Take easy classes or classes I love?

[ponyo]

To start off, I'm a rising senior planning to apply at the end of senior year (i.e. take a year off).

Throughout my first 3 years I rarely thought about my GPA, partially because I converted to pre-med late. I took many more classes than most people, certainly most pre-meds (petitioned the academic committee multiple times to take more credits than allowed), and took a large number of upper-level classes (including graduate seminars) in several departments, rather than standard 100-200 level classes.

Unfortunately, despite having an apparently unquenchable thirst for learning, I am not very smart, especially at quantitatively heavy subjects. Right now I have a 3.7 GPA. My school has MAD grade inflation so I would say that is around the 40-50th percentile for pre-meds.

For senior year, part of me wants to take advantage of this final undergraduate year and sign up for 7 challenging classes immediately, but part of me wants to be realistic and maybe raise my GPA a little bit with some lower-level biology or chemistry classes. My pre-med adviser said that although my GPA is low, she wouldn't worry about it since she'd highlight the fact that I had heavy and advanced courseloads and that I'm (hopefully) receiving departmental distinctions from both of my majors. This was reassuring but whenever I talk to other pre-meds (or even consulting people) it just seems like they all have 3.95s and I feel really inadequate compared to them. This has become increasingly salient since people are now worrying about latin honors for which I definitely would not qualify... Plus SDN people always suggest foregoing the difficult majors & classes and focusing on raising GPA instead, which is exactly the opposite of what I have done.

Yet I can't help but think (fantasize, really) about all those classes like MolRad which would just bulldoze my brain and my sGPA but which would also compel me to think with greater clarity and sophistication than I am currently capable. And those other classes about Kierkegaard and Hegel and equilibrium theory... in which I might be able to get a decent grade but which are definitely not relevant to my sGPA. I can go on and on daydreaming about these but I'll stop 😛

So... easy, GPA-friendly classes or challenging, sadistic ones?

(Please don't say you took MolRad and it was easy because I'm hopeless at quantum chem)

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[1TB4RKSB4CK]

Adcoms will see through GPA friendly classes if you overdose on them. Take what is interesting and what you like.

 

[CuttingCorneas]

I thought the easiest classes were the classes you love.

Having a desire to learn the information makes the class 10x easier, IMO.

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

That's crap about adcoms seeing through GPA friendly classes. They have no idea whats easy and hard at your school. Its not like they keep a list of bullsh*t classes vs hard ones for every school. Sure, if you take Intro to Psych senior year that's obviously a GPA booster but there are usually a lot of classes that sound hard but are pretty easy. You're a senior, you should know what these are at your school.

Take easy classes. Some easy classes are even interesting. Maybe throw in one hard but interesting one if you really feel like torturing yourself. You're a senior though...you should be BSing around your senior year, not worrying if you're gonna get a C in a harder class than you should have taken. If you choose to play the game, you have to play by the rules. Again, classes vary so much school to school that admissions members don't have time to check up on who had the hardest courseloads or not. Your letter will help but I had an admissions director tell me the first thing they saw on every file was the cGPA, sGPA and MCAT score. You don't want yours to take a hit just cause you felt like torturing yourself senior year.

 

[ponyo]

I thought the easiest classes were the classes you love.

Having a desire to learn the information makes the class 10x easier, IMO.

I have way more interest in quantum chemistry and higher-level spectroscopy than I do in developmental psych... But I got a B in qchem and an A in dev psych. I put in multiple hours a day for the former and didn't go to the latter at all. Not even once :/

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

That's crap about adcoms seeing through GPA friendly classes. They have no idea whats easy and hard at your school. Its not like they keep a list of bullsh*t classes vs hard ones for every school. Sure, if you take Intro to Psych senior year that's obviously a GPA booster but there are usually a lot of classes that sound hard but are pretty easy. You're a senior, you should know what these are at your school.

