Should I take this summer class at UCLA Extension

[funkymunky]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hi everyone, first time poster with a specific question: should I take this class at UCLA Extension this summer?

Ok, now the necessary info.

I am looking to apply to med school in June of next year.

I graduated from Northwestern University in June 2014 with a BA in Economics, having also completed all my premed coursework (1 year bio, 2 years chem, 1 year physics, 1 year math, plenty of English classes, no other science).

My overall GPA was 3.458, my BCPM GPA was 3.322.

After graduating I worked at a tech startup for a year, then as a design associate at an architecture firm for the last two years.

I have not done any research or volunteering, nor do I have any real clinical experience. I also didn't really form any relationships with any of my science professors, and so likely cannot get reference letters from any of them; I may be able to get a great reference from a Comp Lit professor and/or an English professor. I have not yet taken the MCAT.

I would like to try to get into UCLA Med school. I'm aware this is a huge stretch, and will obviously be applying to lower ranked schools as well, including DO schools (if necessary). If I crush the MCAT though, which I should be capable of, UCLA may at least be possible.

The Point

I know that I need to get clinical experience, do volunteering etc, and I'll be taking more high level science classes throughout the year starting in fall. My question right now is whether I should enroll in this particular class this summer (Physiological Science XL 13 - Intro to Human Anatomy). I never took any Physiology classes in college (or any science classes beyond the basic premed coursework), and I think the subject matter and lab work of this class would be very interesting and useful. I also think I can ace the class (to bring up my GPA), and can hopefully befriend the professor and maybe get some guidance/research opportunities/a reference.

However my premed advisor mentioned that taking lower level coursework in the post bac setting doesn't look great to med schools, and this is a lower level class - although it's at least not a basic Bio class. Also, I've already missed the first week of class, but I'm sure I can make up for it by showing up and working hard. It is pretty expensive and time consuming, so if there's really not a good reason to take it, I shouldn't.

Also this question is pretty time sensitive, as I need to enroll and attend class by 6:30pm on Monday to get in.

tl;dr
Should I enroll in this Intro to Human Anatomy class at UCLA this summer, given that I completed all my premed coursework in college and have a ~3.3 science GPA. Applying to med school next year.

Thanks so much in advance for your help, and apologies if I missed anything!!

 

[Toutie]

I don't think taking the class will hurt you at all, unless you flunk it. But I don't think it will be a huge help to you either.

Do you speak Spanish? If not, then a super intensive 1 year immersion in Spanish would help more than anything. Speaking Spanish is HUGE bonus for UCLA. But you really need to get some clinical exposure! And also some involvement with those less fortunate than yourself...both clinically and non-clinical. Without that you are very likely dead in the water with UCLA...and with many other schools as well.

UCLA tends to use a very holistic approach in their selection process. Your whole package is more important than your GPA and MCAT. They are more forgiving than many schools in the stats dept, they really want to see the "other stuff".

 

[funkymunky]

I don't think taking the class will hurt you at all, unless you flunk it. But I don't think it will be a huge help to you either.

Do you speak Spanish? If not, then a super intensive 1 year immersion in Spanish would help more than anything. Speaking Spanish is HUGE bonus for UCLA. But you really need to get some clinical exposure! And also some involvement with those less fortunate than yourself...both clinically and non-clinical. Without that you are very likely dead in the water with UCLA...and with many other schools as well.

UCLA tends to use a very holistic approach in their selection process. Your whole package is more important than your GPA and MCAT. They are more forgiving than many schools in the stats dept, they really want to see the "other stuff".

Thanks so much for your reply Toutie!

Good idea re: Spanish, I'd definitely been considering that as well. I'm also definitely aware that I need clinical exposure (certified recently as an EMT and hopefully will start working soon), as well as volunteering experience.

This class would be less to improve my GPA (although that is cool), more to form a relationship with the prof for research/rec letters etc, since I have neither of those. I also think the subject matter itself is pretty interesting, especially getting experience with human cadavers, and I'm thinking taking (and acing) the course will help sort of catapult my headspace back into academics and the whole premed track.

My thoughts are kind of running along the lines of: if I have time for this and it's not a negative, I want to do it. Of course I totally understand that it's a time trade-off though, and appreciate your advice about spending more time on clinical & volunteering experience, and Spanish!

Thanks again for taking the time to reply 🙂