Stretched too thin or entirely doable?

[DoctorDrewOutsidetheLines]

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Next semester Spring 2016, I want to take 20 units at my community college. I will also be working as an EMT full-time.

Classes:

Intro Chem
General Psych
Intro Sociology
Anatomy and Physiology
Pre-Calc

My schedule thus far is classes M/W/F with one class on Saturday. I'm hoping I can schedule my 12 hr EMT shifts on T/Th/Su

Thoughts?

 

[Cawolf]

Stretched too thin with full-time employment. Stretched too thin with part-time employment!

(IMO)

Do you want to finish fast, or with good grades?

 

[710976]

I think this would be too much! Focus on the classes (aka grades) more! May be you can be an EMT part-time instead- only 12 hours/week?

 

[NoTownPreMed]

It'll be REALLY tough. I worked part-time in the ER and eventually stepped down to per-diem when I was taking 20-units, exact same classes.

 

[ZX10R]

Do you have to do A&P? Most of the people coming into med school never do A&P beforehand and do fine.

 

[evansh]

I wouldn't recommend taking 20 credits. I pulled a very similar schedule working 30-40 hours/wk as an EMT/FF while in undergrad, and it wasn't pleasant. My grades ended much lower than I was capable of, and it pretty significantly affected the quality of my application. Obviously you can drop whatever you'd like (if you so choose) but if you're only taking A&P and Soc for med school I would start there. I personally didn't find either super helpful, and depending on the rigor of your EMT course a lot of the A&P may be remedial for you.

If nothing else, protect that GPA!

 

[Pagan FutureDoc]

20 credits plus full time job is hell on earth. It can be done but likely your grades or your job performance will suffer.

Frankly you asking this question shows you think it might be a bad idea...you are right. Also, you realize you will have zero days of downtime for months on end. You'll burn out.

 

[jl lin]

Drop the Soc and A&P and do them later. 11 credits and working FT is good. Depending upon your prof/school, you will be hit with writing and database research w/ the requirement of perfect APA format. Writing well and writing well to the thesis and the specific rubrics for the papers can take a lot of time if you hope to get A's---yes, even in Psych and Soc. Same things w/ ethics courses and such.

Seriously w/ the others, those 11 credits will be more than enough, and you don't want to come up subpar. Even in non-Gross A&P I & II, there is a lot of memorization and lab structure identification, and at least for me, putting together form and function really helps; but that requires time. No matter what, there is no getting around learning the nomenclature.

Then there is the nomenclature and such for chemistry. Yea, my vote would be to at least drop the A&P for now, unless it is a requirement for your major, like nursing or respiratory therapy or something else in allied health.

 

[cabinbuilder]

Do NOT TAKE A&P. It is generally a weeder class and not required for med school plus a killer class. I would think the rest would be fine with your work schedule. I did it working full time with 4 science classes. You just have to be sure you schedule your study time.

 

[Mad Jack]

Too thin for sure. Basically setting yourself up to fail with that high of a workload.

Also going to +1 the no to A&P- just do a general bio sequence if you need the year of bio, A&P in CCs is designed to weed out prospective allied health students.

 

[NoTownPreMed]

I don't see a need for a reason take A&P unless a consideration of doing nursing is in mind. It was definitely a weeder class, over 50% of my class ended up with a "D" or "F".

 

[DrMikeP]

Too thin is personal perspective, but weigh your need to make good grades and getting in vs. getting in fast. I worked 60-80hrs a week and took courses, but I was ok not having a life. An extra year can mean the difference between getting in and never getting in, so consider the impact on grades and decide for you.

 

[GreenDuck12]

As a general rule to the "Is this too much" topic is that if you find yourself asking, chances are it IS too much. Even if it is not too much for a few or many others, the real question is whether or not it is too much for you at this moment. Evaluate your outside commitments and how much time you will (REALISTICALLY) be able to commit to studying. On paper, I can commit 33 hours a week to studying. If I am being realistic, I come no where close to that number because of other things that come up.

My advice would be focus on learning math and intro chemistry really well. Gen chem is a lot of math (I wished I had brushed up on it) and so is physics. You have to do more than survive the classes with good grades; you have to learn the material. Best of luck!

 

[Seattle Mariners Fan]

20 credits without working is unmanageable. 20 credits with working is surefire 2.7

 

[jl lin]

Remember that if you take social science courses that will require thesis, database exploration and usage, and writing intensive assignments throughout the course, this can take a large chunk out of your time.

Since you are working as you are, I stand by my suggestion to at least hold off on A&P and sociology. OTOH, if you get some really easy going profs for soc/psych, you might be fine w/ back-to-back social sciences; but the A&P is time-consuming in it's own right as well.

Anyone that hints or outrightly states that their course will be writing intensive in their course description or syllabus is telling you a very large percentage of your grade will depend on writing intensive work with very structured rubrics, and yes, to meet those strict requirements can be time-consuming. So, if you dislike making theses and exploring data bases for research-based, scholarly work to support your own work, and if you dislike them being sticklers with format requirements, the work for their courses may take you longer and a bit more sweat to get the A.

I will say if you take soc and psych at a community college, you may not get instructors/professors that are so demanding in this regard, but it really depends upon the professor and the department pedagogy. So, if you want to take these courses, try to find out what type and level of demand you will have to meet to do A work.

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

In my experience as a nontrad who worked full-time while completing my prereqs, working 40 hrs/week and taking EIGHT credits (2 science courses with labs) was a struggle. I can't even imagine trying to take twenty credits. Remember that you need time to study! (And sleep and ideally, have a bit of relaxation/social time, too.)

I totally feel you if you need to work so you can support yourself while taking classes. But unfortunately, that probably means that you'll need to take things slower with your course load, if you want to maintain a competitive GPA.

 

[jl lin]

In my experience as a nontrad who worked full-time while completing my prereqs, working 40 hrs/week and taking EIGHT credits (2 science courses with labs) was a struggle. I can't even imagine trying to take twenty credits. Remember that you need time to study! (And sleep and ideally, have a bit of relaxation/social time, too.)

I totally feel you if you need to work so you can support yourself while taking classes. But unfortunately, that probably means that you'll need to take things slower with your course load, if you want to maintain a competitive GPA.

I agree. Plus there are other things you need to be doing, such as volunteering, etc. There are only 168 hours in a week. You have to sleep and provide at least basic self-care (showering, grooming, eating, laundry, whatever). Then there is driving time. Then there is the study and assignment work time added to the actual class time. And then the big one: WORK. I can't speak for others, but getting out within the "normal" frame of time is not always easy for a nurse, depending upon what has happened during the shift--or even what is happening at the end of it. Then there is necessary, further documentation, filling others in re: what transpired, supervisor, nurse manager (other people beside the obvious--physicians and attending nurse and charge nurse). You can be vigilant and strive fore efficiency, but there is absolutely no guarantee you will always get out on time. 36 hours may become 42 hours, and depending upon if you function in mid-mgt, 40 hours can become 60. I held a role in nurse mgt where doing the job effectively and well required 60 to over 70 hours per week--not necessarily including taking call.

When you do the math, one can easily be left w/ less than 3 spare hours per day for laundry, other errands, and just to chill.