Take easy classes. Some easy classes are even interesting. Maybe throw in one hard but interesting one if you really feel like torturing yourself. You're a senior though...you should be BSing around your senior year, not worrying if you're gonna get a C in a harder class than you should have taken. If you choose to play the game, you have to play by the rules. Again, classes vary so much school to school that admissions members don't have time to check up on who had the hardest courseloads or not. Your letter will help but I had an admissions director tell me the first thing they saw on every file was the cGPA, sGPA and MCAT score. You don't want yours to take a hit just cause you felt like torturing yourself senior year.

I don't really agree, let's say someone has taken Biology 1 and 2, ans then wants to take a so called "booster class" one can take "Intro to Biology" or some sort of introductory class. Adcoms will see this as an obvious booster. I wouldn't say there is any really so called easy classes for humanities since a lot vary.

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

I don't really agree, let's say someone has taken Biology 1 and 2, ans then wants to take a so called "booster class" one can take "Intro to Biology" or some sort of introductory class. Adcoms will see this as an obvious booster. I wouldn't say there is any really so called easy classes for humanities since a lot vary.

Did you even read what I said? I basically gave what you said as an example. Not to mention that you usually can't take Intro classes when you've taken higher level courses in the same subject, especially in sciences...
Its pretty easy to take hard sounding classes that everyone at your school knows is easy. For instance, I took "Stem Cell Biology" and "Cellular Basis of Human Disease" junior year...both easy As.

And yeah, every single intro humanities class will usually have an easy A section. If you can't get an A in Intro to Anthropology/Psych/Sociology/etc., either your teacher is a dick or you're really dumb.

 

[NickNaylor]

I thought the easiest classes were the classes you love.

Having a desire to learn the information makes the class 10x easier, IMO.

I think this as well. While the classes might be difficult, I always found it much easier to learn and study in classes that I truly wanted to take.

 

[ponyo]

Did you even read what I said? I basically gave what you said as an example. Not to mention that you usually can't take Intro classes when you've taken higher level courses in the same subject, especially in sciences...
Its pretty easy to take hard sounding classes that everyone at your school knows is easy. For instance, I took "Stem Cell Biology" and "Cellular Basis of Human Disease" junior year...both easy As.

And yeah, every single intro humanities class will usually have an easy A section. If you can't get an A in Intro to Anthropology/Psych/Sociology/etc., either your teacher is a dick or you're really dumb.

That's the problem though. I hate classes that discuss obvious facts one can glean from reading a couple of reviews in the literature or a textbook because usually I get out of the class at the end of the semester and feel as though I haven't learned anything. It would be incredibly easy to find hard-sounding classes that are easy A's, especially in Chemistry and Biology because I've already taken many highest-level courses in those, but it just feels... unsatisfying. It's like the difference between taking intro o-chem and actual synthetic chemistry. The former just forces you to memorise a whole bunch of facts really well whereas the latter actually challenges you to analyze what you have learned in a creative and rigorous fashion.

And agreed on the humanities classes. 4 of the classes I took fall of sophomore year were psychology for my neuro major. Didn't go to a single one. Got As on all of them. I wish pchem lab was like that...

I think this as well. While the classes might be difficult, I always found it much easier to learn and study in classes that I truly wanted to take.

That's absolutely true but again it really depends on the other people who are in the class. A class filled with freshman sociology majors is just not going to be the same as one filled with grad students specializing in pchem, however more interested one might be in the materials presented in the latter.

 

[AugustBurnsDan]

I would honestly say the classes that interest you the most are the easiest ones. For instance I regret majoring in Bio. It came easy to me, but outside of the required classes for application processes I was bored stiff with Zoology and "Environmental Science." If I did it all over again I'd be an english major Bio minor.

 

[Lil Mick]

If you're interested, you're more likely to do well. However, if you want to protect your gpa, why don't you choose half of your classes from the list of harder but interesting classes and the other half from the easier and maybe interesting classes?

