summer classes

[drold2010]

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Is it ok to take science classes in the summer? I heard some schools don't like it, but I don't know for sure. Does anyone have such an experience? or been asked about it in an interview?

 

[Phoenix.]

I took pretty much all of bio and chem (with labs) over one summer (post-bac) and never had it questioned. If anything, I think it shows I could take a pretty full load of coursework, given that I took all of bio and chem in one summer.

But to answer your question, I don't think there would be any adverse impact whatsoever by taking summer science courses. For a post-bac, they just want to see that you've taken science classes recently and done well. Whether you take them during the semester or summer doesn't seem to matter.

 

[Captain Fantastic]

I took pretty much all of bio and chem (with labs) over one summer (post-bac) and never had it questioned. If anything, I think it shows I could take a pretty full load of coursework, given that I took all of bio and chem in one summer.

But to answer your question, I don't think there would be any adverse impact whatsoever by taking summer science courses. For a post-bac, they just want to see that you've taken science classes recently and done well. Whether you take them during the semester or summer doesn't seem to matter.

+1, but it was Organic Chem and Physics 1 w/ Lab for my summer courses. I didn't receive any questions, complaints, or comments about it.

 

[drtroy]

+1, but it was Organic Chem and Physics 1 w/ Lab for my summer courses. I didn't receive any questions, complaints, or comments about it.

Did you think taking organic and physics in the summer was any easier?

 

[gman33]

I was told by the director of admissions at my school that they don't like to see pre-reqs taken in the summer. She feels that some of these courses don't cover the same amount of material due to time constraints. My personal feeling is that if you do well in the classes and the corresponding section on the MCAT then it should be a non issue.

 

[Captain Fantastic]

Did you think taking organic and physics in the summer was any easier?

Organic, yes. Physics, no. It really was dependent on the instructor, which come to think of it is like most courses.

In Physics, for example, the syllabus was identical to the regular semester only compressed into eight weeks. Two labs a week consumed so much time! I was working, too, so I didn't have a lot of extra time on my hands.

 

[BSN2DOC]

I took chem II and an introductory organic class in a summer session, and it was busy busy but I managed A's. I also took microeconomics and macroeconomics the summer after my freshman year (I thought those two classes were harder then my chem classes) and also managed A's.

I think most people tend to do better during a summer session because the class is so incredibly condensed and you don't have time to slack off. Also, I think students in general lose interest in their classes toward the end of a 16-week semester; thus, when you have a 6 week summer class, you tend to stay very interested the entire time and thus study more and do better.

 

[njbmd]

Is it ok to take science classes in the summer? I heard some schools don't like it, but I don't know for sure. Does anyone have such an experience? or been asked about it in an interview?

I was told by the director of admissions at my school that they don't like to see pre-reqs taken in the summer. She feels that some of these courses don't cover the same amount of material due to time constraints. My personal feeling is that if you do well in the classes and the corresponding section on the MCAT then it should be a non issue.

It is not a matter of a school "liking" or "not liking" that you have taken a science course during the summer. If your undergraduate school is accredited, then any summer class is accredited.

The problems that most people have with taking pre-med pre-reqs during the summer is that the coursework goes very rapidly and students don't get the saturation of understanding of the knowledge that they can readily apply on the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT). This doesn't happen to everyone who takes a summer pre-med course but it can be quite problematic.

What you don't want is to have to take the MCAT more than once. The MCAT is a very important part of your application and you don't want to take a risk on anything that will alter your chances of acing this test the first time out. There is nothing sadder than "damage control" on the MCAT or "damage control" for uGPA because of summer coursework that demanded more than a student was able to accomplish or lack of thorough understanding of the volume of material presented.

If you are disciplined and are able to keep up and thrive, then summer coursework should not be a problem. If you need to decompression of a regular term in order to master your work, then don't take a pre-req during the summer but use the summer to take something else like English, History or Philosophy. I loved my summer literature and writing courses and having them behind me enabled me to concentrate on my science and math during the regular term.

Taking a summer science course, doing well and subsequently doing well on the MCAT is not a "negative" in terms of medical school admissions. Good luck!

 

[mommy2three]

i took my organic chem lab over the summer and it was brutal. 16 weeks crushed down into four...it was serious work.
i also took a psych course over the summer hat was much easier.

i have had not had issues with either one, but i think the difficulty will depend on the instructor.

 

[gman33]

Thanks NJBMD for ripping my post, when you said the same thing as me. 🙂

Summer classes may not prepare you as well for the MCAT and beyond.
Will a school not accept coursework taken in the summer, no.
If you do poorly on a section of the MCAT related to your summer course, they may view it as a red flag.