Summer/Sophomore Year Scheduling

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masterMood

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hey all, school ends may 9th at my school and summer classes start may 15th. This gives me 6 days of quality time with my family back home before i spend one month in my college (which is like 5 hours away from home).

i will be taking 3 credits worth of classes from may 15-june 2nd, and 4 credits from may 15-june 23rd. Then i have from june 23rd-august 28th to do whatever i want (probably part-time job, and some relatively weak shadowing). I will be doing a writing intensive class, and a music class both which are gen.ed. requirements at my school. Question, is this too much to do? (8-10:55 am MTWThrFri, and then 4-6:20 pm MTWThr).

Then SOPHOMORE FALL (OMG THIS IS THE WORST SEmESTER EVER!!!!)
gen. questions: 1) i have to do research/volunteering as well, combined with this intense semester, how much social time will i have if i want to get high grades? 2) is this gonna be the hardest semester or does it get worse in the spring or in the junior year?

Sophomore Fall: Ecology, Orgo Chem I, Orgo Chem Lab, Gen. Physics I, Gen. Physics Lab, Humanities (Writing intensive class, it's hard to get an A in this class) 15 credits total.

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you're complaining about 15 credits? wow.

I thought i was going crazy when i had only 25 credits last semester. it's exactly like your schedule plus cell bio, a/p and 2 engineering classes
 
Neither your summer nor your fall schedule sound terribly out of the ordinary to me, but you know your own limits. You have 4 classes in the fall, for a total of 15 credits, which seems like a pretty light class schedule to me. If that seems like an intensive schedule to you, it's only going to get worse. I suggest you take a good look at your study habits and consider getting tutoring if you anticipate problems.
 
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i'm not talking credit-wise, i'm talking course-wise. 15 credits of gym classes isn't gonna be as tough as 15 credits of science classes.
 
Don't credits vary be each school, or is it universal? I could've sworn, that, something like each state has their own credit system? Please shed some light...
 
korndoctor said:
you're complaining about 15 credits? wow.

I thought i was going crazy when i had only 25 credits last semester. it's exactly like your schedule plus cell bio, a/p and 2 engineering classes

You guys are crazy. I'm the lightweight type--taking only between 12 to 15 hours. It probably explains why I'm hardly stressed out as a pre-med and enjoyed my classes :laugh:
 
masterMood said:
i'm not talking credit-wise, i'm talking course-wise. 15 credits of gym classes isn't gonna be as tough as 15 credits of science classes.
Okay, then, coursewise it still looks like a light-to-normal schedule to me. You have 2 science classes with labs, another science class, and a humanities class. That's a normal schedule. And the classes are not advanced. As I said before, if you think this is an impossible semester, things will only get worse for you as yor progress through college. I suggest you assess why this courseload concerns you, and take steps to prepare. If you don't think you'll have enough time to study, you should figure out how to study more effectively and make sure you're using time wisely. If you're worried about mastering the concepts, look into tutoring or form study groups with classmates. You get the idea. I don't understand what kind of advice you're looking for with this post.
 
Don't base the toughness of your semester on the number of credit hours. Some schools will give more or less credit for science classes based on whether the lecture and lab are together or not (mine were together). A friend of mine had a 3 credit O-Chem Lecture and 3 credit O-Chem Lab (6 total), while I had Lab and Lecture combined into one class for 4 credits. A bit of a difference there.

Also, credits don't always calculate the amount of work you will do. The 4 credit OChem2 I took put me in the lab and studying in the library for more time than the other 12 credits I took that semester.

For you. I would say that your Soph year is going to be harder than most semesters. The combination of OChem with Physics (Calculus based I would assume from the 'Gen' title) is going to give you a lot of studying.

You can always scale back on volunteering if you get too busy. As a soph, you will have time to do more of this during Winter and Summer breaks, and possibly as a Junior.

:luck:
 
MN81 said:
Don't base the toughness of your semester on the number of credit hours. Some schools will give more or less credit for science classes based on whether the lecture and lab are together or not (mine were together). A friend of mine had a 3 credit O-Chem Lecture and 3 credit O-Chem Lab (6 total), while I had Lab and Lecture combined into one class for 4 credits. A bit of a difference there.

Also, credits don't always calculate the amount of work you will do. The 4 credit OChem2 I took put me in the lab and studying in the library for more time than the other 12 credits I took that semester.

For you. I would say that your Soph year is going to be harder than most semesters. The combination of OChem with Physics (Calculus based I would assume from the 'Gen' title) is going to give you a lot of studying.

You can always scale back on volunteering if you get too busy. As a soph, you will have time to do more of this during Winter and Summer breaks, and possibly as a Junior.

:luck:
thanks a lot :)
 
masterMood said:
Humanities (Writing intensive class, it's hard to get an A in this class)

Oh, about the Humanities...

Most pre-meds are completely anal about grades (I was for the most part). The ultimate goal is straight A's, but hey, life happens and that doesn't work out.

Here is a strategy that worked for me in undergrad: If getting an A in humanities (or any other class) is going to require too much time away from your other studies, then just be happy with an A- or B+ (this is assuming you have those '-' and '+' grades).

It was my general rule for a tough semester. If getting an A in one class is going to kill your grades in the rest of them, then its not worth it.

Its better to get five A-'s instead of one A and four B's (or C's).

Just something to chew on...
 
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