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

That's the problem though. I hate classes that discuss obvious facts one can glean from reading a couple of reviews in the literature or a textbook because usually I get out of the class at the end of the semester and feel as though I haven't learned anything. It would be incredibly easy to find hard-sounding classes that are easy A's, especially in Chemistry and Biology because I've already taken many highest-level courses in those, but it just feels... unsatisfying. It's like the difference between taking intro o-chem and actual synthetic chemistry. The former just forces you to memorise a whole bunch of facts really well whereas the latter actually challenges you to analyze what you have learned in a creative and rigorous fashion.

Figure out what your objective is then. Is your objective
1) Boost your GPA,
2) Have an easy semester/year,
3) Take classes you're interested in, and/or
4) Take hard classes that challenge you mentally

You can definitely combine these. For instance, I WAS interested in stem cell biology and it happened to be a decently easy class (not the easiest class I've ever taken but definitely not too hard to get an A in). However, it sounds like the classes you really enjoy are more technical, higher level chem classes. You just have to figure out if you enjoy them so much that you'll take the trade-off of spending a lot of time on those classes for a grade probably less than an A (from what you're saying). You seem like you're a glutton for this kind of punishment already though, so whatever floats your boat.

 

[Narmerguy]

I thought the easiest classes were the classes you love.

Having a desire to learn the information makes the class 10x easier, IMO.

I don't know what most other people's schools are like, but at mine there are classes that you simply aren't going to get an A in unless you're going to be the top dog in the class or just blow the professor away with your writing. Simply loving a class doesn't always mean you have the capacity to do well in it, but that doesn't stop you from enjoying it and working hard. I think a more appropriate statement would be that the classes you love are the classes that you are most able to work hard in. But hard work and interest simply are not always good enough.

That's crap about adcoms seeing through GPA friendly classes. They have no idea whats easy and hard at your school. Its not like they keep a list of bullsh*t classes vs hard ones for every school. Sure, if you take Intro to Psych senior year that's obviously a GPA booster but there are usually a lot of classes that sound hard but are pretty easy. You're a senior, you should know what these are at your school.

Take easy classes. Some easy classes are even interesting. Maybe throw in one hard but interesting one if you really feel like torturing yourself. You're a senior though...you should be BSing around your senior year, not worrying if you're gonna get a C in a harder class than you should have taken. If you choose to play the game, you have to play by the rules. Again, classes vary so much school to school that admissions members don't have time to check up on who had the hardest courseloads or not. Your letter will help but I had an admissions director tell me the first thing they saw on every file was the cGPA, sGPA and MCAT score. You don't want yours to take a hit just cause you felt like torturing yourself senior year.

I agree that for the most part it's difficult for Adcoms to always know what a difficult class was vs. an easy one unless you're taking intro classes your senior year. However, even with that said, it's not as if being an intro course makes it inherently easy. I took intro to economics my freshman year and it was pretty rough simply because the professor wanted it to be that way. If I took it now, it wouldn't be any different. I'm not suddenly able to comprehend economics on a fundamentally different level because I'm a few years older.

That said, I'm strongly against this suggestion that the best classes to take are the easy ones. Applicants need to understand how to build a semester schedule. Your goal is to take classes that interest you and that will teach you something interesting/useful but it's somewhat stupid to use this strategy indiscriminately. You mix and match your really interesting classes that might be difficult with some stuff that's a bit more fluff. So don't take 4 graduate level chemistry courses. Take 2 and then pair that with a light music course or some health science.

Do this every semester and plan ahead so you always have some fluffier classes to pair with the more rigorous stuff. And besides, not every class you're interested in is going to be really hard. But you need to learn how to be mature about your decisions and realize you'll have to sacrifice taking your dream course load every semester without selling out and taking only easy stuff so you can skate by. What a waste of time, money, and opportunity. College is more than a means to an end (though it is clearly that to).

 

[CuttingCorneas]

I would honestly say the classes that interest you the most are the easiest ones. For instance I regret majoring in Bio. It came easy to me, but outside of the required classes for application processes I was bored stiff with Zoology and "Environmental Science." If I did it all over again I'd be an english major Bio minor.

