Otherwise, I plan on getting my B.S. in Neuroscience, moving back home (away from Chicago), and then taking physics later on at a community college or nearby uni.
Sorry for the long post, but I thought I'd give as much detail as possible.
