Taking 6 courses; 16 credit hours...too much?

[ketone]

I'm a sophomore, nutrition major.

I'm taking a nutrition class, nutrition lab (1 hr) , ochem, an undergraduate course, and government.
I feel that I need a biology course because this will be the only semester I will not have biology.
Will it be okay to add in a biology course in this schedule or will this be too much?

I also heard that the classes in dental school will be 20+ credit hours... so maybe it will help prepare if I get accepted. 😕 I don't know.

What do you guys think?

And I do apologize for any possible grammar errors... too lazy to check lol. Thanks.

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[seattlesun]

I think you got plenty on your hands. Nutrition and Ochem will give you tons to memorize, and you got government to balance it on the social sci side. Don't know what your other class is, but if it's a medium class in difficulty, this would be a balanced schedule.

Doing close to 20 credits will not give you any cuddos. Wait for dental school to have that load. Until then do well with a balanced schedule (2 sci + 1 social sci, and occasionally, but not every time, 1 extra of your choice) and you will be in good shape.

I'm on the quarter system and do about 12-15 quarter credits (that's about 8-10 semester credits). I'm in my senior year, and that allows me time to do research and a little volunteering. Keep it there and you're golden. Go lower if you think it will allow you better grades. Grades matter big time!

 

[Jackson-Ave-Dental]

Um... I thought it was a minimum of 15 credits/semester or 30/year to be considered a full time student.

 

[herkulease]

Um... I thought it was a minimum of 15 credits/semester or 30/year to be considered a full time student.

It's generally 15 for quarter systems, 12 for semester systems. Some schools will have their own policy.

for fafsa purposes, its 12 credits regardless of quarter or semester system is the minimum to be considered full time.

 

[jackalo34]

It's generally 15 for quarter systems, 12 for semester systems. Some schools will have their own policy.

for fafsa purposes, its 12 credits regardless of quarter or semester system is the minimum to be considered full time.

Yes, it’s very dependent on the school’s system. where i am 16 credit hours is most common for semesters-up to 20…… lol

 

[MuskieMan33]

My school is 12 semester credit hours to be a full time student. Although I don't know anyone who just takes 12 except for the 5th year senior who needed one course to graduate and just wanted to take some blow off classes. My average is 16.2 credit hrs/sem so far. This past semester with 18. I've read that dental schools like to see a "heavy load" so in my case I would say about 15ish. Also, only taking the minimum number of required hours would take a person 4.5 or 5 years to graduate. I think 16 is plenty, especially with ochem. I had to balance phys, ochem, and genetics (all with labs) along with 2 classes without labs this semester, needless to say, it was overwhelming with all that and trying to balance 500 EC's and volunteering throughout the semester.

 

[yappy]

20 semester credits here. 5 science 2 non-science. Most likely going to get a 3.95 depending on how my finals go.

OP: Take them all and do it like a rock star..

 

[KillaGorilla]

16 credits!!!! Someone get some anti cry-otics here STAT!

 

[2th Doc]

I'm a sophomore, nutrition major.

I'm taking a nutrition class, nutrition lab (1 hr) , ochem, an undergraduate course, and government.
I feel that I need a biology course because this will be the only semester I will not have biology.
Will it be okay to add in a biology course in this schedule or will this be too much?

I also heard that the classes in dental school will be 20+ credit hours... so maybe it will help prepare if I get accepted. 😕 I don't know.

What do you guys think?

And I do apologize for any possible grammar errors... too lazy to check lol. Thanks.

Don't be afraid to pack it in if you feel like you can do it. I took 6 classes last winter, 4 being GChem II, GChem II Lab, OChem II, and Molecular Bio. I thought it would be my worst semester but ended up having one of the most successful semesters ever. I somewhat disagree with the "taking 20 credits won't get you any kudos" statement. You don't necessarily need 20 credits, but 14-16 with at least 3 science classes will demonstrate to admissions committees (assuming you get good grades in them) that you are disciplined and will likely have what it takes to succeed with the heavy curriculum in dental school. If you're taking the minimums of say 12 credits and 1-2 science courses, that might give them cause for concern, since it'll be a much greater shock when you hit the dschool curriculum.

 

[ketone]

16 credits!!!! Someone get some anti cry-otics here STAT!

Really? Regarding the hours, I was addressing towards the number of courses and whether I should add a biology course into it. The one hour lab was included, so yeah... the credits look pretty average.