Gah, me too. Except I would have gone with Spanish. Learning about Hispanic culture beats Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy any day.

 

[BHaus9]

I would honestly say the classes that interest you the most are the easiest ones. For instance I regret majoring in Bio. It came easy to me, but outside of the required classes for application processes I was bored stiff with Zoology and "Environmental Science." If I did it all over again I'd be an english major Bio minor.

Congratulations, you just contradicted yourself in 2 seconds.

 

[theWUbear]

Congratulations, you just contradicted yourself in 2 seconds.

I find those to be the best of the internet - self contradiction in two consecutive phrases. A rare but incredible fail

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

Congratulations, you just contradicted yourself in 2 seconds.

Classic didn't even notice that the first time

 

[CodeBlu]

Take what you love... always.

 

[MilkmanAl]

I thought the easiest classes were the classes you love.

Physics major says that's not true in the slightest. I say it's MUCH better take easy classes you like instead of really hard ones you love. Nobody will ever question a high GPA, especially if you pair it with a solid MCAT score. On the other hand, why top out your class with a 3.3 and get crapped on by adcoms across the country?

Take what you love... always.

Or take what you like and kick the living piss out of your classes. Win-win.

 

[Ride Big Sky]

Take what interests you and rock it. Done.

 

[MilkmanAl]

It's not always an option to rock the classes you love. That's the problem. Even if you could still get your A's with enough work, why do that when there's almost certainly a subject you'll still enjoy but can cruise through?

 

[AugustBurnsDan]

Congratulations, you just contradicted yourself in 2 seconds.

Does it make you feel good to point that one out? Problem, I'm a slow typer, that took 10 seconds to type. Thanks BHaus😍

 

[familymed]

I was an engineer at a very strong engineering school for college. The majority of my semesters in college were 16-20 credit semesters with 2-3 engineering classes and 1-2 natural science/math courses. My electives were upper level math and engineering. Although I did have a few the courses that were easier to get an A in (biopsych, an arabic studies class, sociology) I will say that in the end, my 3.4 held up just as well as my friends' 3.9's that were biopsych/english/bio majors. I ended up getting into great schools (granted, I had a good MCAT score) and a lot of my friends with higher GPA's didn't even interview at those schools (with the same MCAT).

In medical school at the University of Michigan, I sat on the admissions committee for 3 years. I ALWAYS looked at the strength of a students transcript and frankly , I was not impressed with a 3.9 in biology because I knew what that meant at certain places, esp ivy league schools who hand out A's like they're candy. Instead, I think what matters is that there is a clear passion demonstrated by a student (ie -- TAKE CLASSES YOU LOVE) and that you do well in them.... which brings me to.....

If you take a class you love and you do poorly, that's YOUR fault. You need to bite the bullet and understand that if you really like linear spaces/matrix theory or you really want to take that nuclear engineering/radiation health class that you're probably going to put in more hours than other students taking soc and psych, but your propensity for those topics can earn you a top grade if you put the effort in to following ur passions. Forget about everyone else and walk your own path -- it works. Also -- admissions committees will surprise you with what they choose to look at out of ur application and nobody can argue with a strong MCAT.

Good luck, work hard, do well.

 

[MilkmanAl]

I dunno, man, I got C's in several physics classes that I worked extremely hard in. I really enjoyed the material, and I'm not a dumb guy. That's just how it goes sometimes. It's not always as simple as work hard=spectacular success, despite what you and the bulk of SDN would apparently like to believe.

Maybe you look at the difficulty of a student's course load - as you and everyone else absolutely should - but that does not appear to be the norm at all. It's GPA or bust in this game. As noted above, you also run into the issue of not really being able to discern which classes are hard and which aren't, so unless you have inside info on the applicant's course work, your assessments are going to be unfounded most of the time.

