Taking me 5 years to get to med..

[ithinkso]

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Hi. how is taking my time and doing 5 years of undergrad??? im thinking i will do alittle better i dunno.. does taking my time to get to school bad..??
i have a very bad feeling that.. i will NOT making in the first try.. i think with ALOT ALOT of extra stuff i might take a peak at my app.. i dunno

enlight me
;/

 

[turtleboard]

If you do take an extra year to finish off a BA, you'd better have a good explanation for it to the AdCom when they ask.

I would finish the BA in four years and then do some postbacc coursework. Remaining an extra year makes it seem like you were goofing around.


Tim W. of N.Y.C.

 

[jimi]

If you stay five years, I would pick up a minor or another major that really interests you.

 

[Meli]

I think more important than the time it takes you are the grades you put up. I'm about to enter a post-bacc program which I hoped would take 2 yrs. max--now it seems it will be more like 2 1/2. When I asked my advisor whether or not ad comms would critique me on how long it takes to finish coursework, he said not to worry about that and concentrate on kicking as* grade-wise. After all, your primary job needs to be the protection of your gpa. I'm curious though as to why you don't think you can get things done in four years? In any case, good luck and make sure you find good advising--it really is invaluable to the overall process.

 

[Shania]

I had to take an extra semester because I wanted to take less classes during my MCAT study time. I don't think it can hurt, if you know FOR SURE that your grades/MCAT will go up, I don't see that it can be bad, it can only help. Do try to use your time wisely and be involved with research or other important clinical or volunteer experiences during your free time. Don't be pressured to rush things.

 

[Shania]

I had to take an extra semester because I wanted to take less classes during my MCAT study time. I don't think it can hurt, if you know FOR SURE that your grades/MCAT will go up, I don't see that it can be bad, it can only help. Do try to use your time wisely and be involved with research or other important clinical or volunteer experiences during your free time. Don't be pressured to rush things.

 

[KMorris3]

Many people are saying that it isn't so bad. Well, here's the reality: it is bad. It sounds to me like you want to take fewer credit hours each semester in order to get better grades. Med schools look very negatively upon students who do not take a full class load nearly every semester, unless the student has a very good reason for doing so (e.g. working full time, is a single parent). The reason is simple: Med school is way harder than taking a full load of college classes. They want to make sure you can handle the load, and you ought to make sure you can handle the load before applying to med school. That's the reality. Absolutely do not take five years unless you are still planning to take a full class load each semester.

 

[kc2doc]

From my experience it hasn't been a negative to take five years. I took a full load every semester, took summers off and went to a study abroad program during one summer. I have been interviewed by two schools and have been accepted by one and still waiting to hear from the second. Neither interview ever mentioned it.

 

[KMorris3]

Again, taking five years is fine, as long as you take a full load every semester, like the last person who posted.