Should I take unnecessary classes just to have 15 hours per semester?

[Dr panda]

Hello everyone. I know that medical school prefer applicants who were always full time students which typically means 15 credits per semester. However, at my school full time means 12 credits. I am a rising junior and I have GPA around 3.9 I don't really want to look as someone who just wants to protect GPA. The problem is that I cannot cram more classes into remaining semesters to graduate early due to the sequence in which I have to take those classes. So, the only option to have 15 hours workload is to take other classes that I don't really need. Also, my school experiences some problems with faculty, so for the last few years biochemistry was offered only through summer.
My main concern – should I take more classes, such as sociology, arts, etc just to be 15 hours student or I should I instead focus on volunteering and/or job? Another issue is that I will have to take another elective during summer mainly for the same reason, so I will have a year that looks like this: 12/12/7. just don't want to look suspicious that I will be taking summer classes and light course load during regular semesters. I plan to volunteer and work in my spare time. It is a predominant wisdom on this forum – if you don't take 15+ hours each semester (preferably more) then it is automatically puts you at a disadvantage, however this is usually said by neurotic OCD premeds, so I am not sure how true is that. Would appreciate some input from @Goro @Catalystik @LizzyM @gyngyn @gonnif
Thank you!

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[chlorocruorin]

Full time is 12+, they don’t care if you take 14,13,15 hours. People who say you need 15+ hours just to get into med school are borderline ****, take what your schedule permits and what you feel comfortable with

 

[Dr panda]

Full time is 12+, they don’t care if you take 14,13,15 hours. People who say you need 15+ hours just to get into med school are borderline ****, take what your schedule permits and what you feel comfortable with

Sounds encouragingly, thank you

 

[Angus Avagadro]

I've said numerous times that med schools want to see how you handle a serious academic schedule. 12 credits a semester wont impress many. I also realize many large schools make it difficult to graduate in 4 years as students have trouble getting into courses to fulfill requirements. One Florida school is known as the Roach Motel. Once you come in, you cant get out. Sorry, a nice GPA with 12 credits a semester does not inspire confidence in me that the applicant can handle 1st semester of med achool.

 

[chlorocruorin]

Sounds encouragingly, thank you

I only took 15 hours twice during my four years of UG

 

[Dr panda]

I've said numerous times that med schools want to see how you handle a serious academic schedule. 12 credits a semester wont impress many. I also realize many large schools make it difficult to graduate in 4 years as students have trouble getting into courses to fulfill requirements. One Florida school is known as the Roach Motel. Once you come in, you cant get out. Sorry, a nice GPA with 12 credits a semester does not inspire confidence in me that the applicant can handle 1st semester of med achool.

So, if I add modern architecture class on top of my schedule that will make my GPA impressive?

 

[Angus Avagadro]

So, if I add modern architecture class on top of my schedule that will make my GPA impressive?

Is this a trick question? You would have to get an A to help your GPA. Are you sure you could get one? Intro to Music at my undergrad, taught by a Juliard grad, was no easy course. One or 2 As, the rest Bs and Cs. Secondly, 12 credit hours is not an impressive course load. Nothing close to 1st year of med school.

 

[Dr panda]

Is this a trick question? You would have to get an A to help your GPA. Are you sure you could get one? Intro to Music at my undergrad, taught by a Juliard grad, was no easy course. One or 2 As, the rest Bs and Cs. Secondly, 12 credit hours is not an impressive course load. Nothing close to 1st year of med school.

I understand, thank you.

 

[deleted965528]

I'm a little confused here. Is 12 units a semester considered low? In quarter units that is 18 units, which is considered a rigorous workload at my school. 15 semester units = 22.5 quarter units, which would likely be considered neurotic if you ask any random student at my school.

 

[907914]

I'm a little confused here. Is 12 units a semester considered low? In quarter units that is 18 units, which is considered a rigorous workload at my school. 15 semester units = 22.5 quarter units, which would likely be considered neurotic if you ask any random student at my school.

You cannot directly compare the number of semester hours to the number of Porter hours. The difference is that a semester base program is going to be 16 weeks where is a quarter is going to be 10. So yes 15 semester hours would be considered to be equivalent of 22.54 hours however the student is only taking two of those per year as opposed to three. So over the course of the school year, the number of hours in class is still the same.