 

[BHaus9]

Does it make you feel good to point that one out? Problem, I'm a slow typer, that took 10 seconds to type. Thanks BHaus😍

Yeah, it really got my rocks off. In seriousness, though, I see that that was very condescending and I apologize. I just happen to disagree that a class becomes substantially easier by virtue of your having interest in it. Admittedly, you may be more willing to put in the work necessary for success, but that doesn't magically make the material any less complicated. If desire > content, I wouldn't have limped my way through organic chem.

 

[BHaus9]

I dunno, man, I got C's in several physics classes that I worked extremely hard in. I really enjoyed the material, and I'm not a dumb guy. That's just how it goes sometimes. It's not always as simple as work hard=spectacular success, despite what you and the bulk of SDN would apparently like to believe.

👍 Sometimes all it takes is a fluky performance on one exam, perhaps due to illness, to compromise a grade. Outside of writing-based classes, I think I only had two collegiate courses ever that required us to hand in assignments. Whereas you are more or less rewarded in proportion to your efforst on "homework," tests require effort AND a certain measure of luck (did you study the right material, are you in the right frame of mind the morning of, etc.) Also, you have to confront the reality that your intellectual abilities are not unlimited, and when you're taking a ten-person linear systems seminar, it's safe to assume that the majority of other students in the class are both capable and interested. Not everyone can get an A.

 

[Evergrey]

Take the classes you love. Life is too short to waste 🙂

 

[Soulstice]

Find classes that fit both. Some people will tell you it's worth getting a B or C in a class if you really like it. If you're gunning for a top school... don't. It's really not worth it. Find easy classes you like and you will be happy.

 

[AugustBurnsDan]

Yeah, it really got my rocks off. In seriousness, though, I see that that was very condescending and I apologize. I just happen to disagree that a class becomes substantially easier by virtue of your having interest in it. Admittedly, you may be more willing to put in the work necessary for success, but that doesn't magically make the material any less complicated. If desire > content, I wouldn't have limped my way through organic chem.

Yup, no offense taken. funny how the interwebz can make comments seem that way. I see where you are coming from though with the interest in classes issue. I suppose that for me, writing and composition always came easier simply because that's what I spend my free time doing. I should have clarified my Biology statement. Several biology classes made sense to me content wise, but I had very little motivation to crack the books for them. As far as O-Chem, I hated the crap out of it, but made myself study something like 4 hrs a day just to prove I could beat it, thank god that's over!

Theology though...that was a whole different story. Didn't matter how much I wanted to understand that stuff, Summa Theologica never made sense to me 🙂

 

[ponyo]

Theology though...that was a whole different story. Didn't matter how much I wanted to understand that stuff, Summa Theologica never made sense to me 🙂

Oh I think the Summa Theological always made sense to me... the problem was complete and irrepressible disagreement on my part 😛

If you take a class you love and you do poorly, that's YOUR fault. You need to bite the bullet and understand that if you really like linear spaces/matrix theory or you really want to take that nuclear engineering/radiation health class that you're probably going to put in more hours than other students taking soc and psych, but your propensity for those topics can earn you a top grade if you put the effort in to following ur passions. Forget about everyone else and walk your own path -- it works. Also -- admissions committees will surprise you with what they choose to look at out of ur application and nobody can argue with a strong MCAT.

I think it's fairly easy to put in the effort. The problem is that in those classes regular people like me are competing against kids who have lived and breathed those topics all their lives, who took linear algebra in 8th grade (true story), who interned with NASA as freshmen in HS and who want nothing than to do pchem research for the rest of their natural lives. Think of people who read ChemRev and Ange Chem and JACS and PRL on weekends and have indignant and passionate discussions about what they have read before class. The phys major upstairs will laugh but I really can't understand most of the articles in PRL... definitely not after a casual reading.

As for the admissions committees, my pre-med adviser says that they send out a letter of recommendation that explains the rigor of your courseload, the extra requirements for departmental distinctions, as well as other academic highlights that might not stand out to someone who is not familiar with the school. Does that actually help or does that letter just get cast aside?

Also, does it help that I've received good grades in all the basic pre-med courses like o-chem and physics and calc?

 

[a winner is you]

Take easy classes.