Two summer classes OK for Nontrad?

[AP803]

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Hi:

I graduated 15 years ago with my BA in Bio with a <3.0 gpa in my science classes, and am retaking med school prereqs (no PostBacc program). I have a 4.0 thus far through Gen Bio, Inorganic Chem, Microbio (1 sem), Genetics (1 sem), and A&P at an accredited 4yr state school in the Northeast (all with labs, all 1 year unless stated otherwise). BTW: I've been taking these one course per academic year since 2003 (except, no classes in 2004-5) while working FT as an urban EMT.

I'm planning on taking the summer off from my FT job to take the "year" of Physics and get it out of the way so I can focus on taking calculus and studying for the MCAT in the fall, when I return back to FT work. (Hoping to take it in April 2009).

My first question is: Since I'm already taking the summer off, I'd also like to take the "year's" worth of Biochem. Is it unwise to take those 2 courses in condensed form over the summer; ie, would med schools look unfavorably upon them as "too easy"?

Also: Is this summer workload (despite taking the classes FT and not working) overly ambitious for the average person? (Normal ambitious is no problem, I think. ) I expect to have no life outside of class anyway ...

My next question is: I was actually hoping to take a semester of Biochem and a semester of Cell Bio over the summer, but there are no Cell Bio courses being offered this summer. Would the "year" of Bchem be OK instead, or should I really try to fit in that Cell Bio for my application?

And: Would it be a problem if there was no lab with that Bchem or Cell Bio? (The summer class catalog doesn't mention labs, but I'll double check on that.) Or, do I even need Cell Bio at all? (I assume yes since I'm a nontrad and need all the help I can get -- but who knows.)

Thanks a bunch for your time with this LOOOOOOONG post. And good luck to all!

 

[plauto]

Hi:

I graduated 15 years ago with my BA in Bio with a <3.0 gpa in my science classes, and am retaking med school prereqs (no PostBacc program). I have a 4.0 thus far through Gen Bio, Inorganic Chem, Microbio (1 sem), Genetics (1 sem), and A&P at an accredited 4yr state school in the Northeast (all with labs, all 1 year unless stated otherwise). BTW: I've been taking these one course per academic year since 2003 (except, no classes in 2004-5) while working FT as an urban EMT.

I'm planning on taking the summer off from my FT job to take the "year" of Physics and get it out of the way so I can focus on taking calculus and studying for the MCAT in the fall, when I return back to FT work. (Hoping to take it in April 2009).

My first question is: Since I'm already taking the summer off, I'd also like to take the "year's" worth of Biochem. Is it unwise to take those 2 courses in condensed form over the summer; ie, would med schools look unfavorably upon them as "too easy"?

Also: Is this summer workload (despite taking the classes FT and not working) overly ambitious for the average person? (Normal ambitious is no problem, I think. ) I expect to have no life outside of class anyway ...

My next question is: I was actually hoping to take a semester of Biochem and a semester of Cell Bio over the summer, but there are no Cell Bio courses being offered this summer. Would the "year" of Bchem be OK instead, or should I really try to fit in that Cell Bio for my application?

And: Would it be a problem if there was no lab with that Bchem or Cell Bio? (The summer class catalog doesn't mention labs, but I'll double check on that.) Or, do I even need Cell Bio at all? (I assume yes since I'm a nontrad and need all the help I can get -- but who knows.)

Thanks a bunch for your time with this LOOOOOOONG post. And good luck to all!

Taking summer classes is fine from an admission standpoint. Just don't take them form a community college (1 or 2 at the most is ok, but not more than that especially with your undergrad GPA). As far as labs are concerned...as long as bio, gen chem and orgo and physics are with labs it does not matter for the extra classes you are taking. I'd take biochem I and cell bio....more variety. In case you dont' know....biochem and cell bio are not a requirement are most schools. Just take them to raise your GPA if you need to.
Summer classes are actually harder because the stuff is compressed, don't take too many at once. I don't know if I'd do physics and biochem at once. Maybe physics and cell bio. You know yourself best!
Good luck! 2 yrs ago I was in your shoes and everything worked out for the best and can finally quit my job in 2 months!

 

[Martin Prince]

I wouldn't worry about summer courses looking bad on an application. I took several a few years ago to finish the prereqs as early as possible, and I've never heard a negative comment about it. I would be careful taking too much at once though. The summer courses move quite a bit faster than normal, and it's easy to fall behind. I took Physics III, Bio II, and OChem I in one summer quarter and don't recall going outside for 2 months.

With a low gpa in your past, you don't have a whole lot of room for error, and it would be a shame to get hammered in biochem because you overextended yourself. Especially considering biochem/cell bio are not required at most schools, I would opt for the condensed physics course only. Check with your schools premed advisor as to the difficulty/expected workload.

As Plauto mentioned, biochem and cell bio don't need labs.

I don't see a big difference between 2 biochem vs 1 biochem/ 1 cell bio. Diversity is nice, but I liked taking the full year of biochem as the second half built on and reinforced what I learned in the first half. In addition, it was easier to do well in the second quarter of biochem as I was already familiar with terminology and study methods for the course.

Good luck with whatever you decide

 

[echidna]

I'm contemplating an intense summer as well, but with with Gen Chem 2 and Physics 1 with labs. From the many summer schedules I've looked at for various schools it's pretty hard to find 3 simultaneous classes that will fit into any schedule and I only found one where I could do these two concurrently. Like you I'll be quitting my full time job and taking out loans, which makes me extra nervous since I'm afraid of overextending myself and ending up with lower grades than I'd like. Good luck to us both!

 

[Konfetkette]

I'm wondering this too...especially if taking Physics I and II during the summer will take all my time that I need for volunteering.

 

[gman33]

Be careful about overextending yourself during the summer semester. With your low previous gpa you don't have much margin for error. I'd just go with the physics, make sure you get A's, and then go from there.

 

[Archer]

One summer I took Gen Chem with lab and the next summer an entire year of Biology. Each class was 9 weeks long 3 or four hours per day with three afternoons of lab. These were a lot of work but definitely doable. I took the MCAT during the last week of Biology and had a complete AACOMAS app by the middle of September.
There were folks trying to take Ochem in the summer and they had a much more difficult time.
I actually liked taking classes in the summer.

 

[Phoenix.]

I took a year of bio and a year of gen chem (with labs) over one summer together and it was pretty intense. I'd say I definitely didn't have time to do anything else, but it's doable if you think you're up for it.

And, as others have said above, it's definitely not a problem regarding admissions provided you don't take them at a community college. I never had my summer classes questioned at an interview.