 

[ketone]

Don't be afraid to pack it in if you feel like you can do it. I took 6 classes last winter, 4 being GChem II, GChem II Lab, OChem II, and Molecular Bio. I thought it would be my worst semester but ended up having one of the most successful semesters ever. I somewhat disagree with the "taking 20 credits won't get you any kudos" statement. You don't necessarily need 20 credits, but 14-16 with at least 3 science classes will demonstrate to admissions committees (assuming you get good grades in them) that you are disciplined and will likely have what it takes to succeed with the heavy curriculum in dental school. If you're taking the minimums of say 12 credits and 1-2 science courses, that might give them cause for concern, since it'll be a much greater shock when you hit the dschool curriculum.

You can take ochem along with general chem?
I had 2+ science courses since freshmen year. But this is the first time I'm not going to have a biology course (I don't think nutrition is considered a science course...is it?). I mean, I don't need that extra bio course but it seems necessary. I don't know. >.>

 

[Baker2010]

Hey Ketone,
you should be taking at at least 15 credits/ semester.
Myself along with most of the bio majors I went to school with haven't had semesters under 16 credits.
I think I averaged about 17/ semester.
You need to show them you can handle a decent amount of work.
Im interested to know how many you have been taking previously if 16 is seeming to be overwhelming. You should try to work on that.

Good luck

 

[ketone]

Hey Ketone,
you should be taking at at least 15 credits/ semester.
Myself along with most of the bio majors I went to school with haven't had semesters under 16 credits.
I think I averaged about 17/ semester.
You need to show them you can handle a decent amount of work.
Im interested to know how many you have been taking previously if 16 is seeming to be overwhelming. You should try to work on that.

Good luck

freshmen
fall 12 hrs; 4 classes
spring 14 hrs; 5 classes
sophomore
fall 14 hrs; 5 classes
spring... possibly 16 hrs... 6 classes? Or rather than taking another 3 hr biology class, I can take a bio lab (another lab maybe)... so around 14-15 hrs; 6 classes.

Thank you. 🙂

 

[2th Doc]

You can take ochem along with general chem?

Well, I talked with professors/advisors beforehand and no one seemed to have a problem with it. Having done it, I don't see much reason why it shouldn't be allowed if someone really wants to. In my opinion, there was very little from GChem II that had to do with OChem I. It out worked just perfectly for me.

I had 2+ science courses since freshmen year. But this is the first time I'm not going to have a biology course (I don't think nutrition is considered a science course...is it?). I mean, I don't need that extra bio course but it seems necessary. I don't know. >.>

Well for starters, nutrition isn't a course. It's a major, and you better believe it's considered science ("Other Science" on AADSAS). With classes like nutritional biochemistry, nutrient metabolism, and nutritional implications of disease, you'd be hard pressed to not consider it science.

Even if you don't need the bio class to fulfill prereqs, upper level bio classes are highly emphasized by the majority of schools. It certainly couldn't hurt, and it would show that you're willing to go the extra mile for education's sake, and not just skimp by on the minimums. Either way though, it's up to you... this is just one man's opinion.

 

[ketone]

Well for starters, nutrition isn't a course. It's a major, and you better believe it's considered science ("Other Science" on AADSAS). With classes like nutritional biochemistry, nutrient metabolism, and nutritional implications of disease, you'd be hard pressed to not consider it science.

Even if you don't need the bio class to fulfill prereqs, upper level bio classes are highly emphasized by the majority of schools. It certainly couldn't hurt, and it would show that you're willing to go the extra mile for education's sake, and not just skimp by on the minimums. Either way though, it's up to you... this is just one man's opinion.

A nutrition course is a course.
Anyways, considered as a science course, it would be counted towards my sGPA, yes?
I'll probably take an upper bio lab in replace of a bio course just for it.

 

[2th Doc]

A nutrition course is a course.

Whoops, sorry, I thought your previous post was referencing a class I mentioned (I'm nutritional sci major too), but now I just realized I didn't list any nutrition courses. My brain is fried from finals; forgive me.

Anyways, considered as a science course, it would be counted towards my sGPA, yes?
I'll probably take an upper bio lab in replace of a bio course just for it.

Yep, "Other Science"-classified courses count as part of your sGPA. Then there's the BCP GPA that narrows it down just to the basic sciences (bio, chem, phys).