 

[thegrind33]

12 hours 2 hard science classes> 15 hours one hard science class and different underwater basket weaving classes. Also, most schools publish grade distributions online. Use those to take the “easy A” electives. Sign up for an elective you can take if you can find one that has 50% As or so

 

[907914]

12 hours 2 hard science classes> 15 hours one hard science class and different underwater basket weaving classes. Also, most schools publish grade distributions online. Use those to take the “easy A” electives. Sign up for an elective you can take if you can find one that has 50% As or so

Is schools posting great distributions really a thing? I’ve honestly never heard of that.

 

[trashacct01]

Sorry, a nice GPA with 12 credits a semester does not inspire confidence in me that the applicant can handle 1st semester of med achool.

Curious if other adcoms agree with this statement. @Goro @Catalystik @gyngyn @LizzyM

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Curious if other adcoms agree with this statement. @Goro @Catalystik @gyngyn @LizzyM

I would be interested in their thoughts on why a 12 credit semester would be remarkable too.

 

[907914]

I would be interested in their thoughts on why a 12 credit semester would be remarkable too.

While 18 credits of hard science classes are while getting As the whole time would certainly be remarkable, I can’t imagine full time enrollment would be genuinely looked down upon, would it? The student is still full time, and particularly if their ECs are still up to snuff.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

While 18 credits of hard science classes are while getting As the whole time would certainly be remarkable, I can’t imagine full time enrollment would be genuinely looked down upon, would it? The student is still full time, and particularly if their ECs are still up to snuff.

Did you read my earlier post? About a nice GPA with 12 credit hours does not inspire confidence they could handle the first semester of med school? Which at my institution is about 32 credit hours. This is what we are haggling about.

 

[Dr panda]

Is schools posting great distributions really a thing? I’ve honestly never heard of that.

It is!!! I have just figured out that my school posts it, that is invaluable information!

 

[Dr panda]

I would be interested in their thoughts on why a 12 credit semester would be remarkable too.

I remember that @Goro said that one semester is ok, each semester is not ok, I would have only junior year with that load, so I wonder is 1 year is still fine

 

[trashacct01]

I would be interested in their thoughts on why a 12 credit semester would be remarkable too.

I don't think it's remarkable either but to imply someone with 12 credit semesters likely can't handle 1st semester medical school seems extreme and not accurate.

 

[trashacct01]

Sorry, a nice GPA with 12 credits a semester does not inspire confidence in me that the applicant can handle 1st semester of med achool.

And just to be clear, this is the statement in question, not whether 12 credits a semester is remarkable.

 

[deleted965528]

Is schools posting great distributions really a thing? I’ve honestly never heard of that.

It's a thing. I recall reading somewhere that said public schools need to make them available either for free or for a reasonable price (though I don't trust my memory about this). In my experience, it seems like department chairs or professors tenured 30 years ago literally don't need to follow grade distribution rules lol

 

[907914]

It's a thing. I recall reading somewhere that said public schools need to make them available either for free or for a reasonable price (though I don't trust my memory about this). In my experience, it seems like department chairs or professors tenured 30 years ago literally don't need to follow grade distribution rules lol

My school does not as far as I can find. We don’t even have a standardized syllabus or grading format...and neither are available online...

 

[Angus Avagadro]

And just to be clear, this is the statement in question, not whether 12 credits a semester is remarkable.

Correct. Adcoms have to decide if a student is capable of handling the first semester of med school. As I mentioned in other posts, our students success is our greatest concern. A course failure, remediation or God forbid repeating a year is a red flag in an already competetive residency match process. Residencies dont want to hire a problem or someone at risk for board failure.

 

[Moko]

Relative ranking:
Good GPA + Heavier full time schedule > Good GPA + Lighter full time schedule >> Mediocre GPA + Heavier full time schedule > Mediocre GPA + Lighter full time schedule

A heavier full time schedule does not make up for a poor GPA. When it comes to grades, the saying that it's "better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt" is quite apt. Only take on a heavier course load if it will not negatively impact your GPA. Anecdotally, when I applied (granted about 10 years ago), my generally-speaking lighter course load was never brought up as an issue, and I had a fairly successful cycle by any count.

