summer courses frowned upon by Adcom?
Started by solipsis
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I don't know if Adcoms think less of summer courses when compared to full semester/quarter courses but I do know one thing. If you take summer courses and ace them and score 30+ on the MCAT, Adcoms will not care when you took your classes. Just my opinion.
dok101 said:
In my opinion I think its not a matter of taking summer courses, but where and how many you take. I would avoid taking them at community colleges if possible. From what I have expereinced, a lot of students who wish to finish their pre-reqs in 1.5 years take only chemistry over the summer, followed by full year of the other sciences. It is not common for a student to take more than one of the 4 core pre-reqs in summer school. Again a 30+ either way would help!
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Students in Columbia's highly respected post-bacc usually start with gen. chem over the summer. So I really doubt summer courses are per se frowned on.
A lot of the good post-baccs offer a year of gen chem or something else over the summer as part of their one-year program, and their students aren't hurt in the admissions process. Also, a course like organic chemistry may be harder over the summer due to the amount of material you have to commit to memory over a shorter time frame. Just something to think about.
Summer's not totally wasted:
Summer is a good time to take your non-prereq liberal arts classes that are required for your degree or transfer, so you can do those prereqs during the semester. That's what I'm doing... I have to take a critical thinking class and art history to finish up my liberal arts GEs. I'm doing these over the summer.
Summer is a good time to take your non-prereq liberal arts classes that are required for your degree or transfer, so you can do those prereqs during the semester. That's what I'm doing... I have to take a critical thinking class and art history to finish up my liberal arts GEs. I'm doing these over the summer.
I agree with the prior posters, and wasn't hindered by my summer classes. If the summer course is at an equal caliber/intensity place to the one you take your other undergrad or postbac courses, and as long as your MCAT is reflective of your GPA (or better), taking things over the summer won't hurt. If it's at a community college or an objectively less competitive school than your undergrad/postbac, it won't be as highly regarded, as adcoms will see right through this fluff tactic. And just be aware that if you take summer courses at some of the places that cram two semesters of science plus labs into eight weeks, the summer classes often tend to be even more intense than the normal semester long class, so you'd better be ready to buckle down.solipsis said:
I'll full-time post bacc starting in September '05. I'm taking Physics and doing well, so far.
I'm going to take Chemistry at NYU this Summer. Basically 9-5 M-TH. Since I haven't taken Chemistry, I'm trying to get an idea of much study time I should expect. Your experiences might help in budgeting my time, especially with part-time work.
I'm going to take Chemistry at NYU this Summer. Basically 9-5 M-TH. Since I haven't taken Chemistry, I'm trying to get an idea of much study time I should expect. Your experiences might help in budgeting my time, especially with part-time work.
hoho said:
Last month, i sat with dean of Columbia General studies program who recommended against summer science classes.
He gave two reasons:
1) many admissions committees consider summer programs to be easier, b/c it's often made up of people who are retaking the class and non-key faculty.
2) since it's so condensed, there is a concern that students won't absorb the content.
He had less of a problem with summer chem for those applying to DO progrmas.
That said, that said, I'm still taking summer chemistry.
Rajiv,
I've heard nothing but great things about Hunter. Unfortunately, I don't feel like commuting to the City, otherwise I'd probably be there with you.
I'm taking my summer classes at Suny Farmingdale and will be taking my fall classes at either Suny Stony Brook or Suny Farmingdale.
I've heard nothing but great things about Hunter. Unfortunately, I don't feel like commuting to the City, otherwise I'd probably be there with you.
I'm taking my summer classes at Suny Farmingdale and will be taking my fall classes at either Suny Stony Brook or Suny Farmingdale.