As long as you've got a mix of semesters with heavier and lighter full-time coursework, you'll be fine. The semesters in which you take a heavier course load will essentially prove that you can handle the med school curriculum. At least this is what I've been seeing at my med school. Hope this helps.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

I remember that @Goro said that one semester is ok, each semester is not ok, I would have only junior year with that load, so I wonder is 1 year is still fine

I would think so, depending on the courses taken

 

[Dr panda]

I would think so, depending on the courses taken

UL science classes and financial classes (also UL)

 

[trashacct01]

Correct. Adcoms have to decide if a student is capable of handling the first semester of med school. As I mentioned in other posts, our students success is our greatest concern. A course failure, remediation or God forbid repeating a year is a red flag in an already competetive residency match process. Residencies dont want to hire a problem or someone at risk for board failure.

So can a high GPA (3.7+), 12 credit per semester student handle the first semester? This is the question.

 

[Moko]

So can a high GPA (3.7+), 12 credit per semester student handle the first semester? This is the question.

Many of those folks will likely succeed in med school (provided other aspects of their app are good), though there's some who will struggle under the course load. Unfortunately from an adcom perspective, we don't have a crystal ball that lets us differentiate between these two groups. That's why having semesters in which there are heavier course loads are preferable -- essentially to 'signal' to adcoms that you have good time management skills and can handle med school. The number of semesters needed to show this likely vary from reviewer to reviewer, and also from school to school.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

So can a high GPA (3.7+), 12 credit per semester student handle the first semester? This is the question.

Sometimes they cant. I have recommended students with high Gpa and lower Mcat to post bac and some were not successful. If a student repeats the year, we cannot replace them. Lots of pressure from higher ups to keep course failures low and improve board pass rates which dipped this year. Courses and faculty haven't changed much, so what is it?
The admission process looks at many factors, as you know. Seeing a light course load makes my Spidey senses tingle and I take a closer look at the app. Then I look for Ws on the app. If you look back, the students who struggle are usually not above our averages for mcat or GPA, it is usually the opposite. We want our students to be successful, our main priority. Nothimg worse than a student dropping out of school or not matching with student loans requiring payback.
Of course some students with high GPA and light course loads can excel, but how to find the ones who dont. That's the question.

 

[LizzyM]

You aren't going to have this opportunity again. Take a course that is fun or interesting or that will expose you to new ideas or a way of thinking that is entirely foreign to you. Use "Rate My Professor" or some other guide to help you find courses that aren't going to wear you down or tank your GPA. Learn something about art, anthropolgy, literature, history, philosophy, religious traditions, policy.

 

[deleted972488]

This is part of what's wrong with the whole medical school admissions process... College shouldn't be about finding the easiest classes that won't harm your GPA. It should be about learning for the sake of learning.

I got a B in one of my favorite non-science classes. The professor was notoriously difficult and we had to read at least a novel a week. But I learned a lot and enjoyed doing it.

 

[Dr panda]

This is part of what's wrong with the whole medical school admissions process... College shouldn't be about finding the easiest classes that won't harm your GPA. It should be about learning for the sake of learning.

I got a B in one of my favorite non-science classes. The professor was notoriously difficult and we had to read at least a novel a week. But I learned a lot and enjoyed doing it.

We compete in the system that favors grades much more than knowledge, we cannot risk.

 

[907914]

We compete in the system that favors grades much more than knowledge, we cannot risk.

I can personally attest that the two are NOT mutually exclusive.

 

[FlowRate]

I remember that @Goro said that one semester is ok, each semester is not ok, I would have only junior year with that load, so I wonder is 1 year is still fine

How many credit hours/semester did you have fresh+soph year?

Use your extra time to do something meaningful/interesting. It could be anything, an extra class, research, volunteering, learning a new skill, earning some money, whatever.

 

[Dr panda]

How many credit hours/semester did you have fresh+soph year?

Use your extra time to do something meaningful/interesting. It could be anything, an extra class, research, volunteering, learning a new skill, earning some money, whatever.

F - 16/15 + few summer classes
S - 16/17
Anyway, as @LizzyM suggested, I would better take couple general education classes